Mike Tomalaris is an idiot

"DaveB" wrote in message
u...

The second point would also apply to motorbikes, but in my experience
abuse is very rare because most motorists would be very aware of the
potential results. They fear a motorcyclist, but they don't fear a cyclist
(or at least think they can take off).


I would debate that last point about not fearing a cyclist.......I have had
quite a few guys give me a heartfelt apology once I caught up to them at the
next set of lights. My personal favourite was a young P-plater with his
equally young mate who decided it would be a good idea for the guy in the
passenger seat to scream in my ear as they went past in a fairly flash car
that I assume belonged to his dad. This was on Lower Plenty Rd while I was
going up the hill towards Watsonia. I was about 50m or so from the top and
as I knew that the lights on the other side of the hill at Rosanna Rd
usually stayed red for a while in peak hour I smashed myself up and over the
hill and saw the car stopped at the lights. The guy had moved across from
the left lane to the far right lane (I assume he was hoping that the traffic
would deter me??) and as I was rolling up to the passenger side the
passenger window went up!! I leant down and told the guy in the passenger
seat that if he didn't wind down the window I was going to snap the mirror
off and kick in the door. Funnily enough he wound down the window and I
proceeded to ask him if he thought he was Fcuk'n funny?? Surprisingly,
neither he nor the driver did think they were funny and they were very
apologetic. When I asked them to tell me why I shouldn't just kick in the
door a bit they came up with the classic "my dad would kill me" line - I
ended up leaving the car unscathed but I did have a bit of childish revenge
by squirting my water bottle on the kid in the passenger seat. A "grown up"
in another car who had seen the whole thing gave me a big smile and a double
thumbs up. Hopefully it may have deterred that pair from doing that sort of
stupid thing to cyclists!!

These days I am a bit more laid back and generally try to avoid chasing down
arseholes who are in obvious need of an attitude adjustment. I usually
resort to the side to side shake of the head that means "what a fcukin
idiot" or the "point at the offending arsehole and waggle my finger from
side to side" trick that I have perfected on my kids over the
years.....everyone loves being treated like a kid!!!

Gags

This is true.

I've twice felt the need to chase down morons (usually, I'm laid back
but, everyone snaps occasionally).

Once was a couple of teens in daddy's new BMW who thought it would be
funny to throw a plastic coke bottle at me. Fortunately, the passenger's
aim was as good as his sense of humour. They sped off and were surpised
as anything when about a km down the road I caught up. At first, they
were all bravado and testosterone. The tone quickly changed when I
grabbed my pump from the frame and explained that daddy wouldn't be
happy with a broken window and scratches all down the side. They said
how sorry they were.

The other was in Sydney city when a cabbie decided to plough through
the group I was riding with. Chased him for about 2 kms through the
outskirts of the CBD. Caught him, showered him with my water bottle
through the window. He got out, pushes were exchanged. Keys were grabbed
and threatened to be thrown down a drain.

Cops turned up and cabbie was delayed, and therefore out of pocket
about 90mins. I was in no hurry and so felt the stack of fares he'd lose
was worth my time.

Scotty

Gags Wrote:
"DaveB" wrote in message
u...

The second point would also apply to motorbikes, but in my
experience
abuse is very rare because most motorists would be very aware of the
potential results. They fear a motorcyclist, but they don't fear a
cyclist
(or at least think they can take off).


I would debate that last point about not fearing a cyclist.......I
have had
quite a few guys give me a heartfelt apology once I caught up to them
at the
next set of lights. My personal favourite was a young P-plater with
his
equally young mate who decided it would be a good idea for the guy in
the
passenger seat to scream in my ear as they went past in a fairly flash
car
that I assume belonged to his dad. This was on Lower Plenty Rd while
I was
going up the hill towards Watsonia. I was about 50m or so from the
top and
as I knew that the lights on the other side of the hill at Rosanna Rd
usually stayed red for a while in peak hour I smashed myself up and
over the
hill and saw the car stopped at the lights. The guy had moved across
from
the left lane to the far right lane (I assume he was hoping that the
traffic
would deter me??) and as I was rolling up to the passenger side the
passenger window went up!! I leant down and told the guy in the
passenger
seat that if he didn't wind down the window I was going to snap the
mirror
off and kick in the door. Funnily enough he wound down the window and
I
proceeded to ask him if he thought he was Fcuk'n funny??
Surprisingly,
neither he nor the driver did think they were funny and they were very
apologetic. When I asked them to tell me why I shouldn't just kick in
the
door a bit they came up with the classic "my dad would kill me" line -
I
ended up leaving the car unscathed but I did have a bit of childish
revenge
by squirting my water bottle on the kid in the passenger seat. A
"grown up"
in another car who had seen the whole thing gave me a big smile and a
double
thumbs up. Hopefully it may have deterred that pair from doing that
sort of
stupid thing to cyclists!!

These days I am a bit more laid back and generally try to avoid
chasing down
arseholes who are in obvious need of an attitude adjustment. I
usually
resort to the side to side shake of the head that means "what a fcukin
idiot" or the "point at the offending arsehole and waggle my finger
from
side to side" trick that I have perfected on my kids over the
years.....everyone loves being treated like a kid!!!

Gags


--
scotty72

Gags wrote:
"DaveB" wrote in message
u...
The second point would also apply to motorbikes, but in my experience
abuse is very rare because most motorists would be very aware of the
potential results. They fear a motorcyclist, but they don't fear a cyclist
(or at least think they can take off).


I would debate that last point about not fearing a cyclist.......I have had

That's funny Gags, because in my post i was going to say "except when it
is Gags chasing you down" recalling a hoon swerving at us near Doncaster
one day and then taking a left at the lights when he realised his red
light left you enough time to catch him. But I think the point still
remains valid. They have still done stupid things to you as a cyclist,
the fear has come after that when they realised it may have some
consequences. Whereas on the motorbike they don't do deliberate stuff in
the first place.

DaveB

On Jan 16, 3:03 pm, Elmo wrote:
percrime wrote:
Jono L wrote:
Elmo Wrote:
He may have an opinion that you disagree with but it's no reason to
call
him an idiot.

Yes it is

Well lets put it to a vote. I make it 4 that think he is an idiot so far.

And Elmo dissents

Well it's one thing to think he's an idiot an another to call him an
idiot publicly. Mike has done a lot of work to bring cycling to us,
especially the Tour de France, and usually when a person gets a lot of
negative feedback they stop what they're doing, and I'd really hate to
see someone like Mike stop doing his good work.
Mike has my full support.

Elmo

Mike gets a holiday every year. He is a moron who hasn't really gained
any knowledge of the sport of cycling in all of the years he's been
covering it. He has no idea and has somehow stayed around for years.
You just have to listen to him speak (and he has trouble with that
sometimes) to people in the sport to see he has no clues.

"jur" wrote in message
...

"Some people are idiots all the time, and all people are idiots some of
the time." - jur

Therefore Mike is an idiot. If not all the time then at least that
time.


--
jur

I vote that it was an ill informed statement akin to idiocy.

DaveB Wrote:
Ok, probably not news to a lot of people, but he has a brief interview
in the TV section of the Herald Sun today.

Q. Should bikes be registered?

MT - Of course they should. It may stop cyclists from copping verbal
abuse from passing motorists.

Sigh.

DaveB

If only it were that simple... some people seem to change when they get
behind the wheel. The respect they show for cyclists is no different to
the respect they show other car drivers, motorcyclists, pedestrians or
anyone else on the road. As for the rest of "the motorists", they
already do respect other road users.

Register and be damned! It won't make a jot of difference to cyclists
copping abuse.

Ritch

PS. Why read the hun anyway?


--
ritcho

ritcho wrote:
PS. Why read the hun anyway?



The Crosswords.

DaveB

DaveB Wrote:
ritcho wrote:
PS. Why read the hun anyway?



The Crosswords.

DaveB

What are they? The short letters on the op-ed page?

Ritch


--
ritcho

Mike gets a holiday every year. He is a moron who hasn't really gained
any knowledge of the sport of cycling in all of the years he's been
covering it. He has no idea and has somehow stayed around for years.
You just have to listen to him speak (and he has trouble with that
sometimes) to people in the sport to see he has no clues.

C'mon, let's keep this thread on track. MT is INDEED a tool, and this
quote sums him up to a T. The way he conducts his interviews with high
profile individuals at the Tour is embarrassing to say the least. If he
wasn't so dense, I'd say he was bordering on ignorant at times.

This guy is just a reporter, and only just. He's not bringing cycling
to us - he's a poorly placed pawn by a network who's smart enough to
take note of the swelling interest in cycling from this country, but not
smart enough to see that their pawn is giving the world the impression
that Aussies are a bit dense. After all, let's not forget that MT is
ALSO the face of the Aussie audience.

And for those who are wondering: "reckon you could do a better job?" -
well, for a paid trip to Europe in July, with access to the worlds
elite athletes and VIP's, i'd say "MY BLOODY WORD I'D DO A BETTER JOB!!"
Or at LEAST i'd put some EFFORT into it.


--
gravelmuncher

On Jan 17, 5:42 pm, flyingdutch flyingdutch.33b...@no-
mx.forums.cyclingforums.com wrote:
Theo Bekkers Wrote:

DaveB wrote:
Zebee Johnstone wrote:

Why does the abuse happen? AS it hasn't happened to me (I get a
fair
bit of "cool bike" and jokes about "stop lying down on the job" but
no abuse that I have been able to decipher. It's possible some of
the inarticulate noises have been abusive but they were smiling and
waving so maybe not) I have no personal experience of the situation.

Zebee I think it's a combination of two things. First is that we are
there, can be abused, and the abuser can then take off. Second is the
perception that because a bike can be more efficient in traffic, it
is
therefore slowing the car down.

The second point would also apply to motorbikes, but in my experience
abuse is very rare because most motorists would be very aware of the
potential results. They fear a motorcyclist, but they don't fear a
cyclist (or at least think they can take off).

So what is the experience of the 50cc engined-can't-do-more-than-60
scooter
brigade. Do they get harassed by motorists?

Theo
I've been on runs with motorcyclists who wear black jackets and black
helmets. The ones that know how to spell harass think it's two words.
They've never experienced the -ment kind of harass.

can we put tomalaris on 'the pine' with Gaby Gate

personally i'd like to see Monsieur Ollie do the TdF coverage, but then
people would miss out on doing his rides (another one to add to the
personal 'must-do-in-lifetime-tasks...)

--
flyingdutch

Yes, I had a look at 'Sooty Park' last night (2nd time ever) - I
think it's up there for the prize for the most self-interested and
venal of all current TV programs AND IT"S OUR ONLY REGULAR CYCLING
SHOW! What a travesty! Credit where credit's due I suppose - good on
you Dave for having a go - getting any TV programme together is major
pain in the bum. But very bad on you for your incessant product
placement and pretty average production values (yes, I know it's
Channel 31 and not 9). Dean Martin singing 'That's Amore' as a backing
track for some ****y little Cat 4 climb featuring fatty and someone so
undergeared they're just about to fall off? Amore of what? Sore arses?
Do we really want to see more of your mates and clients riding up
mountains in Europe wearing 'Top Ride' jerseys and stumbling their way
through the time filler roller derbies? Shnorr . . . bring back
Cycling Central AND Mike Tomolaris, I say. Isn't there some rule (I
know RRR and PBS have one; 'Ride On', Mr Dutch? Now there's a blurry
line . . . ) about how much you can spruik your commercial interests
whilst presenting content through community media outlets?

SBS has a charter and is NFP, what is Channel 31's position on this?

N.A.T.