London "Danger! Danger!"

"Boris bikes" and other factors have greatly increased cycling in London. Fatalities have been dropping. This year's fatality count is no greater than last year's, and is less than previous years', despite increased cycling.. But because there was a cluster of deaths in one month, 1000 cyclists lay down in a "die in" protest because cycling is so dangerous. Safer than before - but newly dangerous, somehow.

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/...death-protests

Meanwhile, the number of pedestrian deaths is once again far higher than the number of cyclist deaths.

Yeah, we've talked about this. Just thought you'd like to hear about the "die in." And the fact that such protests probably do dissuade people from cycling. You know, "Danger! Danger!"

- Frank Krygowski

oh frank you are such a wart...

http://goo.gl/yGaN1u

http://goo.gl/TNYUQ4


I'm back on the bike after megawork supporting research. We are in the nutto intake phase of winter sojurnung.

Frankly, after reading this BS for an interminable time, I am paranoid.

Which is OK I guess...today I had a light runner at 60 come in from behind.

https://www.google.com/search?q=lond...ie+in&tbm=isch

the DELL windows 8 is a life threatening pain in the ass, Dell

On Monday, December 9, 2013 5:29:47 PM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
"Boris bikes" and other factors have greatly increased cycling in London. Fatalities have been dropping. This year's fatality count is no greater than last year's, and is less than previous years', despite increased cycling. But because there was a cluster of deaths in one month, 1000 cyclists lay down in a "die in" protest because cycling is so dangerous. Safer than before - but newly dangerous, somehow.



http://www.theguardian.com/politics/...death-protests



Meanwhile, the number of pedestrian deaths is once again far higher than the number of cyclist deaths.



Yeah, we've talked about this. Just thought you'd like to hear about the "die in." And the fact that such protests probably do dissuade people from cycling. You know, "Danger! Danger!"

This is what the world looks like when more people get on bikes. My relatively harmless -- although not entirely safe -- route to work is now considered the killing fields. http://bikeportland.org/2013/11/27/a...-a-nerve-97815

It is not because it has gotten that much worse in the last 20 years (although I got passed by a bus this morning by literally an inch at 45mph), but riders are much less "tough." There are times I get scared or really ****ed off, but my threshold is pretty high. The newbies have a much lower tolerance. One guy got hit on my route a while back, and it was a huge news story.. http://www.katu.com/news/local/Polic...220734591.html A girl got killed, but she was walking her bike across the street. http://bikeportland.org/tag/barbur-blvd/page/5

Anyway, from a statistical standpoint, very little has happened on the road in 30 years. But hey, maybe its turned in to the killing fields. As for the bus this morning, taking more of the lane might have been a good idea . . . but I was taking a good piece of it already. I think many of the bus drivers in this town are psychopaths.

-- Jay Beattie.

Jay Beattie wrote:
On Monday, December 9, 2013 5:29:47 PM UTC-8, Frank Krygowski wrote:
"Boris bikes" and other factors have greatly increased cycling in
London. Fatalities have been dropping. This year's fatality count is
no greater than last year's, and is less than previous years', despite
increased cycling. But because there was a cluster of deaths in one
month, 1000 cyclists lay down in a "die in" protest because cycling is
so dangerous. Safer than before - but newly dangerous, somehow.



http://www.theguardian.com/politics/...death-protests



Meanwhile, the number of pedestrian deaths is once again far higher than
the number of cyclist deaths.



Yeah, we've talked about this. Just thought you'd like to hear about
the "die in." And the fact that such protests probably do dissuade
people from cycling. You know, "Danger! Danger!"

This is what the world looks like when more people get on bikes. My
relatively harmless -- although not entirely safe -- route to work is now
considered the killing fields.
http://bikeportland.org/2013/11/27/a...-a-nerve-97815

It is not because it has gotten that much worse in the last 20 years
(although I got passed by a bus this morning by literally an inch at
45mph), but riders are much less "tough." There are times I get scared or
really ****ed off, but my threshold is pretty high. The newbies have a
much lower tolerance. One guy got hit on my route a while back, and it
was a huge news story.
http://www.katu.com/news/local/Polic...220734591.html
A girl got killed, but she was walking her bike across the street.
http://bikeportland.org/tag/barbur-blvd/page/5

Anyway, from a statistical standpoint, very little has happened on the
road in 30 years. But hey, maybe its turned in to the killing fields. As
for the bus this morning, taking more of the lane might have been a good
idea . . . but I was taking a good piece of it already. I think many of
the bus drivers in this town are psychopaths.


I've not ridden in London though I've had a Londoner describe it to me. If
more than a thousand cyclists felt strongly enough to stage that protest
maybe they had a reason. And it looks like their effort will be motivating
the city to action of sorts.

Really it's one thing to bitch about the Danger! Danger! crowd when it's
ill informed politicians but when it's cyclists trying to effect change
it's hard to criticize.


--
duane

On Tuesday, December 10, 2013 1:29:47 AM UTC, Frank Krygowski wrote:
"Boris bikes" and other factors have greatly increased cycling in London. Fatalities have been dropping. This year's fatality count is no greater than last year's, and is less than previous years', despite increased cycling. But because there was a cluster of deaths in one month, 1000 cyclists lay down in a "die in" protest because cycling is so dangerous. Safer than before - but newly dangerous, somehow.



http://www.theguardian.com/politics/...death-protests



Meanwhile, the number of pedestrian deaths is once again far higher than the number of cyclist deaths.



Yeah, we've talked about this. Just thought you'd like to hear about the "die in." And the fact that such protests probably do dissuade people from cycling. You know, "Danger! Danger!"



- Frank Krygowskik

You really are a worthless piece of ****, Krygowski. Those guys are cyclists, they're on the spot, and you're 3000 miles away. They know what it is like, you don't.

I might add that I knew two cyclists in London, my editor and my publisher, and in a period of about ten or twelve years each of them was intermittently on crutches or in plaster or available for consultation only in hospital, repeatedly knocked off their bikes. Two cyclists, the only two I know in London, both hit, several times each.

Like I say, Krygo, you're a worthless piece of ****, statistically or on any individual parameter.

Andre Jute

On Monday, December 9, 2013 11:43:32 PM UTC-5, Jay Beattie wrote:

This is what the world looks like when more people get on bikes. My relatively harmless -- although not entirely safe -- route to work is now considered the killing fields. http://bikeportland.org/2013/11/27/a...-a-nerve-97815

It is not because it has gotten that much worse in the last 20 years (although I got passed by a bus this morning by literally an inch at 45mph), but riders are much less "tough." There are times I get scared or really ****ed off, but my threshold is pretty high. The newbies have a much lower tolerance. One guy got hit on my route a while back, and it was a huge news story. http://www.katu.com/news/local/Polic...220734591.html A girl got killed, but she was walking her bike across the street. http://bikeportland.org/tag/barbur-blvd/page/5

Although I'm not familiar with SW Barbour, it does look like an unpleasant road. Freeway-style roads in an urban or suburban setting are a bad idea, I think. Yes, it takes some toughness to ride them.

BTW, while every such death is regrettable, I'm sure that this pedestrian's death registered as a bicyclist death in the minds of many. Even walking with a bicycle is dangerous, as everybody "knows."

Anyway, from a statistical standpoint, very little has happened on the road in 30 years. But hey, maybe its turned in to the killing fields. As for the bus this morning, taking more of the lane might have been a good idea . . . but I was taking a good piece of it already. I think many of the bus drivers in this town are psychopaths.

On the rare occasion I get a very close pass, it's because I was trying to help out the motorists a bit too much. Sometimes I slip into that mode, but mostly I manage to avoid it. I try to remind myself that if I'm further left and they pass close, at least I've given myself somewhere to escape.

- Frank Krygowski

Jay Beattie writes:
It is not because it has gotten that much worse in the last 20
years (although I got passed by a bus this morning by literally
an inch at 45mph), but riders are much less "tough."

Some of the bus drivers around here like to honk as they pass a
cyclist, for no reason that I can see. If I ever get the
opportunity, I will ask one why they do it.

On Tuesday, December 10, 2013 6:07:38 AM UTC-5, Duane wrote:

Really it's one thing to bitch about the Danger! Danger! crowd when it's
ill informed politicians but when it's cyclists trying to effect change
it's hard to criticize.

It's usually cyclists, IME, although they are not normally very competent ones.

And they are firm in their belief that they are trying to affect change - and ignorant of the fact that they are scaring people away from cycling, at least until their beloved changes come to pass.

In one major city, one knowledgeable cycling advocate I know is extremely frustrated because the local Bike Advocates In Favor Of Everything group is hounding the city to put in door zone bike lanes everywhere. They're convinced they can't safely ride on even narrow back streets without a paint stripe that tells them to skim the parked cars.

It's not hard to criticize that, if you know anything at all about proper bicycling.

- Frank Krygowski

On 12/10/2013 11:41 AM, Ben Pfaff wrote:
Jay Beattie writes:
It is not because it has gotten that much worse in the last 20
years (although I got passed by a bus this morning by literally
an inch at 45mph), but riders are much less "tough."

Some of the bus drivers around here like to honk as they pass a
cyclist, for no reason that I can see. If I ever get the
opportunity, I will ask one why they do it.


Maybe to let you know that they see you.

A couple of cyclists were killed in Montreal by buses. Due to the
public outcry from cyclists and some cycling organizations, bus drivers
now have to go through training on dealing with cyclists. Buses have
different mirrors that may help them see cyclists better.

And the most bizarre thing is that they now seem to be the most polite
vehicles on the road when coming into contact with cyclists. I imagine
that's because the "training" probably mentioned job loss when they hit
one of us. But it's weird having a bus stop for you and blocking the
other traffic. I'm used to the same bus drivers that Jay describes.