Yupe, it happened again!!

Maybe you need to explain what you mean by "like that".

I understood him to
- ride on roads
- ride in the safe section of the road
- take the lane when required for safety
- ride at medium to fast speeds on the road.

Is that what you mean?

If so, where do you see the problem?


I read it as him riding in the middle of the lane for no reason other than
bloody mindedness.

"I was minding my own business pedalling along, in the middle of the left
lane of a two-lane road, at about 25-30kph (my usual riding style)"

If he was in the middle of the lane because the shoulder was too narrow or
covered in debris or parked cars then I totally support him, but if he
refused to give way to faster moving traffic just because he was legally
allowed to do so then I don't support him. That sort of discourteous
(douchy) behaviour just makes cyclists hated and puts all of us in danger.

In aus.bicycle on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:28:21 +1000
Strop wrote:
Maybe you need to explain what you mean by "like that".

I understood him to
- ride on roads
- ride in the safe section of the road
- take the lane when required for safety
- ride at medium to fast speeds on the road.

Is that what you mean?

If so, where do you see the problem?


I read it as him riding in the middle of the lane for no reason other than
bloody mindedness.

I see it as being safe. It's where I ride mostly too. Because
shoulders and gutters are bad places to be.

If the road's wide enough that I can be over 1m from the gutter and
there's room to pass me, I'll ride that distance from the gutter
else I'll be where they ahve to deliberately get themselves into
the other lane to do it.

That's not bloody mindedness, that's safety.

"I was minding my own business pedalling along, in the middle of the left
lane of a two-lane road, at about 25-30kph (my usual riding style)"

If he was in the middle of the lane because the shoulder was too narrow or
covered in debris or parked cars then I totally support him, but if he
refused to give way to faster moving traffic just because he was legally
allowed to do so then I don't support him. That sort of discourteous
(douchy) behaviour just makes cyclists hated and puts all of us in danger.

It isn't at all clear that a) the faster moving traffic on a *2 lane*
road couldn't pass him by changing lanes and b) that it was possible
to "give way" safely so they didn't have to change lanes.

There's no point at all in moving over if they can't pass you safely.
In fact it's asking for trouble.

Zebee

On 29/04/2010 1:57 PM, Strop wrote:
"Geoff Lock" glock@home wrote in message
...
On 29/04/2010 1:50 PM, Strop wrote:
You have not really been paying attention nor following the various
posts that have been made, right? But then this is Usenet.

I confess, I have not. Are you saying that your post was a troll/tongue
in cheek?

You ride a bicycle, Strop?

Yes. 5 in the stable at the moment

What kind of bikes do you have?

So, was your post serious or not? Do you actually ride like that or did
I just miss the joke?

It happened just like I said it did.

On 29/04/2010 5:07 PM, Zebee Johnstone wrote:
In aus.bicycle on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:28:21 +1000
wrote:
Maybe you need to explain what you mean by "like that".

I understood him to
- ride on roads
- ride in the safe section of the road
- take the lane when required for safety
- ride at medium to fast speeds on the road.

Is that what you mean?

If so, where do you see the problem?


I read it as him riding in the middle of the lane for no reason other than
bloody mindedness.

I see it as being safe. It's where I ride mostly too. Because
shoulders and gutters are bad places to be.

Gutter-side riding is one place where a cyclist WILL get squeezed by
cars. See it happen to gutter-side riders all the time when I am riding.
I suspect it is not because a car driver is doing it deliberately but
more because the car driver believes he/she can squeeze past the cyclist
- with unfortunate results for the cyclist. Eliminating the choice of
squeezing past the cyclist for the car driver is achieved by riding in
the middle of the lane. The cyclist is CLEARLY visible to the car driver
and there is no question when it comes to making a pass safely for all
road users concerned.


If the road's wide enough that I can be over 1m from the gutter and
there's room to pass me, I'll ride that distance from the gutter
else I'll be where they ahve to deliberately get themselves into
the other lane to do it.

I share the road where there is room for me (at least 1m) and room for a
car. I do this regularly.

That's not bloody mindedness, that's safety.

Or one could say that I am being bloody minded about my safety.

"I was minding my own business pedalling along, in the middle of the left
lane of a two-lane road, at about 25-30kph (my usual riding style)"

If he was in the middle of the lane because the shoulder was too narrow or
covered in debris or parked cars then I totally support him, but if he
refused to give way to faster moving traffic just because he was legally
allowed to do so then I don't support him. That sort of discourteous
(douchy) behaviour just makes cyclists hated and puts all of us in danger.

It isn't at all clear that a) the faster moving traffic on a *2 lane*
road couldn't pass him by changing lanes and b) that it was possible
to "give way" safely so they didn't have to change lanes.

For the road in question, the outer lane is typically devoid of vehicles
at most times of the day and night, so there is a whole lane which can
be used for passing.

There's no point at all in moving over if they can't pass you safely.
In fact it's asking for trouble.

Yupe.

There's no point at all in moving over if they can't pass you safely.
In fact it's asking for trouble.


I totally agree. I may have received the wrong impression when you stated
that your normal riding style was to ride in the middle of the lane, and
with all of the harassment you receive I concluded you were riding in a
discourteous manner, blocking faster moving vehicles without good reason.
I'm certainly no gutter bunny by any stretch but I almost never get beeped
at and I've certainly never been questioned by the police for my riding
style. Why are you getting so much harassment?

In aus.bicycle on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:21:49 +1000
Strop wrote:

There's no point at all in moving over if they can't pass you safely.
In fact it's asking for trouble.


I totally agree. I may have received the wrong impression when you stated
that your normal riding style was to ride in the middle of the lane, and
with all of the harassment you receive I concluded you were riding in a
discourteous manner, blocking faster moving vehicles without good reason.
I'm certainly no gutter bunny by any stretch but I almost never get beeped
at and I've certainly never been questioned by the police for my riding
style. Why are you getting so much harassment?

I suspect it's because he doesn't stick to back streets. And he's
doing it in an area with idjust cops, seems the harrassment is based
in one command area. Groupthink happens in copshops see also Gosford
Area Command and the Old Pacific Hwy.


He's riding legally, some folk have serious problems with people who
aren't gutter huggers. I've been beeped and yelled at for not gutter
hugging too.

Zebee

On Fri, 30 Apr 2010 10:21:49 +1000, Strop wrote:

There's no point at all in moving over if they can't pass you safely.
In fact it's asking for trouble.


I totally agree. I may have received the wrong impression when you
stated that your normal riding style was to ride in the middle of the
lane, and with all of the harassment you receive I concluded you were
riding in a discourteous manner, blocking faster moving vehicles without
good reason.

Umm, it is the responsibility of the faster vehicle to overtake when safe
to do so, irrespective of whether it is a bicycle, motor bike, car, truck
or bus in front.

I'm certainly no gutter bunny by any stretch but I almost
never get beeped at and I've certainly never been questioned by the
police for my riding style. Why are you getting so much harassment?

Basically, it depends of how much you ride and where you ride. The more
you ride, the more chance you will cross paths with the idiot motor car
driver or stupid plod.

In some areas, you are lucky to go 500 metres without running into M*
small brain motorist, whether you are on a bicycle or not.

On 30/04/2010 10:21 AM, Strop wrote:

There's no point at all in moving over if they can't pass you safely.
In fact it's asking for trouble.


I totally agree. I may have received the wrong impression when you
stated that your normal riding style was to ride in the middle of the
lane, and with all of the harassment you receive I concluded you were
riding in a discourteous manner, blocking faster moving vehicles without
good reason. I'm certainly no gutter bunny by any stretch but I almost
never get beeped at and I've certainly never been questioned by the
police for my riding style. Why are you getting so much harassment?

My normal riding style IS in the middle of the lane as that is the
SAFEST POSITION to be and provides a car driver with the HIGHEST
VISIBILITY of a cyclist. It also helps if you have appropriate PPE as well.

I am not too sure what you mean by a discourteous manner of riding but
when it is safe for me to let a car to pass me, I let them do so, just
like any other road user would do.

I ride on the main roads of Sydney every day, in good weather, inclement
weather, daytime, night time, anytime. In the vast majority of cases, I
use exactly the same roads one would use if one was driving a car, eg,
if I was travelling from Surry Hills to Kingsford, I'd use Anzac Parade
or if I was going from Mascot to Hurstville, I'd use the Airport Tunnel
and go up Bay Street.

I am going to study the road rules a bit closer to see if I am permitted
to ride from Ultimo to Hunters Hill along Victoria Road. There is shared
bicycle/pedestrian usage along the footpath between Balmain and
Drummoyne but the footpath is not exactly suitable for what most cycling
folks would consider fairly normal cycling, ie 15-30 kph at a cadence
of, say, 60-110 strokes. (110 going downhill of cos

As to why I get harrassed, I suspect it is because coppers are not
exactly used to seeing a cyclist minding his own business at 0030 on a
major road in Sydney.

As Zeebee correctly pointed out, it has only happened on one particular
stretch of road and each time, it has been around the same time, 0000-0200.

So, you have not mentioned what kind of bikes you have and the types of
riding you do. Pray do tell.

On 30/04/2010 10:03 AM, Dr. Sir John Howard, AC, WSCMoF wrote:
Geoff Lock wrote:
On 29/04/2010 1:57 PM, Strop wrote:
"Geoff Lock" glock@home wrote in message
...
On 29/04/2010 1:50 PM, Strop wrote:
You have not really been paying attention nor following the various
posts that have been made, right? But then this is Usenet.

I confess, I have not. Are you saying that your post was a
troll/tongue
in cheek?

You ride a bicycle, Strop?

Yes. 5 in the stable at the moment

What kind of bikes do you have?

Unicycles. He's obviously a circus clown.


I don't really know yet. He has several bikes and one of them could be a
unicycle yet

While I've got yer, when are YOU gonna get your fat arse back in the
saddle is what I want to know From last accounts, your bike has been
languishing in the shed and with winter round the corner, now is the
time to get back into the groove Nice and cool riding from here on in
until November, you know. You could easily do the Botany Bay/La
Perouse/Mascot circuit or detour via Maroubra/Sth Coogee instead of
Mascot. Arden Street, Coogee can be a bit of a ******* so I'd try to
avoid it for the first few times, if I were you

In aus.bicycle on Fri, 30 Apr 2010 13:10:44 +1000
Geoff Lock glock@home wrote:
until November, you know. You could easily do the Botany Bay/La
Perouse/Mascot circuit or detour via Maroubra/Sth Coogee instead of
Mascot. Arden Street, Coogee can be a bit of a ******* so I'd try to
avoid it for the first few times, if I were you

Depends how much his knee surgeon needs a new Mercedes I guess

Zebee