No longer alone
My trusty bike and I got pulled over by the cops yesterday evening. It was part of a friendly check to make sure cyclists all had the enough lights and reflective gear to be seen in the gloaming. I passed the test thankfully. But isn’t it nice that there are now enough cyclists on the road that the police can devote a traffic patrol to us?
Maybe we can look forward to the day when car drivers need to wear big lime yellow jackets on their cars because otherwise cyclists wouldn’t expect to see them!Â
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June 26th, 2008 at 1:28 pm
mental image of a frog riding a bike - awesome
June 26th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
http://www.toughpigs.com/images/anth02augbike.jpg
June 26th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
your post just proves my point on how out of touch with reality your anti rural urban based green dogma is.
This pie in the sky anti car nonsense has to stop
if you buy a decent new car you can get at least 700km per 50l
My 4wd is a 2l diesel and will give me 700km per tank it is also euro 4 emission standard
that is better than your Toyota prius
http://www.whaleoil.co.nz/?q=content/there-one-thing-prius-good
How am I supposed to get my kids to School, music ,rugby, or buy my groceries on a sodding bike !
we live at least 10 km from any services and that is a short hop for most rural people
and before u say catch a bus their isn’t one !!!
June 26th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
panda Says:
June 26th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
> How am I supposed to get my kids to School, music ,rugby, or buy my groceries on a sodding bike !
Yeah, but there’s just one problem with your complaint - Frog never actually said you should be taking your kids to school or buying your groceries on a bike. You’re reacting to something you just imagined him saying.
June 26th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
But the frog n toad do like to fantasize that cars are about to become redundant.
As has been pointed out many times, the power plant may change, but the car is here to stay. The tech is already here.
Good to go…
June 26th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Panda
Come on now, tell the truth, you fly the kids to school in your helicopter.
June 26th, 2008 at 5:02 pm
>Maybe we can look forward to the day when car drivers need to wear big lime yellow jackets on their cars because otherwise cyclists wouldn’t expect to see them! <
the whole tone of the comment implies that this is something desirable and well all know that in the country what the greens want they eventually get !!!
June 26th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
My goodness people! Lighten up!
I biked home from work today for the first time - after participating in the memorial ride for the two cyclists killed in Wellington last week. It was 15 km, took 40 minutes, and was an absolute pleasure despite the appalling state of the route. (Glass, unsigned ripping up of the surface, poor signage resulting in cars turning in front of us without warning…) I do have a car but I bike/train to work more often than not, not because it is cheaper (train fares are still 10-20% more expensive than the petrol my little car uses), not because of traffic (I commute in the opposite direction to most people) but because it is a lot more fun than driving the same 20 minute commute every day. I am a much better, safer, and more relaxed driver since I made cycling a part of my regular commute.
Frog’s comment relates to the fact that putting the onus on cyclists to make themselves visible is not enough - what we need are clearly marked spaces/cycle lanes on our roads and footpaths which make CYCLING visible as a permanent feature of our roads/public areas. I don’t blame drivers - I am one - but cyclists deserve the same amount of thought and consideration that other road users get.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
nik
I am a cyclist
I ride mountain bikes and if I had the choice and I lived in the city i would ride a bike to work
what I object to is the green dogma “Car = Bad” we must get rid of them
a lot of us have no choice and we are afraid this choice will be taken away from us by radical green theorys,
June 26th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Unlikely Panda. Cars are reality and I think the greens know that as well as anyone. I am pretty sure Jeanette has a car out on the farm in the coromandel. But on this bike ride today there was so much fluorescent yellow it was blinding, and it disturbs me that cyclists are so marginalised that no one is willing to just roll up a leg of their jeans and jump on a bike to do simple stuff, maybe not serious grocery shopping but the popping out to buy a loaf of bread or return a library book. I think that that is the point that frog was trying to make, rather than blame motorists for all the ills of the world….. at least I hope so
June 26th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Thanks Nic, couldn’t agree more. I use to own cars, back when I was 17-19. I’ve lived in places where cars really aren’t necessary: Dunedin, Wellington, the Netherlands, I appreciate that in some circumstances cars are necessary but people simply overuse them (and admit that I did back in the days).
I lived in Christchurch once too (it’s spread out, it’s not compact) and a friend of mine told me that you CAN’T go without a car there. But I managed to bike around for over a year. There are bike lanes all over the show, it’s flat, and during busy traffic, it really is just as fast to bike.
So my mate Panda with his excuses: getting his “kids to School, music ,rugby, or buy my groceries” - well I’m guessing that you probably could do a lot of those things without car.
As for the “sodding bike” argument, it’s all a bit subjective and reactive. And biking’s not only better for the environment but in many other ways.
June 26th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
I am sorry Nik but I don’t share your hope
I know frog was having a warm fuzzy but the last comment shed a glaring light on the greens attitude to cars !!!
they want them gone and sooner rather than later
“Maybe we can look FORWARD to the day when car drivers need to wear big lime yellow jackets on their cars because otherwise cyclists wouldn’t expect to SEE THEM “
June 27th, 2008 at 6:59 am
So my mate Panda with his excuses: getting his “kids to School, music ,rugby, or buy my groceries� - well I’m guessing that you probably could do a lot of those things without car.
really ? how
I cant walk 20km
I wont be relent on friends coming to pick me up then take me home that would only double the distance traveled
maybe I could move into town ?
yes that the answer abandon my farm and live in the city walking or biking distance to all services
is that the green answer
thought so !!!!
and some greens wonder why they are thought of as morris dancing loonies!!!!
June 27th, 2008 at 9:28 am
I’m not sure about the big yellow jackets, I’d settle for them just indicating before turning through me or using my space for an interesting left hand overtaking manoeuvre.
I’d love to see some cops out on bikes picking up the kind of dreadful driving that has cyclists living in fear. Although, as last week has taught us, some of them already are
June 27th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Panda,
“… the greens attitude to cars !!!
they want them gone and sooner rather than later”
“Maybe we can look FORWARD to the day when car drivers need to wear big lime yellow jackets on their cars because otherwise cyclists wouldn’t expect to SEE THEM “
I really think you are being a little overly paranoid here (understandable for an endangered animal
)
Frog is being flippant. At least I haven’t seen any car sized jackets on the market lately
I understand why you don’t appreciate being told you are making excuses when probably your choices about transport are limited. It is different out in the country … and I think you will see a new post from Frog trying to clarify this point…. rational amphibian that he is
June 27th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Sorry for all the winky smiles. I should learn some new punctuation
June 28th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
big lime yellow jackets? Wouldn’t lights and reflectors be a better idea? Maybe even make it compulsory to have the lights on at night? Pity you can’t look forward to that happening in the future since it happened 110 years ago.