tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post4159000786664759740..comments2024-03-18T23:52:31.939-04:00Comments on The Invisible Visible Man: Farewell to London - where cycling's popular, but just on paperInvisible Manhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-33643518521617642982012-09-26T03:14:25.442-04:002012-09-26T03:14:25.442-04:00IM. I totally agree with the previous comment. You...IM. I totally agree with the previous comment. You really need to re-train yourself to use the front brake as the primary means of stopping. It is far more effective than the rear and is recommended on the majority of cycle sites (just google "front brake cycle" if you don't believe me). The key to not pitching yourself over the front handlebars is to ensure that your weight is back over the rear wheel rather than hunched over the handlebars.Sir Velohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16473770681227236051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-27079816703900726152012-09-26T03:08:59.086-04:002012-09-26T03:08:59.086-04:00"The lycra idiot who ran a woman down outside..."The lycra idiot who ran a woman down outside Cannon St stn". Mmm. Could it be that she was crossing the road without looking, or had not anticipated that the cyclist may have been travelling a good deal faster than she had anticipated? Pedestrians should not cross roads except at designated crossings or when it is certain that the road is clear.Sir Velohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16473770681227236051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-2577787081180808142012-09-18T21:15:03.886-04:002012-09-18T21:15:03.886-04:00Actually, that is one of the things students pract...Actually, that is one of the things students practice in Bike Ed - proper panic stops.Steve Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13650405341304401203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-82968421903408070962012-09-18T17:02:29.099-04:002012-09-18T17:02:29.099-04:00Anonymous,
Thank you for your concern. How best t...Anonymous,<br /><br />Thank you for your concern. How best to brake is a tricky issue and I have thought about it. I don't think I quite have the guts to stop primarily with the front brake, however. I think it would take too much of a change from decades of using primarily my rear brake - and I think that, in the incident I describe at the end of the piece, which took place going down a bit of a hill, it could quite easily have pitched me over the handlebars.<br /><br />I don't actually skid very much at all - these were rare and isolated incidents. I think pretty much any rapid stop on one of the Superhighway surfaces would result in a skid - they're very, very slippery. But I should probably review my technique in this area. Just because my dad told me 30 years ago to use my rear brake doesn't mean I need to keep doing it now.<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-22367179400781937702012-09-18T16:47:09.029-04:002012-09-18T16:47:09.029-04:00Just wondering if you have considered a different ...Just wondering if you have considered a different style of braking so as to avoid skidding out wildly when you need to make an emergency stop. The late Sheldon Brown espouses the opinion that using primarily the front brake will allow you to stop much sooner than using the rear which will always lock up and slide. <br />http://sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html <br /><br />Best of luck in NYC, stay safe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-40278222686786754302012-09-12T02:39:08.345-04:002012-09-12T02:39:08.345-04:00See:
http://www.wolmarforlondon.co.uk/why-im-stand...See:<br />http://www.wolmarforlondon.co.uk/why-im-standing/<br /><br />And, in (central) london in particular, there are some cyclists (usually couriers, but not always) who should NOT be allowed out.<br />The 2-wheel equivalent of the Golf-driver I saw a couple of years back who ran a well-red-light, whilst on his mobile phone, in other words.<br />E.G. The lycra-isiot who ran a woman down outside Cannon St station, and managed to escape, in spite of someone trying to stop him.<br />Yes, you get them in ALL areas, don't you?G. Tingeyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09640068810654977205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-80721865652697688632012-09-11T14:25:57.562-04:002012-09-11T14:25:57.562-04:00Highwaylass,
Thank you for your comment. I'm ...Highwaylass,<br /><br />Thank you for your comment. I'm always happy when a motorist comments on here - it's a sign I'm reaching out beyond the cycling ghetto.<br /><br />There's no group of road users that couldn't do with improving its behaviour. Every day in New York, I battle with runners and other pedestrians on the bike-and-skater only Hudson River Greenway, when there's a perfectly good - in fact, very nice - separate walkway for them. I wish they would be more considerate of my problems and the stress they're causing me.<br /><br />But the fact remains that it is my sole responsibility to do my best to avoid hitting them, however much I disapprove of their behaviour. That applies even more on the rare occasions when I drive a car (I'm driving today, as it happens, in Detroit). I can easily kill someone else with a car, while it takes some effort with a bike. And, given that the idiots I see behaving atrociously in cars have all either passed a driving test or evaded police efforts to catch people driving without licences, I'm mildly sceptical of the value of any kind of compulsory training for cyclists.<br /><br />That said, some people find training very useful and it has to be a good thing for all kinds of road users to learn to think more carefully about how they behave.<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-18098815550832338682012-09-11T04:47:50.093-04:002012-09-11T04:47:50.093-04:00I like this: "many are no more considerate of...I like this: "many are no more considerate of their fellow road users than the motorists alongside them" because there's a recognition that just pedalling a bike doesn't make you a saint. What's your view on training? I travel to work in Cambridge, the majority of the cyclists here seem content to put their safety wholly in my hands - for example, pulling out when it's my right of way, cycling across pedestrian crossings when I've got a green light - and I do find it very stressful. I'd much prefer their, and my , safety, to be a shared responsibility but that requires training and education on both sides.Highwaylassnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-79891972364000265792012-09-10T14:25:49.275-04:002012-09-10T14:25:49.275-04:00Steve,
Thank you for your comment. Having read yo...Steve,<br /><br />Thank you for your comment. Having read your last post (http://dfwptp.blogspot.com/2012/09/stepping-down-pyramid-with-mirrors.html) I definitely don't like the sound of that woman you mentioned.<br /><br />But you never know - I might make it down to Texas with my bike some time. I'll just hope I don't encounter the same person.<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-60721550408540599932012-09-10T10:56:53.657-04:002012-09-10T10:56:53.657-04:00Thank you for your comment, Anonymous. It was a ca...Thank you for your comment, Anonymous. It was a carefully thought-out point, however. I seem to remember - though I can't quote chapter-and-verse - that there has been research on which modes of transport commuter cyclists use before they start cycling. There are almost no car-to-cycling moves. The cyclists were generally on public transport before. People started cycling more in London following the Congestion Charge because the roads were less threatening so they switched from the (crowded) buses and underground. A lot of the reduction in cars, meanwhile, resulted from the diversion of journeys that would have gone across Central London to take other routes.<br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />Invisible.Invisible Manhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15942359504874275065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-51154255523544930952012-09-10T10:51:42.316-04:002012-09-10T10:51:42.316-04:00"...in a given road space, more cyclists mean..."...in a given road space, more cyclists means less space for cars". Not really, because more cyclists will (mostly) mean fewer cars. In particular in places like London or Stockholm, where congestion charges have been implemented.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3002171964909690430.post-41880720009918543522012-09-09T21:43:51.965-04:002012-09-09T21:43:51.965-04:00Let us hope NYC proves an improvement. If not, you...Let us hope NYC proves an improvement. If not, you'll just have to take Texas and I'll show it to you - well, hopefully not the lady from,last week, but most of the rest.Steve Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13650405341304401203noreply@blogger.com