Cycling in Sydney Australia
Do you use MapMyRide and commute over Pyrmont Bridge?
Just a heads up. The new(ish) "courses" feature. Some smart person has added Pyrmont Bridge, a 10km/h "shared zone", to the courses system. So now if you log a public workout that crosses the Bridge, your speed becomes a matter of public record.
http://www.mapmyride.com/courses/459863
When I checked it a little while ago, there was an average speed of about 40km/h showing up on the leaderboard, and several more down in the mid-30s (one of which, I will hold up my hand in guilt, was me. I was late for work. Also, I'm a hoon, or something)
This shared zone is pretty contentious, with "pedestrians rights" letter writers regularly waving their hands in anticipation of a major accident and agitating for a bike lane, which I think would be a bad thing.
http://www.mycolleaguesareidiots.com/archive/2012/06/06/Those-bike-...
If you're using MapMyRide or anything similar (BikeBrain, Strava, whatever), can I suggest that you:
a) Ride within the limits
b) Choose a slightly different route which doesn't have the 10km/h restriction
c) Make your workouts private by default
I don't think we actually want to lose Pyrmont Bridge or have it policed in a more draconian manner than it already is.
I know it's basically impossible to keep to 10km/h, but let's not give any more ammo to the walker brigade
This also applies to other shared and controlled zones, of course.
Cheers all
J
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael O'Reilly on -
I have found it remarkably easy to stick to 10km/h on that bridge.
The technique involves applying less pressure on the pedals.
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Permalink Reply by Neil Alexander on -
If that is your technique, no wonder you are slow up hills. ;-)
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Permalink Reply by Jason Brown on -
Then you won't mind publishing your strava traces, Michael? ;-)
But seriously, I'd rather watch where I'm going than watch my speedo. And I don't cross that bridge in rush time - I guess if I did I'd find 10km/h easier too.Still that's not really the point. The point is not only do riders break the speed limit, but a popular service is publishing records of the fact and it's not a great look, so we should stop doing it now, thanks.
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Permalink Reply by Colin on -
I find it quite hard to stick to 10km/h there. 15km/h is easy, and 12km/h is doable, but 10km/h feels really frustrating if the bridge is uncrowded.
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Permalink Reply by Cate on -
How do you know what speed you're going if you don't have a bike computer?
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Permalink Reply by sit ubu sit on
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The bridge is a fixed (and known) length - so all you need is a watch? Or a sextant (if riding at night). Using a sextant to measure speed is a sure-fire way to never exceed 10km/hr.
Reminds be of the university physics exam which asked the question "You have a protractor and 1m ruler - how would you go about estimating the height of a 30 storey building?". One student had to fight for his marks explaining that trading the ruler for a stopwatch and dropping the protractor from the top of the building, using the stopwatch to time how long it took to reach the ground, and entering it as t in h = 0.5g x t^2 was indeed a valid estimate.
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Permalink Reply by Cate on
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Oh yea I usually have that sort of science going on in my head when I cross a bridge with a 10k speed limit :/
Yes I could work that out but what I'm really saying is that most bikes that don't have speedos are not stopping to consider their speed so scientifically. They'd just be riding. Maybe slower. So how can you enforce a speed limit on someone without a speedo?
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By having a bike-specific "ride furiously and recklessly" law? Although I would quite like to see a cop with a LIDAR on the bridge pull someone up for doing 15 in a 10km zone. Joggers included... In fact I'm sure if you try you could walk at 11km/hr - but look like a twit doing it:
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Permalink Reply by Jason Brown on
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I would recommend any riders do a little experiment in how they judge speed. Try and ride at what you think is 10km/h, without a speedo in your line of vision. Hold that pace. Check your speedo.
Try again after approaching quick-ish. Try again starting from a standstill. Try again starting at 10km/h and maintaining it without the speedo.
I've tried it a couple of times this week (after conversations on this thread), turns out I'm a really bad judge of speed, and I think most riders might be similar. generally, what I think is about 10km/h is about 16-17km/h, sometimes higher, sometimes lower, but usually higher when I've approached quickly. From a standstill, I'm more likely to get close, it seems.
If there was LIDAR, I'd be skint.
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Permalink Reply by Bob Moore on -
@kim, 369 m across, according to http://www.sydneyarchitecture.com/PYR/PYR10.htm, where some nice photos. Add on the path down to King St and it is quite a way to stick to 10 K.
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Permalink Reply by Kylie on -
Thanks for the heads up, Jason, and sorry for the surprising amount of acidity in some of the replies. There are plenty of people here that happily whine about Harold Scruby and his pedestrian council, and they probably got the point you were making. We are all pedestrians at some point, it's just that some of us ride bikes too. If that bridge was empty, you'd catch me cooking across there too, which is technically illegal.
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Permalink Reply by Rob on -
Thanks for the heads up, I've never been a ped on the Anzac bridge and probably go too fast on the down hill bits... Point taken
The speed humps are there for a reason I suppose...
I probably do 15km/h up and too fast down although I make sure I never pass recklessly
Courtesy is paramount...
Also no spitting please, copped it a few cyclists on a couple of occasions
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