Cycling in Sydney Australia
It'll drive you batty pedalling into peril on Sydney's lethal bike paths
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Doddsy on -
Kylie you said "Here in Canberra, all paths are shared paths, ie. you can ride your bike on any path. I have received a bit of the 'get off the road, you belong on the path', but I wouldn't say it's risking removing bikes from roads. The cycling culture here is quite different than Sydney though, and hard to compare accurately."
Were the "Get off the road" comments from Sydney siders or Canberrans?
I've been told to get off the road while riding into Sydney.
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Permalink Reply by Doddsy on
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Legalise cycling on the footpath just so long as it doesn't have an impact on completion of our cycleway network.
It works fine in Tokyo but because there is no cycleways its sometimes awkward to travel longer distances unless you act like a road warrior.
One way streets should certainly be two way for cyclists and footpath legalisation would achieve that. Its unrealistic to expect cyclists to travel in heavy, motorised traffic in the wrong direction (if you increase the distance you travel in heavy traffic you increase the amount of danger your exposing yourself to). If we did it properly that would also have to mean one way laneways without footpaths would be two way for cyclists.
And it would also have to mean we can join in with pedestrians crossings..
-Left turns at red lights would have to be legalised,
-so would reverse hook turns.
- and so would riding through scramble crossings after giving way to pedestrians.
I get the impression Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart and Darwin did a botch job in regards to addressing these rules.
We'd certainly need a rule and penalty that addresses aggressive behaviour and we'd have to ticket cyclists that ride like idiots, hopefully that rule could also apply to motorists who drive as aggressively as they can within the limits of the law. 0 to 50kph in 3 seconds just doesn't cut it.
If we fixed the road rules i'd support enforcement.
At the moment our road rules are an absolute joke.
So i'll continue being a scum of society bike courier.
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Permalink Reply by baa baa on -
Good stuff.
In the Manly Daily today (another one owned by Rupert).
Could advertisement $$ help swing the tele-pendulum....
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Permalink Reply by Susan on -
Does anyone else find her denigration of road cyclists and pro cycling vulgar and offensive in the extreme?
Sure she may have some good points but the vile hatred pouring out of her in the first few paragraphs turned me off. If I want hatred I'll read the comments section of the Telegraph.
If she really wanted cycling of any kind and herself as a journalist to be taken seriously she should learn to not offend those riders who ride every day rain hail or shine. If she doesn't like them then just don't look don't use them as a way to spew vitirol that gains nothing to her argument.
Until road cyclists stop being used as the punching bag by both the media and other riders any kind of bike riding will not gain the respect it deserves because how can you respect people who do nothing but throw about slander and hatred just because someone dresses differently to them?
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Permalink Reply by Doddsy on
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She got up my got when she spoke about riding for the environment. Hate it when writers do that.
Its bollocks, being good for the environment is just a bonus we commute by bicycle its the superior form of transport.
It takes at least 25 more minutes if my wife walks to work or catches a crowded bus up grid locked george st.
Why on earth would she do anything else?
Oh thats right. She never used to ride because she couldn't do so safely until we got a new cycleway.
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Permalink Reply by Colin on -
I wouldn't call it "denigration", "vulgar" or "offensive". It leans a little heavily on a cliched view of cycle racing, but cycle racing has enough inherent ridiculousness to warrant a bit of ridicule. To be fair, other sports are worse - think of swim racing, where you churn up and down a 50 metre stretch of water, staring at the black line on the bottom - why would anybody do such a thing? Most sports are ridiculous if looked at in the right (wrong?) light. What's football but chasing a ball around a paddock?
But if there's anything offensive it's the way, in your last para, you exclude the vast majority of cyclists from the term "road cyclist" by restricting it to mean "people who race bikes on the road". Actually I don't find that offensive, but it does betray a sport-centric understanding of cycling that is counter-productive to making cycling a mass-popular form of transport.
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Permalink Reply by Kylie on -
She's doing what shock-jocks do; finding a common enemy to unite herself with the masses.
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Permalink Reply by Dasher on -
She's also hilarious and if you read her often you'll know she uses humour (both self-denigrating and at the expense of others) to advance a cause. I really don't think she wrote anything offensive and I don't think there's anything wrong with pointing out that cyclists are not a homogenous group.
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Permalink Reply by Rap Attack on -
Yes i have had all sorts of experiences on the bike paths and foot paths. It is a pity that so many pedestrians don't know that they need to just stop when i am cycling rather than move. No you can't get out of my way quick enough so just stop please he he. I have cycled down those bike paths and so many people are using them as a foot path. Well i guess that is fair since i am using the footpaths elsewhere. I just wish so many people would not get angry when i on the foot path or on the road. Can i win? Majority of people are nice though and i notice it is women that notice me more than men. The men are like 'la la la whats that over there' but women tend to pull their pedestrian husband/boyfriend and say hey theres a cyclist. I have also heard a lot of debate in the community about ebikes and that is what i have. I can't understand the debate. I am disabled and need it. There is no way i can ride a straight bike! Plus the damn thing reaches a top speed of 23kmph. All the straight cyclists pass me at double that speed i reckon lol. I don't mind but why are people so upset with ebikes. yes there are lazy people that should get on a straight bike and get over themselves. Is that the issue.
Anyway the traffic around Newtown, Glebe and the city is so bad i have to get on the footpath if there is no bike path. Then there is the one way streets. Well i can't get on the road if i want to go the other way. I have never driven a car so there is a lot of guess work for me. I think we need to educate the public about cyclists because i find that fellow cyclists are great. They stop to help, they comment about my bike and trailor as they pass by etc. It is a nice feeling compared to the 80's where i was a rarity on the road and cars/trucks were always trying to run me down. I wasn't disabled then and road a straight bike. Bit of a super women back then with the bike he he
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Permalink Reply by Martin Geliot on -
do people ever get ticketed for cycling on the footpath?
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