Gorgo said...
The laws are not really important. What matters is what is right and fair and decent.
It is not right to point at the poor behaviour of car drivers to excuse the poor behaviour of cyclists. Bad is bad no matter who is doing it. Car drivers eventually get booked for doing the wrong thing. It never makes sense to say "that wrong thing is bad so I can do this other thing that is wrong." Are you keeping score?
I never keep score on who does the wrong thing as there is terrible driving and cycling in Melbourne -but the difference is if you do something wrong in a car the consequences are far less - you don't face the prospect of being scraped off the tarmac with a putty knife.
Gorgo said...
It is not right that cyclists choose to use the public roads as their exercise and fitness training venue during peak hour.
It is not right that the 2% of travellers at peak hour on bikes ride two abreast and hold up the 98% of traffic during peak hour.
It is not right that hoons ride bicycles at 30-40 kph on the road blocking traffic.
I don't know which cyclists are out "training" during peak hour - its not exactly like you can ride at a decent pace - more often than not you can ride faster than the traffic.
Cyclists are legally entitled to a lane on the road and to ride two abreast. If you are passing a cyclist, you should not be in the same lane. It's not right that cars pass you giving you 30cm of space either.
Gorgo said...
It is equally not right that bicycle hoons ride at 30 kph on cycle paths. If they were decent people they would travel at a speed that allowed them to safely deal with vulnerable pedestrians and other cyclists. I do on my bicycle commute to the city. Why can't you? (... and why can't you ring your bell before passing me on the cycle track? Even call out "passing" would do.)
I agree, more courtesy is required when you use a cycle path. But you say cyclists shouldn't ride at 30-40km on the roads and then at 30km/hr on a cycle path either - where do you ride? Through the sky? Besides, with a moderate amount of fitness and a reasonable bike 30km/hr is pretty easy to maintain.
Gorgo said...
It is not right that cyclists place the responsibility for their safety completely in the hands of the drivers (who they accuse of being dangerous and irresponsible). Prohibiting parking partially solves the problem. It does nothing to deal with cyclists who persistently diverge into the right lane to pass other cyclists without looking.
Many bicycles are unroadworthy in both technical terms and in terms of fitness for purpose. Excessively thin, slick tyres. Negligible brakes. No bells. No mirrors. Inadequate lighting. It's worth mentioning that many cyclists insist on wearing black and have LED lights with flat batteries. If they were cars they would be confiscated. They are not much different to the teen hoons in overly hotted up sports cars.
I agree, fixies suck. No brakes, and pretty much a fashion accessory. Don't tend to see them out on Beach Rd, more in Northcote though!
Gorgo said...
It is not right that Beach Rd, which is the only access and parking place for most of the beaches, has been hijacked by a vocal and aggressive political minority. Many of the best and most popular beaches have no other parking. Many families were using the beaches between 8:00-10:00 am so they could enjoy the beach before the peak heat and UV times of the day.
There is plenty of off road parking. Besides, 20000 cyclists use Beach Rd over the weekend mornings that's hardly a minority. Its about the only suitable road in Melbourne that can cater for cyclists to ride on the road safely.
Gorgo said...
It is not right that packs of cyclists skim the doors of parked cars and terrorise anybody who accidentally gets in their way.
This debate has nothing to do with cycling for transport. The high speed, race-oriented riding is purely an ego-centric sporting activity taking place on public roads, often during peak hours. It has nothing to do with health and fitness. You can get a better workout riding a heavier bike on hilly terrain than rolling around the virtually flat Beach Rd on a carbon fibre race machine in look-at-me team logoed race outfits.
Skimming doors is a bit of a catch-22 If I ride 1m out from the parked cars (like I do), I get honked and buzzed by cars who think they can hang left. If I ride right against the door of parked cars I run the risk of hitting a door as someone opens it and FAILS to check for cyclists, and I have to be scraped off the bitumen with a putty knife.
I understand the merit of the heavier bike argument, but I ride all the way to Rye and back from St Kilda - so Beach Rd is just part of my ride. I don't see much pack riding at peak hours... part of the attraction of the pack ride is winding up in a group and driving each other along at a decent clip, you just can't do it in peak hour! Guys meet up at 530am to do their pack rides. On Saturday riders might start at a more civilised time of 7am - but do 4 hours of riding.
Trying doing that on a knobbly tyre heavy framed bike. I didn't own a car until recently, so I had to start and finish in St Kilda. I agree, people pay way too much for their bikes and they are often way over spec'ed but you could make that argument about a lot of kitesurfers too, riding Hadlow Pros and only riding in and out.
Gorgo said...
PS An ongoing study by the Department of Transport has shown that car drivers do not hate cyclists. They are terrified that they are going to hurt a cyclist. They react very badly when a cyclist does something that a) scares the driver and b) requires the driver to do something to avoid hurting the cyclist.
That may be so, but I have seen a lot of aggression towards bikes - guys think they are teaching you a lesson in life by driving up close behind you and leaning on the horn. I have ridden throughout UK, France, Italy, Switzerland and I have never seen that kind of aggression anywhere but Australia. It sucks. In France I have seen people sit behind a bike at 20km/hr and pass only when they can move to the other lane and pass all the way around you, doing only 30km/hr as they pass.
