tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post659402137903659247..comments2024-02-09T06:24:16.626+00:00Comments on upside down in cloud: the big game of cyclingDru Marlandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03697874363783821382noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-62866721152973385632011-02-06T08:26:33.006+00:002011-02-06T08:26:33.006+00:00They haven't got you yet Dru?They haven't got you yet Dru?Anjihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02562210585479814093noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-86594008164507143752011-01-28T21:56:21.445+00:002011-01-28T21:56:21.445+00:00Gave up cycling because of the hostility.
I have ...Gave up cycling because of the hostility. <br />I have a friend who's a game keeper. He can get you pheasants for six quid the brace. No shot in them either.<br />Another likeable, serious yet humorous blog from Dru. Thank you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-89708957338717778902011-01-28T06:29:01.529+00:002011-01-28T06:29:01.529+00:00I was impressed with the cycle lanes in Holland, S...I was impressed with the cycle lanes in Holland, Stace, but I like the higgledy-piggledyness of Bristol. The roads would be just fine if there were less of a sense of entitlement among motorists; 'the car must get through'.Maybe it's too deeply ingrained to change now...<br /><br />If I make even one taxi driver unhappy, Lottie, I consider it a day well-spent :-)Dru Marlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03697874363783821382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-69172310338073075172011-01-27T23:10:15.579+00:002011-01-27T23:10:15.579+00:00It's a very fair point about said bank-sponsor...It's a very fair point about said bank-sponsored bikes- they do get those who wouldn't otherwise cycle to try it, which can only be a good thing- however unhappy the taxi drivers may be....Lottiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256942208633064907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-5402468575126030972011-01-27T19:33:25.061+00:002011-01-27T19:33:25.061+00:00Reading this makes me so glad I cycle here in Holl...Reading this makes me so glad I cycle here in Holland (and makes me wonder how I used to survive as a child when I would ride miles down country lanes - that Mrs Stace doesn't even like in the car, let along on two wheels going 50mph slower than the other traffic - if they are doing the limit).<br /><br />Here (should the insane compulsion take me) I can ride to my office (30 miles cross country) and only have to do a couple of hundred yards on the road. The rest is all cycle paths. And when I say cycle path I mean seperated from the road by a couple of meters or more, not a red lane painted on a narrow road.<br /><br />You have my sympathy Dru having to put up with it - and for being lumped in the same group as the idiot cyclists.<br /><br />StaceStacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07907346657510908857noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-40807015930878531832011-01-27T06:57:32.578+00:002011-01-27T06:57:32.578+00:00There's a sub-set of cyclists here, Jenny, who...There's a sub-set of cyclists here, Jenny, who have taken to using lights that are so bright that they dazzle anyone in their way; it reminds me of the time that the police helicopter once shone its spotlight on me, and I felt very much the centre of attention and was tempted to break into a tap dance. Not very good if you're trying to see where *you* are going, though.<br /><br />My Chinese bicycle bell is jolly good for alerting pedestrians, and can be v strident if needed, though the Ipod listeners remain oblivious; I once had an air horn on the bike, and had the pleasure of watching such a jaywalker rise about two feet off the ground when I sounded it... <br /><br />..they are horrid ugly, aren't they, Lottie? Still, I saw a portly City Gent riding one and could never have imagined him riding a more sporty machine, so maybe it's tempting new people into the joys of urban cycling. Though I noticed he was being menaced by a taxi as he waited at the traffic lights...<br /><br />"jag-scratching"? Suzzy?Dru Marlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03697874363783821382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-81262500546277501922011-01-27T06:04:38.243+00:002011-01-27T06:04:38.243+00:00Cylists really can be invisible. In the self-style...Cylists really can be invisible. In the self-styled 'cycling demonstration town' where I live, many's the time a pedestrian will look both ways at the kerb, 'see' me approaching, and yet step right out literally regardless. Normally I swerve or brake and just get on with it. On the occasions when I make an issue of it by giving them a 'look', as often as not they just look puzzled. It's as if they are thinking 'where the hell did that come from?'.<br /><br />Bring back jag-scratching!suzzymackenziehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14334149681897991297noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-10460201846010810302011-01-27T00:50:11.922+00:002011-01-27T00:50:11.922+00:00I have to say that I'm firmly an aimless pedes...I have to say that I'm firmly an aimless pedestrian. In fact, as I have the co-ordination of a caravan site, neither cars nor bikes, push or otherwise, are a safe option for me, or more importantly, anyone else on the road!<br /><br />But, as Melissa says, your posts are always a delight, and manage to make me look at things from a different angle- particularly as I currently hold the candle of hostility to Boris and his ugly, Major-High-Stret-Bank-Sponsored bicycles!Lottiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03256942208633064907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-7905236416872963462011-01-26T21:42:12.446+00:002011-01-26T21:42:12.446+00:00I think in my town the game may already be afoot. ...I think in my town the game may already be afoot. Some of the prey have taken steps to better evade their predators by turning off their lights when riding at night. Very effective it is too, makes 'em almost invisible.<br /><br />I probably am not the model cyclist but I find riding in town nowadays to be somewhat of an ordeal. Here the traffic is less a problem than the aimless pedestrians. I am thus rather glad I walk to work these days.Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08027942517258679266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-42551568435216845552011-01-26T16:50:00.129+00:002011-01-26T16:50:00.129+00:00Thank you, Melissa! I suspect that the pro-car cul...Thank you, Melissa! I suspect that the pro-car culture over on your side of the pond is even worse than it is here. Though the belief that bikes belong in the gutter is fairly widely-held here, too; some drivers get quite outraged when I'm occupying a safe position on the road, even when I'm going at least as fast as the prevailing traffic, and will do anything to try and get past me...<br /><br />I loathe inconsiderate cyclists, too, Deborah. Though my near-death experiences have been caused by motor vehicles being used as offensive weapons. Sorry to hear about your mishap, though.Dru Marlandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03697874363783821382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-63231360686232792422011-01-26T11:48:29.244+00:002011-01-26T11:48:29.244+00:00I haven't ridden a bike on Bristol's stree...I haven't ridden a bike on Bristol's streets since a lorry knocked me off mine on the way to school in 1977. I missed the wheels by inches and the driver never had any idea I was there. And I got told off for being late when I finally made it to class.<br /><br />So I try not to kill them, but wish the less considerate of them would extend the same courtesy, particularly those who shortcut through the park at half six in the morning when it's still dark, and hurtle past me and the hound with inches to spare and no bell or shouted warning. The dog goes bonkers, so much so that last time he pulled me over and I have to have physiotherapy on my arm ... <br />:-(Deborah Harvey Poetryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17023927527337407685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2448752251053894818.post-24751544860456858452011-01-26T09:40:24.732+00:002011-01-26T09:40:24.732+00:00Is it any wonder that I adore you, Dru? You have s...Is it any wonder that I adore you, Dru? You have such a wonderful sense of humor! <br /><br />I haven't biked in years, but I remember all of which you speak. Riding home from work one day, I was admonished at a stop light by a carload of neanderthals, for not riding in the gutter, where all the broken glass and other tire puncturing debris had accumulated! I've also experienced the the near miss of a few wing mirrors! <br /><br />Good post, as always, Dru!<br /><br />Melissa XXMelissahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600684740584460891noreply@blogger.com