Flat Fixie..

when the motorist go brakeless we are all going to be in trouble.

i've been brakeless on my van for 6 months now, i simply use engine braking or steer into a skid. It let's me feel more connected with my van and also I feel more aware of my surroundings etc. Plus I love when passers-by notice my lack of brake-calipers and give me a questioning but respectful glance.

Just came back from a ride where I ran copious amounts of red lights and gave this some thought. While we as cyclists are demonised by the general public for breaking the rules of the road, I believe it is a natural and intelligent reaction to an environment where the odds are stacked against you. In a way it is a miniature act of anarchy, a subversion of a normative state to your own ends. Just as a ped will cross a road when the little man is red, because they can see the road is clear, I will make a similar calculation literally tens or even hundreds of times on every ride. I don't do it to be wilful, to be rebellious, I do it because I'm intelligent enough to know what the best and safest course is in any given situation rather than simply let the traffic laws make that decision for me. I'll approach a red light, slow, observe the traffic, observe any peds crossing and if it's clear I'll go. There's no reason to wait at a red light when there isn't any traffic coming from the other direction. There's no reason not to ride the wrong way down a one-way street if it's clear, and there's no reason not to hop the curb if your path is obstructed. By observing these rules to me you are giving away a little bit of your freedom every time, and letting other people make decisions for you.

I don't take risks, and I don't endanger other road users, but every time I get and ride I will continue to make decisions based on my own reading of any situation, not blindly adhere to the rules

this is all very well, but people also blindly break the rules, ie: blast reds without looking, ride at and through peds when they have the right of way. In doing so they take away the freedom of other road users and put them in danger.

from what I've seen, the better riders read the road, are observant and quick to react. They put themselves in the safest road positions and can control a bike. They also rarely run red lights at speed, (most certainly not junctions) or use the footpath. Anyone who's had experience of riding in town and knows what they're doing knows this.

And your judgement is so good that you can absolutely state that you have never inconvenienced anyone else by the way you ride?

I know I wouldn't be able to say that.

[Edit] Even though I'm just quibbling over semantics

Fuck off! That's my job...
;-)

Smells like bikeradar in here.

Smells like bikeradar in here.

yes. let's stop it.

right then..

er..

deep vs
fixies
scene

BLB anyone?

rapha?

...There's no reason to wait at a red light when there isn't any traffic coming from the other direction...

should cars do this as well? peds do this and yet cyclists complain about them.

When the motorists start thinking like this we are really gonna be in trouble.

in deep sht indeed

from what I've seen, the better riders read the road, are observant and quick to react. They put themselves in the safest road positions and can control a bike. They also rarely run red lights at speed, (most certainly not junctions) or use the footpath. Anyone who's had experience of riding in town and knows what they're doing knows this.

now even RPM's gone all C+ on us. just out the hipster cnt from this morning, rob. descript of the bike/bag?

It always seems to me that the best, or at least the safest place to be is smack bang in the middle of the lane. Whilst obviously it's not always the safest/most convenient place to be, most cyclists timidly grinding there pedals on the pavement seem pretty poorly positioned. A car is way less likely to notice a small cyclist if they're right in the gutter.
Years of riding a motorbike I guess. Dominant road position wins the game.

I think my point's getting lost in the controversy. This is part of a theory of mine about everyday subversions, which I wrote for my Masters dissitation. It's about small acts of everyday anarchy where people re-appropriate meaning through subversion of rules. For example the graffiti writer changes the meaning of the space he writes in in a very profound way: by subverting the rules of that space there is now art, an coded advert for the graffiti writer and also a break in surveillance. The latter means that people may feel threatened by that space, as graffiti becomes a map for where control is weakest. In the same way free-runners, skateboarders and street riders change the meaning of the buildings and urban objects they trick around.

The meaning of the road for me is transport for motorised vehicles, and pavements are for pedestrians. The cyclist falls between them, metaphorically and physically, in the gutter. By moving out of that gutter and subverting the rules, you reclaim the road for yourself. By hopping up onto the pavement you change the meaning of the pavement, again appropriating it for yourself. You assert your right to be in that space and make that space about you.

Cycle lanes are an after-throught, an awkard tack-on to a system that prioritises easy motorised transport and the safety of pedestrians. We're literally the forgotten road users and are virtually forced to ignore the normal rules of the road in order to be comfortable on it.

And drivers do flout the laws of the road all the time, speed limits, no entry signs and even red lights, and put people in a lot more danger than cyclists. Lorries than aren't to spec and fully safe, untaxed, un-insured cars, excluded drivers, drunk drivers, road racing, drivers on the phone. The road is an insanely dangerous place and we are the most vulnverable on it.

Thing is, I'm not advocating blasting around and ignoring everything and everyone. You will get yourself and other people hurt. I advocate sensible and safe cycling, and people making intelligent decisions about how to ride the road.

Have I ever incovenienced anyone else? Definately: sure I've forced plenty of cars to slow down and wait to pass me, I did run a red light once and a car started to do the same before having to stop suddenly, I had an ongoing argument with a driver around a roundabout after I moved from the gutter to the right and got in his way and he thought I should be on the cycle path on the pavement, and having to stop and wait at every exit to cross the road. I'm not saying I'm perfect, far from it, but I just believe in making that road about me when I'm on it. I guess its something that you can't fully justify, and certainly not to a non-cyclist but that's how I ride.

Sorry, all very long winded and dull, so cheers for indulging me. It's nice to get analytical every once in a while

mate you've given this a lotta thought...

And I feel I've created a monster.

I think as an intellectual exercise you are right and I in the whole agree

But i still fear that your inner motivations would be lost on the outsider,the ped, the driver

Perhaps one for further discussion.

Anyone see the piece in thelondonpaper this eve re boris wanting to make it ok to bend the rules a cyclist?

I'm not saying I'm perfect, far from it, but I just believe in making that road about me when I'm on it.

Sounds like BMW (cars) owners attitude.
But can see that some of what you are saying makes sense.

.

I think my point's getting lost in the controversy. This is part of a theory of mine about everyday subversions, which I wrote for my Masters **dissitation. **

This is how Platini is going to die; of a heart attack when he reads this.

I wish I was Captain Anal. Do you have a sidekick called Rectal Boy?

I'm the Rear Admiral.

TBH Will, I read that when it was posted and figured that, what with all the other spelling errors, it was a wind-up.
Anyway, I was more involved at the time having a row with someone who hadn't read your new members' advice...

This is part of a theory of mine about everyday subversions, which I wrote for my Masters dissitation.

I hope you didn't spell it like that on the title page. Fail

Edit: Oops, just read Platini's and Will's posts above

I used to be Captain Anal-ette "
Did you throw in your rusty sherifs badge? (no wait, thats not right... captain, not sherif!?! fail)