2008-07-30 - Rider Down, Sloane Street

agreed, though just because it (in some circumstances) it's a stupid idea, that doesn't mean that we want to go on a crusade to legislate against it.

you can't legislate against stupidity.

I also find it a bit strange to listen to music on a bike but it is their choice, it's mainly going to be dangerous to them.

There was a really bad article in the London Paper on Tuesday with 3 novice cyclists telling their experiences on their first (and probably last) day cycing in London. It was very negative, there was no mention of training etc. And who are the readers? People who use the tube and will then think "I prefer to suffer in the heat than risk my life".

There was a really bad article in the London Paper on Tuesday with 3 novice cyclists telling their experiences on their first (and probably last) day cycing in London. It was very negative, there was no mention of training etc. And who are the readers? People who use the tube and will then think "I prefer to suffer in the heat than risk my life".

Is it selfish of me to be secretly glad that loads of people still use the tube? Because if they're in the tube, they're not cycling on the street, doing silly things, and getting in my way...

Maybe a little but then I'd be happier if the streets were completely empty, save for me and a guy on a scooter I could draft, non-stop all the way to work. :)

I hope the rider is OK, I saw a near miss this morning and it makes my belly drop out of time and space.

...and it's not just the sound of traffic you need to hear - what about your bike? Or an emergency siren? Or a hot girl shouting out your name? In the city it's totally pointless to switch off one of your senses when it's crazy enough on those roads some days. Besides, I love the sound of my tires on tarmac too much.

Fact no.10: 99.9% of all human beings are complete and utter fucking idiots... The sooner we all realise this, the safer we'll all be... Remember to ride safe, kidz!

Listening to an iPod in town whilst cycling shows a total disregard for your and others safety - i dont think it should be banned because i believe people should have the right to chose, but i will think your a cunt for doing it. Had too many idiots ride like tools in front of me because they are plugged in and have no idea whats going on around them.

I think we covered this in another thread, if you want to listen to music get one of those clip on mini iPod speakers, or start huming because you aint gonna be making sweet music from under the wheels of an 18 wheeler

Listening to music while riding is just stupid, texting is fine though.

...and it's not just the sound of traffic you need to hear - what about your bike? Or an emergency siren? Or a hot girl shouting out your name? In the city it's totally pointless to switch off one of your senses when it's crazy enough on those roads some days. Besides, I love the sound of my tires on tarmac too much.

A month or two ago a 2-stroke motorbike/scooter rider was killed by an ambulance jumping the lights at the junction of Clapham Common Northside and Rookery Road. Apparently he didn't hear the siren. Irony of ironies, the ambulance was responding to a motorcyclist who'd been hit at the junction of Wandsworth Road and Silverthorne Road. :(

Listening to music while riding is just stupid, texting is fine though.

Absolutely! :D

Sad to hear of another HGV incident.

Headphones:
+1 teenslain/hippy* et al*.I like music LOUD on big speakers, headphones are SHITE. I just think it separates you from the city too much when you spod about listening to music. Its like a really selfish act, in my opinion. What if someone's being mugged and calling for help and you're just over the road, saying to yourself yeah this Dubstep is W to the icked! FAIL. When I am riding a bike I'm not gonna want to be listening to lyrics or checking out B lines. I want to be riding a bike. Just that. When EVER I see someone wearing headphones (not just on bikes) I find myself kind of praying for them to wake up and smell the coffee. Seriously. Why do you need to have six thousand tunes on your person and be listening to them all time!? Its LAME. Music is about sharing.
I say make ipods the new sideburns: Out OF Fashion. Uncool. Does anyone remember how headphones had almost disappeared before iPods? There was this massive glut of it in the Walkman era, then they kind of went uncool. This is about to happen again.

That said, your sense of hearing doesn't substitute LOOKING over your shoulder every few seconds, which is how I ride. I find its a really good way to make cars who can't pass you less impatient and more considerate... a kind of mind trick. Its like, "OK they're aware of what's going on around them, so I will be too..." and I'm usually snarling when I look round so I'm scaring them too. I am totally amazed by how many cyclists never seem to look behind them when pulling across/around parked vehicles.

Fuck Ipod's

I tend to sing at the top of my voice when I cycle.

There are sooo many numpties on the roads at the mo, the amount of near misses with people wandering across cross roads is ridiculous. They don't seem to understand that more experienced riders learn the timings of roads, order of traffic flow and understand the gaps, not just wander into it and hope for the best.

Me on my bike isn't quite as cool as an F14 piloted by Maverick taking off from an aircraft carrier, but sometimes I sing "Danger Zone" to myself as I zip along, including the intro.

I think knowing how to drive a car definitely helps with being a safe cyclist. All n00b drivers are told to be aware of their surroundings at all times... other vehicles, pedestrians, traffic lights, roadkill, everything. What amazes me is the number of cyclists on the road who are all "la-dee-da, not a care in the world", as if they were riding along a peaceful canal in Holland.

People should ride their bikes as if they were driving a car. Drivers should check their mirrors constantly; cyclists should check behind their shoulders constantly. Drivers should look behind them and signal when they want to change lanes, so should cyclists.

I wonder how many of the numpties on the road at the moment don't know how to drive...?

riding a bike in London is like that.
HTFU and deal with it.

Another weird thing is they all seem to wait in line at the lights by the curb instead of going into the ASL. And then there's me cycling right to the front in the middle of the ASL and they probably hate me but there's no way I'm going to wait behind them by the gutter and be crushed by a car that decides to turn left into my way.

What do you guys do? Do you sit in lines too?

Sad to hear of another HGV incident.

Headphones:
+1 teenslain/hippy* et al*.I like music LOUD on big speakers, headphones are SHITE. I just think it separates you from the city too much when you spod about listening to music. Its like a really selfish act, in my opinion. What if someone's being mugged and calling for help and you're just over the road, saying to yourself yeah this Dubstep is W to the icked! FAIL. When I am riding a bike I'm not gonna want to be listening to lyrics or checking out B lines. I want to be riding a bike. Just that. When EVER I see someone wearing headphones (not just on bikes) I find myself kind of praying for them to wake up and smell the coffee. Seriously. Why do you need to have six thousand tunes on your person and be listening to them all time!? Its LAME. Music is about sharing.
I say make ipods the new sideburns: Out OF Fashion. Uncool. Does anyone remember how headphones had almost disappeared before iPods? There was this massive glut of it in the Walkman era, then they kind of went uncool. This is about to happen again.

That said, your sense of hearing doesn't substitute LOOKING over your shoulder every few seconds, which is how I ride. I find its a really good way to make cars who can't pass you less impatient and more considerate... a kind of mind trick. Its like, "OK they're aware of what's going on around them, so I will be too..." and I'm usually snarling when I look round so I'm scaring them too. I am totally amazed by how many cyclists never seem to look behind them when pulling across/around parked vehicles.

what an amazing amount of babbling crap in your first paragraph there. are you having ago at ipods because they hold loads of songs, or at people who want to listen to music and not the drone of traffic and the pesky birds of prey swooping around?

and for your information mongballs, you couldnt make ipods into sideburns... they'd slip down the skin and fall on the floor voiding the warranty.

Another weird thing is they all seem to wait in line at the lights by the curb instead of going into the ASL. And then there's me cycling right to the front in the middle of the ASL and they probably hate me but there's no way I'm going to wait behind them by the gutter and be crushed by a car that decides to turn left into my way.

What do you guys do? Do you sit in lines too?

totally agree. no lines . it sucks

Never, I always filter up and pull out a bit where possible. Obviously I keep an eye on the lights whilst doing this as well, no point in getting petarded.

By the way I don't know how to drive a car and the way I see drivers tackling the traffic I think a lot of them don't know how to either...

And I agree with Overdrive we all need to deal with each other on the roads. A little more friendliness would make the roads more pleasant but don't expect it from others first, make it happen with your own behaviour.

I commuted for six years wearing headphones. No accidents. I looked over my shoulder a great deal. I was meticulous about that. But I swore at a lot of drivers. Justifiably so. If you were deaf, you'd still be able to cycle safely. That was my rationale and with noise excluding headphones, I may as well have been deaf as the sound of passing lorries was reduced to a whisper.

When I switched to fixed gear, I left the phones at home to concentrate on the new cycling set up. And I haven't put them back on. I find I am much more relaxed without the tunes. I shout and swear far less at less people. In fact, hardly ever now! (What is wrong with me?). The set up seems to demand a measured more relaxed approach and that works for me.

sorry but what the difference between loud music inside your car and loud music inside your ear while riding a bike?

One of them involves riding a bike, whilst the other is about driving a car ;)

What about loud music in your head compared with loud voices in your head?

You are unlikely to have your skull split open and brain spattered 20 meters by the massive wheel of a 7.5 tonne HGV using one of them.

It's funny how we like being distracted from the things that we are actually doing.

You mean like posting on internet forums instead of doing something useful :p