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Christmas is coming and it's time to trade stuff I don't need for stuff that the offspring demand. Assist me in my quest by snapping up a bargain!
Apple 45W MagSafe 2 Power Adapter for Macbook Air. Used but good condition, in box.
Apple Magic Mouse; I can't find the box for this, but it works fine.£SOLD
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It's a reasonable point, and not everyone is going to want to cycle all of their journey, but with better conditions they might want to cycle some of it, e.g. to/from the station. Average commute distances have increased, but people still make a heck of a lot of short distance trips that could easily be cycled - to the shops, the school run etc. So cycling could take a lot of pressure off the public transport network, as well as making people healthier and better off, without getting them all up to SuperCommuter standards.
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Get a copy of Lost Lanes and go for some rides on quiet, rural, low-traffic routes. Taking primary and keeping up with traffic probably isn't realistic for someone who's a bit unfit and can't spin at 20mph plus, so head somewhere where there aren't so many impatient drivers and let her find out for herself if she enjoys cycling. If it isn't for her, let it go and find a new hobby to enjoy together. Perhaps spelunking.
As an aside, I seem to get more impatient arsehole drivers when I'm dressed in normal clothes on my upright bike than I do dressed like a 'proper cyclist' on the one with drops. Looking clearly female and normal seems to bring out the worst MGIF tendencies from some mouth-breathers. So I can understand her apprehension.
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Called out a rider on a fixed/ss at Gordon Square near UCL who seemed generally quite perplexed by the whole thing. If you're reading this - you're supposed to slow down when approaching a give way line and yield to pedestrians crossing the road, not ride at them ringing your bell and then cut up oncoming traffic (me). You wankbadger.
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OK so. What gives him the ride to have a go at me?
Is he
a. My wife?
b. A member of my family?
c. A friend?
d. My boss?
e. The police?I know he is not a or b and I don't think he is c and I know he's not my boss so I was asking him the question. What right does he have to tell me what to do if I am not interfering with him as an individual and am not part of some collective group that I chose not to represent?
More general question - why does someone have to know you in order to have an opinion (albeit a negative one) on your behaviour? Given that we're all judging each other all the time, is it voicing the opinion that's the issue, or should we all try harder to ignore the behaviour of people we don't know?
Kind of makes me think about the shouty folk on Jeremy Kyle shouting "You don't know me, so don't judge me!"
I don't need to know you to think you're a fool, love.
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It is hoped that pedestrians will either speed up when they see that time is running out or wait at the kerb until the green man appears again.
The changes are part of an attempt to reduce the amount of time traffic has to wait at red lights.
In the Netherlands there's a countdown timer at a lot of crossings, but it's counting down how much time you have left to wait until the pedestrian light goes green. You're less likely to try and cross in a gap between traffic if you can see that's it's about to be your turn. This is basically the opposite of that - and it's a ridiculously hostile way to treat people in a city.
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This isn't people being a little bit sceptical (which is good). I'm not advocating people just launch themselves out into the road (although there should be enough anticipation by the road users for this to be possible), this is people genuinely feeling afraid to cross despite having a green man at a light controlled crossing. Fear of the all too frequent RLJers (or the ELF) - motons and bikes.
I think the introduction of the countdown light has something to do with this - you get used to waiting to see if a driver's actually going to stop at the zebra crossing, but the countdown really brings home the GET OUT OF THE ROAD NOW thing, and you can see drivers getting twitchy to go, like it's an F1 countdown or something.
On a happier note, I was stopped at a light, watching a mum cross with her kid. He only had little legs so the countdown started while they were still crossing. They both started counting down out loud and high-fived when they got to the other side before zero. Numeracy and road safety! You win, fun mum!
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Worth considering a railcard if you're planning a few weekend trips - the Network Railcard will get you to the majority of stations in the London/Home Counties area, and if you're going with a partner/friend on a regular basis, the Two Together railcard covers all of the UK. Both of them are £30, and save you a third off fares, so you only need to make a couple of journeys to make your money back, and they're handy if you haven't been able to prebook tickets, as you can use them on tickets bought on the day.
Another big thumbs up for the Lost Lanes book - me and the other half did the Cotswolds trip recently and it was great fun!
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Four Cyclehoop wall hangers, perfect for getting your pride and joy up out of the way. New and unused. RRP is £25, but yours for £15. Collection only from SE17.
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After a bit of anxiety, the insurers have confirmed they will accept my claim. Feel very relieved to be able to put this all behind me and not be out of pocket. I don't think I'd have got this far if the police hadn't attended the scene, so it goes to show if you're in a collision, even if you don't think it's particularly serious, get the cops out.
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Further to my collision upthread, I'm having absolutely no joy getting damages back from anyone. The driver's insurance company (AXA Commercial Services) don't even have a call centre, all claims must be emailed or faxed (!!); multiple emails, no response. The driver informs me that AXA have appointed a claims management agency, who've informed me that they can't deal with me directly, and that I should make a claim on my home contents insurance.
Obviously I don't want to lose 9 years NCD on my home insurance for the sake of £80 (£100 excess), and I really don't see why I should be further out of pocket for something that was someone else's fault. So what do I do now? Should I just write to the driver with a copy of the bill and a demand for payment? And if I get ignored, then what - small claims court?
I'm reaching the end of my tether, and I'm fed up with the number of call centre staff who've told me that "If you were in a car, it'd be much easier, we're not really set up to deal with bikes."
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Anyone in Bloomsbury/Euston/WC1 had their bars nicked recently? Found some dumped on my office doorstep, minus the shifters.