Today's Forum Topics
Set as homepage
|
View
New Forum Topics Today's Forum Topics Set as homepage |
 |
|
|||||||
Welcome to CyclingForums.com You are currently viewing our website as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions. You will have to register before you can post to this thread. By joining our free online community you will have access to post new topics, communicate privately with other cyclingforums.com members (PM), respond to polls, upload photos and access other special features like product reviews and classifieds. |
 |
|
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread | Display Modes |
21-10.-2005, 07:26 PM
|
#1 |
|
Community Team
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: at the bar
Posts: 12,649
|
Traffic - Is cycling an option ?
In my country, we have a population of 4m people (approx).
Currently we have 2.3 registered cars (as opposed to vehicles which includes all cars, trucks, lorries etc). 2.3 million cars for a population of 4m people. OK : public transport is poor (outside the greater Dublin region, it's practically unusable). However our politicians have been asking us to use public transport because our roads are congested with traffic. being the good citizen that I am, I decided that instead of driving 123 miles distance to dublin from my home, i would instead take a train. Fine. I commute regularly to and from Dublin and driving time (more like sitting in traffic time) is 3 hours. By train, i can do the journey in 2.5hrs. But even with that it is still practically impossible to get around because the traffic here just doesn't move - at all. I am considering buying myself a Brompton Bike. i notice that a lot of train commuters use these bikes. They're foldable bikes and can easily be stored on a train/bus. At over 1,000 euro they ain't cheap but you get to where you're going. Rant over. |
|
|
|
21-10.-2005, 07:33 PM
|
#2 | |
|
Registered User
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Barnet, London.
Posts: 991
|
Re: Traffic - Is cycling an option ?
Quote:
Never tried one myself, being somewhat on the tall side, I'm still waiting for a 20" wheel version.
__________________
"Boudreaux pissed me off, what should I do?" "Nothing, just shut up and take his advice." |
|
|
|
|
|
21-10.-2005, 07:45 PM
|
#3 | |
|
Community Team
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: at the bar
Posts: 12,649
|
Re: Traffic - Is cycling an option ?
Quote:
I laugh when I hear british people complaining about their public transport. try living here, you'd know all about how bad public transport is. Don : yeah I've read good reports about them and I read a very interesting article in the Guardian about the guy who developed the bike. Took him years to get people to back him and now he's well on his way to making millions. |
|
|
|
|
|
21-10.-2005, 08:10 PM
|
#4 | |
|
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: SCOTLAND...you know it.
Posts: 3,015
|
Re: Traffic - Is cycling an option ?
Quote:
the scottish executive is always promoting the use of public transport over private cars. Thats fine, theyre based in Holyrood, Edinburgh. Where i live its fairly rural. Busses are expensive. If i were to take a bus to work it would cost me close to £70 per month. This is because the local bus company has a virtual monopoly on the route. My wife and i work for he same company and we put our child in a nursery near our work. so thats £140 for both of us and taking a child on a 1 hour bbus journey there and 1 hour back. effin nightmare. cycling is out because of wife and kid. i dont have a choice but to drive.
__________________
HARD . |
|
|
|
|
|
21-10.-2005, 11:29 PM
|
#5 | |
|
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 114
|
Re: Traffic - Is cycling an option ?
Quote:
I've seen folding bikes here. small frames with a tall seat. I can't see making very good time with those. |
|
|
|
|
|
27-11.-2005, 05:15 PM
|
#6 |
|
Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 1,435
 |
Re: Traffic - Is cycling an option ?
Good thread!
Here in Portland in the States, all the buses have bike racks in the front. So even if you are not a serious cyclist, you can put your bike on the bus to do the long haul and then bike to your office or your home. The light rail system is also equipped with bike hooks so that you can take your bike on the rail. This is the only U.S. city I have been in that makes this kind of commitment to cycling. Of course, this is one of the reasons that I moved to this city. Portland is unique among cities in the U.S. in that it considers cycling to be an important form of transportation. Almost every major road has a cycling lane. Unfortunately, we have had five cyclists killed in collisions this year. There are still problems. Lim, when I was in Ireland in 2003, I was impressed with the number of cyclists riding on the narrow roads. My girlfriend and I passed a large group cycling between Waterford and Carrick-on-Suir: they were really cruising, too!
__________________
Harry |
|
|
|
|
01-12.-2005, 01:30 PM
|
#7 | |
|
Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,148
|
Re: Traffic - Is cycling an option ?
Quote:
I would think that the cycling accidents are higher in Portland because the place encourages cycling so much, and therefore you're just going to have more people out on bikes than say - here in the cities of upstate NY like Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse. More cyclists on the roads = greater chances of accidents with cars. Still, I'd much rather be there than here.  I bike commute as much as I can, weather and circumstances permitting. Also use the bike for running errands, going out of town to visit friends & relatives, and anything else I can do to avoid using the car. I rarely carry locks & cables, but I find many places are still hostile to cyclists. Some won't let you bring your bike inside, even if there isn't a place to lock up to. That's when I'll refuse to do business with the place, and let them know why before I leave. 
__________________
"Bush is the first President to admit to an impeachable offense." - John Dean, former Counsel to the President (Nixon) The aim of big corporations is to separate fools from their money all of the time and ordinary folks from their money most of the time. The rest of us must fend for ourselves. |
|
|
|
|
|
02-12.-2005, 12:04 AM
|
#8 | |
|
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 619
|
Re: Traffic - Is cycling an option ?
Quote:
We have bikes on the front of many of our buses too. No racks, just bikes left over from accidents. Limerickman, I think the Brompton is a good idea. That way you've got a way of getting from train to job and, if needs be, you've also got transportation during the day. I had the same type of dilemma several years ago. Driving was too expensive, mass transit was a lot cheaper...dirtier, smellier, and deadlier too...but cheaper. Then when I got to work, I was stuck there or asking for a ride if I needed to do a chore. Right now I've got a 15 mile commute. I won't ride before sun up or after sundown, no matter how 'lit-up' I am, so I will ride during the spring, summer, and early fall months. One problems is that there is no shower facility at work...This is not my problem, I think I smell fine.
__________________
Please, don't MOO at the cows. It only confuses them. |
|
|
|
|
Linear Mode
