Wenting!!!

Sounds like another job for...

<cue trumpets>

LOTTE and her SHOTTIE

and her trusty sidekick - Tam in Cam...

</trumpets>

Maybe you could pick up a brick or something, and smash it through
their back window. Then tell them that you didn't see 'em, and ran
straight into them,seeing as they were in a bike lane.

If they complain - tell 'em to go ahead and report that they were
double-parked in a bike lane...

Achieves the purpose, plus you don't hurt yourself or your trusty
steed....

Cheers,
Absent Husband (who would be too much of a wuss to actually do that
himself...)

Interesting thing that 'parking in the bike lane'...

Out my way I commute via a secondary rd (Greythorn Rd for those who know it) which was usually a good ride. It's a wide-ish single lane each way road and as such people didn't really park on it and I had a nice run with plenty of space for me + cars.

Then they installed a bike lane (one of those which is just a single line and allows cars to park at the curb) - Ever since then people have obviously felt safer parking their cars there so I'm now thrust into the traffic more than ever...

Tricky one: Heart was in the right place by installing it, but it's had the unfortunate result of making the ride more dangerous... Pity.

eddiec said:

Interesting thing that 'parking in the bike lane'...

Out my way I commute via a secondary rd (Greythorn Rd for those who know it) which was usually a good ride. It's a wide-ish single lane each way road and as such people didn't really park on it and I had a nice run with plenty of space for me + cars.

Then they installed a bike lane (one of those which is just a single line and allows cars to park at the curb) - Ever since then people have obviously felt safer parking their cars there so I'm now thrust into the traffic more than ever...

Tricky one: Heart was in the right place by installing it, but it's had the unfortunate result of making the ride more dangerous... Pity.

I'm always a bit doubtful over the role of bike lanes. Some work well, and others I tend to follow the route because they're there in recognition that cyclists have already sussed out a good road. But then, I've only been bumped off my bike when *in* a bike lane. Her response? "I didn't see you!" My response? "you didn't have to see me, you just have to keep in your own lines!" No surprises for what sort of car she was driving... 🙁

OK, I wasn't really that polite...🙄

cheers,
ali

Hehe, sounds good to me, the shotgun solution, anything to teach the
drivers a lesson.

I have to say I'm pretty impressed with the brick idea though, I like
the noose around the neck in getting them to admit the double parking,
very nice. Unfortunately i don't have the courage either I think,
besides there aren't that many bricks lying around South Bank these
days.. Either way I must admit that I fear that the assault charges
might be worse than the driver's double parking fine.

Thanks for the support though.

-Rasmus, who now corrected the subject *blush*

Absent Husband said:

Sounds like another job for...

<cue trumpets>

LOTTE and her SHOTTIE

and her trusty sidekick - Tam in Cam...

</trumpets>

I'm not sure I like being a sidekick. Oh, okay, if it's to LotteBum.

Quoted message said:

Maybe you could pick up a brick or something, and smash it through
their back window. Then tell them that you didn't see 'em, and ran
straight into them,seeing as they were in a bike lane.

If they complain - tell 'em to go ahead and report that they were
double-parked in a bike lane...

Achieves the purpose, plus you don't hurt yourself or your trusty
steed....

You're learning!

Quoted message said:

Cheers,
Absent Husband (who would be too much of a wuss to actually do that
himself...)

Oh, you're faking.

Hey, might see you in the morning. Wasn't expecting to be at uni, but we
missed the orienteering... oops.

Tam

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> "nebakke" == nebakke <[email hidden]> writes:

nebakke> AAAAAARGH RAAAAAAAAAAHS'GU!!!!!!!!!! What the hell is up
nebakke> with drivers thinking the nicely drawn bike marking the is
nebakke> an invite for them to doublepark as long as they're within
nebakke> that extra fat white line on the road?

I feel your pain. Bike lanes suck, we don't need them.

nebakke> Are they blind or just plain stupid?

Ignorant. Ignorant of their responsibilities, ignorant of the damage
they do daily, ignorant of the damage they are capable of. But then,
you knew that :-)

nebakke> Damn near got me killed when I tried to swerwe around the
nebakke> opening door in the last minute and almost got hit by a
nebakke> smartass in an old RX8 who felt the need to floor the gas
nebakke> pedal so that he'd make the 20 meters up to the next red
nebakke> light in time to sit and wait in the queue behind the
nebakke> concrete truck.

Remember: you are only obliged to use the cycle lane if it is safe to do
so. That means that if you have to pass a car, do so allowing enough
room for the door to open 'cause, as you've found out, some drivers are
too ignorant to assess the consequences of their actions.

Ride wide.
--
Cheers
Euan (who claims the lane for the length of Blackburn Road.)

eb said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>>> "nebakke" == nebakke <[email hidden]> writes:

<snip snap>

Quoted message said:

nebakke> Damn near got me killed when I tried to swerwe around the
nebakke> opening door in the last minute and almost got hit by a
nebakke> smartass in an old RX8 who felt the need to floor the gas
nebakke> pedal so that he'd make the 20 meters up to the next red
nebakke> light in time to sit and wait in the queue behind the
nebakke> concrete truck.

Remember: you are only obliged to use the cycle lane if it is safe to do
so. That means that if you have to pass a car, do so allowing enough
room for the door to open 'cause, as you've found out, some drivers are
too ignorant to assess the consequences of their actions.

Ride wide.
--
Cheers
Euan (who claims the lane for the length of Blackburn Road.)

Just last week I had a beauty - as I rode up Logan Rd near Marshall Rd
intersection, heading outbound, a guy walks out of a shop to his parked
car, around the car, looks at me (20m away), and opens his door. Hehehe
watch out dude, you've got a bullseye on your ute now.

Tam

nebakke said:

AAAAAARGH RAAAAAAAAAAHS'GU!!!!!!!!!!

What the hell is up with drivers thinking the nicely drawn bike marking
the is an invite for them to doublepark as long as they're within that
extra fat white line on the road? Are they blind or just plain stupid?
I mean it's not exactly rocket science is it? Especially not when
there's a perfectly good parking spot available 10 meters further up
the road... And while we're at it, why do they feel the need to sit in
their car and wait untill I come racing past before they open the door
to get out without looking? Sometimes it really is a pain in the ass to
have English as a second language cos they don't exactly look any
smarter when the conditioned response causes me to yell at them in
Danish. Damn near got me killed when I tried to swerwe around the
opening door in the last minute and almost got hit by a smartass in an
old RX8 who felt the need to floor the gas pedal so that he'd make the
20 meters up to the next red light in time to sit and wait in the queue
behind the concrete truck.
The most frustrating thing is that this all happened after and overall
decent ride in cars actually stopping to let me cross the road, even a
4WD left me enough room to get across at Toowong.

-Rasmus who now feels a little better.

The standard procedure for cars in motorcycle parking places is to let
down two of their tyres. At least that's what we used to do in the "old"
days when I rode motorbikes. Oh, and leave them a note to say WHY their
tyres were deflated.

Marty

Marty said:

The standard procedure for cars in motorcycle parking places is to let
down two of their tyres. At least that's what we used to do in the "old"
days when I rode motorbikes. Oh, and leave them a note to say WHY their
tyres were deflated.

Marty

Yeah you can get away with that sort of thing much better on a
motorbike. Leather is much more intimidating than lycra.

DaveB

DaveB said:

Marty said:

The standard procedure for cars in motorcycle parking places is to let
down two of their tyres. At least that's what we used to do in the "old"
days when I rode motorbikes. Oh, and leave them a note to say WHY their
tyres were deflated.

Marty

Yeah you can get away with that sort of thing much better on a
motorbike. Leather is much more intimidating than lycra.

DaveB

I suppose that depends on how you use it.

Tam

I was going to say, referring back to WHY I took up bike riding again
I'd like to point out that on me Lycra can be slightly intimidating in
a bulky kind of way...
As Bernard Black said "Well I don't know about nice. It was HUGE, gave
you a tremendous sense of value"
;O)

-Rasmus

eb said:

I feel your pain. Bike lanes suck, we don't need them.

It's just that I get a bit of a sense of security from them, a bit like
a nice teddy bear or a good blanket ;O) Somewhere deep down inside they
make me feel as if I could make a good case in court for kicking in
someone's car window when they do something like this.
Unfortunately, once again, I just don't have the guts.

Quoted message said:

But then,
you knew that :-)

True...

Quoted message said:

Remember: you are only obliged to use the cycle lane if it is safe to

do

Quoted message said:

so. That means that if you have to pass a car, do so allowing enough
room for the door to open 'cause, as you've found out, some drivers

are

Quoted message said:

too ignorant to assess the consequences of their actions.

That's probably not a bad idea, unfortunately Grey St. isn't all that
wide and considering the guy in the RX8 I'm not sure how swerving wide
on it during rush hour will affect my future prospects... I'm still a
little careful as you can hear, it's bad enough that my brain still
doesn't quite like me riding on the left side of the road and braking
with the wrong hands...

Quoted message said:

Ride wide.

Will try

-Rasmus

nebakke said:

eb said:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Remember: you are only obliged to use the cycle lane if it is safe to

do

Quoted message said:

so. That means that if you have to pass a car, do so allowing enough
room for the door to open 'cause, as you've found out, some drivers

are

Quoted message said:

too ignorant to assess the consequences of their actions.

That's probably not a bad idea, unfortunately Grey St. isn't all that
wide and considering the guy in the RX8 I'm not sure how swerving wide
on it during rush hour will affect my future prospects... I'm still a
little careful as you can hear, it's bad enough that my brain still
doesn't quite like me riding on the left side of the road and braking
with the wrong hands...

Quoted message said:

Ride wide.

Will try

-Rasmus

Grey St, Sth Bne? It has enough lanes that you can afford to take one
up, given that there's extra lanes where the turns/roundabouts etc are.
However I avoid Grey St except when it's really early (before 0600) -
I'd rather ride at 20km/h through Southbank, dealing with veering
pedestrians, than deal with the weirdo rich people on Grey St.

Tam

Tamyka Bell wrote:

snipsnip

Quoted message said:

Grey St, Sth Bne? It has enough lanes that you can afford to take one
up, given that there's extra lanes where the turns/roundabouts etc

are.

You're right, unfortunately it wasn't near a roundabout or light, or
well it was but after it... Just straight road and only one lane not
counting the bike lane...
Anyways, you're ruining my attempt at justifying my vusiness here ;O)

Quoted message said:

However I avoid Grey St except when it's really early (before 0600) -

Me to, if it wasn't for the fact that I work in Grey St. and thus don't
have much choice, one way or the other I have to go down Grey St. Also,
I'm still figuring out how to get down to South Bank from the bridge
that I can't remember what's called... Not enough bridges up here but
still too many for me to remember, what does that tell you? ;O)

-Rasmus

quote='Tamyka Bell'nebakke said:

eb said:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Remember: you are only obliged to use the cycle lane if it is safe to

do

Quoted message said:

so. That means that if you have to pass a car, do so allowing enough
room for the door to open 'cause, as you've found out, some drivers

are

Quoted message said:

too ignorant to assess the consequences of their actions.

That's probably not a bad idea, unfortunately Grey St. isn't all that
wide and considering the guy in the RX8 I'm not sure how swerving wide
on it during rush hour will affect my future prospects... I'm still a
little careful as you can hear, it's bad enough that my brain still
doesn't quite like me riding on the left side of the road and braking
with the wrong hands...

Quoted message said:

Ride wide.

Will try

-Rasmus

Grey St, Sth Bne? It has enough lanes that you can afford to take one
up, given that there's extra lanes where the turns/roundabouts etc are.
However I avoid Grey St except when it's really early (before 0600) -
I'd rather ride at 20km/h through Southbank, dealing with veering
pedestrians, than deal with the weirdo rich people on Grey St.

Tam[/QUOTE]
Rich people on Grey St? Holy [censored]!!! I grew up around there and there weren't no stinking rich people there then!!! And if you wanted weird, that was provided by the old winos and derelects who inhabited the area.

SteveA

Tamyka Bell said:

eb said:

Quoted message said:

>>>>"nebakke" == nebakke <[email hidden]> writes:

<snip snap>

Quoted message said:

nebakke> Damn near got me killed when I tried to swerwe around the
nebakke> opening door in the last minute and almost got hit by a
nebakke> smartass in an old RX8 who felt the need to floor the gas
nebakke> pedal so that he'd make the 20 meters up to the next red
nebakke> light in time to sit and wait in the queue behind the
nebakke> concrete truck.

Remember: you are only obliged to use the cycle lane if it is safe to do
so. That means that if you have to pass a car, do so allowing enough
room for the door to open 'cause, as you've found out, some drivers are
too ignorant to assess the consequences of their actions.

Ride wide.
--
Cheers
Euan (who claims the lane for the length of Blackburn Road.)

Just last week I had a beauty - as I rode up Logan Rd near Marshall Rd
intersection, heading outbound, a guy walks out of a shop to his parked
car, around the car, looks at me (20m away), and opens his door. Hehehe
watch out dude, you've got a bullseye on your ute now.

Tam

I reckon you're nuts riding Logan Rd :-) I commute from Mansfield: up
Creek Rd, onto Logan (the worst bit of the ride) then down Nursery and
onto the bike path ASAP. I agree that the bike path is pretty ordinary,
but it sure beats greasing the cars on Logan Rd! (just get to dodge
pedestrians instead).

Joel

Hi Jolly,

Depends when you're riding in... I commute from Mt Gravatt East - up
Creek Rd (from behind the "Freedom Fuels" servo), then right onto Logan
Rd. I don't jump onto the bike paths until Stone's Corner.

But I'll only do that if I leave home well before 7am (generally about
6:30-6:45) - otherwise the traffic does get nasty.

Come on - live life on the edge!! Just join us, join us, join us......

Absent Husband (when do you commute in?? We could link up one morning??)

Absent Husband said:

Hi Jolly,

Depends when you're riding in... I commute from Mt Gravatt East - up
Creek Rd (from behind the "Freedom Fuels" servo), then right onto Logan
Rd. I don't jump onto the bike paths until Stone's Corner.

But I'll only do that if I leave home well before 7am (generally about
6:30-6:45) - otherwise the traffic does get nasty.

Come on - live life on the edge!! Just join us, join us, join us......

Absent Husband (when do you commute in?? We could link up one morning??)

I live in behind Mt Gravatt East State School, so not that far away.

I normally leave about 7:30-8:00. Haven't ridden this week due to knee
concerns, but got go ahead from physio today along with a regime of
corrective action.

If it's past about 7pm I'll ride home along Logan Rd, mainly because the
lighting is better. The bike path is damn hard to see in parts,
especially where the freeway lights are in your eyes but the path is in
the shadow. I've nearly turned into a tree (no, not growing leaves on my
arms) a few times now.

Give me a bit more training and I might see about joining in. You
wouldn't want to be seen with a guy on a [censored] hybrid, would you? :-)

Joel

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> "nebakke" == nebakke <[email hidden]> writes:

nebakke eb said:

Quoted message said:

I feel your pain. Bike lanes suck, we don't need them.

nebakke> It's just that I get a bit of a sense of security from
nebakke> them, a bit like a nice teddy bear or a good blanket ;O)

And like a teddy bear or a good blanket it's a false sense of security.
Not only that, it does nothing for cyclists in the long run. All cycle
lanes do is give motorists even more reason to resent us when we don't
use these facilities and take up ``their'' space.

Acceptance of cycling won't come through cycling lanes and paths, it'll
only come through education of the general public at large; cyclists and
motorists.

nebakke> St. isn't all that wide and considering the guy in the RX8
nebakke> I'm not sure how swerving wide on it during rush hour will
nebakke> affect my future prospects...

This is going to sound harsh so please bear in mind that it's mean in
the best possible spirit. If you ever have to swerve then you're not
cycling as defensively as you should.

Let me try to explain. I'm cycling down the road, I'm scanning well in
front of me, peeking in to any corner, between cars. If there's a
hazard, and by hazard I mean an area of road where something might
happen, I adjust speed or course accordingly.

In your case I'm assuming (correct if wrong) that the illegally parked
car was visible from some distance. You could have use that distance to
check behind you, give clear indication that you're about to pull out
and then move out of the cycle lane in to the flow of traffic well
before the illegally parked car. No swerving necessary.

We all get complacent at times, I did two days ago cycling up
Blackburn. I've been claiming the lane for so long up that rode that I
subconsciously thought the traffic was pretty good and, without realising
it, drifted to about 1/4 metre from the kerb.

Big mistake, I got so squeezed by a lorry that I locked up both brakes
and came to a halt. Claim the lane, do it in a positive manner and
motorists will give you the space you need. Act like a second class
road user and you will get treated like one.

And now that I've convinced all in this news group that I'm a pompous
ass, I'm off to bed :-)
--
Cheers
Euan