Scary

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"The Conservatives - today holding a transport conference which they hope will win them a
reputation as "the party of the motorist" - have voiced concerns about traffic calming measures."

Surely a lot of traffic calming annoys both cyclists and motorists alike.

Adrian Boliston said:

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"The Conservatives - today holding a transport conference which they hope will win them a
reputation as "the party of the motorist" - have voiced concerns about traffic calming measures."

Surely a lot of traffic calming annoys both cyclists and motorists alike.

I agree. A lot of traffic calming measures are not just inconvenient but actively dangerous
for cyclists.

--
Dave...

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

From BBC News:

"The Conservatives - today holding a transport conference which they hope will win them a
reputation as "the party of the motorist" - have voiced concerns about traffic calming measures."

What's the concerns being voiced? Traffic is too calm? We need to lively it up a bit: abolish speed
limits - lets see what the NHS can do when really given some work...

Quoted message said:

I find this disturbing.

Yeah, cuz where are they going if that ruse doesn't get them into power? The Party of the
Paedophiles? The Party of the raving Axe Murderers?

"Dave Kahn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I agree. A lot of traffic calming measures are not just inconvenient but actively dangerous for
cyclists.

Me too. I should be very happy to see speed bumps and other cyclist-endangering 'traffic-calming'
measures got rid of. This doesn't mean that I am against traffic-calming per se, just that most of
it I see is worse than the problem it is intended to solve.

Rich

Richard Goodman said:

"Dave Kahn" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I agree. A lot of traffic calming measures are not just inconvenient but actively dangerous for
cyclists.

Me too. I should be very happy to see speed bumps and other cyclist-endangering 'traffic-calming'
measures got rid of. This doesn't mean that I am against traffic-calming per se, just that most of
it I see is worse than the problem it is intended to solve.

Rich

I have to admit until yesterday I didn't realise how speedhumps could adversely affect cyclists
(apart from being a mild annoyance). I'm talking about the rounded ones, not those vicious
triangular types in private estates. Came down a steep hill, which has speed humps on. Braking is
a bit hit and miss as it is still on my bike (this is me, not the bike, that's the problem).
Discover that

a) hill looks even scarier over the front of the now nearly non-existant bars/wheel,

b) speed humps mean I have to go down at a fairly sedate speed,

c) hands aren't up to applying brakes hard enough to keep speed down without complaining lots,

d) the whole thing is scary beyond belief.

I can't help thinking that whilst scary, it might have been a little more manageable if I'd been
able to ride down a bit faster, and have to slow at the bottom, rather than negotiating all these
speed humps as well as the downhill-ness of it all.

Am I deluding myself? (the hill doesn't flatten out at the bottom, but bends around sharply to the
right, necessitating application of brakes strongly at some or all points of the hill!)

Velvet

PS. Any tips on how to deal with the downhill issue? My body is saying the bars feel like they're
at knee height compared to my bum when going downhill, but they're actually level with the
saddle (dropped bars, in case that makes a difference).

[email hidden] (Rory) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

From BBC News:

"The Conservatives - today holding a transport conference which they hope will win them a
reputation as "the party of the motorist" - have voiced concerns about traffic calming
measures."

The Conservatives - the party of the <INSERT THIS WEEK'S POTENTIAL CHEAP/EASY VOTE SOURCE HERE>.

"We believe that 'New' Labour, far from solving the myriad problems faced by the <INSERT POTENTIAL
VOTE SOURCE HERE>, have merely succeeded in making matters worse by their insistence on <INSERT
POLICY USED BY FORMER TORY GOVT. HERE>.

The Conservative party will <INSERT PIE-IN-THE-SKY, NON-SCRUTINISABLE IDEA HERE> - meaning a fair
deal for Britain's <INSERT POTENTIAL VOTE SOURCE HERE>."

Maybe it's time for the W3C to ratify the <TORY> HTML tag? And indeed <BLAIR>? Both of those tags
tell the browser s/w 'display this text, but don't place any creedence in it'. Of course, there is
also the <BUSH> tag - the instructs the browser s/w to display the text 'bad men', 'democracy',
'Syria' & 'nukular' in a totally random manner, but always controlled by the stylesheet
warmongering-hawks.css

Quoted message said:

Surely a lot of traffic calming annoys both cyclists and motorists alike.

Most in Wolverhampton have made cycling a lot slower and more unpleasant/dangerous. Loads of pinch
points and obstacles near the verges.

Richard Webb

Velvet said:

I can't help thinking that whilst scary, it might have been a little more manageable if I'd been
able to ride down a bit faster, and have to slow at the bottom, rather than negotiating all these
speed humps as well as the downhill-ness of it all.

Am I deluding myself? (the hill doesn't flatten out at the bottom, but bends around sharply to the
right, necessitating application of brakes strongly at some or all points of the hill!)

Velvet

PS. Any tips on how to deal with the downhill issue? My body is saying the bars feel like they're
at knee height compared to my bum when going downhill, but they're actually level with the
saddle (dropped bars, in case that makes a difference).

You might want to practice hopping your bike somewhere quiet and flat. Once you're fairly
comfortable with it try hopping onto the speed bumps, at a moderate pace. This smooths them out and
avoids the need to brake hard, or at all.

For descending generally, try to stay relaxed and upright. Hold the brake hoods for preference. You
should be able to operate the brakes comfortably while holding the hoods. If you can't you will have
to put your hands in the drops but this will increase your feeling of being tipped forward. Rather
than braking continuously, brake smoothly just before your speed becomes excessive then allow it to
build up again. Assist braking by sitting up and using your body as an air-brake.

To go really fast put your hands close together on the tops, put your feet so the cranks are
horizontal, lie right down on the top tube, raise your bottom and move it behind the saddle. Make
sure your face is far enough away from the bars that they won't bang it if you hit a bump. Wheee!

--
Dave...

Dave Kahn said:

Velvet said:

I can't help thinking that whilst scary, it might have been a little more manageable if I'd been
able to ride down a bit faster, and have to slow at the bottom, rather than negotiating all these
speed humps as well as the downhill-ness of it all.

Am I deluding myself? (the hill doesn't flatten out at the bottom, but bends around sharply to the
right, necessitating application of brakes strongly at some or all points of the hill!)

Velvet

PS. Any tips on how to deal with the downhill issue? My body is saying the bars feel like they're
at knee height compared to my bum when going downhill, but they're actually level with the
saddle (dropped bars, in case that makes a difference).

You might want to practice hopping your bike somewhere quiet and flat. Once you're fairly
comfortable with it try hopping onto the speed bumps, at a moderate pace. This smooths them out
and avoids the need to brake hard, or at all.

For descending generally, try to stay relaxed and upright. Hold the brake hoods for preference.
You should be able to operate the brakes comfortably while holding the hoods. If you can't you
will have to put your hands in the drops but this will increase your feeling of being tipped
forward. Rather than braking continuously, brake smoothly just before your speed becomes excessive
then allow it to build up again. Assist braking by sitting up and using your body as an air-brake.

To go really fast put your hands close together on the tops, put your feet so the cranks are
horizontal, lie right down on the top tube, raise your bottom and move it behind the saddle. Make
sure your face is far enough away from the bars that they won't bang it if you hit a bump. Wheee!

--
Dave...

I was reading all that with interest (my bike's a roadie by the way), until I got to the last
paragraph.... Suspect that's not something I'll be trying any time soon!! :-) Regular speed humps
are no prob - just that coupled with steep downhill it all looked far too hairy!

Velvet

Dave Kahn said:

To go really fast put your hands close together on the tops, put your feet so the cranks are
horizontal, lie right down on the top tube, raise your bottom and move it behind the saddle. Make
sure your face is far enough away from the bars that they won't bang it if you hit a bump. Wheee!

No, no, no.

To go really fast put your hands either together in your lap or tight to your sides, put your feet
so the cranks and your legs are near horizontal and lie right down backwards. Lower your bottom into
a nice comfy seat.

The only thing you need to worry about face-wise is that it doesn't ache from the grinning.

In this position rounded speed-bumps aren't a great issue either - just let them launch you into teh
air - the ground comes back to you eventually.

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

Ian Smith said:

Dave Kahn said:

To go really fast put your hands close together on the tops, put your feet so the cranks are
horizontal, lie right down on the top tube, raise your bottom and move it behind the saddle. Make
sure your face is far enough away from the bars that they won't bang it if you hit a bump. Wheee!

No, no, no.

To go really fast put your hands either together in your lap or tight to your sides, put your feet
so the cranks and your legs are near horizontal and lie right down backwards. Lower your bottom
into a nice comfy seat.

The only thing you need to worry about face-wise is that it doesn't ache from the grinning.

In this position rounded speed-bumps aren't a great issue either - just let them launch you into
teh air - the ground comes back to you eventually.

regards, Ian SMith

Yerrrrs. At some point I will be paying a trip to a certain not-so-LBS in forest row to take a
recumbent trike out 😉 I have a feeling I'd really like one of those - of course, once I've tried
one I'll *really* want one. Personally I blame my other half, cos I'd never heard of or seen them
before I met him... and was quite happy as a non-cyclist, too, come to that :-)

Only thing that does make me think though, is where I live it's very hilly. Very very hilly. Can't
avoid them. And I'm not sure how much I fancy lugging one of those up the hills. Nice for flat and
downhill yes, but it's hard enough work getting me and existing fairly light bike up the hills!

Velvet

Velvet <[email hidden]> wrote:

: I was reading all that with interest (my bike's a roadie by the way), until I got to the last
: paragraph.... Suspect that's not something I'll be trying any time soon!! :-) Regular speed humps
: are no prob - just that coupled with steep downhill it all looked far too hairy!

It takes practice, like everything else.

Sounds like you need to improve your hand strength - riding the hill regularly if that's an option
will probably do that. Otherwise you could look at some of those squishy-ball type hand exercisers
and try using one while walking/watching TV/whatever.

Arthur

Velvet said:

Only thing that does make me think though, is where I live it's very hilly. Very very hilly. Can't
avoid them. And I'm not sure how much I fancy lugging one of those up the hills. Nice for flat and
downhill yes, but it's hard enough work getting me and existing fairly light bike up the hills!

*That* is what gears are for... Had a recent bottom bracket swap not cured the 'orrible clicking
from the Speedmachine's front end, the next move might well have been a 58/94 PCD chainset, enabling
the use of a 20 tooth chainring...

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

(RJ Webb) said:

Most in Wolverhampton have made cycling a lot slower and more unpleasant/dangerous. Loads of pinch
points and obstacles near the verges.

It's the pinch points that really create the worst hazard IMO.

--
Dave...

Ian Smith said:

Dave Kahn said:

To go really fast put your hands close together on the tops, put your feet so the cranks are
horizontal, lie right down on the top tube, raise your bottom and move it behind the saddle.
Make sure your face is far enough away from the bars that they won't bang it if you hit a bump.
Wheee!

No, no, no.

To go really fast put your hands either together in your lap or tight to your sides, put your feet
so the cranks and your legs are near horizontal and lie right down backwards. Lower your bottom
into a nice comfy seat.

Yebbut - Velvet has a conventional road bike. Call me old-fashioned but I was taking that into
account. :-)

--
Dave...

Dave Larrington said:

Velvet said:

Only thing that does make me think though, is where I live it's very hilly. Very very hilly. Can't
avoid them. And I'm not sure how much I fancy lugging one of those up the hills. Nice for flat and
downhill yes, but it's hard enough work getting me and existing fairly light bike up the hills!

*That* is what gears are for... Had a recent bottom bracket swap not cured the 'orrible clicking
from the Speedmachine's front end, the next move might well have been a 58/94 PCD chainset,
enabling the use of a 20 tooth chainring...

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

Um, yes... I run out of gears at the moment though! And this on a 27? speed! It's granny ring and
lowest all around for me ;-) Mind you, would love to find out what gradient the hills are around
here. Guestimating from contour lines on maps is only a very rough idea.

Velvet