If I get killed cycling it will be under the wheels of an HGV on our docks road like this poor sod yesterday. The poor bloke didn't even get his own column in our local rag, he barely got a quarter, playing second fiddle to another incident on the same road where a trailer unit clouted a flyover holding up commuters. I'll look out for the flowers when I venture down there tomorrow.
Same sort of story at this end of the country I'm afraid. I've been getting visits and calls all day from people who have heard about a 38 year old man who was killed on a recumbent trike in Aberdeen last night. This being because I am a 38 year old male who until recently owned a recumbent trike and rides along the road where the accident happened at about the same time. Talk about there but for the grace. Sadly the report on the paper was also brief and tended to dwell too much (for my liking) on disruption to drivers (even though the police spokesman was quoted as saying there wasn't any). They also felt the need to point out that it was a "low three-wheeled cycle".
Same sort of story at this end of the country I'm afraid. I've been getting visits and calls all day from people who have heard about a 38 year old man who was killed on a recumbent trike in Aberdeen last night. This being because I am a 38 year old male who until recently owned a recumbent trike and rides along the road where the accident happened at about the same time. Talk about there but for the grace. Sadly the report on the paper was also brief and tended to dwell too much (for my liking) on disruption to drivers (even though the police spokesman was quoted as saying there wasn't any). They also felt the need to point out that it was a "low three-wheeled cycle".
But at least the traffic continued to move freely!!!
No it didn't, it moved free-ly.
Quoted message said:
Mark Drever should be shot for that report.
So should whoever is responsible for whatever software is responsible for the growing plague of hyp-hens in the mid-d-les of li-nes. I have been blaming Bill Gates, ever since this plague started to infect the Oxford Magazine, and whilst I don't suppose I need any further justification for that it would be fun to know what it is that reformats text into which it has put hyp-hens without being able to take them out aga-in.
It's all right, or indeed alright, I'll go for a brief lie, or indeed lay, down now.
Unfortunately it seems to be a common problem in all our cities, you are only newsworthy if traffic is disrupted.
It amazes me every day how a large amount of car drivers seem to under the impression that they "own" the roads. I regularly have to field a variety of questions from puzzled people when they discover that I cannot drive (through choice) and have no desire or need to. They don't believe that I have ridden my bike every day for the last 16 years (well over half my life) and have never seriously considered driving.
If anything ever happens to me I hope I generate a few more column inches ! Does the press really tell the "news" or merely opinion ?
Regards,
Andrew
"Simon Mason" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]... If I get killed cycling it will be under the wheels of an HGV on our docks road like this poor sod yesterday. The poor bloke didn't even get his own column in our local rag, he barely got a quarter, playing second fiddle to another incident on the same road where a trailer unit clouted a flyover holding up commuters. I'll look out for the flowers when I venture down there tomorrow.
"Andrew B" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Unfortunately it seems to be a common problem in all our cities, you are only newsworthy if traffic is disrupted.
It amazes me every day how a large amount of car drivers seem to under the impression that they "own" the roads. I regularly have to field a variety of questions from puzzled people when they discover that I cannot drive (through choice) and have no desire or need to. They don't believe that I have ridden my bike every day for the last 16 years (well over half my
life)
Quoted message said:
and have never seriously considered driving.
I had to prove to people I met that I hadn't been caught drink driving, and that I wanted to give up my car. 🙂
"Simon Mason" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
Quoted message said:
If I get killed cycling it will be under the wheels of an HGV on our docks road like this poor sod yesterday. The poor bloke didn't even get his own column in our local rag, he barely got a quarter, playing second fiddle to another incident on the same road where a trailer unit clouted a flyover holding up commuters. I'll look out for the flowers when I venture down there tomorrow.
It's good old-fashioned utilitarianism; greatest happiness to the greatest number; that which creates teh greatest obstacle to the greatest happiness to the greatest number should be the focus of the news.
Jemmy Bentham and Johnny Mill meant well--they just tend to be a bit tyrranical when it comes to individuals....
-Luigi ...who really preferred Bentham's "On the virtues of the auto-icon" essay a lot more...
i think its a nice touch that the mention that the hgv driver was unhurt, well no [censored] sherlock!
panda
(hedon road was such a shock when i got off the ferry after a weeks cycling in holland)
"Simon Mason" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
If I get killed cycling it will be under the wheels of an HGV on our docks road like this poor sod yesterday. The poor bloke didn't even get his own column in our local rag, he barely got a quarter, playing second fiddle to another incident on the same road where a trailer unit clouted a flyover holding up commuters. I'll look out for the flowers when I venture down there tomorrow.
In case there is anybody on here who knew him, who has not yet heard - the Scottish recumbent rider metioned above, who was killed this week was Steve Donaldson - British Human Power Club secretary and all-round damn good bloke.
n case there is anybody on here who knew him, who has not yet heard - the Scottish recumbent rider metioned above, who was killed this week was Steve Donaldson - British Human Power Club secretary and all-round damn good bloke.
He will be greatly missed.
Indeed he will. I must admit that I didn't know who the rider was when I posted about this and of course it would have been very sad whoever it was. But I was particularly saddened to hear that it was Steve, although I only actually met him once. He flagged me down one day when I was riding my StreetMachine through Aberdeen and we had a long chat about this and that. Since then we've kept in touch by email and I was looking forward to meeting up with him on some CTC rides this summer.
the Scottish recumbent rider metioned above, who was killed this week was Steve Donaldson
Thanks for that, a great shame. Do we know any more about the crash yet?
Guy === ** WARNING ** This posting may contain traces of irony. chapmancentral.comchapmancentral.comOpen ↗ (BT ADSL and dynamic DNS permitting) NOTE: BT Openworld have now blocked port 25 (without notice), so old mail addresses may no longer work. Apologies.
