Are bikes the solution?

Brimstone said:

Ian G Batten said:

Perhaps if people traded
half an hour watching Eastenders for half an hour cooking, their
lives would be better. And if they'd rather watch Eastenders and eat
badly, why should I give a toss?

In reality both of those things can be done at the same time.

Personally I'd find half an hour of eastenders watching about as much
fun as having my finger nails pulled out... OTOH I rather enjoy
cooking.

Paul Rudin said:

Brimstone said:

Ian G Batten said:

Perhaps if people traded
half an hour watching Eastenders for half an hour cooking, their
lives would be better. And if they'd rather watch Eastenders and
eat badly, why should I give a toss?

In reality both of those things can be done at the same time.

Personally I'd find half an hour of eastenders watching about as much
fun as having my finger nails pulled out... OTOH I rather enjoy
cooking.

Quite agree, so substitute watching any TV programme for "Eastenders".

On 26/5/04 6:53 pm, in article
[email hidden], "Peter"

Quoted message said:

We won't get into this arguement, but in some cases the risk is
negligable. Imagine doing 35mph on a big open road with nobody in
sight, but a 30mph limit. These type of roads do exist, visit
Oxfordshire and you'll see what I mean.

Like the one where a deer ran out in front of me and though I was well
under the limit, I still hit it hard enough to destroy the front grille and
radiator.

...d

On 26/5/04 8:56 pm, in article [email hidden],

Jon Senior' jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk said:

Jim Higgons [email hidden] opined the following...

Quoted message said:

Why is somebody cycling through a pedestrian precinct a "bad" cyclist?

Because they're being a cyclist, not a pedestrian. In an area reserved
for pedestrians.

But a pedestrian precinct is not a no cycling area unless specifically
stated as such.

The no cycling on the pavement only applies to pavements alongside the road.
(IIRC).

...d

On Sat, 29 May 2004 00:26:00 +0100, Jon Senior
<jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk> wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

Gawnsoft [email hidden] opined the
following...

Quoted message said:

On Wed, 26 May 2004 18:49:08 +0100, Jon Senior
<jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk> wrote (more or less):

Btw - is tomorrow (or do I mean 'later today'?) a Critical Mass-type
day in Edinburgh?

It is / was, but I had a friend visiting so was unable to make it.
Ironically, I was travelling by car, and it did occur to me that I might
get caught in it from the other side.

Maybe next month? Or if you just wish to meet, we could try an arrange a
u.r.c (Edinburgh division) meet at some point. There do seem to be
enough of us!

Okay - let's have a try for next month. Is it as easy as just
spotting the last Friday in the calendar month?

Is there a consistent start time & place?

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
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On Fri, 28 May 2004 12:49:04 +0100, Dave J <[email hidden]> wrote
(more or less):

Quoted message said:

In MsgID<[email hidden]> within uk.rec.driving, 'Ambrose

Nankivell said:

In news:[email hidden],
Dave J <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

The [censored] who is driving at less than the speed limit for no reason
(or because of their incompetence) is causing me (and themselves) to
burn *even more* of this horrid fossil fuel stuff, and to take *even
longer* to get to our destinations.

Urm, if you're going slower (within reason), then you're burning less of the
fossil fuel stuff.

No, you're burning it at a slower rate, but at a larger amount per
mile. I am thinking here of 40 limits, where a sensible person would
be doing 45 and an idiot may do 35. Definitely a drop in efficiency in
most cars.

Air resistance increases with the square of the speed.

Rolling resistance only increases with the speed.

Over about 15-20mph (for typical car body shapes), the increase in
power required to overcome the increase in air restance determines the
fuel efficiency / unit distance.

If you're really interested I can post the resistance/speed curves for
a typical car onto the web.

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
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On Fri, 28 May 2004 15:15:33 +0000 (UTC), Ian G Batten
<[email hidden]> wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

I'm sure there are, whole percents of the population for whom there are
genuine reasons as to why they wish to improve their fitness but
cannot. However, in the vast majority of case, it's because they eat
too much

All of which ignore the fact that fat-laden diets are highly
correlated with latitude.

And that diets which contain adequate calories and inadequate
nutrition are much /cheaper/ than those which have adequate nutrition
and adequate calories.

(Of course, I do have to own up to the fact I had a deep fried pizza
and chips a couple of weeks ago...)

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
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Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

On 28 May 2004 17:33:23 GMT, [email hidden]
(dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers) wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

So how come this person is ``one of those fat people'', then, if their
diet is a model of health?

Years of ill-health (not obesity) when slim - years of various drugs prescribed
to solve said heath problems (which didn't work), but which seem to have
screwed up the body in the process...

Quoted message said:

In large part, that is absolutely true. How many fat people does one
see (a) taking exercise and (b) driving cars? If you peer into the
shopping trolley of the fat at the supermarket checkout, it's perfectly
obvious why they're fat.

ian

LOL, and when I'm at the supermarket I can see lots of fat people with trolleys
loaded with stuff they "shouldn't" eat and lots of thin people the same - I
also see lots of fat people with trolleys full of healthy stuff too.

You really do come across as a nasty, narrow minded-bigot, Ian.

And wilfully ignorant, to boot.

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

In MsgID<[email hidden]> within

uk.rec.driving said:

Quoted message said:

No, you're burning it at a slower rate, but at a larger amount per
mile. I am thinking here of 40 limits, where a sensible person would
be doing 45 and an idiot may do 35. Definitely a drop in efficiency in
most cars.

Air resistance increases with the square of the speed.

Rolling resistance only increases with the speed.

Over about 15-20mph (for typical car body shapes), the increase in
power required to overcome the increase in air restance determines the
fuel efficiency / unit distance.

If you're really interested I can post the resistance/speed curves for
a typical car onto the web.

I am, but a URL would perhaps be preferable.

--
Dave Johnson - [email hidden]

In news:[email hidden],
Gawnsoft <[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

On Fri, 28 May 2004 15:15:33 +0000 (UTC), Ian G Batten
<[email hidden]> wrote (more or less):

Quoted message said:

I'm sure there are, whole percents of the population for whom there
are genuine reasons as to why they wish to improve their fitness but
cannot. However, in the vast majority of case, it's because they eat
too much

All of which ignore the fact that fat-laden diets are highly
correlated with latitude.

I'd imagine that the presence of heart disease in high latitudes could be
correlated with the increase in average house temperatures as well. I
imagine (well, actually, having survived (not brilliantly) 3 winters in
Edinburgh without central heating, I know) that a high fat diet is a great
advantage to keeping warm inside. Shame the diet's stayed while the need to
keep warm hasn't.

Ambrose

"Clive George" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"Al C-F" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On 25 May 2004 03:19:23 -0700, [email hidden] (Peter)

Quoted message said:

Me, I find it hard to engage in
> traffic anger on my bike. If I throw a tantrum I will probably get
> flattened. One cyclist was deliberately run over and he and his
> toddler daughter seriously injured simply because he shook his fist at
> some git who carved him up. Life's too short.

No, they just don't know how to use the roads because they've never
had any training/tests. I don't think they're agressive (at least not
non-motorised cycles).

How strange. I seem to recall that many cyclists also own and drive
cars. Do they do this without training/tests? Surely there is some
commonality in the requirement for road sense.

Here's a question : when somebody starts learning to drive, how much does it
help having been a regular road cyclist before?

I reckon quite a lot.

cheers,
clive

I reckon a bit. The converse is also true, learning to drive and
studying the HC has made me a better cyclist.

On Sat, 29 May 2004 19:00:18 +0100, Dave J <[email hidden]> wrote
(more or less):

Quoted message said:

In MsgID<[email hidden]> within

uk.rec.driving said:

Quoted message said:

No, you're burning it at a slower rate, but at a larger amount per
mile. I am thinking here of 40 limits, where a sensible person would
be doing 45 and an idiot may do 35. Definitely a drop in efficiency in
most cars.

Air resistance increases with the square of the speed.

Rolling resistance only increases with the speed.

Over about 15-20mph (for typical car body shapes), the increase in
power required to overcome the increase in air restance determines the
fuel efficiency / unit distance.

If you're really interested I can post the resistance/speed curves for
a typical car onto the web.

I am, but a URL would perhaps be preferable.

Only got it in a pre-web book, sorry.

--
Cheers,
Euan
Gawnsoft: http://www.gawnsoft.co.sr
Symbian/Epoc wiki: http://html.dnsalias.net:1122
Smalltalk links (harvested from comp.lang.smalltalk) http://html.dnsalias.net/gawnsoft/smalltalk

In MsgID<[email hidden]> within

uk.rec.driving said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you're really interested I can post the resistance/speed curves for
a typical car onto the web.

I am, but a URL would perhaps be preferable.

Only got it in a pre-web book, sorry.

Ah well, ne'er mind. The interest is genuine but I'm sure I'll fall
across a similar study somewhere else.

--
Dave Johnson - [email hidden]

"Rachel Schaufeld" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Clive George" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Here's a question : when somebody starts learning to drive, how much

does it

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

help having been a regular road cyclist before?

I reckon quite a lot.

cheers,
clive

I reckon a bit. The converse is also true, learning to drive and
studying the HC has made me a better cyclist.

Ah - I didn't specially study the HC when learning to drive, since I already
knew it from quite a few years previously. Yes, that included the car bits.
And learning to drive didn't change my cycling.

cheers,
clive

Gawnsoft [email hidden] opined the
following...

Quoted message said:

Okay - let's have a try for next month. Is it as easy as just
spotting the last Friday in the calendar month?

Yes

Quoted message said:

Is there a consistent start time & place?

Charlotte Square. The corner nearest Queensferry Road (If I remember the
road names correctly!). Stated time 17:30. Just look for the collection
of cycle couriers, and pray for good weather.

Jon

Jon Senior <jon_AT_restlesslemon_DOTco_DOT_uk> opined the following...

Quoted message said:

Gawnsoft [email hidden] opined the
following...

Quoted message said:

Okay - let's have a try for next month. Is it as easy as just
spotting the last Friday in the calendar month?

Yes

Quoted message said:

Is there a consistent start time & place?

Charlotte Square. The corner nearest Queensferry Road (If I remember the
road names correctly!). Stated time 17:30. Just look for the collection
of cycle couriers, and pray for good weather.

Checking the diary... it's quite probable that I'll beon my way to York
at that point. The last friday of June is the 25th. It all depends!

Jon