Driving a cycling point home

another thought...

possible slogan...

"4 wheels doesnt make me twice the cyclist.
2 wheels doesnt give me half my rights"

flyingdutch said:

Just to give this idea some free space from 'other' discussions in its originating thread...

How about a mass weekend drive down Beach Road instead of a cycle?

I like the idea and will certainly support it. I figure I'd be wearing a helmet because if I use the car to move the bicycle it's inside the car.

I've been thinking about this a bit over the weekend and I've come to the conclusion that Beach Road has reached Critical Mass.

Cycling is going from strength to strength in Australia, it's becoming more popular every year.

What I mean by that is that the number of cyclists that use Beach Road has become sizeable enough to be noteable. It was only a couple of years ago that the number of cyclists that use Beach Road at the weekend was 7,000. Recent reports suggest this is closet to the 10,000 mark. That's a huge increase.

The recent media spin etc is a reaction to something that is out of the norm; motorists are being impacted every weekend by cyclists and they don't like it.

How do we get this message out to all the cyclists that use Beach Road though? it's a very small percentage of cyclists that use a.b.

EuanB said:

How do we get this message out to all the cyclists that use Beach Road though? it's a very small percentage of cyclists that use a.b.

there are a few on here, but i get your gist.
Talking to people, possibly handing out flyers at bunchride start-points
Flyers on traffic poles along beach rd?
@ Cafe Racer and other such establishments?
Bike shops
WheelsOfJustice web/blogs
Im out... other ideas?

Our very own Che Guevara!

Brilliant ideas. Make sure someone from the media knows about it though...
otherwise what's the point.

Good luck.

--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying
"flyingdutch" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

another thought...

possible slogan...

"4 wheels doesnt make me twice the cyclist.
2 wheels doesnt give me half my rights"

--
flyingdutch

flyingdutch said:

there are a few on here, but i get your gist.
Talking to people, possibly handing out flyers at bunchride start-points
Flyers on traffic poles along beach rd?
@ Cafe Racer and other such establishments?
Bike shops
WheelsOfJustice web/blogs
Im out... other ideas?

No chance we can get it on the radio?

Flyers cost money. I'm not a rich man but I can certainly contribute a bit of cash.

Big poster in back window of car driving up and down Beach Road? Wow, how green....

EuanB said:

No chance we can get it on the radio?

Flyers cost money. I'm not a rich man but I can certainly contribute a bit of cash.

Big poster in back window of car driving up and down Beach Road? Wow, how green....

There is a cycling specific show "The Local Spin"
on Sunday nights on SEN 1116 AM 8pm

pity SBS's cycling central aint about at the mo

Bean Long said:

Our very own Che Guevara!

Brilliant ideas. Make sure someone from the media knows about it though...
otherwise what's the point.

Good luck.

--
Bean

they can be told when they can serve 'the' purpose. 😄

flyingdutch said:

there are a few on here, but i get your gist.
Talking to people, possibly handing out flyers at bunchride start-points
Flyers on traffic poles along beach rd?
@ Cafe Racer and other such establishments?
Bike shops
WheelsOfJustice web/blogs
Im out... other ideas?

emails? They don't cost extra for most of us, and while not as good as the one-on-one communication, they can usefully reinforce messages heard elsewhere. Lots of the tri-clubs train down there, so it would be useful to include these in any communication. Bike shops (not just those along Beach Rd), clubs, etc... If a flyer was included as an attachment they might be encouraged to place it in their shops/newsletters/etc. This way even if people can't/don't attend they may have heard about it and be able to comment one way or the other if the media gives it a hearing.

While Beach Rd is well-known for cycling, many (most?) cyclists don't actually ride there much in my experience. I'm not sure it will capture those folk who ride daily in the same way as a "drive to work" day would. Also, what would the impact be on the cyclists who are still going to ride Beach Road on that day? I'm not being negative, just putting it out there as something to be thought about.

cheers,
ali

alison_b said:

emails? They don't cost extra for most of us, and while not as good as the one-on-one communication, they can usefully reinforce messages heard elsewhere. Lots of the tri-clubs train down there, so it would be useful to include these in any communication. Bike shops (not just those along Beach Rd), clubs, etc... If a flyer was included as an attachment they might be encouraged to place it in their shops/newsletters/etc. This way even if people can't/don't attend they may have heard about it and be able to comment one way or the other if the media gives it a hearing.

While Beach Rd is well-known for cycling, many (most?) cyclists don't actually ride there much in my experience. I'm not sure it will capture those folk who ride daily in the same way as a "drive to work" day would. Also, what would the impact be on the cyclists who are still going to ride Beach Road on that day? I'm not being negative, just putting it out there as something to be thought about.

cheers,
ali

fair 'nuff. yeah, tri clubs too
(but will they be able to drive in a straight line tho 😄 )

'theoretically' cyclists in cars are far safer for cyclists on bikes to be on the road with. could be part of the exercise to show how they can cohabitate nicely. Beach Rd is 'the icon' of cycling in Melb/even-Oz and has what the media have plonked the stereotype on so probably best to illustrate the message/alternative on 'the icon'. with 10,000 there in a given period on a weekend i doubt there would be half this number elsewhere at the same time

flyingdutch said:

Beach Rd is 'the icon' of cycling in Melb/even-Oz and has what the media have plonked the stereotype on so probably best to illustrate the message/alternative on 'the icon'. with 10,000 there in a given period on a weekend i doubt there would be half this number elsewhere at the same time

I agree. It's rare I cycle on Beach Road but I'd certainly do this to make the point.

It's rare I cycle in to the city on a weekend but I made the effort for the WoJ ride a few weeks back. If we want to make a noise we're going to have to work together.
--
Cheers
Euan

flyingdutch said:

fair 'nuff. yeah, tri clubs too
(but will they be able to drive in a straight line tho 😄 )

'theoretically' cyclists in cars are far safer for cyclists on bikes to be on the road with. could be part of the exercise to show how they can cohabitate nicely. Beach Rd is 'the icon' of cycling in Melb/even-Oz and has what the media have plonked the stereotype on so probably best to illustrate the message/alternative on 'the icon'. with 10,000 there in a given period on a weekend i doubt there would be half this number elsewhere at the same time

All good points, and I agree with them... if even half of these cyclists (and additionally those coming from further afield) were to take part it would be bigger than Ben Hur! Will that many cars being able to stick to one lane and keep moving while not obstructing cyclists completely? ( I have no idea how long it would take say 1000 motorists driving together to go the distance...) I am sure you are right about the safety increase for cyclists around cyclists in cars, but there may well be other drivers who may well be p!ssed off (including those tryinh to enter Beach Road... ), and cyclists (the cycling ones) also being slowed down (and no doubt p!ssy about this as well). Perhaps it would be enough for them to have prior knowledge of the event? I don't know what the mood of cyclists is on Beach Rd...

ali

flyingdutch said:

fair 'nuff. yeah, tri clubs too
(but will they be able to drive in a straight line tho 😄 )

They'll be the ones chugging along in 5th gear at 15km/h

flyingdutch said:

fair 'nuff. yeah, tri clubs too
(but will they be able to drive in a straight line tho 😄 )

They'll be the ones chugging along in 5th gear at 15km/h

alison_b said:

All good points, and I agree with them... if even half of these cyclists (and additionally those coming from further afield) were to take part it would be bigger than Ben Hur! Will that many cars being able to stick to one lane and keep moving while not obstructing cyclists completely? ( I have no idea how long it would take say 1000 motorists driving together to go the distance...) I am sure you are right about the safety increase for cyclists around cyclists in cars, but there may well be other drivers who may well be p!ssed off (including those tryinh to enter Beach Road... ), and cyclists (the cycling ones) also being slowed down (and no doubt p!ssy about this as well). Perhaps it would be enough for them to have prior knowledge of the event? I don't know what the mood of cyclists is on Beach Rd...

ali

I'm thinking (please feel free to set me straight if Im off base here, 531, rooman, hitchy, others?) that if all these cars are staying single file, in the right hand lane (assuming no bikes or parked cars in left) 'other' drivers can hardly get [censored] at, well, 'other' drivers can they???

I think that is the simple beauty of the whole thing!
All of a sudden these drivers are shown that the volume on Beach rd and respect for cyclists (now in cars) isnt THAT hard to do if presented to them in such a form. Besides, we can harldy be holding up traffic if WE ARE TRAFFIC, can we!?!?!?! (DONT make the obvious link/comment. it would be nice, peoples to keep this thread ON-thread 😄)

So, next step?

What are we saying/spraying on the promo material message?

thawts fer you all???

signs stuck up in car windows saying something like "Respect for cyclists"

or my above thawt...

"4 wheels doesnt make me twice a cyclist.
2 wheels doesnt give me half my rights"

I've recently had this lone ranger idea of getting half a dozen riding vests
made up with slogans on the back like "Me & my bike = 75 kg, U & your car =
1 tonne" or "Fuel economy = 5 apples/100 km" or "My other car is also a
bike" and so on. I was thinking I could rotate them on a daily basis so
that my fellow regular cagers could eventually get to see them all over a
short period of time. Sort of like a moving billboard with political
overtones. Perhaps some bumper-sticker slogans might be useful for your
proposed "car rally" Dutch?

--
Bean

Remove "yourfinger" before replying
"flyingdutch" <[email hidden]> wrote in
message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Bean Long said:

Our very own Che Guevara!

Brilliant ideas. Make sure someone from the media knows about it
though...
otherwise what's the point.

Good luck.

--
Bean

they can be told when they can serve 'the' purpose. 😄

--
flyingdutch

flyingdutch said:

What are we saying/spraying on the promo material message?

thawts fer you all???

"If this car was a bike you'd be past me by now"

I'm not very good at short and sweet ;-)
--
Cheers
Euan

flyingdutch said:

All of a sudden these drivers are shown that the volume on Beach rd
and respect for cyclists (now in cars) isnt THAT hard to do if
presented to them in such a form.

You think they'll be able to work that out?

Theo

flyingdutch said:

All of a sudden these drivers are shown that the volume on Beach rd
and respect for cyclists (now in cars) isnt THAT hard to do if
presented to them in such a form.

You think they'll be able to work that out?

Theo

"EuanB" wrote

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

What are we saying/spraying on the promo material message?

thawts fer you all???

"If this car was a bike you'd be past me by now"

I like that! This is the kind of sticker I would gladly have on my car
full - time! Indicates to motorists that other motorists are more of an
inconvenience than cyclists are.

BruceA