"The Running man" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:The only thing i feel sorry about mate, is for idiots like you that like
to
Quoted message said:try and cram in your bikes onto busy commuter trains making everyone crush up a bit more so you
and your 2wheels take up the whole train.
If you must ride a bike, why not ride it to work and not running the
wheels
Quoted message said:all over my feet, let alone your chain grease all over my trousers!
As a cyclist I sympathise with rail passengers who do find themselves having to squeeze past
dirty bikes.
Of course this would not be necessary if we had an operational railway system in this country rather
than the wind up Hornby O system that we are now left with. Other countries manage to accommodate
cyclists in a much more civilized manner. (Civilised for the cyclist who is not expected to stand
with his bike in a door way for hours while the train is late -- civilised for the other passengers
who do not have to squeeze past said bike). For example most regional German trains introduced in
the last 10 years have specific compartments to store bikes during travel.
Indian & Moroccan Railways (to name but two) run efficient rail systems which have baggage vans that
allow you to put your bike (or other bulky luggage) out of the way of your fellow passengers.
Whenever I have tried to take my bike any distance on British trains (and I try to avoid British
trains whenever possible) it is a bureaucratic nightmare requiring a ticketing and logistical
project management capability of high order -- normally requiring complex negotiations with several
different organisations.
Even where you can, in principle, turn up & go (subject to standing in the doorway clutching
your bike to defend it from [censored] who think it funny to give it a kick as they pass) you are
so constrained as to which train you can get on -- nothing that arrives in London between x &
y, nothing that arrives in Birmingham between r & s, nothing that is full, nothing where
Jobsworth says no.
All in all the sensible citizen is well advised to avoid the railways all together.
Perhaps the entire system should be ripped up, tarmaced over and used as dedicated cycle paths --
travel might then be faster and more pleasant.
T
