Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby BobtheBuilder » Tue May 01, 2018 5:38 pm
Of course there are hippies like me who've always cycled, more as a form of transport than leisure, and with emergence of (faux) vintage bikes, bike-as-transport is also becoming more popular... at least in aspiration. With the cycle-unfriendly atmosphere of the big cities and the anti-cyclist laws, particularly in NSW, the transfer from aspiration into habit might be stunted.
I thought this recent article by Guy Rundle highlighted the social status of cycling as a pursuit of the well-off elite. It's linked here (to read all of it, you'll have to sign up for a free trial if you're not a subscriber - I'm not sure of etiquette on this forum, but didn't want to spam a post with a big long article!) - https://www.crikey.com.au/2018/04/11/ta ... ted-ideals
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby g-boaf » Tue May 01, 2018 7:56 pm
I can find you heaps of riders who are certainly not rich, they don't have much money. But they've saved up to get the bike they race. Or in a couple of cases, they worked multiple jobs to be able to have afford a fairly nice bike.BobtheBuilder wrote:being led by rich lads in lycra
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby BobtheBuilder » Tue May 01, 2018 8:11 pm
It's just a light-hearted generalisation.g-boaf wrote:I can find you heaps of riders who are certainly not rich
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby tcdev » Tue May 01, 2018 11:19 pm
Cold weather and exercise don't go well together for me. Firstly, I generally don't feel the cold as much as most people - I've climbed Kosciusko (in November) in a T-shirt - so I'm right when I can still get away with 'summer' clothing. In 4 years cycling in Sydney I've never worn anything more than a thin cotton long-sleeved top over my summer jersey, and that has always come off mid-ride.human909 wrote: Not such thing as too cold, just not the right clothing! Seriously, wear appropriate clothing and you can readily cycle in all the low temps Australia can throw at you. For city riding that just means whatever your favourite jacket is. For sporting riding that just means layers, thermals and light wind-stopper. Gloves and balaclava if you feel the cold.
But when it dips below that though, I have a conundrum. When I exercise, I heat up - and heat up big. And I also sweat buckets. Big buckets. Forget 'breathable' materials or materials that 'wick water away'; I'm soon peeling off layers and all the while getting drenched. And when I stop for any length of time, I'm cold and wet and therefore I begin to freeze. The last time I went skiing - in winter - I had just a T-shirt on under my jacket and was walking around Thredbo village at lunchtime with my jacket around my waist, trying to dry out before I cooled down enough to feel the cold weather.
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby Alex Simmons/RST » Wed May 02, 2018 7:18 am
Being able to and enjoying doing it are two different things.human909 wrote: Not such thing as too cold, just not the right clothing! Seriously, wear appropriate clothing and you can readily cycle in all the low temps Australia can throw at you.
At one time in my life darkness, cold, rain, high winds etc would never be an impediment but my motivation for cycling then was different. I'm older and see no point in cycling if I'm not going to enjoy it. Going out in sub zero temperatures and/or with a filthy wind chill factor is not enjoyable.
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby Mugglechops » Wed May 02, 2018 9:38 am
What's wrong with NowraAlex Simmons/RST wrote:Inland gets too cold in the winter but yes Canberra has great options. KV roads aren't that great. OK for a long weekend training camp/tour but to head out of KV the road options are not overly cycle friendly. And the nearest regional town is Nowra.
Bright is good for part of the year but a long way from larger regional centre.
If you don't mind gravel you can get from Nowra to KV on a nice back road. Plenty of nice riding around Berry now it's bypassed. Lots of singletrack if you ride MTB. Beaches to ride a Fatbike on with zero car worries.
Not the best drivers but you can stay off most main roads.
In saying that though, I am moving to Wagga at the end of this year
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby march83 » Wed May 02, 2018 10:07 am
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby RobertL » Wed May 02, 2018 10:11 am
I agree with all of this, but everybody is forgetting the cycle delivery folk. And I mean "everybody" as in all bike planning, conversations, considerations etc.BobtheBuilder wrote:I think there is a cultural shift towards cycling in this country - at the moment it's being led by rich lads in lycra, who many (including cyclists!) love to hate, but culturally, the pursuits of the well-paid elite tend to spread more widely over time.
Of course there are hippies like me who've always cycled, more as a form of transport than leisure, and with emergence of (faux) vintage bikes, bike-as-transport is also becoming more popular... at least in aspiration. With the cycle-unfriendly atmosphere of the big cities and the anti-cyclist laws, particularly in NSW, the transfer from aspiration into habit might be stunted.
I thought this recent article by Guy Rundle highlighted the social status of cycling as a pursuit of the well-off elite. It's linked here (to read all of it, you'll have to sign up for a free trial if you're not a subscriber - I'm not sure of etiquette on this forum, but didn't want to spam a post with a big long article!) - https://www.crikey.com.au/2018/04/11/ta ... ted-ideals
Surely having a gazillion Foodora and Deliveroo cyclists out and about must have some impact on the perception of cycling in general?
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby human909 » Wed May 02, 2018 1:41 pm
That conundrum is not at all specific to you. Thankfully it is readily solved by appropriate layered clothing. I frequently exercise in environments where I might have my shirt off and sweating buckets and then later be layered up with thick down and a jacket in high winds and sleet.tcdev wrote:Cold weather and exercise don't go well together for me. Firstly, I generally don't feel the cold as much as most people - I've climbed Kosciusko (in November) in a T-shirt - so I'm right when I can still get away with 'summer' clothing. In 4 years cycling in Sydney I've never worn anything more than a thin cotton long-sleeved top over my summer jersey, and that has always come off mid-ride.human909 wrote: Not such thing as too cold, just not the right clothing! Seriously, wear appropriate clothing and you can readily cycle in all the low temps Australia can throw at you. For city riding that just means whatever your favourite jacket is. For sporting riding that just means layers, thermals and light wind-stopper. Gloves and balaclava if you feel the cold.
But when it dips below that though, I have a conundrum. When I exercise, I heat up - and heat up big. And I also sweat buckets. Big buckets. Forget 'breathable' materials or materials that 'wick water away'; I'm soon peeling off layers and all the while getting drenched. And when I stop for any length of time, I'm cold and wet and therefore I begin to freeze. The last time I went skiing - in winter - I had just a T-shirt on under my jacket and was walking around Thredbo village at lunchtime with my jacket around my waist, trying to dry out before I cooled down enough to feel the cold weather.
I absolutely agree with all these sentiments.Alex Simmons/RST wrote:Being able to and enjoying doing it are two different things.
.....I'm older and see no point in cycling if I'm not going to enjoy it.
.....Going out in sub zero temperatures and/or with a filthy wind chill factor is not enjoyable.
Though in many circumstances they can be readily overcome with appropriate clothing, some of the comments earlier do indicate that some people could explore clothing options a little better. As somebody who has cycled in snow and sub zero temperatures I've never found in anyway unpleasant. Just layer up.
(All that said my comments might seem a little hypocritical. I did have plans this weekend to spend a day on a 200m cliff. But with sub 10C temperatures forecast and a decent wind potential it is looking less likely. Any hint of rain and its a no go.)
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby Mulger bill » Sun May 06, 2018 7:28 pm
Mostly bad I suspect, like most gig economy subbies paid piecework rates they're more worried about getting the next job done than playing niceRobertL wrote:Surely having a gazillion Foodora and Deliveroo cyclists out and about must have some impact on the perception of cycling in general?
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby DavidS » Tue May 08, 2018 11:13 pm
A couple of little sprouts appearing though. StKilda Rd in Melbourne is a disaster area for driving for the next 5 or more years as they build then new underground train. The bridge into town from the South in Melbourne (Princes Bridge) had a lane removed for cars inbound to create now more space for bikes. When these stop being isolated examples we will have got to the point where things are changing.
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby jindydiver » Wed May 09, 2018 6:43 am
I was at WVH in the 70's and that bike area was always chocka (had lovely trees around it by then). My kids old HS in Wanniassa just got rid of their dedicated bike area this yearAlex Simmons/RST wrote:JPB wrote:Alex Simmons/RST wrote:No. Not even close. IMO.
And a bigger school, Woden High circa 1969/70:
Nowadays it's a conga line of SUVs with barely a bicycle in sight.
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby Alex Simmons/RST » Wed May 16, 2018 9:02 am
Unfortunately there is no source listed for the data.
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby Bob_Hornsby » Fri May 18, 2018 7:51 pm
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Re: Tipping point in society's attitude towards cycling and bike riding
Postby Comedian » Sat May 19, 2018 12:57 pm
He said that people were now coming to realise that continuing to do more cars and more roads was not working and congestion was becoming the biggest problem of our time.
He said public attitude is that providing more public transport is good - however the public was still hostile to cycling and cyclists. Until that changes BCC will continue to encourage cycling as they are now. IE to build bike paths on floodways and encourage people to drive to there and ride. In all other situations the needs of drivers for road space or parking will continue to be 1,2,3 so cycling for transport just isn't going to happen.
I read the publics attitude that they are quite prepared for someone else to sacrifice their car trip so that they can have a better one. They are happy for them to catch public transport - or even ride as long as they stay off the roads and out of their way.
Maybe this is slowly changing in BNE but it's a loooong way from being at a tipping point.
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