5 Cyclists dead in 1 week in London

[Orang Utan]

My two pennorth worth on earphones when riding.

I notice when I ride with earphones in, my general awareness drops.
It's not so much that you cant hear the traffic, it's more that it encourages you to be less aware by insulating you from your surroundings. I have definitely noticed that I have more near misses whilst plugged in, which is why I dont do it any more.
Also I like talking to other cyclists now and again.

Thanks for that post - I think I probably need to wean myself off using them (it will be hard to give up). I never used to, until I started an 8 mile commute. I'm the sort of person who constantly needs to be plugged in, with an OST to accompany my life.
I need to employ Ennio Morricone and orchestra to follow me about and respond to my moods. At a discrete, safe distance of course.
But then there is the trouble of the zone-out that happens when I have no music and I'm on a familiar route. I get home after a hard day's work with no memory of my journey home. Does anyone else get this? Like you've been on autopilot all the way home.
What is more dangerous? Autopilot or loud earphones?

 

[Crispy]

It's not autopilot as such, you're just not laying down long-term memory.
I find it helps to narrate your journey to yourself. Keeps you focused on your surroundings.

 

[Orang Utan]

Autopilot seems to be way more distracted and less alert than listening to music, though I may be talking shit. I find it helps me concentrate rather than distracting me, like with reading. Can't read in silence much. The silence is deafening!

 

[gentlegreen]

My commute is hugely familiar after 26 years - but it's been a long time since I used loud music - it's just softening the edges - plus there's a fair bit of wildlife I like to incorporate in the mix.
Thankfully I have close interactions with only a handful of people / vehicles.

In terms of zoning out, when I do a 9 mile fast ride up the railway path full-on disco style, in my head I sometimes find I'm several miles ahead of where I actually and and have to consciously reset the clock.

 

[Orang Utan]

I think I would rather have no music than quiet music...

 

[gentlegreen]

I think I would rather have no music than quiet music...

It's not exactly "drone" though - I thoroughly recommend these mixes for commuting - if you turn them up louder some of it is almost dance music - housey detroity urban stuff - the odd Martin Luther King speech ... I can dip in and out of it mentally.

http://www.deepmix.eu/

MP3s :-

http://deepmix.eu/select-e.php

Of course I don't actually know what your tastes are...

 

[DJWrongspeed]

Looks like the GLA want to hear from London cyclists prior to their 'Meeting on Cycling' in December

Survey

 

[T & P]

I like cycling (and scootering, when I had a bike) in silence. You get time to think that you don't get when driving with the radio on. I also suspect cycling or biking to the tune of my favourite dance tracks would probably want me to go recklessly fast

 

[Crispy]

Looks like the GLA want to hear from London cyclists prior to their 'Meeting on Cycling' in December

Survey

Done!
I was quite verbose

 

[Orang Utan]

I like cycling (and scootering, when I had a bike) in silence. You get time to think that you don't get when driving with the radio on. I also suspect cycling or biking to the tune of my favourite dance tracks would probably want me to go recklessly fast

That time to think can get a bit too deep for comfort.

 

[gentlegreen]

I used to use my commute to do my daily crying.
A good reason to have music.

These days I mostly think about nature and gears and improvements to my lights.

 

[Spymaster]

Thanks for that post - I think I probably need to wean myself off using them (it will be hard to give up).

Do you use them in heavy traffic?

Doesn't it just feel wrong?

 

[Orang Utan]

Do you use them in heavy traffic?

Doesn't it just feel wrong?

Yes!
No, it feels right!
If anything, it's safer in heavy traffic than on quiet roads

 

[Orang Utan]

These days I mostly think about nature and gears and improvements to my lights.

I think about my family, my friends and work a LOT on my bike.
I often come up with ideas for work or better ways of saying/writing things in general when commuting.

 

[Hellsbells]

I think about my family, my friends and work a LOT on my bike.
I often come up with ideas for work or better ways of saying/writing things in general when commuting.

yeah, I've solved all kind of problems whilst cycling, worked out how to have difficult conversations with people, drafted essays, written lesson plans, & given myself various good talkings to!

 

[gentlegreen]

Met police chief backtracks over cycling comments
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe says cycling is 'attractive option for many people', after earlier stating he would not ride in London

The Metropolitan police commissioner was forced to backtrack after publicly stating he would never cycle in London due to traffic and safety concerns.

Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe initially told a radio show that while he understood why people cycled if they could not afford to drive or use public transport, it would not be his preference.

"Of course some people don't have the choice, economically it's not easy you know. If you've got someone who can't afford to take a car into the congestion zone – if they did, you can't park it anyway," he said.

"Some people, they've got limited money and they can't pay for public transport. I understand why they take the choice. It wouldn't be mine."

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/nov/22/met-police-chief-cycling-london

How many here cycle (In London) primarily to save money ?

My own situation in Bristol is skewed somewhat by the lack of public transport (particularly between where I live and where I work - no direct route), but I used to own a car and left it parked on the street - in spite of the traffic not being that bad and insurance probably costing more than the extra petrol.
I also have a near-dream cycle commute - live in town / work in the suburbs and largely offroad - cutting across the main roads rather than riding on them.

 

[Orang Utan]

Saving money is quite a big factor, I would have thought.
Isn't it over a hundred a month in London for public transport? I have no idea why anyone in London would pay to maintain a car unless they had to use it a lot.

 

[Brixton Hatter]

How many here cycle (In London) primarily to save money ?

Even if i was rich I would still cycle - it's not just about saving money. It's about being the quickest, most convenient, most pleasant way to get around London. It's a no-brainer. Saving money is obviously a big bonus though - according to Ms Hatter, a month travelcard for Zones 1-2 is £120. The Chief of the Met is just another cunt who's totally divorced from reality - so rich and insulated from real life (being driven around by a chauffeur) that he assumes people cycle cos they can't afford the bus. Wanker.

 

[Brixton Hatter]

TFL have made this to show just how badly designed lorries are

http://dutchbikeguy.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/ultra-shocking-video-about-lorry-blind-spots/

They are like they are for no other reason than some laws dictating their overall length. They should define the trailer and cab length separately so manufacturers don't make them as thin as possible.

The problem with that video is there is no additional mirror on that lorry. All lorries since 2009 have to have an additional mirror above the passenger door which faces downwards and shows the side of the HGV (i.e. where the cyclists are.) Not the best picture, but sort of like this:

In that video, the driver either doesn't look at that mirror, or the mirror itself is missing (it's not actually clear from the video whether the mirror is there or not.) So the video is slightly misleading. Having said that, lorries built before 2009 aren't required to have the additional mirror - it's a fucking disgrace that the law doesn't require the retro-fitting of this relatively cheap bit of life-saving equipment.

 

[Hellsbells]

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/nov/22/met-police-chief-cycling-london

How many here cycle (In London) primarily to save money ?

I do. Partly. But I also just love cycling and can't think of a much worse way to start the day then being stuck on an overcrowded, hellish rush hour tube.

 

[Winot]

I don't cycle to save money - I do it because I love it - I actually enjoy my commute on the whole, despite the evident frustrations.

 

[8ball]

Had a bit of an argument with some old friends of mine tonight. Was trying to get across that even though 'cyclists should not cross red lights/take unnecessary risks' was not in itself a bad message, perhaps saying that in response to several cyclists being killed when there wasn't even any evidence that those cyclists were at fault in that way was perhaps something of a cunt's trick.

Think I've lost a couple of friends...

 

[gentlegreen]

.

 

[golightly]

I don't cycle to save money - I do it because I love it - I actually enjoy my commute on the whole, despite the evident frustrations.

Absolutely. Cycling is an important factor in keeping my sanity. I'm not even sure that I do save much money when I consider the cost of maintenance and cycle gear.

Had a bit of an argument with some old friends of mine tonight. Was trying to get across that even though 'cyclists should not cross red lights/take unnecessary risks' was not in itself a bad message, perhaps saying that in response to several cyclists being killed when there wasn't even any evidence that those cyclists were at fault in that way was perhaps something of a cunt's trick.

Think I've lost a couple of friends...

I've had quite a lot of judgemental rubbish about cycling along the lines of, "You cyclists all..." from people whose views I generally respect on other topics. Why the level of prejudice I wonder? It's just another form of transport. I get a real sense that car drivers and pedestrians (who don't cycle) do not consider that cyclists have the right to the road; that they are in some way trivial.

 

[gentlegreen]

Keep seeing a load of crap about "19th century" versus "21st century" forms of transport.

 

[rover07]

In Brighton, you get people who seeth with anger against bikes. Partly it's the Greens introducing 20mph speed limit, increased parking charges and cycle lanes on main routes.

But mostly I think it's because the traffic is so bad. In the summer,it can take either 5 minutes or an hour (no way to tell when you set off) to cross from one side of the city to the other. Drivers sit sweating and fuming in their vehicles while cyclists skip past and off into the distance.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

I don't cycle to save money - I do it because I love it - I actually enjoy my commute on the whole, despite the evident frustrations.

Yes I 2nd that. My commute isn't that convenient by public transport, cycling is the sensible choice really. Also it's fun. Whizzing over Waterloo bridge on a friday evening at sunset, why be stuck on the tube?

 

[han]

Yes Waterloo Bridge, the view is glorious and different every time.

I love my cycle commute, it keeps me sane. I have discovered a route on Bike Hub, the mobile app that uses the Cyclestreets mapping system. It means I am going along quiet side streets pretty much all the way from Brixton Hill to Euston (except Waterloo Bridge).

The Bike Hub app has revolutionised my journey planning in London. I pretty much always choose the quiet routes and thus my cycling has been transformed from being a risky but exhilarating stop-start weaving in and out ride, to a nice chilled amble.

The great thing about the sidestreets = no traffic lights, no inexperienced cyclists wobbling along the superhighways......

 

[han]

And practically no exposure to large vehicles. And because of no traffic lights, it's actually loads quicker than using main roads, once you've learnt a route.

Honestly, when the I see people cycling between traffic on Euston Rd, I think 'why?! there are lovely quiet roads parallel to this monstrosity, why don't you use them?'.

 

[Orang Utan]

I much prefer the busier roads to the quiet streets and all the parked cars on either side of the road.
I don't want to slow down - part of the enjoyment of riding is the sprinting on the long flats and you can't do that on quiet streets or cycle paths.
I enjoy the thrill of being in heavy traffic too.