Cycling as primary mode of transport (1 Viewer)

[FlipX]

Do you think cycling is a good idea as a primary mode of transport? Great idea or impractical idealism?

To kick us off, here's an objective segment from dear ol' Kerri-Anne...
YouTube - Kerri Anne Kennerley show cycling segment 26052010

 

[B1gb0yjames]

kerry anne.

what a fucking slut. hope she gets raped.

 

[Richard Gilmore]

i dislike the sweating part of it myself

 

[zombie omie jay]

sweating yeah
im cycling now but its winter so its okay but i wont be doing it in summer no no

 

[Lentern]

I cycle to uni some days and wouldn't mind cycling to work but for traffic. Cowardly though it may sound I really don't like riding on the roads in moderate traffic and beyond so in that sense if bike tracks were more extensive and far spread i might cycle more.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Nothing cowardly about it man, it's self preservation. Sydney drivers have no tolerance for cyclists, even though in traffic you can easily keep up with the flow in most places. It's great if you live close to work/uni, but I just don't feel safe enough which is a shame.

That said I hate the cunts at uni with fixies and that. I remember riding along a bike track and some wang on a fixie overtook me (wasn't pushing) and then as soon as there was a gradient I just fucking destroyed him. It's retarded, gears are useful.

 

[cosmo kramer]

can't really be done if you live in the city and too far from work or where you need to go

 

[Richard Gilmore]

Nothing cowardly about it man, it's self preservation. Sydney drivers have no tolerance for cyclists, even though in traffic you can easily keep up with the flow in most places. It's great if you live close to work/uni, but I just don't feel safe enough which is a shame.

Indeed.

Although I hate it when cyclists ride on the footpath but I imagine that's a minority.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Depends where you are, if there are lots of peds yeh it's a dick move, if you're riding along parra road though it's better to be on the footpath in many places.

 

[aussie-boy]

I cycle everywhere - to classes, shopping, work etc

I can easily keep up with traffic (people severely underestimate the time spent at traffic lights) and average 20km/h

It costs way less than a car. 2nd hand road bike ($160) + pump ($10) + lights ($70) + helmet ($25) + chain ($35) = $310
The cheapest car to run (according to NRMA) is $120/week.
...I save so much money that I can afford to get a cab whenever I need to carry stuff.

Having said that, I'm talking about Canberra where every road is quiet/has a bike lane, hills are almost non-existent, and you can take your bike on a fast bus that runs every 5mins all day to access the other suburbs.

In Sydney, I would be quite scared to ride my bike considering the traffic. Plus the hills are gigantic.

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The "sweat" factor isn't really an issue for rides <15mins (which is all I do)

I reckon cycling should be saved in Syd for the western suburbs, as a way for people to access suburban train stations (and maybe regional cities like Penrith, Parramatta and Liverpool) - these places have the room and terrain for good cycling infrastructure to be a worthwhile investment.

Clover's ridiculous bike lanes up King st and Bourke St are way too steep to attract anyone but the crazy enthusiast cyclists.

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Finally, the RTA estimates that cycling 1km has a net benefit of $0.02 (or something close)

 

[SnowFox]

It costs way less than a car. 2nd hand road bike ($160) + pump ($10) + lights ($70) + helmet ($25) + chain ($35) = $310
The cheapest car to run (according to NRMA) is $120/week.

Too bad i bought a Dual Suspension aye?

 

[Optimus Prime]

You can't ride 50 km/h sustained so no, you can't keep up with traffic. I don't mean on average, I mean actually while riding.

 

[scuba_steve2121]

You can't ride 50 km/h sustained so no, you can't keep up with traffic. I don't mean on average, I mean actually while riding.

on a pretty flat road you would be very surprised what can be achieved, cough 60ks an hour cough... XD

 

[Optimus Prime]

"sustained", considering the fastest team time trial in the tour was 57.6 avg by disco in '05, I somehow doubt a normal person could do 50 km/h for any appreciable distance.

 

[scuba_steve2121]

"sustained", considering the fastest team time trial in the tour was 57.6 avg by disco in '05, I somehow doubt a normal person could do 50 km/h for any appreciable distance.

hmm the tour has Hills that most would give up just purely on seeing them. i think i said pretty flat roads didn't I ?

 

[Optimus Prime]

the time trials aren't on hills.

 

[aussie-boy]

You can't ride 50 km/h sustained so no, you can't keep up with traffic. I don't mean on average, I mean actually while riding.

What I'm saying is that I can beat a car from one side of the city to the other (with ease) ... which makes bike riding the fastest mode of transport available (obviously only where there are no freeways)

 

[FlipX]

I reckon cycling should be saved in Syd for the western suburbs, as a way for people to access suburban train stations (and maybe regional cities like Penrith, Parramatta and Liverpool) - these places have the room and terrain for good cycling infrastructure to be a worthwhile investment.

Clover's ridiculous bike lanes up King st and Bourke St are way too steep to attract anyone but the crazy enthusiast cyclists.

Agreed. I like Clover's initiative, but it really doesn't make sense in certain areas.

Biking as a local form of transport is definitely more viable than long-haul - that's where good public transport investment needs to come in.