From: daavid@bohra.cpg.oz.au (Daavid Turnbull)
Newsgroups: aus.bicycle
Subject: Re: 30 K ????
Date: 3 Sep 92 14:34:40 GMT
Organization: Computer Power Software

In article <mylene.715483502@swanee> mylene@swanee.ee.uwa.edu.au (Mylene Pijpers) writes:
> In <1992Sep2.021003.21686@bilby.cs.uwa.edu.au> Quinn <quinn@cs.uwa.edu.au> writes:
>
>>In article <1992Aug31.114038.6000@bohra.cpg.oz.au> Daavid Turnbull,
>>daavid@bohra.cpg.oz.au writes:
>>>
>>>As for the pedestrians/joggers I do not try and alert them to my presence
>>>anymore, they are far more predictable moving objects if you do not.
>>>Can scare the pants off them however as you whizz past at 30K... they
>>>obvious do not hear a thing, with or without walkman.
>
>>Yep, if you warn pedestrians they general become more of a nuisance.
>>Like you I go straight past.  I'm sure the people who wrote the
>>"Cyclists please ring bell" signs would have something to say about
>>that (-;
>
>
> WHAT???
>
> I think if YOU fools whizz towards a pedestrian at 30 K
Well perhaps I exagerate by implication.  In reality 5K is enough to have
the same effect except that you have a greater chance of doing damage to 
both parties as the pedestrian jumps out of your way. 
>
> by the time you SEE the poor soul, get out of that awkward position
> the "real" bikeriders feel they should have (bent all over) to reach
> for that fashionable bell that only does 'p'ng', there is not much
> time, if any, left to pass them.
> No wonder they jump at everything, after some of those experiences.
Cycle paths unfortunately are in practice not "Bike paths" but shared
paths.  Cyclists seem to understand that they are not supposed to hit
pedestrians, and ride in manner designed to minimise such occurances,
(as I feel I do), but pedestrians in many instances seem oblivious to
the fact that they are sharing the path.
>
> Please, stick to those wonderful bitumen roads they make for 
> *fast* traffic, like cars, if you want to whizz at 30 K.
No way, certainly not by choice.  An accident on the cycle path may
result in fairly major injury to both parties if the circumstances 
are in conspiracy but on the highways the motorist comes off at worst
with a scratch on the paintwork where the cyclist is lucky to survive....
and you do not often catch pedestrians walking with their backs to the
traffic on the highway!
>
>
> Mylene
>
> Commuting by bike, baby in the backseat, at a comfortable speed of 
> ?? 10-12 K an hour. And enjoying the wildflowers, by the way.

Top of the morning to you.  My three children and I often cruise at the
aformentioned speed enjoying..... well my favourite is the ducks as
I mentioned in the original post.  No problems, and I would vouch that
if I wizzed past at 30K, as I am sure that many will have done, you would
not bat an eyelid, or your baby for that matter.  A pedestrian on the
other hand often gives the impression that they are surprised that they
are actually sharing a shared path with those for which it was also
designed.  Cyclists in my experience do not have this same lack of
perception.

Most of my cycle path cycling is done as a commuter and I believe that before
9 and after 5 that this gives my arguments all the more credence.... in the
morning most of the pedestrians are joggers and the evening joggers/dog
walkers.  It is a pity the owners of the dogs are not at predicatable as
their pets.

regards daavid
>  
>
>  


-- 
	Daavid Turnbull
	daavid@bohra.cpg.oz   +61 3 823 0222    (fax) +61 3 824 8068
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