Blir Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Couple of thoughts I've had after reading Slashdot this morning. 1. I've been reading this jazz about the cycling superhighways they're implementing around London that are separate from roads and provide quick routes into the city roughly following the tube routes and thought it was a good idea! So I've been mulling over the prospect of cycling into work... I've always liked cycling, but even when these superhighways are ready, I'll be riding half of my journey on a road. This is something I've never done and frankly been fucking uncomfortable with. For two main reasons: a - Road users are usually ignorant of cyclists and I don't trust them. b - Cyclists are usually ignorant of everyone and the traffic laws, feel free to run through red lights and ride the opposite way down one way streets. My journey would be 16 miles into my office from door to door, which would be great exercise and good fun (apart from the mortal DANGER) but I'm not sure how long it would actually take. Currently my journey is 40 minutes walking and 30 minutes on the train. Any other cycling commuters in WATMM (cue about two responses from people who actually leave the house) that can share their travelling woes/advice? 2. I'm going to Canada in May and will be flying out from Heathrow where they now use these full body scanners. There's been a bit of a furore about this recently and when I was reading the /. article I felt a quick pang of outrage before I realised I wasn't all that bothered. I'm big on privacy obviously and I don't like government intrusion blah blah, but there were comments to the effect of "Gordon Brown was just WAITING for the opportunity to implement this and the underpants bomber was it. They were going to roll these out anyway! HATE HATE HATE" and I wondered what evil schemes has he got in mind that involves a full body security scan? Personally I'm not so self conscious that I'm bothered about some duder seeing my COCK AND BALLS as ghostly silhouette. Actually, I want the man in the other room to see my cock and enjoy it, because I'd rather that than some bloke patting me down. So, basically, what dystopian future to I have to be worried about from these full body scans exactly? This isn't a sarcastic question, I'd like to know what all the hub bub is about. Thanks, guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gary C Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Cycling Highways in London? Really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blir Posted February 2, 2010 Author Share Posted February 2, 2010 Yep! To be honest, it's a great idea and about time. There's a good stretch down Enfield towards Tottenham where the red cycle lane is separated from the road by a curb and I always thought something like that should be implemented more fully. Also the artists impression of people on bikes on a blue road is a lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keltoi Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 take 45mins / an hour depending on traffic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Masonic Boom Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I might be interested in this if they could figure out a way to get from Sarf London to Central without going through the KAMIKAZI INFINITY SHAPED DEATH SPIRAL that is Elephant & Castle. You're taking your life in your hands if you cycle through that intersection. It's dangerous enough on foot - on cycle... ::shudders:: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gary C Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 Yeah, I imagined that this was an actual highway. Like in a futuristic super city. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blir Posted February 2, 2010 Author Share Posted February 2, 2010 Yeah, I imagined that this was an actual highway. Like in a futuristic super city. Oh, no! Not in this country. Fuck me, that would be great though. When I was young I always thought it would be great to have an underground cycle highway, nowhere near cars where you can cycle as fast as you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Masonic Boom Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I approve of this underground cyclist city idea. Keep those kamikazi bicyclists away from the rest of humanity so they can't hurt anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Coalbucket PI Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I'd guess 16 miles would take longer than an hour, maybe an hour and a half depending on how flat it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muflontillah Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 2. - many people are outraged because of these full-body scanners, but look at it from the other side,... not that it´s just useful, as well..the routine look at your ass is no different from the sight that your doctor have when you´re at his office, ...as the scanning will be done by professionals.. in my opinion, there´s no way of leaking your pictures in the same amount as it would happen in the doctors office ...other thing that´s kinda weird is nearly the same thing that´s being talked about in my country these days,... and that is that when you are a girl and you have this special skin problem on your puss doctor can´t get the special medics for you if he don´t send a picture of your problem to some people who then can approve giving the cure to the pacients. Quite fucked up, even doctors don´t like it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blir Posted February 2, 2010 Author Share Posted February 2, 2010 Yeah, think people might be a little oversensitive about the nudity thing. I mean, especially those going on about children being scanned. Because as we all know there's a massive surge in popularity for blue ghostly kiddie porn these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Al Hounos Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 16 miles? maybe 45 min. shouldn't take more than an hour. it's pretty easy to keep an average speed of 20mph or so as long as there's not too many obstructions. bicycles are often faster than people realize. i can get to work in 10 minutes on my bike versus 25 by bus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blir Posted February 2, 2010 Author Share Posted February 2, 2010 Depends though, Londons road system is a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest AcrossCanyons Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I'd like to cycle to work (I have a car but don't drive yet and I'm not sure if I want to either). I get 2 buses to work, one takes about 15 minutes and the other about 5 - 10. Both are horribly unreliable. But that would involve me buying a bike, finding a good route to take to work and I would have to cycle up a hill to go home. Oh and I'd have to carry a laptop some days Does anyone here have to do any of this but bike it anyway? I'd like to know how it is because it's something I've thought about for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvatorin Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I APPROVE OF ANYTHING UNDERGROUND, IN FACT, I AM GOING TO RESUME DIGGING MY UNDERGROUND CAVERNS IN 2 MONTHS TIME. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Al Hounos Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I'd like to cycle to work (I have a car but don't drive yet and I'm not sure if I want to either). I get 2 buses to work, one takes about 15 minutes and the other about 5 - 10. Both are horribly unreliable. But that would involve me buying a bike, finding a good route to take to work and I would have to cycle up a hill to go home. Oh and I'd have to carry a laptop some days Does anyone here have to do any of this but bike it anyway? I'd like to know how it is because it's something I've thought about for a while. lol, i came to korea and within three months i had bought a bicycle and was riding it to work everyday. just do it. obviously not on rainy days tho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bubba69 Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 16 miles isn't that far as long as it's relatively flat and you don't have to be in a lot of traffic. I think the 40 minutes to 1 hour estimate sounds about right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Masonic Boom Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I APPROVE OF ANYTHING UNDERGROUND, IN FACT, I AM GOING TO RESUME DIGGING MY UNDERGROUND CAVERNS IN 2 MONTHS TIME. I like your thinking. You remind me of that English nobleman... ah, I forget his name. But he closed off his country house and constructed a whole warren of underground passages and even an underground train so that he could get from one end of his estate to the other without ever going above ground. I will check the book when I get home as it seems the kind of thing you would enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Salvatorin Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 I APPROVE OF ANYTHING UNDERGROUND, IN FACT, I AM GOING TO RESUME DIGGING MY UNDERGROUND CAVERNS IN 2 MONTHS TIME. I like your thinking. You remind me of that English nobleman... ah, I forget his name. But he closed off his country house and constructed a whole warren of underground passages and even an underground train so that he could get from one end of his estate to the other without ever going above ground. I will check the book when I get home as it seems the kind of thing you would enjoy. I AM STILL HIGHLY INTERESTED IN THIS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hautlle Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 I'd like to cycle to work (I have a car but don't drive yet and I'm not sure if I want to either). I get 2 buses to work, one takes about 15 minutes and the other about 5 - 10. Both are horribly unreliable. But that would involve me buying a bike, finding a good route to take to work and I would have to cycle up a hill to go home. Oh and I'd have to carry a laptop some days Does anyone here have to do any of this but bike it anyway? I'd like to know how it is because it's something I've thought about for a while. I have to bike up a realy steep hill to get to school. TBH I actually have to get off my bike and push it cause this shit is STEEP. Other than that I'm really looking forward to the nice weather so I can bike to and from school/work instead of riding the bus or driving Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mistymountainhop Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 You should give an electric wheel hub conversion kit a try. I sold my crap car and got a battery powered rear-hub motor set up on my shitty thrift store bike, and it cost me about $400 when all said and done. Best move I ever made. I installed it myself, charges in about 3/4 hours, and has a 50 mile range on a single charge. I can get up to 40mph too, but it gets scary. I just charge it out back at work usually to save the electric bill (would only be about $15/mo though at home). I figure it saves me around $8,000/year when I figure car payments, insurance, AAA coverage, and gas. Besides, in a bigger city like where I live, I can get to work MUCH faster on this thing than in my car with traffic, and it's way more fun. If you're worried about exercise, you can still pedal and just use the motor to help on hills. It blows my mind that not everyone in the country doesn't own one of these. The upsides far outweigh the negatives of not being able to ride it for the 3 month winter where I live, and the occasional weird looks, right? http://www.bicycle-power.com/diykits.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 Other than that I'm really looking forward to the nice weather so I can bike to and from school/work instead of riding the bus or driving Me too, been busing all "winter" and while it's relaxing and I can read/listen to music, it's not cheap, and it's not exercise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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