This is the Cycle loving speccie archive

October 17, 2007

bicycle film festival

Bicycle Film Festival - London, October 17-21, 2007

This looks good, even though their website doesn't work properly on my safari.

B-)

Posted by Billy at 12:29 PM | Comments (0)

May 19, 2006

hey bike boy!

Listening to Perry Haines (no, I didn't think you'd remember him) performing his one 'hit' (that's 'hit' as in 10 of us in Aberdeen liked it) and thinking any bike fans out there will want to know what kind of machine I just signed a credit agreement for. It's a ridgeback bullit

So far, very nimble - much more zippy than the Trek that was driven through on Wednesday and giving me a much more aerobic ride than I'm used to. Reminds me of what cycling used to be like before I got myself an inappropriate vehicle. Ideally, I'd have liked to get a proper road bike but I need something that will cope with the Parkland Walk, Trent Park and other occasional bits of off-road riding.

Had a nice cycle home on the new machine, ruined slightly by the fight between two girls I tried to stop on the way. They were somewhere around 12 or 13, I'd say, and one was being seriously violent to the other while her friend added the occasional kick. I was in between them telling them to stop but I had obviously managed my trick of becoming completely invisible. A grownup who knew them was there and doing absolutely nothing about it, but then a few others came along and tried to be slightly more effective than me.

B-)

Posted by Billy at 6:57 PM | Comments (0)

July 15, 2005

rationality and cycling

Blitz spirit? On your bike - Comment - Times Online

There've been a lot of conversations recently about rationality and the extent to which it does and doesn't affect our behaviour. This article points out that, statistically, cycling is infinitely more dangerous than using the tube even though sales of bikes have shot up in the past week in London.

B-)

Posted by Billy at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)

April 11, 2005

a new analogy

The guy in the bike shop offered a new analogy instead of the one about the axe with the changing handle and blade, which was pop groups like The Cure who have had loads of changes of personnel but people constantly remaining fans. I'd have thought The Fall would be a better analogy, since they've had about a million members and even had their line-up change during a gig. I had the incredible experience once of seeing my brother appear as their lead singer at the start of their set at Dingwall's. The linguists I was with thought I was joking when I got excited and told them that was my brother. One of our au pairs was in a band in Sweden who had an open membership policy. Anyone who wanted to be was in the band whether or not they ever actually performed with them.

B-)

PS I feel very positively about the shop who fixed my bike, so I think I won't mention to them that they put my tyre on back to front B-}

Posted by Billy at 12:45 AM | Comments (0)

April 5, 2005

special providence

Three posts in a row! Or is it four? Anyway, I'm very much enjoying cycling home in the daylight these days and with less clothing. I've found recently that the only way I can be allowed to spend time vegging on the sofa watching things like supersize me (last night - great fun, and yes, we did accompany it with some junk food - interesting to see the themes shared with Jamie's School Dinners, the third time that he's provided our most must-see TV, we realised) with Ohna is if I stay fairly late at work, which has meant it's been dark on the way home rather a lot recently. So it's great that the clocks have changed and now I cycle home through the park in daylight listening to loads of birds. And today i saw a sparrow (a rare sight in London these days).

B-)

Posted by Billy at 7:47 PM | Comments (0)

March 4, 2005

greedy mothers

Just received this warning from a cyclists' email group:

Beware Mothers' Day
Sue has asked me to remind all Little Green Riders that the pubs will be full of mothers this Sunday. That means that it might be an idea to come armed with more food than you think you can eat.....just in case.
See y'all soon.

B-)

Posted by Billy at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)

February 26, 2005

assertive cycling

BBC - London - TV & Radio - Inside Out - Cycling

Not sure what I think about this. Without being particularly assertive, I've several times had motorists honking and being quite aggressive when I'm doing things like indicating right and then pulling over to turn or trying to keep more than a few inches away from the kerb.

B-)

Posted by Billy at 12:20 PM | Comments (0)

February 25, 2005

specs rool

The one problem Ohna's having on her bike today is snow getting in her eyes. Not a problem for a speccie.

B-)

Posted by Billy at 9:39 AM | Comments (0)

November 21, 2004

fun, anyone?

In Germany in the 1920's and 1930's some people's idea of fun was riding rocket propelled bicycles

B-)

Posted by Billy at 9:23 PM | Comments (0)

September 30, 2004

blooming cyclists

Here's a message from a london cycling email group in response to a message about a campaign to encourage safer driving in the City (around one tenth of London's cycling deaths occur here even though it covers around one thousandth of the area of London):

'About a month ago I cycled to LCC HQ in Southwark for a
meeting at 0930. This was the first time I'd been
through the city / central London in months. The
situation there has gotten much worse since I commuted
regularly through the area in 2000.

I'm not surprised that attitudes are becoming
aggressive towards cyclists. I was almost knocked off
my bike on several occasions by cyclists who did not
expect me to stop for a red light. At the Angel I
watched well over 17 cyclists jump a red light, five of
them forcing buses moving through the intersection to
brake sharply. Complete disregard for vehicles and
pedestrians was the order of the day.

It was enough to make me consider the volunteer work I
do for the LCC. Not that I have a problem with the
organisation. It's the London cyclists who really got
up my nose.

I am not surprised by a rise in anti-cycling
attitudes, they are well founded on the anti-social
behavior of a large percentage of those of us on two
wheels. Why not a leafleting campaign promoting
better cycling?'

As one respondent said: 'I feel a warm debate coming on'

B-)

Posted by Billy at 3:06 PM | Comments (0)

September 9, 2004

cycling celebrity

Jon Snow is one of London's most famous cycling celebrities. I've spotted him (and Jeremy Paxman but no-one really talks about him as a cyclist for some reason) riding around a few times. I just got overtaken by Jon Snow on my way to the library and I have to report that when his mobile beeped he did take his phone out of his pocket and read it while cycling down the road. Apparently, there are no laws at all about using mobiles while cycling.

B-}

Posted by Billy at 6:17 PM | Comments (0)

May 12, 2004

angry cycling campaigner

Just received this from the Haringey Cycling Campaign:

- - - - - - - -

Some of you may be aware of a critical mass ride taking place in Haringey on 29th May. I have uploaded the flyer to [a private location - let me (Billy) know if you want a copy]

I have to say I find these events somewhat counter-productive and I also wonder where the participants are the rest of the year - certainly not at our monthly meetings, our workshops, our meetings with council officers or anything else we are doing throughout the year to campaign for Haringey to be a safer place for cyclists.

However, I am sure some of us will be attending - can I suggest we use the opportunity to publicise our own activities and events - and to argue the case that there is more to campaigning for cyclists than riding your bike once a year and that if the participants really want to make a difference they should be involved with us.