Viewing 36 posts - 1 through 36 (of 36 total)
  • A new era of cycling may be here to stay
  • TooTall
    Free Member

    A team of academics at the Bristol Social Marketing Centre at the University of the West of England (UWE) has announced the latest findings from their research into what British people really think about cycling.

    Professor Alan Tapp with colleagues Fi Spotswood and Sarah Leonard commissioned YouGov to undertake this UK wide survey. Their research investigated the opinions about cycling amongst a representative UK sample of adults. 3,885 people aged 16-64 were interviewed in early summer 2010.

    FULL ARTICLE HERE

    We wanted to find out if cycling is still the ‘poor man’s transport’ populated by badly dressed social misfits muttering about gear ratios, or a fashionable activity of good looking people who rock up to the office with the latest carbon frame. We asked questions about how congestion, global warming and ever-rising fuel prices might persuade us out of our cars and back onto two wheels.

    I think we all know the answer to that, don't we? STW – social misfits arguing the toss since the 20th Century!

    skiboy
    Free Member

    i was in bristol at the weekend, my friend has just returned to mtb's so i took my cotic soul with me so we could ride over to ashton court and around the timberland trail,

    Saturday we went to the jazz festival up town, lots of singlespeeds everywhere, bmx's, roadys etc,

    sunday we crossed the city from the back of temple meads to the top of clifton and on to ashton, we saw plenty of bikes and riders and the thing that struck me was they were stuck up their own ar5e bloody rude, most refused to even give eye contact let alone a good morning, the exception was a guy on a black evil sov with his son, proof that good taste and good manners go hand in hand 😀

    rest of the town riders, to55ers,

    njee20
    Free Member

    They're tossers because they wouldn't say hello to you? I walked past a person in the street earlier, and they didn't greet me, what a prick.

    Did your parents not love you!?

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    Hairychested
    Free Member

    I noticed most good riders, both road and off-road, are polite. I commute on an old beast, smile at people and say hello. Roadies on £5-6k bikes recognise manners, guys/gals on £200 Halfords bikes never do. Off road it's similar – classy bike means classy manners, Lappierre bunch are too good for anybody else.

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    I don't acknowledge cyclists in town. Am I a prick? Actually don't answer that 😳

    JonR
    Free Member

    I say hello to everyone when I'm out in the Hills. There are 2 reasons for this
    1, These people share the same hoobby that I do and as such I feel I share a bond with them
    2, My bike is great and these people are more likely to notice this and give me some respect for it.

    I think I might be a bad person.

    skiboy
    Free Member

    i always say good morning to anyone who makes eye contact, cycling, walking or otherwise,

    and yes, if you say good morning to someone and they blank you, they are usually are a pr1ck and bad mannered,
    a total toss pot, wrapped up in their own lives, pretty normal these days,

    yes my parents did love me , whats your excuse ?

    in milton keynes most people will greet you morning or night, especially up woburn on a sunday.

    grumm
    Free Member

    Roadies on £5-6k bikes recognise manners, guys/gals on £200 Halfords bikes never do. Off road it's similar – classy bike means classy manners, Lappierre bunch are too good for anybody else.

    Please tell me you are joking.

    njee20
    Free Member

    yes my parents did love me , whats your excuse ?

    I tend to acknowledge folk on bikes, but I don't give a sh1t if they don't respond, I certainly don't feel the need to berate them on an internet forum, it's rather pathetic and has been done to death.

    If we want to get into sweeping generalisations then the group I consistently find rudest is the 'freeride doods/weekend warriors' with body armour and 6" travel bikes for riding around the car park, but frankly WGAF?

    scaredypants
    Full Member

    Professor Tapp concludes: “We were also surprised to find that cyclists were seen as lazy and non-cyclists percieve cyclists as less hard working than they are. Maybe the perception is that if you are a serious career professional in the UK, you don’t cycle – you drive a 5 Series instead.”

    FFS Professor – why didn't you ask them about the foundation for their opinions ? Research team too busy ticking boxes ?

    original paper here

    KINGTUT
    Free Member

    sunday we crossed the city from the back of temple meads to the top of clifton and on to ashton, we saw plenty of bikes and riders and the thing that struck me was they were stuck up their own ar5e bloody rude, most refused to even give eye contact let alone a good morning, the exception was a guy on a black evil sov with his son, proof that good taste and good manners go hand in hand

    rest of the town riders, to55ers,

    Hope you don't come back.

    yunki
    Free Member

    there is some heinous bollo being spouted in this thread..

    skiboy enraged by 'people don't heartily greet everybody that they pass' shocker… sociopathic tendencies are implicated..

    hairychested notices that people with more money than sense are also grinning idiots..

    Milton Keynes lauded as destination for the next summer of love..

    FWIW… I occasionally raise an eyebrow or give an almost imperceptable man nod.. anything more expressive than that usually appears to give cause for concern..

    juan
    Free Member

    I tend to acknowledge folk on bikes, but I don't give a sh1t if they don't respond

    Well I do. It's called manners. When someone say hello to you, the correct usage for polite and mannered people in a civilised society is to answer back.

    Then you may not care about other people, fine by me. But I will tell you something. Do you know why the motorbiking community is a bigger lobby than the biking community, well because they are a community. See when we start thinking as a whole and not as a me me me me me we'll get plenty done for cyclist.

    Mind you, you probably don't care either.

    ocrider
    Full Member

    I dont acknowledge cyclists in town either. It would be like nodding at every other car user if driving given that there are more than you can shake a stick at in these here parts.

    In the city it is a decent form of transport, not the two wheeled cliquey love-in, that may occur in some town planners' wet dream in Bucks.

    You want clique? Get a V dub or a motorbike.

    This survey doesn't appear to differentiate between people who cycle simply to avoid traffic jams or save money and those who cycle because they want to.
    There's a big difference between how both groups see themselves or are seen by others.

    ocrider
    Full Member

    … and how they wish to be seen by others.

    yunki
    Free Member

    MidlandTrailquestsGraham +1

    nockmeister
    Free Member

    Then you may not care about other people, fine by me. But I will tell you something. Do you know why the motorbiking community is a bigger lobby than the biking community, well because they are a community. See when we start thinking as a whole and not as a me me me me me we'll get plenty done for cyclist.

    Really…when i was a lad, I'd nod and get nodded at by fellow motorcyclists..these days you VERY rarely see motorcyclists acknowledge each other!

    simonfbarnes
    Free Member

    and the thing that struck me was they were stuck up their own ar5e bloody rude, most refused to even give eye contact let alone a good morning

    perhaps this says more about you ??

    Toxic Barnes gets a cheery welcome from most bikers and walkers…

    Cheeky-Monkey
    Free Member

    the correct usage for polite and mannered people in a civilised society is to answer back.

    I'm sorry but you're French aren't you 😉

    sharki
    Free Member

    Genius, a thread highlighting the success, popularity and acceptance of cycling, a thing most of us on here have in common.

    Yet still STW manages to provide enough critics, moaners, trolls, etc to start a debate on why if at all cyclists are on the whole nobs.

    The OP got it spot on with his last sentence.

    sharki
    Free Member

    I did try to drag it back on topic. 🙁

    skiboy
    Free Member

    i shouldn't bother, some people like to live in a friendly environment some don't, i will return to bristol to ride but only when i have to and this time i will greet the oncoming bikers with a pair of firm buckinghamshire rods,

    common enuf for ya'

    soobalias
    Free Member

    thats simply pathetic skiboy.

    i pass approx two thousand people each day, so i ignore them for the most part. when i drive i dont flash my lights and toot the horn at every other car.

    i dont think thats got anything to do with manners, i think you are special.

    but back to the OP, if cycling is so cool why cant i get laid?

    joemarshall
    Free Member

    Then you may not care about other people, fine by me. But I will tell you something. Do you know why the motorbiking community is a bigger lobby than the biking community, well because they are a community. See when we start thinking as a whole and not as a me me me me me we'll get plenty done for cyclist.

    Looking at CTC (60,000 members), BMF (80,000 members), there's actually not masses in it. I guess there's also British Cycling too, which probably has a good few members (like every road club cyclist in the UK), although they're less about lobbying for cyclists and more about running races really as far as I can tell.

    Joe

    "if cycling is so cool why cant i get laid?"

    Try wearing lycra.
    Works for me.

    druidh
    Free Member

    I thought this thread was going to be about the new-worlde cyclists who buy all the toys but can't put a tyre on for themselves.

    philconsequence
    Free Member

    excellent thread, fight fight fight!!!

    i always make an effort to say hi and smile to dog walkers, families, cyclists when i'm out on the bike…. i think its polite and i'd guess that about 60-70% smile and say hi back 🙂

    the ones that dont say hi back.. well that's their choice, if the sight of a 6ft biker in body armour, dreadlocks etc coming towards them isnt what they feel comfortable saying hi to, then that's their choice… they might just be wrapped up in their own issues, wanting to be in the woods alone, listening to music or whatever… fair play to them.

    if i rode on the road or to the shops etc then i doubt i'd be as enthusiastic about saying hi to everyone, but in the woods i think its important to at least say thanks to everyone who moves out the way or pulls their dog to the side etc

    popstar
    Free Member

    I only aknowledge other cyclist in town with -belittling Pffft, and only when I overtake those lazy long skirted Jessies. Tried to hold onto carbon frame roadie, but on my ful-suss tracktor it was lil difficult. Credit to that lycra'd up Jessie.

    bertberr
    Free Member

    Some interesting views here…

    This used to bother me when I was a fiery 18 year old, but now, a few years down the road, with greater responsibilities, 'life' experience etc I realise that there's an awful lot that can play on peoples minds, and often its when you're out walking or cycling that you dwell on these matters. And as such, you may not always either notice or feel like returning a beaming smile.

    That's not to say that I don't appreciate it when someone does return a nod or hello, just that now I tend to leave it to the last second to say anything, that way you can usually tell if they're a 'toe watcher', or they're caught up in their own world, and don't want to be bothered, and avoid any 'uncomfortable' moments on both sides.

    Oh, and having worked in Bristol for six years, I'd agree it's not the most friendly place, but what large, bussling, multi-cultural city is these days?

    gothandy
    Full Member

    almost imperceptable man nod

    Oh yes … I'm down with the man nod!

    Woody
    Free Member

    MidlandTrailquestsGraham – Member
    "if cycling is so cool why cant i get laid?"

    Try wearing lycra.
    Works for me.

    I think Soob is interested in women 8)

    Papa_Lazarou
    Free Member

    I was hoping for some discusion about the opening post and instead it's a frankly pathetic squabble about saying hello to each other.

    It never fails to amaze me how on STW, where you would expect everyone to be pro cycling, there is so much slagging of other cyclists and often, comments which are more pro car than pro bike.

    If bike riders can't even respect each other, it's no wonder average mr car driver doesn't care about cycling or cyclists.

    Woody
    Free Member

    Papa – You really expected anything different?

    IMO just another dull 'study' from academics trying to justify their existence.

    I would be very interested to know where the random sample was taken (nationwide….really?) and also see the questions in full. I think it would be very easy for questions to give a certain type of answer and the fact it was taken in early summer may also have had a bearing on the findings eg.

    A whopping 43% of us agreed that ‘When I’m stuck in a traffic jam I sometimes wish I were cycling’.

    . What would the answer to that have been in the middle of winter in pouring rain?

    Typical of the Gruniad was this pic
    with the caption
    "Not all riders look like this these days, says the British public. WTF he looks like a normal bloke to me.

    And a comment by Prof Tapp "Just 10% of UWE respondents agreed that "urban cyclists are just left-wing hippies", which surprised Tapp, who told me, "I expected there to be quite a high proportion of the total who still had the negative view of cyclists as weirdy beardy Guardian readers." Just how out of touch is he? I suspect that comment may be due to the appearance and mode of transport of some of his colleagues.

    At least there were many positive aspects contained in the report adn it does give more +ve publicity to cycling, so not totally a waste of time and money.

    ooOOoo
    Free Member

    badly dressed social misfits muttering about gear ratios

    tee hee, I'm sure there's none of those here

Viewing 36 posts - 1 through 36 (of 36 total)

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