Viewing 20 posts - 281 through 300 (of 300 total)
  • We have ‘car brain’ in the UK
  • bigdawg
    Free Member

    I was talking to a Dutch person about this and they explained that living in a country where if dykes and sea defences weren’t doing their job your house would be under water tends to make you very keen on understanding and happily accepting of / contributing towards mutually beneficial infrastructure even though you can’t see it from your window and your house has never flooded…..

    same as Canvey Island round here…. although judging by the usual 2 – 3 mile traffic jam to get off the island to numerous places of work every morning Im guessing they don’t share the same ideaology…

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Well there’s a slight difference – because it’s such a big deal for so much of the country it’s part of the national psyche and on people’s minds all the time. The water is part of the nation and the national myth.
    Canvey Island is small and could be abandoned (like that village in North Wales) without much detriment to the national as a whole. Not the case in the Netherlands, half of the country would be gone.

    kerley
    Free Member

    You may not have been in Halfords recently but there are loads of bikes that I would be perfectly happy riding around town on for £400 or so, you can even get an e-bike for £1,100.

    Indeed. 20 years ago I lived 3 miles from work and used a 1950s Raleigh gents bike (all black, full mudguards, fully encased chain, rod brakes etc,.) that I got for £50. Used it for years and it was brilliant as had to wear suits back then. Could just ride in full suit and coast along at 10mph hardly putting any effort in and getting to work not sweaty, not needing to shower/change etc,. Would have been stupid to have driven.

    I probably wouldn’t want to commute 10 miles on it though.

    funkmasterp
    Full Member

    this thread as predicted has all the usual STW positions on it

    Normal folk won’t cycle that far / what about the hills / rain / sweatiness

    Public transport does not work and its for smelly plebs

    Nothing that is proven to work in other countries can possibly work in the UK because we are different.

    My perspective on these after going through the results of a travel survey we’ve conducted at work are.

    Normal folk won’t cycle is a valid statement. They are not keen cyclists like us. They see no upside over traveling in a car or work more than a couple of miles from home or have no facilities at their place of work. Most normal folk appear to actively dislike cycling as a mode of transportation.

    Public transport, at least around here, is a bit shit and expensive. I regularly use the train but wouldn’t use the bus. It would add hours on to my day.

    We are different in a cultural sense, in the way we’re governed, in the way the majority of us view cars etc.

    None of it has any bearing on this being a cycling forum. It’s not our opinions, it’s everyone else’s! Your attitude is similar on the Sustainability threads. You tend to view things from your POV and your immediate experiences. That’s great but not everyone has the same ideals, opportunities and outlook as you. I agree with you in principle but can also see its not an easy thing to persuade the masses to ditch the car.

    Comfort, door to door, time constraints, ease. All things quoted in our works survey as to why folk use cars as opposed to other transport methods. Less than 10% of colleagues would consider catching a bus. Similar figures for cycling. I intend to commission a follow up to dig deeper in to the why and what, if anything, could convince people to change

    northersouth
    Free Member

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-64408468

    The above is one way to reduce car usage, in a way, but the transport alternatives exist in Hackney – no end of trains, busses, ubers, cycling etc. you could use instead.

    So it seems cars usage only starts to get ‘phased out’ if reasonable alternatives exist.

    How do we suppose this is done when alternatives don’t exist – i.e. in most of the country outside the biggest cities in the UK?

    molgrips
    Free Member

    How do we suppose this is done when alternatives don’t exist – i.e. in most of the country outside the biggest cities in the UK?

    We have to make the alternatives, we have to put up the money, build stuff and make it better than or at least as good as driving. This will take time, and money. There’s no other way.

    We’ll have to see how it goes in South Wales.

    alpin
    Free Member

    Canvey Island is small and could be abandoned

    Should….. Should be abandoned along with its inhabitants.

    irc
    Full Member

    Another reason not to cycle for 4 months of the year? Darkness. I work part time and work shifts so most of my leisure riding is in daylight. I was out a bit later this afternoon and the home leg had a stretch of unlit rural road after dark. I was very wary of potholes. I perceive road surface hazards are the biggest risk to me. With decent lights front (400 lumen) and rear I was given plenty space by drivers but felt I was only just seeing potholes in time.

    Sure I good buy better lights. But where does it stop. Better lights, decent waterproofs, or just carry on using the car to get to work. I’m not sure casual cyclists will go out and buy 1000 lumen front lights so they can leave the car at home in winter.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I’m not sure casual cyclists will go out and buy 1000 lumen front lights so they can leave the car at home in winter.

    I don’t think lighting is much of an issue when Halfords will sell you an excellent 1000lm light to go with your new bike for £30. However, even with such a light being in traffic on a wet dark evening surrounded by cars is still no fun at all. Hence needing decent cycle infrastructure.

    kerley
    Free Member

    And riding on rural lanes is not a problem for majority of people who could cycle. A lot of people live in towns where street lighting is everywhere and the only purpose of bike lights is for you to be seen rather than to see where you are going.

    As in my case cycling 10 miles to work on rural lanes is going to appeal to 1% of people so we should forget those cases as we are not getting cycling infrastructure on B roads as it would-be a massive cost for very little benefit. Concentrate on the towns and cities and suburban areas.

    stingmered
    Full Member

    How do we suppose this is done when alternatives don’t exist – i.e. in most of the country outside the biggest cities in the UK?

    outside of London I think you mean. Cycling infrastructure is universally poor in just about every town and city. (Bristol might be the exception.)

    molgrips
    Free Member

    You know, if more people simply rode mopeds things would be quite a bit better.

    CountZero
    Full Member

    In the UK it seems people jump in their cars to drive <1 mile to the shop.

    I do, because if I need to do a largish shop, it’s a mile walk to one particular store, then at least another mile or so to another for different items, and from there a mile walk back home, trying to carry at least four large heavy bags just isn’t an option. And with nobody else to share shopping duties it’s down to me to buy food when I need it.
    I can, and do shop in town where possible and I can carry stuff home, but it’s not always possible. An e-bike? Don’t have the money, plus carrying bags is dangerous. I’ve seen an amazing e-bitrike, the rear wheels are on a diff and can lean into corners as well as having independent suspension, plus it has a cargo carrying capacity between the rear wheels. I’d love one, but it’s far too expensive for me. Shame, I’ve seen footage of one being ridden off-road, and it looks like shitloads of fun.

    kerley
    Free Member

    You know, if more people simply rode mopeds things would be quite a bit better.

    Agree. A scheme such as that seen in Taiwan with battery swappable eMopeds (where the batteries come from battery stations of fully charged batteries) is a great idea and really took off there

    Edukator
    Free Member

    You need a 65l rucksac for walking to the shops or a collection of Ortlieb bags for you bike to carry stuff safely, Countzero. I can carry as much stuff as will stay fresh before the next shop – zero waste.

    Dickyboy
    Full Member

    You know, if more people simply rode mopeds things would be quite a bit better.

    Even if people drove fiat 500s instead of SUVs things would be somewhat better 🙂

    mrmonkfinger
    Free Member

    You need a 65l rucksac for walking to the shops or a collection of Ortlieb bags for you bike to carry stuff safely, Countzero. I can carry as much stuff as will stay fresh before the next shop – zero waste.

    Or. A poussette de marché… Shopping trolley…

    lucasshmucas
    Full Member

    I use a burley nomad two wheeled trailer for my big shop. It can easily swallow 3 big bags of shopping, and I can carry more on my front and rear racks, if needed. I think the heaviest shop I’ve come back with has been about 40kg worth (uphill to get home I might add) but I could up that too about 60kg fairly easily.

    The added boon of this is that I’m getting free exercise. Studded tyres and waterproofs mean that I do this year round. I actually enjoy it, which I never did when I owned a car.

    butcher
    Full Member

    I actually enjoy it

    I have to say, I was reluctant to stop using the car for shopping because time, but it is actually much more enjoyable to be plodding along listening to the birds.

    I’m a backpack user too. Nothing special, just an ordinary backpack. The heavy stuff goes in there, meaning the remaining bags are rarely heavy. I now really dislike going in the car, it always feels a bit stressful and never in any way satisfying. It’s also incredibly boring.

    molgrips
    Free Member

    I rarely drive to the shops, but it’s only 0.7 miles and I generally just take 2 bags. I don’t buy a lot each time because I actually want to have to leave the house. About 60% of our food comes in a delivery van though.

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