Just another ‘government vs individual, who’s best’ thought:

1. Bill Gates is trying to elimate malaria. I don’t know of a government who’ve tried to do that, or even could given the responsibility of each government (particularly democratically elected ones) is within the national borders, and malaria covers many countries.

2. Taxpayers’ money is rarely hypothecated, so any taxes Facebook/Zuckerberg pays would go towards things like military, arms, cyberwarefare and various other necessary functions of government provision which he may or may not wish to support. I would assume the Manhattan Project was taxpayer funded for e.g.

Also, he’s the son of a dentist and psychiatrist so I believe this is 100% selfmade so fair play to have made so much and to decide to put it to useful purposes. I assume he’s keeping enough for himself to never have to worry about $$ ever again of course.

I wonder how those who criticise cyclists for having ‘overbright’ lights feel about drivers with foglights on when there’s no fog?

I’ve read before that exercise in the woods/amongst greenery is better than exercise in an urban environment, which I guess comes from this… you’re presumably still exposed to this bacteria even if you’re not right in amongst it

regarding you denon hifi – if it is still good quality, sell all the sources and get a chromecast audio – mine has brought a new lease of life to my arcam setup!

well worth it

I’ve been thinking about something like this but surely the quality is only as good as your MP3 source? Currently I have a good quality headphone-jack-to-audio lead running into the Aux input in my amp and running iTunes from my laptop through my hifi.

But it’s still MP3 quality, which isn’t really that good and the thing I like about my separates system is sound quality.

George Orwell wrote an essay called ‘Politics and the English Language’. Well worth a read, if only to realise lousy use of language is nothing new

From Wikipedia

The essay focuses on political language, which, according to Orwell, “is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”
Orwell believed that the language used was necessarily vague or meaningless because it was intended to hide the truth rather than express it. This unclear prose was a “contagion” which had spread to those who did not intend to hide the truth, and it concealed a writer’s thoughts from himself and others.[3] Orwell encourages concreteness and clarity instead of vagueness, and individuality over political conformity.

which ones are those then, they aren’t many around that do ?

Interesting… let’s say I believe they all do on the basis they were bought in UK shops, described as bike lights and I don’t recall seeing any warnings that they weren’t…

Put it this way, if they’re not then we’re all screwed – I’ve done everything I can to make myself safe so if I’m not meeting legal requirements, research, bought from reputable manufacturers and retailers, then I’d suggest that 99% of other cyclists out there are illegal too…

Exposure Joystick on bars
Exposure Trace and TraceR – handlebars and seatpost
Lezyne Zecto x2 – seatpost and backpack
Moon Mask on helmet

Social Media used to be called User Generated Content 10 years ago so STW overall may not be but the forum most definitely is.

STW, however, is a cut above the rest due to the quality of its membership. Naturally :-)

I do learn a hell of a lot on here, actually, there’s some real knowledge amongst all the opinion and a real spirit of compassion when people have proper problems…

We all know that current lighting regulations are not fit for purpose

Based on who’s judgement?

we could just buy the correct tool for the job, which is a German-standard light.

Based on who’s judgement? And what, exactly is ‘German’ standard?

I’ve spent around £300 on road-specific lights which meet all current UK legal requirements in an attempt to make myself safe and meet my legal obligations and you’re suggesting that I, as well as EVERYONE else, regardless of income should scrap them and go out and buy ‘German-standard’ lights because you THINK that’s better?

Well good luck with that one!

Worth looking at some stats: being ‘dazzled’ by cyclists’ lights just isn’t present as a cause… Note that drivers failing to look properly IS present, however, in which case there’s a case that lights have to be bright to help capture driver’s attention…

Leigh Day

– some 80% of bike accidents taking place in daylight
– Research carried out by the City of Westminster Council has found that vehicle drivers were to blame for 68% of collisions involving cyclists and that 21% of all collisions between bikes and vehicles were caused by drivers failing to look properly. Other factors that can cause cycle accidents include the poor state of the road, loose debris on the road and the presence of large potholes which cannot be avoided by cyclists.

I think this is just another stick to beat cyclists with – blame cyclists for their own demise, irrespective of complete lack of data or other evidence to suggest lights are a cause of collisions or injury…

that’s not to suggest you don’t have a point that some lights are very bright or aren’t mounted very well, but that’s an education point, just like Bikeability would help improve cyclists’ safety. As opposed to blanket blaming cyclists for being ‘wrong’ all the time…

‘we need a common taxonomy to articulate the informational and process aspects of the delivery….’

I work in marketing so I’m not immune to this kind of guff myself…. but what did you mean exactly?

I suspect it’s something to do with needing a dictionary. Ironically :-)

It’s not either/ or. You could buy a light bright enough to be highly visible, without risk of dazzling other road users

I get that, but who’s defining whether my lights are bright enough or dazzling? They’re all British-bought cycling-specific lights, having passed all legal requirements to be on sale… so on that basis, surely they fit these criteria?

But we now have a load of people complaining that cyclists’ lights are TOO bright. According to what? It’s just opinion, subjectivity and anecdote, which doesn’t help me make any decision at all about what lights to have and how to set them up.

I think I’m using my commonsense to meet my legal obligations but other people think I’m being inconsiderate…

It’s all a bit silly really and not very helpful in focussing on where the danger actually comes from (as recorded in Police records)

Anyone else noticed it’s usually the least competent and stupidest people you work with who use this kind of language the most?

Minutes after being told “don’t discuss this with anyone” I get an email from the SMT saying “we should all strive to be as transparent as possible”

What’s an SMT? :-)

I can’t help feeling that the reason the economy’s bust is because no-one in work actually has any idea what anyone else is talking about anymore, so we’re all walking around in worlds of our own having no real clue what anyone else does or what the overall plan is anymore, therefore nothing’s co-ordinated and it’s all fallen apart as a result…

I bet they didn’t use this kind of language back when we had a manufacturing sector and Britain was Great ;-)

Foam roller is your friend. You’ll swear a lot for a few weeks and then it gets a lot better

The argument is that you may actually are MORE at risk if drivers cannot see anything, not safer. And other road users are almost certainly at more risk.

The problem is at the moment it’s simply ‘an argument’. A bunch of people finding yet another reason to position cyclists as ‘the enemy of right-thinking people’, ignoring the actual cause of most collisions on the roads – drivers…

Yes there’s plenty of anecdote that some of the lights on the market are superbright – certainly IMO any light designed for MTB night riding is too bright for road use, but it’s only anecdote. As far as I know there’s no study/data/research which says that the prevalence of superbright LED bike lights has led to any increase in collisions or incidents on the road AT ALL… and I’m certainly not going back to 1980’s/90’s incandescent bulb lights – they were way too dim.

Until someone can present some data or a proper scientific study which provides proper evidence that decent lights cause more damage than they avoid then I’m going to continue to run decent lights to make sure I’m visible. My own experience of ‘trying to be less bright’ meant I nearly got hit 3 times in one ride…

Besides, I’m legally required to light myself up properly….

The grandson’s assistant who keeps bringing the cold coffee is the one who’s escalated it
The bitchy wife is trying to get the husband to have an affair with the new nanny so she can take him to the cleaners in the divorce courts.
No idea where the guy in bank who keeps hacking his account comes into it.

Some of the characters are a bit obvious but I’ve worked with a few women who fit the bitchy wife persona. There really are people like that. Sadly

to be honest I think we just have to make our own decisions and ignore the various rants and raves that seem to come at cyclists from all corners – if people don’t think you’re visible enough, they complain, and if they think you’re too visible, they complain. a lot of people are stressed and they want something to whine about…. and cyclist are the current target…

In the meantime, I ride well-lit on the basis there’s too many unobservant drivers out there and it will hopefully make my lawyer’s life easier if I ever get hit if they can show I’ve taken every care to be visible.

All my lights are commuting lights, none of them are off-road lights. I can only buy what’s available so if some random thinks they’re too bright then they can just whine away… I can’t actually do anything about it until the manufacturers do something about beam patterns.

I took my helmet light off this time last year on the basis it may have been too much, and nearly got hit 3 times on the ride home, so it went straight back on the next day… it definitely gets me noticed

Looks like there’s no consensus so far!
I have some unpadded tights which are super comfy and warm that I bought years ago and they’re still going strong, so I just wear summer bibs underneath.
Good for the extra warmth esp around lower back and not had any chafing issues.

Unpadded tend to be cheaper if that makes a difference

To the extent that some people can’t just ‘go for a ride’, but have to measure everything and then compare themselves with everyone else, in the same way that golf seems obsessed with par and handicap rather than just going for a quick round, I think there’s some similarity…

Either way though, who cares. So long as those who want to can go for a good old fashioned bike ride, then the ex-golfers can do what they like. The more the merrier overall…

Don’t understand why it needs to be a scooter AND a bike – just a bike would do, surely?
Brompton have already got that market sewn up I think.
It weighs more than my 2005 Orange Five!

there’s some weird people on here 8O

The setup that works best for me is two flashers in opposing flash on either side of the bars, so they imply horizontal movement as the light goes between them.

I reckon this helps override any saccade area the viewer might have by looking like movement, which is more likely to be noticed due to the way humans have evolved.

The main problem is the regulation on the lights isn’t good enough and they go into and out of sync

From my online research, best practice seems to be one constant (to prevent being missed during a scaccade and to allow your speed and distance to be judged) and one flashing to catch attention. That said, I can’t find any definitive recommendation or requirement.

British Cycling’s advice is here

Additional considerations on the road

On top of those required to meet the minimum legal obligations for riding on the road at night, we’d almost go as far to say that you can’t have too many additional lights. Facing the rear, small flashing red lights clipped onto your helmet or your jacket can significantly increase your visibility and give you back-ups if your main rear light fails. You can even get lights to replace your bar-end plugs. Check to see that your front light is visible from the side and, if not, have an additional compact light that is. High powered lights can easily dazzle oncoming traffic, so make sure they’re not directed into drivers’ eyes or dim them.

I have a Moon Mask on my helmet, on flashing mode. It definitely gets me seen! I get a lot of double takes from pedestrians about to step into the road in front of me… not sure of actual battery life but I don’t have to recharge it that often, less often than my Exposure trace

UBS forecast for UK house prices

I would spend the next few years cutting back on the spending then OP – there’s more than a few observers pointing out that UK house prices are well out of line with all historic measures – UBS makes an interesting read, and reading the responses of BTL landlords to Osbourne’s 2 attacks on BTL this year suggests that many are really quite angry as he’s busting their model entirely. Def worth finding out why your LL is selling…

Whether this will lead to a load of property coming on the market at prices for a quick sale, who knows, but certainly seems more likely that the overall momentum is changing now… BoE have serious concerns that UK housing will cause another crash, prime London volumes and prices are also down and a casual train journey through London shows a hell of a lot more flats going up than I’ve ever seen in 15 years living here… You may not live in London but as London slows or drops, I suspect the momentum elsewhere will follow…

You may remember the small matter of the global economy being brought to its knees in 2008 because too many people with no cash in the bank took out mortgages they couldn’t afford to pay back… and it’s still on its knees whatever propaganda various governments put out – that’s why interest rates are still at emergency levels…

IANA financial adviser but with a family history of too much debt and no savings yourself and a history of spending your spare cash on bikes and holidays you’d be ill-advised to be putting yourself into hundred’s of thousands of pounds worth of debt – and any lender who was willing to lend you that cash based on this history should have their banking licence taken off them… IMHO…

I assume if you’ve spent all your spare cash that you also have no pension?

If so, what you’re in dire need of is some proper financial advice from a qualified financial adviser. You need to change your financial habits sharpish: spend less, get your pension started and try and get a deposit together…

Also, worth asking your landlord why he’s selling – if he’s a BTLer and he’s selling because of the changes made to the regulation of BTL you may want to remember that he’s one of a few million who are in the same boat. Interest rates are looking likely to go up in the US next month and UK will have to follow suit soon enough. On the basis of these two things I would sit tight for now, keep renting and spend the next 5 years saving like mad for a deposit and the various fees you’ll need to pay if you buy, and see what happens to UK house prices…

Bikes and holidays are nice but a retirement in poverty aint…

As a certified Yam Yam it always make me smile that so many accents and pronunciations differ in such a relatively small area

this used to freak me out when I was growing up in Cheshire – you have Runcorn scouse, then proper Liverpool scouse, then Manc and then general Northwestern – all quite different accents but within 30 miles of each other. I’ve no idea where the dividing line is on the map between Liverpool and Manchester but it’s got to be there somewhere given the massive difference in language.

Then again, you go into the Lake District and it takes a few minutes (a couple of hundred yards walk) to go from Near Sawrey to Far Sawrey :-)

Just came across this on bbc – about unconscious bias. Seems appropriate here… and shows why it can be so hard to use rational argument or facts to persuade an anti-cycling ranter that they’re talking nonsense!

Unsconscious bias

Our unconscious mind rings alarm bells if someone is different from us or unfamiliar, but most ancient signals of danger are past their use by date.

It’s not a biscuit factory if they’re making Jaffa Cakes there… :-)

The product’s classification as a cake or biscuit was part of a VAT tribunal in 1991, with the court finding in McVitie’s favour that the Jaffa Cake should be considered a cake for tax purposes.[5] In 2012 they were ranked the best selling cake or biscuit in the United Kingdom.[6]

Contact the club – my understanding is that the majority of respectable clubs don’t & wont behave this way. They certainly won’t take kindly to members behaving in the manner you describe..

Rest assured that the most club runs are far better behaved!

+1. We will always get an email from our club secretary if he receives a complaint.

it seams that what upset them was the fact that I had ruined their peloton by taking up the road with a car. A lot of these guys have the attitude that the roads are there for them to play on and this should take priority over the flow of motorised traffic.

Not disputing your experience here but I’d be interested to know what the guys on the bikes have to say about their perspective on the matter… I’ve ridden with 3 clubs, two in London and one in Manchester over the last 6 years and never once heard anyone complaining about the ‘peleton’ being ruined – not least because club runs aren’t actually pelotons and we don’t consider ourselves as one either, we’re just a group of riders going out for a ride, safely – tight formation really isn’t that important…

We will, however, get upset by close overtakes or drivers trying to push into the group if they’ve got their overtake wrong and find themselves driving into oncoming traffic…

OP wasn’t unlucky to encounter any kind of backlash really – prejudice and bigotry come from within… it’s not ’caused’ by external factors…

SKS Chromoplastics. May be worth getting the LBS to fit them though. I have 2 pairs, 2+years old and have very little problem with them

This is on a quick pop into Dorking which takes an additional 7 minutes along the dual carriageway and into town.
So doubling the time it would normally take.
(all times are guesstimates)

If this was the case outside your house every. single. weekend, would you not get a bit irate?

It’s a fair point but it’s one hell of a first world problem isn’t it! I guess you could argue there’s more pollution as a result from having to drive further and longer but if the British public were a little more enlightened then we’d see that the bigger problem is car dependency rather than a growth of people riding bikes…

Personally when people come out with those stereotypical anti-cyclist comments I try not to engage – the mere fact that the complaints are the same tired old list tells you they’re not things the complainant really has an issue with – they’ve just learnt them from other sources and therefore there’s none of their own thinking behind them, and therefore no way you can have a reasoned debate whereby they’ll accept their thinking is faulty – it’s not their own thinking in the first place.

I find they’re just trying to wind you up generally – they’re probably angry people who like to make other people angry to make themselves feel better.

I had a ranter the other day when I refused to ride in a damp off-camber leaf-strewn downhill cycle lane. She was so completely out of control that I figured nothing I said along the lines of pointing out the risks of riding in that cycle lane would lead to her saying “I’m sorry, I hadn’t realised”. I just let her rant till she eventually ran out of steam and sulked until the lights changed…

Glad in your instance that it all ended in a friendly handshake and acceptance that he was being stupid. Tells you there was nothing to his rant really, just empty rhetoric on his part…

+1 for superfeet, I use them in all my running shoes, walking boots and cycling shoes. Not cheap to buy but they’ll last you forever – 10+ years in mine and still going strong. One pair is cheaper than a single private physio session too

You also must expect to be labelled a capitalist scum bag, stealing property from the young, on STW.

I’ll bite – as there does seem to be a massive failure of understanding that when there’s a massive shortage of housing, owning more than you need is hoarding, reduces supply available for sale and simply pushes up prices to unaffordable levels/swallows so much of people’s stagnant incomes that the economy is going nowhere and is actually a bad thing for the whole of society as a result – zero growth = lower tax take = fewer services provided by the state = stagnant pay = fewer jobs etc etc

It’s my house, on a mortgage and it’s only going spare due to moving in with my girlfriend.

The key question is why not just sell it now that you no longer need it – which is what we used to do before BTL/being a landlord became so fashionable It has the added benefit of leaving you debt-free which has got to be a major win?

No-one keeps their old car when they don’t want it anymore do they?

Report it. Hitting someone and then leaving the scene like that is just callous…

Part of the information outlined above was the costs to NHS involved with seeing a pharmacist vs GP for a simple item such as paracetamol for a cold. £4 for the pharmacist, £45 for the GP IIRC

jimw – Member
payment for pharmacists’ time as well as the drugs. The equivalent cost for an A&E vist was £70+ I believe

If those figures are true then we need to get an awareness campaign up and running and start getting people to think about what contribution they can make to save the NHS from going bust…

Something like..

IIRC there’s concern in the US that it’s the next subprime crisis – in that there’s a load of loans which will never be paid back and as such should never have been made, will turn into bad debt and collapse the loans company.
TBF I’m not sure if the same risk is sitting in the UK loan book or not. I wouldn’t be surprised – looking at levels of personal debt, BTL and the housing market in general we seem to have learnt nothing from the credit crunch and are back to lending excessive amounts to people who’ll not be able to pay it back

I wish more people had that sense of humility and sense of perspective…

its the voted in government thats failed you brooess not the BTL investor.

Sorry, absolute toss. We’re free agents in this world and we make our investment choices freely. No-one holds a gun to our heads and says ‘buy another house’. Same as the driver who holds back and then overtakes when safe rather than doing a punishment pass – it’s entirely voluntary to do the negative thing… same as a cyclist running a red light…

I’ve got a deposit saved up to buy in London/SE but it’s still not enough to make a mortgage affordable. I could use that deposit to get a BTL in Manchester or another cheaper city as has been suggested to me by many people. But I don’t because I understand the damage that BLT does to the younger generation by creating scarcity of property for sale, especially those that want to get some stability and start a family – it would be just putting my own self interest above theirs…

There’s plenty of places to invest your money if your pension’s not performing… sticking into a leveraged punt on property is entirely free choice… and a pretty stupid one given the historical instability of housing. Anyone remember how 2008 started? Anyone thought about how they’re going to access the ££ in their BLT to spend in their retirement? Selling it. What happens when a whole generation of BTLs sell over the same 5 year period to cash in their gains…?

Housing Benefit

Good point this. With so little council housing available, a massive proportion of our taxes that go to housing benefit go straight into the pockets of private landlords rather than to the state.

It’s a hell of a scandal. I have no problem with my taxes being used to help give someone a home, but when that home is a BTL for some private individual to enrich themselves by taking advantage of someone else’s inability to afford their own place it’s another thing entirely.

Ultimately, that landlord is paying back a massive loan to the bank. So my taxes go to housing benefit, goes to private landlord, goes to bank…

I don’t think many BTLers realise that they’re just vassals for the banks to make themselves richer by finding another way to lend them money and then charge them interest on it…