Walking is natural, it’s what our bodies were designed to do – walk upright on two legs. Doing so little of it is wrecking our bodies and minds.

I suspect if we all took 6-mile walks every day we’d be a far, far happier, healthier, friendlier, nicer bunch of people in the UK.

Of all the cases I’ve read about where people have been struck from behind on the open road I don’t recall any where they could have obviously mitigated the risk in any way other than simply not being there

I gather you have a better knowledge of the stats than me, but what % of cyclists getting hurt is from behind rather than the side? I thought the data showed that most incidents were are junctions?

This is why I have a problem with this device – it’s suggesting it’s a solution to a problem that doesn’t really exist, as few cyclists are hit from behind. I also agree with your point that there’s not always a lot you can do when a car does come up from behind – in which case whether the warning comes from your eyes, ears or this gadget, you’re still hit!

At 23 I knew nothing about anything. I would suggest this ‘manager’ does not have the experience and maturity to know how to handle the situation, or he has some kind of personal/political agenda.

It seems to be that he’s handling it very badly. There’s all kinds of holes in his approach. Get yourself some good advisors and take the advice ^^ and it should be easy to take him apart…

Good luck. I hate people who play with people’s livelihoods because of their own needs, it’s not trivial…

IMO massively incentivising people to take Bikeability training would be the best solution to the problem Garmin have identified here…
Ah yes, of course, the answer to being hit from behind on the open road is training. Training to do what, exactly? Teleport?

(And no, the answer isn’t radar, either.)

Bez – I totally support everything I’ve seen you write so I think we’re coming from the same place on the safety thing for cyclists in the UK. My point is a gadget (being sold on what I believe is a false premise about where the risk to cyclists comes from) is not the solution. It disempowers cyclists by outsourcing the task of basic observation.

The superior solution is proper driving but this is a long term game, which there’s currently not much interest in AFAIK and when I’m on my bike I can’t control a driver’s behaviour.

However, using my ears and eyes to stay aware of risks and giving myself time to mitigate that risk e.g. taking primary, getting off the road, making eye contact etc I can do something about and I can do it right now. All these techniques can be trained and that training is available already.

Technology company tryign to solve a problem which doesn’t exist IMO.

I’d like to take them to task for this claim, which AFAIK is untrue

Getting Hit From Behind Is A Leading Cause Of Cycling Fatalities

. I believe that most collisions when a cyclist is hurt in UK are at junctions – this device would not prevent these collisions.
The fact the statement is given no source tells you they’ve had to make it up IMO and I do think they should be told to stop using it unless they have data to back it up – it just spreads misinformation about how cyclists can remain safe.

The lifesaver and using your ears will serve the function of this device quite nicely. But that’s skills training rather than selling stuff…

IMO massively incentivising people to take Bikeability training would be the best solution to the problem Garmin have identified here…

We need to lighten up or there’ll be no human race left! It’s really nowhere near creepy or harassment.

+1 for this being clickbait/non-story

Social media allows stupid people to show the world they’re stupid. I suspect this mother has always been uptight but now she can show the world she is… there’ve always been people like this

Best of luck OP.
No direct experience of it myself but my mum took way too much verbal crap from my dad over the years and he hit her only once to my knowledge but it’s done her self-confidence no favours so I can see the long term damage of mistreatment even when it’s just verbal…
I would have thought Samaritans and other support services are available for more advice?

NEED – no. But does it make life a lot easier and interesting, are they incredibly useful? YES?
Do other people assume I have one, YES. Does that mean at times it’s close to essential to have one, YES IMO – for e.g. I can’t imagine how I’d manage my finances now without online banking and my mobile app.

Does that mean that the way some/a lot of people use them thoughtlessly/irresponsibly is good, NO. But that’s user error, not the phone itself. e.g. if you walk into the road in front of a car without looking up from your phone, you’re the stupid one, not the phone.

There’s a few case studies how low cost smartphones are transforming lives in third world countries, supporting healthcare, education and banking/commerce which nicely undermines corrupt/autocratic regimes and increases standards of living without waiting for government investment in infrastructure.

Also remember the trouble Erdogan had in Turkey when he tried to shut down revolt against his control-freakery…

I’ve just read a case study how RAC are working with telemetrics supplied by EE in their patrol vans to improve driving standards and fuel use… Not quite smartphones, more internet of things, but a win for everyone.

Some interesting comments ^^ about how we’re having to make up how we use them as we go along. Inevitably we’ll make some mistakes which will have consequences for some people, until we learn from experience what limitations there are to them.

I guess all new tech has this happen – nuclear fission for e.g. CO2-emission-free power when used and controlled sensibly. Meltdown or bombs when not. In the early days there were some major screwups – Enola Gay and Chernoblyl. Most of the time now it’s limitations are managed ok. I’ll admit Fukushima is an exception…

Email a photo to Exposure and ask?

In the aftermath of decades of bingeing on debt to bring forward consumption, we are now enduring the hangover in which we will have sub par growth for a sustained period. Get used to it!!!

Having grown up in 70s and 80s I’m frequently astonished at the level of material wealth we now seem to think is the baseline essential. IMO we’ve massively lost perspective on how much stuff we really need so having less than we have now feels like a massive fail to a lot of people, dropping back to 1980s living standard would feel like poverty, when in fact I remember it being rather ok. Walking to the shops instead of driving really wasn’t that much of a challenge.

Main problem is that no-one told Joe Public what the deal was: “have lots of debt to buy lots of shiny things. This’ll go on for a while and then like any binge, it’ll come to a painful end and it’ll hurt like hell.”

If they had maybe we’d have a) been more sensible and b) be less shocked now the obvious end game has been reached.

A lot of people seem to think that rampant consumerism and massive increases in material wealth was some kind of manna from heaven which would go on for ever and ever. Silly of us to be so daft really..

To be fair, we need some context OP.

That said, as someone who works in marketing, I’m embarrassed by my own profession on a frequent basis 😳

+1 for “what people think” being a pointless metric – what we think and the facts are not terribly familiar with each other, generally 🙂

Also worth noting what happened to communism. I have some interesting conversations with my GF who’s the same age as me (42), grew up in the USSR and left for the US and then UK as soon as she could. Having actually experienced the reality of it, she’s not a fan of communism…

It’s also a matter of perspective – global power is rebalancing and in the West that feels like we’re losing. In developing countries I suspect the sentiment is different.

Also worth getting some data on global poverty – globalisation has had a very positive impact for millions of people outside the rich world…

Mind you, big caveat to all this: the way capitalism has been managed by the West/rich world in the 20th and early 21st centuries has been massively detrimental to the planet and is currently in a massive debt crisis, the extent of which is being kept hidden from the electorates by zero interest rates and QE. The Central Banks may or may not be able to move us out of this crisis without a bigger crash than 2008 – time will tell…

The biggest challenge is that capitalism as we currently know it hasn’t shared the wealth enough to ensure support from all it’s participants – hence the current sentiment. Communism failed. State-run capitalism Chinese Style looks like it’s not working too well either…. so it’s not clear quite what system is the one which provides long-term sustainable stability…

Beautiful. We saw some cloud inversions yesterday on our roadie club run in Kent. Autumn is the best season for beautiful photos IMO

city-removals.co.uk

I’ve used these guys 3 times in 2 years for moves around SE London/Kent and they’ve been excellent every time – on time, polite, break nothing. Using the proverbial Romanian/Polish immigrants 🙂

Not sure what they’d charge for long distance – depends on the size of the van they need I guess.

I’m guessing your friend is another exile from silly London living costs?

STW is as good as anywhere else IMO. Mind out for the predictable ‘why don’t roadies ever smile’ thread which pops up once in a while though… 🙂

I don’t think anything will remain waterproof forever, especially after regular use, even Gore. As above – have you treated it with a proper cleaner and re-proofing agent? I’d be surprised if needing it to be reproofed will be accepted as a warranty job. IME even top quality kit like Rab and Gore will need reproofing eventually

Just goes to show there have always been people who can’t cope with change. More fool them. I wish them luck in preventing it…

On a positive note I went for a 25 miler this morning and only one idiot leaning on his horn – almost every driver hung back or took pains to give a wide overtake. I think the idiots might be in an increasing minority as they realise they’re on the losing side…

What do people think of their leg warmers? I’m tempted to grab a pair.

My arm warmers are 10 years old, had lots of use and still going strong. v warm and comfy

I think it might be a joke…?

I never quite got why Phil Collins went from being so huge to hated – what did he do exactly?

Meanwhile – this song is beautiful. You may notice Phil Collins on backing vocals…

You’re a long long way from being alone if you’re feeling down right now… I suspect it’s far more prevalent than we really know – 2008 and the lack of real recovery has been a hell of a shock IMO…

Either way – there’s always loads of support on here when people need it…

Also, you have your GP and you have Samaritans. I got so stressed by my job in 2006 that I went to my doc for help. Didn’t feel I could speak to anyone else. He was ace and put me back on track. I can highly recommend CBT/therapy if it’s a long-standing problem, it can transform how you feel about yourself…

Good luck, takes balls to admit you have a problem

Reading some of the posts on here, and comments on some of the news sites about cycling and how to get more of it and I despair at the inability of humankind to adapt and change as circumstances change…

“I drive now because I always have done and it’s all I’ve ever known therefore I refuse point blank to even consider any other possible alternative, whatever the benefits, whatever the data, let alone actually change my behaviour. I will use anger and even violence to try and make these changes go away…”

I suppose Darwin was spot on – those who refuse to adapt to changing circumstances lose their fitness to survive in the new environment and die out. The high rate of obesity in the UK is one obvious source of this loss of fitness. Problem I guess is he’s talking generations and we’re trying to get people to change their driving habits right now…

tbh I feel really sorry for people who can’t adapt to change these days – there’s an awful lot of change about so it must be a hell of a struggle to cope…

Going back to the lights produce sheep like responses thing, on a couple of junctions near me at busy commuter times you see drivers on green blithely drive into a junction they can’t drive out of, so yeah green light = remove brain and blindly “Go”. Chaos ensues when the lights change and for a full cycle no-one goes anywhere.

Then I remember those are box junctions with prominent yellow hatching, so the unconscionable pricks are obviously picking and choosing which rules they blindly follow. (and then staring straight ahead refusing to make eye contact with those people they have blocked)

Or at the junction near me, they either try to pretend they haven’t just nearly run over a few pedestrians walking across on the green man – or better have a strop when told to stop by pedestrians already on the crossing…

I’ve just had my savings rate dropped from 1.5% to 1% – it’s pretty bad out there. Current accounts are the only decent rates but IME you have to play around with regular injections of cash and 2x direct debits per month.

But with Central Banks deliberately keeping rates low as a rate rise would clarify rather shockingly just how much debt we’re in and official figures hiding the real inflation that’s going on, I wouldn’t hold your breath for any changes any time soon.

Low rates also help keep the charade that is the housing market going on for a little while longer.. it helps dupe us into feeling rich

It’s not a good sign that the company has decided to go down the ‘track him’ route rather than having a quiet chat – stinks of silly authoritarian ‘we own employees and will treat them like children if we don’t like what they do’ old-fashioned attitudes…

If this guy is generally doing a good job then overall all is good. However, if he is spending hours a day on t’internet then you have to ask why he’d rather do that than work – is his workload too low, is workload not equally distributed across the team, is he capable of far more or more challenging work?

If HR procedure allows you, I would have a quiet word and get his side of the story and if he has spare capacity discuss how else his time could be used productively in a way which he would find motivating, would benefit you and would benefit the company…

Lezyne zecto good for me

I thought they’d given up on that in the Netherlands, because they found the same as what I’ve seen about Exhibition road

I didn’t know that – got any links to it? be interesting to see the conclusions

Every other thread here is about how people AREN’T obeying the rules of the road, crossing wherever and on red men,

This is my observation too. However I think the point about sheep is the mindlessness with which people are behaving.

I think the nuance is that people are breaking the rules without thinking about the consequences – it’s mindless/unconscious incompetence rather than conscious assessing of the risks, understanding of possible outcomes and then taking action… This comes from having spent so long mindlessly obeying signs and lights – we generally lack the ability to think independently and critically when on the roads…

I found it interesting sitting in taxis in Kathmandhu when I did a climbing trip in Nepal in 2004 – the traffic was utter utter chaos – close to gridlock but there were very few collisions and none of the toddler-like tantrums we get here from drivers. In kathmandhu the chaos was evident and the drivers drove accordingly – very watchful and skillful IMO, they didn’t expect anyone else to work it out for them…

No, he’s right.
Road users (be it peds, cyclists, drivers) are all conditioned from an early age. Green Cross Code, red lights and then ever more signage and infrastructure designed to keep us over here or following this line or that route.

It’s just a society of sheep, unthinkingly obeying signage, unable to cope if there aren’t signs and paint telling you what to do, where to go, how to behave.

+ 1

The Naked Road experiments in the Netherlands and also Exhibition Road in Kensington are all about removing all the signs and infrastructure so people have no idea where to go when driving, walking etc. This lack of clear guidance is expected to force people to look, assess and then make up their own mind how to act safely rather than blindly assuming it’s ok because the signs and lights tell them it is.

It’s about taking people away from unconscious incompetence and into conscious competence, which is classic learning methodology…

Look at all the stories of people with sat nav driving into bridges and harbours and all the pedestrians walking into the road with their eyes on their phones if you want to see how incompetent a lot of people have become at assessing risk on the roads because they’re so used to it being done for them…

Turn it into a tourist attraction and ‘monetise’ it?

If the evidence from other countries shows it works then I vote for a trial.
This is true, however…

it will be chaos to start with ….the brits dont like or understand change on the whole…..

there’ll be all kinds of teeth gnashing – LTDA will be straight up with a legal challenge for one…

We’ll also need clear communications to the ‘great’ British driving public just to make sure they understand the reasons for it, or we’ll just see a massive increase in their expert confirmation bias that ‘I see even more cyclists running red lights than I used to’ therefore it’s my right to harass as many of them as I can get away with’

People in cars don’t dislike cyclists because they are law breakers. That’s the excuse they use for bullying people on bikes. They dislike cyclists because they’re not in cars and they act aggressively towards them because they can.

this + thousands. You’ll notice the aggression from drivers is present however you’re riding – you get grief for stopping at red lights too IME!
Have you ever tried debating cycling with someone who’s anti? They won’t budge however many figures you put to them about the overall legal behaviour of people on bikes and the very widespread illegal behaviour of people in cars. They don’t want to adapt to the increase in numbers of people riding, they want them to go away… being aggressive is a lame attempt at making this happen.

Riding in central London isn’t so bad so long as you’re reasonably aware of what you’re doing, the dangerous bits are the suburbs where it seems there’s just enough space on the road to allow people to drive like a dicks.

This too – the Policemen are talking absolute rot about central London – the traffic is mainly at a standstill or under 20mph from sheer congestion. Get out into Beckenham and Bromley and the driving is faster and much much more aggressive IME.

On a positive note, I was out on a club run yesterday for the first time since June after breaking my wrist. 50 miles over 4 hours. We got a couple of close passes, one mindless leaning on a horn and countless holding backs/wide passes. IME the vast majority of drivers are growing up and learning to cope with the increase in numbers of people riding…

Can Emergency Services not press charges if a member of the public stops them going about their duty? Police can arrest for obstruction can they not?

Either way, we all know being in a car does funny things to peoples’ heads, there’s kind of nothing new going on here really.

On the other hand, please no-one post links to the Metro ever again, please. My innocent mind has been poisoned!

Bloody hell Cheesyfeet, that horse one is bad… 😯

This, from the original story, is genius

“He is also banned from the countryside and is now not allowed to go within one mile of a farm,” the police insider added. “So he has to live and remain in the middle of Ipswich to comply with that.
“However, we are watching him because we are worried about the safety of several street-cleaning machines.”
Another policeman added: “He’ll also need to keep away from the town’s gardens – if he takes a fancy to a lawn mower he might find he loses more than just his liberty.”

Double post

1 in 6 over 50s can’t afford to retire

Interesting article in The Economist this morning about self-employment, and in particular the growth amongst people above retirement age. The 1 in 6 stat is a bit scary and suggests massive underprovision in pensions.

The proportion of over-65s who are self-employed has sharply risen too. This may be down to worries about financial security in retirement, says Laura Gardiner of the Resolution Foundation, a think-tank. In recent years British pension funds have seen measly investment returns, thanks in part to rock-bottom interest rates. Britain has one of the lowest “replacement rates” in the OECD, a club of mostly rich countries; on average its pensions replace only 40% of pre-retirement earnings. In a survey by Saga, which sells services to the elderly, one in six over-50s said they had been forced to put off retirement indefinitely.

is there swarms of them?

Yes, there are swarms of Us 🙂

Honestly, why do people need to tribalise so much?

The Workplace Pension was put in because we have a major pensions crisis – hardly anyone has saved enough to retire on and the current taxpayer (us) is going to have to foot the bill and still these people will be living in penury…

I would make no assumptions about a state pension existing in much form in twenty years time so if you want to die in poverty then spent your cash now and don’t save for a pension.

I have sympathy with those who say pensions so far have not paid out too well (e.g. me – saved for 16 years and I’m forecast £3k per year to live off) and those who say living costs e.g. rents and house prices leave nothing left to save) but really, we have no option IMO but to make our own provision.

A lot of people are expecting to use their houses as the pensions. But if they all do it around the same time then you’ll not see prices hold as a big chunk of supply hits the market, so they may be shocked at how successful this policy is at providing a lump sum.

Me, I’m going to carry on saving as best I can and then emigrate to a warmer country with cheaper cost of living in the hope of stretching my savings out till I pop my clogs

Weather’s great. I hope someone else is paying your rent – Londoners appear to be moving out to the home counties now…

1. Write the angry email at the end of the day and save it in your drafts, come back in tomorrow and if you still feel the same way, send it. Or better still, go and have a face to face chat instead

2. It’s only a job (from my GP when signing me off with stress – which I’d essentially brought on myself by expecting too much pleasure from work)

3. Why do you stay in Marketing if you don’t like it? I’ve not taken that advice yet, still working on finding the alternative 🙂