http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Tag: gears - Recent Topics en Wed, 13 May 2026 01:47:54 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=1356#post-12656 Tue, 07 Sep 2010 20:25:50 +0000 seanspotatobusiness 12656@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I've just moved to Edinburgh and am looking to buy a Dutch-style city bike. The problem is that I'm totally unaccustomed to the terrain that Edinburgh seems to present. I will be living in Gilmerton and working in Roslin, and I'm hoping to commute. I'll also be wanting to do my weekly shopping at one of the ASDAs and maybe cycle around some of the interesting terrain I've seen. Can I get away with only three gears or would that be an uphill struggle? :) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=333#post-2498 Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:16:57 +0000 SRD 2498@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Okay, this is a slight diversion from Edinburgh, but it is 'citycycling'. On an earlier thread we discussed the case of cyclist who was charged with dangerous riding (??!! something like that) for riding on the road, instead of an off-road cycle-path. Something in the thread on gears then reminded me of my cycling days in Harare - nice fairly flat city, very temperate climate, wide roads perfect for cycling - when I rode a 1 speed old-style 'messenger' bike and a 5 speed girls bike (wish I had pictures). Anyway, that reminded me of the day I was cycling leisurely downhill into town on a quiet Sunday morning, eschewing the wide, <a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=harare+map&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;hq=&amp;hnear=Harare,+Mashonaland+East,+Zimbabwe&amp;gl=uk&amp;ei=yHVyS_ypKpn00gTvqcSpCw&amp;ved=0CAsQ8gEwAA&amp;ll=-17.814383,31.068762&amp;spn=0.0026,0.003342&amp;t=h&amp;z=18">paved off-road cycle path</a> because it was broken up by side roads and driveways, only to have a crowd of riot police in a bus start waving batons and shouting at me to get off the road. My reaction was to laugh at them, but perhaps that was not most sensible reaction (but this was 1996, and the riot police weren't particularly respected then). Luckily their bus kept going with the flow of traffic and left me leisurely riding along. I took the heavily armed guys outside the president's residence a bit more seriously when my bike pedal fell off as I accelerated into<a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=harare+map&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;hq=&amp;hnear=Harare,+Mashonaland+East,+Zimbabwe&amp;gl=uk&amp;ei=yHVyS_ypKpn00gTvqcSpCw&amp;ved=0CAsQ8gEwAA&amp;ll=-17.813387,31.055764&amp;spn=0.005199,0.006684&amp;t=h&amp;z=17"> the intersection </a>. I was pretty banged up, and the traffic is heavy, and I pulled the bike out of the way and pleaded and pleaded with one of them to go get the pedal...eventually I think I got it myself, and limped off. The word was that if you stopped near there, you'd be shot, so I was a wee bit concerned. Anyway, in the googlemap images, the jacarandas are fading, but have a look <a href="http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=harare+map&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;hq=&amp;hnear=Harare,+Mashonaland+East,+Zimbabwe&amp;gl=uk&amp;ei=yHVyS_ypKpn00gTvqcSpCw&amp;ved=0CAsQ8gEwAA&amp;ll=-17.816757,31.042203&amp;spn=0.005199,0.006684&amp;t=h&amp;z=17">here </a>for one of the best routes into town -- wide road, with paths on either side (under canopy). Of course, most cyclists in Harare live much further out than this in the former townships, and don't cycle by choice, but I'd still recommend it. </p>