http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: I broke the law... en Wed, 13 May 2026 03:38:31 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63761 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:35:40 +0000 alibali 63761@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Liz "Little Annie Lou" I think, by the Bobby Fuller Four. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63758 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:10:00 +0000 Claggy Cog 63758@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@Spytfyre - strictly speaking the flip side was "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" if we are thinking "I fought the law"....The Clash, of course!! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63727 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:30:15 +0000 ARobComp 63727@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@spytfyre I wish more people stayed at or below 30 on that stretch of road. I've almost been caught out a few times by people comeing up or down past homebase at 40+ by my best estimation. It really can't help as there are traffic lights at both ends that have super long cycles. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63690 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:34:47 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 63690@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@kaputnik - that's exactly what Mel suggested. Had the cycle shoes easily accessible just in case. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63687 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 13:10:39 +0000 DaveC 63687@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Mark, you drive to Ferry toll? You wuss (tougue in cheek), Cameron (aged 5 &amp; 1/4) and I (40 &amp; 1/2) rode from Dalgety Bay to Burtnisland on Sunday and a lovely ride it was too. We took marginally longer than 16 mins though as we stopped to look at the fine views and an ice cream stop. I'm not suggesting you stop for ice creams on Silversands beach! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63683 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:34:22 +0000 Smudge 63683@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>For the past few years I've been "reformed" whilst piloting various motor vehicles and have consistently obeyed *all* speed limits. What has been surprising is how I am actually travelling at the majority speed, it really is a minority on the majority of routes who are speeding in my experience. Obviously the lunacy of the daily commute is slightly different, but the idea that "everybody does it all the time" is simply wrong. I would propose rather that the majority do is sometimes.. My journey times are unchanged, my economy better, twisty 60mph roads are still fun, what's to lose?! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63681 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:25:19 +0000 spytfyre 63681@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><em>I broke the law...</em><br /> ...and the law won!<br /> Sorry someone had to do it.</p> <p>On the flip side I tried driving at 20 from the pleasance to Cameron Toll. Sweet crivvens it felt so slow, the car barely making any noise, felt like it would be faster walking (and knew it would be faster cycling)... It will be difficult for drivers to adjust if lots of streets get the new speed limit. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63677 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:20:34 +0000 Dave 63677@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I read somewhere that the fuel consumption averages for X mph are twisted to account for congestion (so 20mph for instance, is given as the efficiency of driving at 20mph in a 30 zone which is too busy to reach 30mph, viz. not very good). </p> <p>50mph is extremely slow, especially on the motorway, but I do sometimes just pootle along. If only I had cruise control! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63675 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:19:23 +0000 Baldcyclist 63675@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"<br /> "you know just keeping up with the flow of traffic"</p> <p>How do you normally do it?<br /> "</p> <p>I would describe that bit of the commute as *yo yo'ing*. I usually have empty road in front, and a Que of cars behind, until the double mini roundabout at Inverkiething where we invariably catch up with all the cars that sped away originally.</p> <p>What generally makes it much more fun is that there isn't really anywhere that people can overtake (and I might sometimes drive on the white line just to make sure, I'm bad I know!), so the frustration behind is sometimes tangible, you can see them weaving in and out to see what the hold up is.</p> <p>My car isn't the most efficient in the word, I get about 42 mpg out of it pretty much all the time, so don't think there was much difference this morning. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63673 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:12:12 +0000 kaputnik 63673@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Anth - at least if the engine had given up and you'd been in a part of the northwest without phone reception you could have dismounted your escape pod and shortly been at the nearest call box to summon assistance! </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63670 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:52:03 +0000 Wilmington's Cow 63670@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Saturday night driving back from Ullapool our car was telling us it was in imminent danger of exploding (turns out it was a faulty sensor, damned shoddy German build quality) so we pootled at 50mph. We <em>were</em> stopping every 20 miles or so to check that everything was okay under the bonnet - so that added to the hour and a half or so longer than the anticipated 4.5 hours home. </p> <p>But what <em>was</em> noticeable was how slow you are in comparison to all around you when you're going at 50.</p> <p>AND, as hinted at in chdot's query above, our fuel consumption was superb in comparison (especially considering the airflow dent of a bike on the roof - we averaged around 40mpg, I'd expect about 30 on a run like that normally). </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63668 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:47:03 +0000 chdot 63668@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>"you know just keeping up with the flow of traffic"</p> <p>How do you normally do it?</p> <p>Slow others down or get overtaken a lot (or both). </p> <p>Don't suppose you have a way of recording fuel consumption? </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63664 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:41:01 +0000 kaputnik 63664@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Your top speed was c. 15% more than usual yet you arrived only 6% faster than usual. Of course you spent most of your journey doing your normal law-abiding speed, only small amounts of it between 30/35 and 40/46 going faster than normal. </p> <p>This I feel is lost on far too many people, that a top speed is not the average speed, and to make any real dent in your average you have to increase the top speed by proportionately much more. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=5963#post-63660 Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:29:45 +0000 Baldcyclist 63660@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>...really, I did!</p> <p>I decided to do a little experiment this morning. The first part of my morning commute involves an 8 mile drive to the Ferry toll P&amp;R from Burntisland, before getting on my bike.</p> <p>This takes 17 mins pretty much every day.</p> <p>Today, I thought I would drive like everyone else, 35mph in the 30mph zones, and 46mph in the 40mph zone, you know just <strong>keeping up</strong> with the flow of traffic (feel free to chastise as appropriate).</p> <p>And how long did it take me to get to the P&amp;R today....</p> <p><strong>16 minutes!</strong></p> <p>Really did reinforce how much of a waste of time disregarding speed limits is!</p> <p>I shall be back to my law abiding self tomorrow. </p>