CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure

News from another island

(10 posts)
  • Started 7 years ago by I were right about that saddle
  • Latest reply from chdot

  1. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Just back from the Isle of Man. As ever when I'm abroad I have a quick look at the transport culture. Key things...

    1) The buses are great. Frequent, clean, cheap and they go everywhere.

    2) Drivers universally polite and considerate - small population means you likely know the pedestrians or someone who knows them.

    3) The cycle infrastructure is Scottish. Shared use lamp post slalom courses that peter out in the face of any pinch point.

    4) Folk seem to cycle fancy mountain and road bikes up and down Douglas prom for recreational reasons. Hardly any transport cyclists to be seen.

    5) The standard bike rack is a weird art deco Sheffield rack with a surface coating similar to a medium grade carborundum whetstone. It'd take the paint of any frame in an instant - they were all empty possibly as a result.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  2. chdot
    Admin

    "2) Drivers universally polite and considerate - small population means you likely know the pedestrians or someone who knows them."

    Or the Cav effect...(?)

    Posted 7 years ago #

  3. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Not Cav effect I don't think. Polite to me as pedestrian on urban and rural roads.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  4. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Drivers universally polite and considerate

    I thought Clarkson kept a house on the Isle of Man?

    Posted 7 years ago #

  5. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @kaputnik

    It is so and I was walking to that very place when the majority of incidents of excessive kindness occurred.

    I suspect that even Mr Clarkson is overcome by the Ealing Comedy vibe prevalent on the island. (The main rail artery between Castletown and Douglas is served by the actual Titchfield Thunderbolt, as you will doubtless be aware, and the constitutional status of the island is based on that of Pimlico.)

    Posted 7 years ago #

  6. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    Clarkson on the telly is a character he plays. It's been noted many times before in the media when he (as well as Hammond and May) have been outed as cyclists. But playing on that wouldn't help his television 'anti-establishment' (hah!) persona.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  7. kaputnik
    Moderator

    I imagine Clarkson the cyclist is as rude and inconsiderate as Clarkson the driver.

    Posted 7 years ago #

  8. chdot
    Admin

    He's even tried a handcycle!

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2311149/Cycling-cynic-Jeremy-Clarkson-gets-bike--charity.html

    Posted 7 years ago #

  9. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    "I imagine Clarkson the cyclist is as rude and inconsiderate as Clarkson the driver."

    I imagine he's (almost) as far from his on-screen persona as Warren Mitchell was from Alf Garnett.

    I'm not saying he'll be lovely, salt-of-the-earth, but anyone that obnoxiously unpleasant would surely self-destruct.

    Hang on. No no no. As I'm typing this, I was forgetting about the racist abuse and violence over an incorrectly cooked steak etc. I really must stop giving people the benefit of the doubt....

    Posted 7 years ago #

  10. chdot
    Admin

    "I really must stop giving people the benefit of the doubt...."

    Nah, always good to be optimistic...

    Though there is the related 'why keep doing something just because you hope the result will be different'...

    Posted 7 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.


Video embedded using Easy Video Embed plugin