CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

Cycle chic becomes driver distraction?

(26 posts)
  • Started 12 years ago by Arellcat
  • Latest reply from ruggtomcat

No tags yet.


  1. Arellcat
    Moderator

    Only in New York! Or possibly, only in the Daily Fail. This story is so strange I'm finding it hard to believe it could be true.

    Police pulled me over for showing too much skin, says leggy tourist
    "
    The unidentified officer said her skirt was so short it could cause an accident. The 'culprit' was a Dutch tourist who said the incident happened on a warm, sunny May 3rd of this year.
    "

    Were it true, it reminds me of the backlash from a religious group when a cycle lane was installed on a road somewhere that way, that might have resulted in attractive people cycling on it.

    Loving those glasses, though.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  2. ruggtomcat
    Member

    When I am recumbent then short skirts suddenly get much shorter due to the viewing angle... Very dangerous, they should be banned.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  3. cc
    Member

    It's true, but there's suspicion that it was a PR stunt for VanMoof. Whatever, Copenhagen Cycle Chic reports on a Short Skirts On Bicycles Protest in New York.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  4. crowriver
    Member

    It's difficult to underestimate the desire of newspapers to get some photos of a pretty woman with nice legs onto the pages. Given that the company she works for gets a hearty PR puff, whether the story is accurate or not she has clearly turned the episode to her advantage.

    I can't help but think this is too soon after the huge viral success of the NYC "keep in the cycle lane" video for the story to be credible. That video has been all over Facebook the past few weeks: it's the new Jackass meets LOLcats (ie. people keep pointing at it and saying "Look at this, what a scream!").

    Posted 12 years ago #

  5. Min
    Member

    The final nail in the coffin for this story is that it is in the Daily Mail-hardly a bastion of cycling support...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  6. wingpig
    Member

    Ages ago Zoe Williams advocated fishnets (presumably always in conjunction with a skirt short enough for them to be noticeable beneath) as a means of ensuring other road users' attentions were captured.

    Much more frequent than seeing drivers distracted by the shape or surface of female cyclists' body parts is seeing them fail to notice changing colours of traffic lights due to being distracted by the shape or surface of people on the pavement.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  7. kaputnik
    Moderator

    The Daily Mail couldn't care less about cyclists getting abused, injured and killed on our own roads, but devotes an entire article with as many pictures of a pretty lady that they could scoop off of facebook to report on a foreign tourist in New York who happened to be showing a bit of leg but didn't get a ticket!

    Kinda shows their priorities, doesn't it!

    I've got a better ar** and legs than a lot of ladies out there and routinely show a lot of flesh. Where's my article?!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  8. Min
    Member

    Try writing to the Daily Mail telling them you've been sacked from your job for being too sexy and enclose a photograph of yourself astride your bike, looking glum and wearing a mankini?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  9. wingpig
    Member

    "Where's my article?!?"

    If you're willing to pose for some low-POV pictures and don't mind having some quotes miscontextually attributed in a mock-patronising way (simpered Andy, coquettishly tweaking the brim of his revealing casquette a little higher) and .anth has some space I was going to write him something lightly parodying the http://www.anyexcuseforpicturesof(almostexclusively)prettyladiesonbicycles.com style after that other thread mentioning cycle chic and the predominance of lightly-clad women in the photographs.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  10. kaputnik
    Moderator

    How about I put my Assos on and get snapped trundling the Paperbike about town? I might even be able to borrow an aero-helmet through ERC?!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  11. Min
    Member

    I could pose as your disgruntled former employer (arms folded and wearing a frown) and rope some friends in to look comedically distracted at your TT gear/paperbike combo?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  12. gembo
    Member

    Shavers Weekly used to do this with Murray The Naked Man - take him round various places (bizarrely as Shavers rarely out of Edinburgh boozers) THe St Enoch Shopping Mall when it first opened - running in and out butt naked. At the time I thought it abusive of Murray and his compulsion to disrobe but now I think they may have been parodying Daily Mail and mall culture?

    I think Murray married a woman who once jumped on stage at Pere Ubu gig in the Venue and took her clothes off. David Thomas walked off with his tuba but the band played on.

    Murray - where is he now?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  13. kaputnik
    Moderator

    TT helmet ordered... (for TT purposes) Photoshoots optional

    Posted 12 years ago #

  14. Kirst
    Member

    The Edinburgh Slutwalk will be walking down the Royal Mile on Saturday afternoon, so don't cycle round there unless you want to be squished by distracted drivers.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  15. TwoWheels
    Member

    I can understand why this story would be attributed to the rather spindly journalistic underpinnings of the Daily Fail, but you also have to take into account the egregiously idiotic NYPD. I have had direct experience with the NYPD, as have many others, and I can assure you that they typically have the viciousness of a pit bull coupled with the intelligence of a dung beetle. I have little doubt in the veracity of this story; it sounds just like them.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  16. chdot
    Admin

    Guardian catches up -

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/bike-blog/2011/jun/15/cycling-skirt-motoring-hazard?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  17. steveo
    Member

    Its bad that i looked at that picture and thought, unusual bike...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  18. kaputnik
    Moderator

    I've seen them advertised in magazines before. Forget the name, but Danish. With the lights built into the extended top tube. Handsome machines.

    Even though it is short, the skirt is hanging down over the tail light. That cycling chic obviously not safe or practical for night cycling. Never had that problem with me lycra!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  19. chdot
    Admin

    Dutch

    http://www.vanmoof.com/mobile/vanmoof-no3.html

    Posted 12 years ago #

  20. crowriver
    Member

    Nice bikes, but.....a choice of only single speed or 3 speed? Fine for East Anglia or London. The hillier bits of Edinburgh would be a struggle though.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  21. SRD
    Moderator

    Pretty clever looking bikes (although I probably agree on gears).

    Posted 12 years ago #

  22. kaputnik
    Moderator

    €478? Competitively priced!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  23. chdot
    Admin

    Wots the competition?..

    http://www.paper-bicycle.com/bicycle.html

    http://www.pashley.co.uk/products/princess-sovereign.html

    Posted 12 years ago #

  24. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Made from Aluminium, it probably tips the scales at a lot less than either of those.

    The Halfords ones looks like they've put a different lick of paint (than "anonymous grey") on a compact geometry solid fork Carerra hybrid, replaced dangler with a hub, added a (cheap looking) rack and (cheap looking) guards, a chainguard, replaced straight bars with a slight moustache shape, little black "ding" bell with a silvered "ding-a-ling" bell, the aheadset with a quill and replaced horrible black plastic/foam saddle and grips with horrible brown plastic/foam saddle and grips.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  25. chdot
    Admin

    "Made from Aluminium"

    So lighter and cheaper.

    Or cheaper and heavier -

    http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/halfords-to-sell-old-school-euro-style-bikes--21378

    Posted 12 years ago #

  26. ruggtomcat
    Member

    Saw a Vanmoof in the flesh two days ago, in Germany.

    Posted 12 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.


Video embedded using Easy Video Embed plugin