CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
@wingpig - oh, are many back already? Term doesn't start for ~2 weeks.
For me it was several cyclists on the canal. It was really busy today - but some people still whizz through. I really don't mind pootling/stopping when I have to: If I'm in a hurry, and think the canal will be busy, I switch to the road.
It really annoyed me, as there were little children milling about. Any ideas how we can encourage other (non-CCE) cyclists to behave better? :D
Dawdle and castigate?
"Term doesn't start for ~2 weeks."
Next week is Fresher's Week at Edinburgh Uni
I think you can talk to people in matter of fact way about the nature of their poor etiquette. You need to catch them first.
Was out with the scouts tonight. 20 boys and 4 girls round Harlaw and thriepmuir in the dark ( at the end) all home safe. if the youngsters learn good etiquette at an early stage then they can carry ths forward into their grown up lives, maybe.
Today's rubbish cycling was me. You know, a cigarette held in a driver's steering wheel hand looks, from a distance, exactly like the edge of an iPhone. So it was with that impression that I gestured, with an animated frown, to a motorist today. Only when I passed the vehicle did I realise I was in the wrong. :( But then I was in the queue of traffic and the driver was further behind. A few moments later the driver came up alongside me in the next lane, and immediately launched into an expletive-ridden explanation that it wasn't a phone at all. I was afraid the driver was about to become apoplectic, but as I started to explain that I had made a mistake and wanted to apologise, they drove off.
I'm going to stop calling out drivers. It's just not worth the hassle.
If I'm in a hurry, and think the canal will be busy, I switch to the road.
Out of interest - what's your preferred route?
I can see the A71 from outside the bypass, past the park and ride then over the gyratory (big breath!) and then keep following the A71, but the canal ends up on the far side of Slateford Rd. Do you cut across on Longstone Rd or similar?
As Harrison Rd 20mph zone proved too much for my new apprentice I think the A71 might not be too welcome and he'd be back in the car, but it's good to learn about options.
Would you better going slightly further along to Ashley Terrace rather than Harrion Road? Its a bit steeper with two hills but its so narrow with parked cars that nothing can get passed any way.
I'm going to stop calling out drivers. It's just not worth the hassle.
I stopped a while ago, if the police don't care....
steveo: that could be a good shout - on the way home, turn right from Ardmillan onto Slateford Rd, then left into Ashley Terrace and left again onto Harrison Gds?
On the way in Harrison Rd was OK, because you can do a reasonable speed downhill (and luckily there was no queue, so we didn't need to do filter training on day 1)
The much quieter (but possible twice the distance alternative) would be to turn left out of Murieston Crescent, then right onto the path behind Shell and LIDL, Telfer underpass, right onto Dundee Street, then through the Bryson's to Harrison Park.
Telfer underpass isn't great but it gives you all your hill climbing in a car free environment.
The right turn after Telfer subway is light protected too, so that only leaves the unprotected right turn onto the path, but yeah - another good idea.
I have to hope my victim's enthusiasm keeps him coming back long enough to find a viable route...
steveo: that could be a good shout - on the way home, turn right from Ardmillan onto Slateford Rd, then left into Ashley Terrace and left again onto Harrison Gds?
Thats what I had in mind but cb's suggestion might be better depending on speed, the subway can get pretty busy at commute times. Fountainbridge is also backed up at the moment with extra delays due to Gorgie.
Was the person going along Slateford Road in the direction of town in the section near the petrol station. You know, where there's a nice big bus lane to cycle in. So why was this person cycling on the dividing line between the bus lane and the other lane? Especially as it is Sunday and the bus lane isn't in operation anyway...
If I'd been on the bike I'd have spoken to them, but I was driving a car :o(
Was he on a red mtb/hybrid? I came across someone doing this on the Costorphine Road about a month back. Really strange behaviour.
I think some people think that they might not be able to enter bus lanes perhaps?
Or maybe the strip is smoother than the rest of the road surface?
Or maybe the strip is smoother than the rest of the road surface?
I've been known to ride on that bit of the road for that reason on Leith Walk - the uphill section from Brunswick St up to Montgomery St. Fairly early in the morning when there's at least a couple of double parked vehicles that force you out in any case, but I would tend to stay 'out' unless a bus was approaching behind as the surface is appalling.
Or maybe the strip is smoother than the rest of the road surface?
In this case, no, the road surface is good. My assumption was that the cyclist thought (s)he wasn't allowed in the bus lane. Hence my comment that the bus lane wasn't in operation (it being a Sunday). Though, of course, if they'd looked at the signs to see if the bus lane was in operation they'd have seen the pretty picture to show that cyclists can use the bus lane!!
Yoof on what was either a BMX with a hugely extended seatpost or a folder with really chunky wheels.
Riding unlit at night is a poor idea, young man. Riding right across a red light at a crossroads is a worse one. Doing both of the above when one arm of the crossroads is at the bottom of a reasonable hill is dafter still.
If you ever find that motorist who had to anchoryank to save your foolish hide, you owe him or her a drink.
... was the cyclist going the wrong way along Teviot Place behind a line of cars waiting at the lights (and constricted by the dug up cycle lane). I probably wouldn't have collided with him if he hadn't been behind a Transit van as I crossed on foot, but he was and I did.
[/ end grump]
Probably me - rode home with two bikes (holding one in my left hand) as my lock seized last night and I took oil to it today on a different bike.
Didn't think about it at the time, just rode from Bristo to innocent railway tunnel.
Seemed I'd cause more havoc trying to wheel two bikes along crowded pavements.
Didn't seem to bother anyone, got lots of smiles and jokes from peds. A few laughs from cars. I can also confirm that the QBC lane is wide enough for two bikes abrest!
Probably me - rode home with two bikes
@NiallA
Lots of badly lit bikes out there at the moment - I can only presume most are doing short journeys, as they surely cant be commuting regularly in the dark like that - although my early morning commute appears to refute this
I think ARobComp was saying that todays rubbish cycling was probably him, not that he was probably your perp NiallA!
Badly lit bikes were definitely not me. I lit up at 5.30 since it is quite dim and quite a few other cyclists plus some motorists had their lights on too.
Thanks, Min - yes, completely misread that! Today's rubbish forum contribution was... me.
Nearly almost me. Having gone through the Telfer Subway without having any infractions with pedestrians, left turned out of Caledonian Road onto Dalry Road, got to the lights, waited, lights changed, car infront moved off, I push off behind it but am in too large a gear - so find the car rapidly moving towards me as it applies brakes as bus ahead suddenly pulled into the stop. It's hard to pull on the brakes when you're just setting off standing up as your wrists are pointing down the way and are in completely the wrong orientation to pull the lever. Managed to somehow get my feet onto the ground and come to rest with my tyre gently resting on the extended bumperwork of the Honda Civic R-type in front without the driver noticing that he'd been nearly rear-ended. It was the one with the black paint and red trim, so he would probably have been well miffed with a bicycle-tyre-shaped dent in the fibreglass
I've certainly seen several unlit cyclists recently, including a hand cycle on the pavement along Leith Links (Seafield end, I couldn't work out what it was in the dark until he got closer), shortly after passing someone on upright with a basket (also on pavement).
Last night's were:
7:30pm Guy on MTB who had clearly been to, or was on his way to, gym/training (footie shorts/trainers/bag on his back), unlit, left turn at Great Junction St onto Bonnington Rd, hops onto pavement to weave past pedestrians.
9pm MTB (admittedly with rear red, couldn't see if front was lit), through red light at Gt Junction St onto Leith Walk, hops onto traffic island to continue on his way.
Minor infractions? Why do I feel frustrated that this behaviour only reinforces the impression other road users must have of cyclists?
Yesterday morning I'd just arrived at the back of the queue of vehicles waiting to turn onto Morningside Road from Church Hill. After the light changed the first couple of cars had turned left/south when a girl on a bike emerged from the red-lighted north and boldly swanned across the front of the next car. I was too far back to see if she'd emerged from the road or footway.
Shortly afterwards on Bruntsfield Place/Home Street there were the usual two or three people pulling to the right into the non-bus lane without looking after realising that the bus whose rear bumper they were hugging was about to stop.
Fantastic example of bad cycling today in fountainbridge. Young man scheme like in appearance grey tracksuit full suspension mountain bike cycling on the wrong side of the road on and off the pavement whilst texting with a carrier bag hanging off the handlebars..... I actually laughed out loud at him!
Muttergrumbleyeswingpig.
The great majority of cyclists are the stereotypical RLJ pavement hoppers that the EEN would like to portray us as.
I can confirm that the great majority of housing scheme dwellers do not conform to the pejorative "scheme like" behaviour.
I'm not sure which is more annoying.
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