Spoilt day.

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
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bigjim
Posts: 3244
Joined: 2 Feb 2008, 5:08pm
Location: Manchester

Spoilt day.

Post by bigjim »

I went out withthe CTC club on Sunday. Plenty of sunshine promised. Destination Hebden Bridge. A decent ride through Bury, Rochdale, Littleborough. Then we dropped down into Todmorden and fought heavy traffic into Hebden. After lunch we headed back down the road towards Littleborough and Hollingworth lake, across into Milnrow, Rochdale, Heywood and home. It was a nightmare! From leaving Hebden the traffic never stopped! It was stood still at Hollingworth lake and all the way into Milnrow. We were forced to ride on the outside of the standing traffic, as a few times cars deliberately moved into the gutter to stop us passing on the inside. Drivers were aggressive and frustrated. Traffic fimes were choking. You could not relax or get into a rhythm. The sun certainly shined but this was the first club ride that I did not enjoy and was glad to get home for some peace. I wonder if others are getting a bit disullusioned as I am? Offroad biking is looking attractive at the moment.
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gaz
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Joined: 9 Mar 2007, 12:09pm
Location: Kent

Re: Spoilt day.

Post by gaz »

A bit disillusioned with the cold at the moment, current temperatures have drained my enthusiasm.
High on a cocktail of flossy teacakes and marmalade
PRL
Posts: 607
Joined: 21 Jan 2007, 9:14pm
Location: Richmond upon Thames

Re: Spoilt day.

Post by PRL »

Living in the outskirts of London ride planning is very much "how to avoid traffic". My ideal is a road with a bit of bridle-path in the middle. Pity that people come with ultra-narrow tyres that mean they have to stick to main roads.
james01
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Joined: 6 Aug 2007, 4:48am

Re: Spoilt day.

Post by james01 »

Petrol has effectively come down in price, people will use cars more for non-essential journeys. I think the Chancellor should have bitten the bullet and increased road fuel duty in this budget, thus reducing pollution and congestion and increasing fitness of the public, but he couldn't face the flak from motorists.
Example: Thursday Telegraph page 9 newspaper article on budget impact showing a relieved Bristol Uni student saying: " there's no less incentive to get in my car. If it had gone up I would have had to use the car less".
Psamathe
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Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: Spoilt day.

Post by Psamathe »

james01 wrote:Petrol has effectively come down in price, people will use cars more for non-essential journeys. I think the Chancellor should have bitten the bullet and increased road fuel duty in this budget, thus reducing pollution and congestion and increasing fitness of the public, but he couldn't face the flak from motorists.
Example: Thursday Telegraph page 9 newspaper article on budget impact showing a relieved Bristol Uni student saying: " there's no less incentive to get in my car. If it had gone up I would have had to use the car less".

I would agree. In fact he's been failing to increase fuel charges for some time now. And is you drive a 15 mpg 4x4 Chelsea Tractor then it makes an even bigger difference (to both emissions and costs and tax revenue).

Ian
old_windbag
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Joined: 19 Feb 2015, 3:55pm

Re: Spoilt day.

Post by old_windbag »

james01 wrote: a relieved Bristol Uni student


I'm not old but in the middle ground. Why do you need a car as a student? When I went to university I was at my own home one, I had a driving licence and a grant( £1400 per year reduced from £1700 for living at home.... clearly my mothers overheads were lower than the authorities :? ). That money today is around £4400 a year, I paid my mother board money and the rest was spent on books and bus passes( oh forgot tatty clothes ). I could not have dream't of owning or running a car, even a banger. My fellow students did not have car's with one exception, he was 28 and had been in industry and returned to study as a mature student. He had an H-reg viva, old even then. I did not need a car, public transport in the city worked well and distances were short........ I still attend the same university for work purposes and regularly see students hopping in and out of cars they are parking. I think to return to the old grant system and free education would make it a better system for all and perhaps make money focused on real needs rather than luxuries.

I think we have created a massive problem with everyone requiring a car when it often isn't necessary. I was dismayed when I saw teenagers recently getting off the school bus locally, thinking they'd come from a school 14mls away........ no, it was the local school 1.5mls away :shock: . Easily walkable, easily cycle-able but chauffering is the order of the day. I suppose the bus does reduce the school run mum trips but they also still happen for similar distances here.

I think the easier access to cars from younger ages has added to the volume of traffic on our roads. I still use public transport for 35ml plus journeys( plus the 1.7ml walk to stop ), it's more convenient at times and suits the journey better. Yet in a conversation I had, the person said "why do get the bus, you have a car, the bus is a poor mans transport", then when I repeated that statement to someone else they said "well it is" :roll: .
MikeF
Posts: 4339
Joined: 11 Nov 2012, 9:24am
Location: On the borders of the four South East Counties

Re: Spoilt day.

Post by MikeF »

I certainly gain the impression (very unscientific I know) that over the last 6? months more use is being made of cars and that vehicles are being driven less fuel efficiently.
"It takes a genius to spot the obvious" - my old physics master.
I don't peddle bikes.
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