13th June 2016 - Donnacha has some Monday Motivation

BUSY MONDAY EVENING ON THE ROADS

Donnacha writes....

I had a busy day at work so I got home a little later than planned today. Seeing as I even missed the Ireland game it was tempting to pull the 'its too late and im too tired' card but I did summon up the motivation to hit the road again. I stuck with the same route as it was getting late.

'We all know that everyone has hard days at work and the tiredness can set in preventing us to be active at the end of a long day. Click on these motivational tips to help get yourself moving whether its cycling, running or going for a brisk walk. Motivational Tips'


I met a few more cars this evening than the evening before and in general most are very patient and considerate but one in particular was definitely too close for comfort!! It doesn't stress me too much - I tend to hold my position on the road well, but with the state of some of the roads and pothole dodging I can see why it would put some people off. Here is a flavour of a stretch of my route that has had the potholes FIXED!! But you find now those patch jobs can be pretty bumpy on the saddle too!!

'If you have experienced the same problem as Donnacha has with a car travelling a bit too close for comfort, have a read of this Irish Cycling Campaign "Stayin' Alive at 1.5" that is focused on having a defined space of 1.5 metres between cyclists and motorists sharing the road written into Irish Law "STAYIN' ALIVE AT 1.5"'

I got an early Fathers day gift of an action/activity video camera so I managed to record most of the journey which I will edit and send on as soon as I can so hopefully I can add it to tomorrows diary! I had issues with it staying upright on the handlebars so it needed to come off a few times to readjust it again.

All in all - even though a little slower with fatigue settling in on the uphill route home, I am happy with my evenings efforts. Beats sitting on the couch!! Hopefully for tomorrows journey the camera issues will be resolved and I can concentrate on the cycling!

 

 

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16th June Michelle Walsh & Anthony Shine doing their bit for operation transportation

Walsh and Shine

Cycle in the Sunshine

Editor's Preface:

Cycling Couple Michelle Walsh and Anthony Shine have decided on a joint approach to Operation Transportation. Each will support the other.

They were unable to commence their cycle challenge over the weekend, so Monday June 16th is their Day One!

 

Anthony writes:

 

 Well now on day one we did a "leisurely"  spin* over the walk/cycle paths around Douglas, Rochestown  & Passage West.

[Check out our 18.5 km Ride on Strava: http://app.strava.com/activities/154382508]

 

 

On the old railway line from Hop Island to Passage West there were people as far as the eye could see: walking, roller-blading, jogging, cycling and everyone was unsure which side to keep to. Should we use "road rules" or "walking rules"?

 



Michelle by the Waterfront



There is a major problem with people parking on the new cycle lanes in the Douglas area maybe the authorities can do something about that ? ? 

 

Tune in for tomorrow's adventures in the Douglas area. 

 Editor's Responses:

Firstly, I am laughing at the description of an 18.5 km cycle as a leisurely spin! But I guess being leisurely is all about attitude and pace? Well done guys anyway.

 

Secondly I am curious about "walking rules". Tell us more Anthony! I did meet a polish lady a few months ago who told me of her shock that Irish people did not stick to different sides of the pavement depending on the direction of walking. Do I infer that we should all walk on the right hand edge of the footpath?

 

Or do you mean Irish walking rules- i.e. walk where ever you please but try to avoid knocking anyone down. That one seems to make most sense to me.

The most important walking rule?

 

Anyway my understanding of how to use shared space is that the most vulnerable road user - i.e. the pedestrian here has priority so cyclists need to slow down on the shared cyclepaths and yield right of way to walkers...

 

Finally on the Cars in bike lanes issue- during the day you can report this to the traffic wardens in th ecity or county council area covered- if there are wardens in the district. In all other cases- report it to the Gardaí.

 

I read an interesting story  awhile ago about how Clowns were used to "police" bike lanes in a very successful light-hearted way. It was less confrontational- people were more likely to laugh and comply when the person "ticketing" them was clowning about!

I can't find the original story, but here is a similar one:

http://gothamist.com/2009/03/16/clowns_police_bike_lanes.php#photo-5