To think cycling should be banned under lockdown?

[catsarelifetome]

I just had to drive to an essential medical appointment, and come across dozens of cyclists.

Why is cycling still allowed when driving is only allowed for essential travel? Surely the 1 hour exercise should be restricted to walking? If the cyclist falls off or is hit by a car, that puts pressure on emergency services.

And yes I know a very small minority will be cycling to an essential job... but I doubt all the people I saw were doing so. Surely the rules should be the same... essential travel only.

Well, at the moment it isn't car drivers causing problems for pedestrians on pavements or in parks is it?

Not that is really ridiculous!

I know you don’t actually want to learn to ride a bike,

I know how to ride a bike, did my cycling proficiency and everything. I physically can't ride a bike because I can't bend one leg and I can't sit on a saddle because I have a battery for a medical device sewn into a buttock.

Will look at those links

You are right, cars NEVER cause problems for pedestrians on the pavement.

metro.co.uk/2019/12/02/boy-12-dies-car-mounts-pavement-hits-multiple-children-outside-school-11257309/

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/uk-news/up-holland-school-pavement-crash-17540128

metro.co.uk/2019/12/14/three-pedestrians-injured-car-mounts-pavement-crashes-traffic-light-11907262/

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/car-mounts-pavement-mows-pedestrians-21162190

There were pages and pages of results, and videos. I’ve just linked the first couple.

Thinking cyclists do more damage than car drivers is daft. And totally wrong. Your ire is misplaced.

ChristmasCarcass

Didn't see one bike suitable for people in my situation plus have you seen the prices? Not quite the £50 on eBay are they? £3000 is ridiculous.

If you are genuinely interested in adaptive cycling (or for anybody else who is), here are a couple more links:

cycling.org.uk/wheels-for-all

wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk/

But they are prohibitively expensive plus not adaptable for all circumstances. One solution is for an able bodied person to pedal for you.

This thread is getting ridiculous.

This thread started ridiculous.

Depends on which bikes you were looking at - obviously a hand-built individually-designed prone hand bike for somebody with cerebral palsy is going to cost more than £50. Still substantially cheaper than running a car.

Did you look at the adaptions to normal bikes? Crank shorteners, changes to the step-through so you don’t have to swing your legs over? The Wheels For Well-being charity linked above will let you try out a few options, give you advice on fit, and help you apply for grants to help with the costs. They also do group rides where you can just borrow their bikes instead of buying one yourself.

ChristmasCarcass

The cheapest was £500.

The crank shortening link didn't work but that doesn't solve the problem of not being able to sit on a saddle plus it says that it reduces the amount of bend in the leg, not eliminates it.

How does borrowing a bike for a group cycle help? You're all suggesting that people cycle to work and the shops - that's where I use a car. How does telling me to go on a group cycle provide me with an alternative to car journeys?

One solution is for an able bodied person to pedal for you

If you have severe physical and cognitive impairments like the people those bikes are aimed at, that may be your only option. But the point is that they can still enjoy a bike ride.

Obviously somebody with fewer physical limitations would not need something like that. I was trying to demonstrate the range of adaptive options out there, not fit you with a specific bike.

There's a study to do with the slipstream of joggers and cyclists clouding you with their breath if they're passing close by to you, being a Clovid-19 risk. Who knows if that's true. Thinking about it, it's feasible I suppose. But pavement joggers and cyclists, same if they get near to you in a park, don't think I'd want that anywhere near me right now

It's certainly been raised in a couple of studies and seems feasible. They need to do more studies and quickly to either confirm this or prove it wrong.

ChristmasCarcass

Cycling is not quite the panacea that some people are making it out to be

Still lol at poster who wants evidence that cars cause more death and serious injury than cyclists

Try Google my friend.

If you can't accept that as true without reading the news, being in the world etc then that's a bit odd. Maybe also Google where bears like to shit, and pope's religion

Er no. YABU and seem to be signing up to the pandemic Pharisee brigade.

I don't think that cyclists cause more death or damage than cars. I've not once said that.

I said I'd like to see stats on how much injury or damage bikes cause, not that it's more than cars. I bet cyclists cause more injury and damage than pedestrians.

This is insane, maybe we should ban car drivers. Dirty polluting killing other people machines.

No? Didn't think so

I don't think cyclists should be banned, just that they should be made to stay on roads and cycle paths, not on pavements.

I think it is brilliant to see that a there are a lot more bikes on the road now.

Britain with its hugely overweight population, polluted air and clogged up roads needs more cyclists and less cars. I hope a few people built up the cycle confidence now with the quieter roads and stick to it after Corona.

Totally agree with this. Also agree that no cyclist should be out in a large group. I don’t get out much nowadays but when I do I’ve only seen single cyclists in my area.

Please remember, even though the roads are (usually) clogged and tempers get frayed; cyclists are mothers, daughters, fathers and sons, loved ones, brothers and sisters. They are far more vulnerable than car drivers. And in a moment of impatience or anger at cyclists you could ruin the lives of a whole family, as well as your own.

@Hearhoovesthinkzebras you keep changing the goal posts! It's further weakening your already weak argument!

Today 13:44Hearhoovesthinkzebras
'If you look at statistics, it's in almost all cases the car the hurts the cyclist, not the other way round.

Do they maintain statistics for damage caused by cyclists then?'

Thing about mn is you can't edit your posts, such a pain isn't it

BeetrootRocks

What do you think you have proved there? Me asking if they maintain stats on damage caused by cyclists - not me saying I think cyclists cause more damage than cars. Cyclists do cause damage and injury though - so, how much?

Most people who hate cyclists have never cycled.

Most people who hate cyclists are pretty unlikeable themselves. As long as we're generalising.

A car cause a thousand times worse damage than a bike! And cyclists have zero protection unlike in a car. The anti cyclist rhetoric is truly mad. We need more cyclists and fewer cars - no brainer. Love cycling so quick and pure. Feel so much happier getting on my bike than in a car. Plus no parking issues.