interesting advice on commuter cycling in Sydney

27-07.-2005, 10:20 PM	#1
robalert Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Eastwood, Sydney, Australia Posts: 392	interesting advice on commuter cycling in Sydney 12 Bulletin of the University of Sydney Medical Society After a well-publicised pushbike vs car, hit & run tussle, Pete finds the injury-induced month off the road hasn’t changed Sydney driver abilities or etiquette, hence the urge to pass on this advice. The best way to avoid nasty drivers deliberately using their speeding chariots of steel to hurt pesky alternativists on two wheels is simply NOT TO RIDE. If however, you like the exercise, like saving money on public transport, vehicle upkeep and greenhouse gas producing fossil fuels, or just appreciate the lovely Autumn days from the seat of a tredley, here’s a few tips. 1) Avoid cars with number plates prefixed from T to Y, personalised or those wanky European-looking plates. -this indicates newish cars or owner love affairs with their mode of transport. The driver will be too busy or too full of their own worth to bother pulling over an inch for one of those annoying alternative energy users. Be very careful of them, voicing umbrage at near misses may just result in deliberate acts to silence you for good- Melbourne underworld public slaying-style with their weapon of choicea Toyota. -note Z prefixed number plates are okay. These are usually so new that the driver would not want to put a scratch on the duco, even if it meant bonus points for wiping out one of those tree-hugging scourges of the road. Other possible Zcars are those recently imported from other states, just registered here, suggesting drivers too new to Sydney to know that hurting cyclists if behind a steering wheel is an unwritten local rule, and who have not put enough of the Sydney water into their system to reach cumulative "road rager toxicity" (EBM searches find rage level is directly proportional to the difference between the amount of humble H2O orally ingested and the amount used to wash the beloved jalopy- much worse in times of water restriction). 2) Wear light-coloured clothing - no this is not for increased visibility on the road, but rather visibility in RPA’s Emergency Dept. Even a fresh-faced RMO will be able to see where the blood is coming from and gives all staff a good colour contrast to the usual Friday night stomach pumps and vomitus. 3) Wear a Medic-Alert bracelet indicating "Cyclist" -this allows the Ambo’s to quickly establish your medical condition, without having to ask questions about why impact with a speeding 2 tonne object makes it difficult for you to breathe unassisted. Surviving as a Cyclist in Inner-City Sydney Pete’s new perspective on cycling. 4) Wear a helmet -shown to increase IQ level by reducing aluminium-induced Alzheimer’s Diseasethe form resulting from blows to the head by a family sedan. 5) Don’t ride faster than cars -nothing increases the rage of a road rager more than a cyclist rubbing it in by demonstrating that their form of transport is actually better for your health, friendlier to the environment and gets you there quicker than their penis on wheels. Also note that all drivers fundamentally believe bicycles can only travel a maximum of 5km/h and therefore speeding ahead of you, just to turn at a corner 5m away is their God-given right. 6) Ride in packs -turkey shoots are never that difficult, but increase the number of poor suckers likely to get blown away and that decreases the chance of you being Xmas dinner. 7) Take a young kiddie with you -no a Sydney driver will not take more care if they see a cute, helpless child with you, however having an anklebiter in tow allows you to legally ride on footpaths. Not a guarantee that a 4WD won’t deliberately swerve your way, but at least footpaths give an extra obstacle or two to increase your chances of a near miss. 8) Use hand signals -a way to sell a dummy to the driver about your true intended movements. 9) Watch out for opening car doors -road ragers getting out of their car means only one thing- putting the boot in once you are down to make sure maximum damage is sustained. 10) Make sure your bike is fitted with a working bell and light -when you can’t speak any more after a tangle with a Holden these devices will enable you to communicate that you are in distress by Morse code. 11) Respect motorcycles -not because they can hurt you as much as cars, but because they are your friend and ally on the road. These guys are faced with all the same shit from car drivers as you are, but with about three times less response time. Respect, watch and learnthese guys have a lot to teach you about surviving a Sydney road on two wheels. If you must ride then constant vigilance is still unfortunately no guarantee against Sydney drivers. If you are driver, just remember that person doing it the hard way on the far side of the lane could get hurt very badly if you don’t give them some room and the next one to go down could just be someone you know. After a popular vote by first years in lectures last week the Med Revue will throw its support behind ROSE Charities this year. Suggested by a second year student who worked there during Summer, ROSE is a small surgical hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia that performs low cost operations for disabled people (fixing club feet and cleft lips, to working on land mine and burns victims at the low cost of $10 to $50 US per operation). They treat people who would not otherwise get medical care, plus train local medical staff in surgical techniques practical for local technology and resource constraints, with the aim of developing selfdependent teams. For more information on ROSE Charities visit their website <www.rosecharities.com> and to support them get behind and see the Med Revue, 2 or maybe even 4 times. By Peter Moore (Med Revue Charity Co-ordinator) Med Revue 2004, charity chosen Update: __________________ Rob www.bikenorth.org.au '07 Giant OCR Composite 3 - R550s with Michi Prorace2 '06 Giant CRX1 '96 Apollo Himalaya commuter - Rigid Fork, slicks, fully racked DMR Switchback Reynolds 520- Velocity Cliffhangers, SRAM X-9, Easton bar/stem DMR Trailstar 2 4130- Mavic117, Dice Whiplash, SCUD DH bars, LX 9spd, DMR Crisis Cranks. '04 Giant VT3 frame - SOLD

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