Off yer bike - for the sake of all of us on the roads

Parbs

From today's Herald
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/...3422105845.html

Parbs - unhappy and resentful and probably should go for a ride down Parramatta Road this morning ;-)

cfsmtb

Does Michael Duffy have any links with the auto industry?

The whole article is a easily debunked crock o' shit from beginning paragraph to end. For starters under AusRoads Dec 1, 1999 all cyclists over the age of twelve are legally entitled to ride on the road. Cyclists under twelve can ride on footpath, accompanied by an adult. Did Michael Duffy bother to research that salient FACT plus several others he conveniently missed when writing this dire P.O.S?

Nope.

Contact SMH:
http://www.smh.com.au/contacts/index.html

Also, on Crikey, a badly written, rather childish piece by Michael Pascoe.

Is he drinkin' buddies with Mr Duffy?
http://www.crikey.com.au/articles/2...-1538-8452.html

Oh how Crikey has fallen downhill fast since Mayne traded in his integrity. BTW, has he received the $1m yet?

Peter McCallum

Parbs <anembo@NOexcite.com> wrote:

> From today's Herald
> http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/...ke-of-all-of-us
> -on-the-roads/2005/12/02/1133422105845.html
>
> Parbs - unhappy and resentful and probably should go for a ride down
> Parramatta Road this morning ;-)

Just one word for Michael Duffy: Troll

--
Peter McCallum
Mackay Qld AUSTRALIA

monsterman

what a f@ckwit. Bikes cause pollution Does he also think brooms cause bigger messes, or liposuction has caused higher donut consumption rates??? Cars create pollution, accidents clumbsy people & kids (bless em) cause messes, and lardos will always eat donuts. No mention of public transport in his retarded piece. No mention of car-pooling. No brain.

cfsmtb

Lite reading for Messers Duffy & Pascoe for the next time they choose to partake in bicycle-orientated research:
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/rulesregu...raustr_dl1.html

Particularly this bit:
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/rulesregu...wnloads/p15.pdf


These documents mentioned above, are probably beyond Messers Duffy & Pascoe limited comprehension. Yes I am attempting to remain polite.

Random Data

On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 21:19:09 +0000, Parbs wrote:

> Parbs - unhappy and resentful and probably should go for a ride down
> Parramatta Road this morning ;-)

Traffic's flowing too freely. You won't be able to obstruct the same car
at multiple sets of lights.

Dave - who saw someone taking advantage of a closed bridge and Cahill
expressway this morning.

--
Dave Hughes | dave@hired-goons.net
The family that chooses words with care together is the family that
avoids needless violence and gunplay together, is our motto.

cfsmtb

Shock horror! Amongst other things, Duffy is a ABC employee! BTW, whatever happened to all that notorious 'groupthink' bullshite?
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/coun...t/presenter.htm

Pascoe gets paid to talk crap & has a rather over 'shopped photo.
http://www.saxton.com.au/default.as...c8=141&sd8=1317

Peter McCallum

cfsmtb <cfsmtb.1zft1y@no-mx.forums.cyclingforums.com> wrote:

> Pascoe gets paid to talk crap & has a rather over 'shopped photo.
> http://www.saxton.com.au/default.as...c8=141&sd8=1317

Crikey, I'd hate to have seen the original

--
Peter McCallum
Mackay Qld AUSTRALIA

ritcho

Here is what I had to say to the smh letterbot.

Dear Letters' Ed,

Michael Duffy (Off yer bike - for the sake of all of us on the roads, Opinion 3/Dec) is under a serious misapprehension of what causes traffic congestion on Sydney's roads. The greatest delays on Sydney's roads are caused by the thousands and thousands and thousands of motorists that are in each others' way. Michael Duffy also doesn't realise that he contributes to the congestion, along with every other person, yet he blames cyclists specifically. Given all of the supposed advantages that cyclists are undeservedly receiving, one must ask why he doesn't get on his bike and take advantage too.

- Ritch

Bob

"Random Data" <spambait@hired-goons.net> wrote in message
newsan.2005.12.02.23.52.49.644156@hired-goons.net...
> On Fri, 02 Dec 2005 21:19:09 +0000, Parbs wrote:
>
>> Parbs - unhappy and resentful and probably should go for a ride down
>> Parramatta Road this morning ;-)
>
> Traffic's flowing too freely. You won't be able to obstruct the same car
> at multiple sets of lights.
>
> Dave - who saw someone taking advantage of a closed bridge and Cahill
> expressway this morning.
>
> --
> Dave Hughes | dave@hired-goons.net
> The family that chooses words with care together is the family that
> avoids needless violence and gunplay together, is our motto.
>



How about a simple response (free for anyone to use):

If you find yourself grinding along behind the same bike several time in the
space of a journey, then clearly it is because you are being held up by cars
in front of you. Otherwise you would just pass the cyclist. Their
alternative is to drive, in which case you would have another car in front
of you and an even slower trip.

Driving slowly does not produce more green house gas. Speeding up and
slowing dow does, so maybe just adopt a steady pace. If bike riders are
continually passing you, clearly they are spot on. Wind down a window and
give them a wave. That way you might get some of the fresh air they are
breathing, not just the exhaust coming into you cabin through your air
conditioning system from the car right in front. Obviously it is causing you
to be grumpy.

flyingdutch

and to debunk yet another of his deluded misconceptions that cyclists are suckin more fumes than the him the motorist...

http://www.bv.com.au/inform.php?a=6&b=31&c=1015

cfsmtb

Sent this off to the SMH letter bot:


Michael Duffys opinion piece (Off yer bike - for the sake of all of us on the roads, Opinion 3/12) sadly illustrates he has no comprehension of complex problems facing Sydney's road users, urban planning infrastructure and Australian road laws. His fact-free article contributes nothing towards recent discussion on Sydneys dire transport issues, and is a childish indictment upon Duffys embarrassing lack of knowledge and research skills.

Peter Signorini

"Peter McCallum" wrote:
> Parbs wrote:
>
>> From today's Herald
>> http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/...ke-of-all-of-us
>> -on-the-roads/2005/12/02/1133422105845.html
>>
>> Parbs - unhappy and resentful and probably should go for a ride down
>> Parramatta Road this morning ;-)
>
> Just one word for Michael Duffy: Troll

Yes, one hell of a scurillous troll indeed. I've sent some of his work back
to the SMH with corrections:


Dear Michael Duffy

It's time to get cars off our roads. As a mainstream form of transport, the
motor car has proved itself the equivalent of communism: a lovely idea that
failed dismally in practice. Cars are dangerous to drive and slow traffic,
which creates more pollution. For the good of all of us, we need to ban the
motor car.

When Government started to encourage motor traffic a few decades ago, it was
like the balmy days after the Russian Revolution: the future looked golden.
It was hoped that travel times in Sydney would soon drop drmatically,
improving peoples' accessibility.

Where it all went wrong was that almost everyone took to driving to work and
for that trip to the corner store. Today, fewer than 1 per cent of all trips
in Sydney are made by bike. The motoring activists blame this on the danger
of riding on our roads, but this is like Marxists blaiming the failure of
communism in the Soviet Union on the dangers of US star wars missile
systems. The sad truth is that in both cases a vanguard tried to use
technologies to overcome the laws of nature and have failed. The only
difference is that the motoring lobby hasn't accepted this. Human powered
transport is the only realistic solution to the very real threats of global
climate change and environmental degradation.

Ride a bike.

Cheers
Peter

neuroinf

How on earth could you ride a bicycle slower than Sydney traffic?

I thought it was the Great Victorian Bike Ride, but it was actually
thousands of cyclists migrating south from Sydney. The drop in the
value of Sydney real estate is obviously due to sensible people
fleeing south and north to somewhere liveable.

I'm sure a wider promulgation of this article will serve to encourage
further useful migration.

"Sydney - one of the world's least liveable cities. Leave it now and
avoid the rush."