Google bikes

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 08:20:17 +0000, [email hidden]

(Ekul Namsob) said:

tony said:

http://quickrelease.tv/?p=29

Google gifts bikes to staff

Aaarrrgghh!

'gives'

Sorry, I know it's not your fault, Tony, and it's a big ask for
journalists to write in English.

"a big ask"? Since when is ask a noun?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The web giant wants its staff to be fit and lively and so has 'done an
Ikea' and has provided staffers with a catalogue from which they can
choose free bikes and kit. The eco- and health-conscious largesse is for
Europe, Africa and the Middle East only, Google staffers in America can
go whistle…

Why exclude America, I wonder?

Maybe because they can catch the Google Bus:

http://memostomyself.wordpress.com/2007/03/12/the-google-shuttle-commuter-paradise-found/

And how's this for cool: "bicycles are allowed on exterior racks". Why don't we
have that as stantard on TfL buses?

tony said:

http://quickrelease.tv/?p=29

Google gifts bikes to staff

Aaarrrgghh!

'gives'

Sorry, I know it's not your fault, Tony, and it's a big ask for
journalists to write in English.

Quoted message said:

The web giant wants its staff to be fit and lively and so has 'done an
Ikea' and has provided staffers with a catalogue from which they can
choose free bikes and kit. The eco- and health-conscious largesse is for
Europe, Africa and the Middle East only, Google staffers in America can
go whistle…

Why exclude America, I wonder?

Cheers,
Luke

--
Lincoln City 0-2 Southend United (AET)
Swansea City 2-2 Southend United
We went up twice with Tilly and Brush

Marc Brett said:

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 08:20:17 +0000, [email hidden]

(Ekul Namsob) said:

tony said:

http://quickrelease.tv/?p=29

Google gifts bikes to staff

Aaarrrgghh!

'gives'

Sorry, I know it's not your fault, Tony, and it's a big ask for
journalists to write in English.

"a big ask"? Since when is ask a noun?

It's a variation on the rule that usenet spelling correction posts
always contain a spelling mistake 🙂

Paul Rudin wrote on 25/03/2007 09:32 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Marc Brett said:

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 08:20:17 +0000, [email hidden]

(Ekul Namsob) said:

Sorry, I know it's not your fault, Tony, and it's a big ask for
journalists to write in English.

"a big ask"? Since when is ask a noun?

It's a variation on the rule that usenet spelling correction posts
always contain a spelling mistake 🙂

And, punctuation, mistakes too ;-)

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 10:19:12 +0100, Tony Raven <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Paul Rudin wrote on 25/03/2007 09:32 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Marc Brett said:

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 08:20:17 +0000, [email hidden]
(Ekul Namsob) wrote:
>
> Sorry, I know it's not your fault, Tony, and it's a big ask for
> journalists to write in English.
"a big ask"? Since when is ask a noun?

It's a variation on the rule that usenet spelling correction posts
always contain a spelling mistake 🙂

And, punctuation, mistakes too ;-)

And don't forget mistakes grammar.

In article <[email hidden]>, tony
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Whereas Ikea staff got cheap folding bikes, many of which were quickly
placed on eBay

16 or so still there:

<ttp://search.ebay.co.uk/ikea-bike_W0QQfromZR8QQssPageNameZWLRS>
--
congokid
Eating out in London? Read my tips...
http://congokid.com

I was also wondering why the bike offer was not extended to US
employees. Maybe, there is no PR in such a stunt, a free car prehaps.

DrK

http://www.bikesthatfold.com - All about Folding Bikes!

Ziggy said:

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 10:19:12 +0100, Tony Raven <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Paul Rudin wrote on 25/03/2007 09:32 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Marc Brett <[email hidden]> writes:

> On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 08:20:17 +0000, [email hidden]
> (Ekul Namsob) wrote:
>>
>> Sorry, I know it's not your fault, Tony, and it's a big ask for
>> journalists to write in English.
> "a big ask"? Since when is ask a noun?

It's a variation on the rule that usenet spelling correction posts
always contain a spelling mistake 🙂

And, punctuation, mistakes too ;-)

And don't forget mistakes grammar.

Dr Kickstand wrote on 25/03/2007 11:29 +0100:

Quoted message said:

I was also wondering why the bike offer was not extended to US
employees. Maybe, there is no PR in such a stunt, a free car prehaps.

Probably a combination of staff numbers in the US plus the fact that
commuter cycling is quite common in Europe but not in the USA

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

Marc Brett said:

And how's this for cool: "bicycles are allowed on exterior racks". Why don't we
have that as stantard on TfL buses?

How would you fasten them on so that:

(a) they can be got on and off quickly, without unduly holding up the
bus for everyone else;

(b) they can't be casually lifted off by passing pedestrians when the
bus is stopped at traffic lights?

R

in message <[email hidden]>, Marc Brett

(') said:

Maybe because they can catch the Google Bus:

http://memostomyself.wordpress.com/2007/03/12/the-google-shuttle-commuter-paradise-found/

Quoted message said:

And how's this for cool: "bicycles are allowed on exterior racks".  Why
don't we have that as stantard on TfL buses?

They do in (e.g.) Seattle. I believe bike racks are common on busses in the
US. They're apparently banned in Britain for, errm, 'safety' reasons.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; IE 3 is dead, but Netscape 4 still shambles about the earth,
;; wreaking a horrific vengeance upon the living
;; anonymous

Roger Burton West wrote on 25/03/2007 14:46 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Marc Brett said:

And how's this for cool: "bicycles are allowed on exterior racks".
Why don't we have that as stantard on TfL buses?

How would you fasten them on so that:

(a) they can be got on and off quickly, without unduly holding up the
bus for everyone else;

(b) they can't be casually lifted off by passing pedestrians when the
bus is stopped at traffic lights?

http://www.bicycleracks.com/busrack_mission_installs.asp

If lots of USAian cities can do it why can't we?

The front rack has lots of benefits and the driver and passengers near
the front can keep an eye on loading and unloading.

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell

Roger Burton West said:

Marc Brett said:

And how's this for cool: "bicycles are allowed on exterior racks". Why don't we
have that as stantard on TfL buses?

How would you fasten them on so that:

(a) they can be got on and off quickly, without unduly holding up the
bus for everyone else;

Advice from various US transit authorities is to work fast to help keep the bus
to schedule. First time users may request assistance and advice from the
driver. The design of the racks makes the loading/unloading process look pretty
easy to me -- tha manufacturer claims less than 10 seconds. TfL's new GPS-aided
iBus system will be able to instruct the driver to speed up or slow down in
response to all kinds of delays, including bike loads/unloads on either their
own or leading or trailing buses.

Quoted message said:

(b) they can't be casually lifted off by passing pedestrians when the
bus is stopped at traffic lights?

Sit at the front of the bus and keep an eye on your bike. Lock the wheels to
the frame; remove the saddle. Mark the bike with anti-theft runes. Get
insurance. Cover the area with CCTV. Apply Sharia law to bicycle thieves :-)

Leftpondians seem to manage it; so ought we. Anybody out there with first-hand
experience want to chime in?

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:00:56 +0000, [email hidden]

(Ekul Namsob) said:

One of these days I shall
buy a helmet just so that I can have the pleasure of installing a helmet
camera.

I thought for a moment you were going to say "... buy a helmet just so that I
can nut the driver"!

Ekul Namsob said:

One of these days I shall
buy a helmet just so that I can have the pleasure of installing a helmet
camera.

If you find LSMike's recent thread about his new toy, you should see
that you can get pretty goods results by mounting a helmet-mounting
camera to your handlebar.

Unless you ride a USS bent (LSMike's is OSS). I'd have to find an
alternative mounting point.

--
Danny Colyer <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2

Tony Raven said:

Paul Rudin wrote on 25/03/2007 09:32 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Marc Brett said:

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 08:20:17 +0000, [email hidden]
(Ekul Namsob) wrote:
>
> Sorry, I know it's not your fault, Tony, and it's a big ask for
> journalists to write in English.
"a big ask"? Since when is ask a noun?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

It's a variation on the rule that usenet spelling correction posts
always contain a spelling mistake 🙂

Quoted message said:

And, punctuation, mistakes too ;-)

Are you referring to my positioning of your name inside commas? If so,
that one is debatable and I have had too much wine with my delightful
Sunday dinner to do so rationally.

Cheers,
Luke

--
Lincoln City 0-2 Southend United (AET)
Swansea City 2-2 Southend United
We went up twice with Tilly and Brush

Ziggy said:

On Sun, 25 Mar 2007 20:00:56 +0000, [email hidden]

(Ekul Namsob) said:

One of these days I shall
buy a helmet just so that I can have the pleasure of installing a helmet
camera.

I thought for a moment you were going to say "... buy a helmet just so that I
can nut the driver"!

No. Sorry, I'm not that quick. Yet.

I was, however, rather chuffed to be able to keep up with the driver of
BMW M 4 PNE yesterday after he had tried to drive me off the road. One
day I shall get the Highway Code's illustrated guide to overtaking
cyclists laminated around a brick for distribution to such drivers.

Cheers,
Luke

--
Lincoln City 0-2 Southend United (AET)
Swansea City 2-2 Southend United
We went up twice with Tilly and Brush

Ekul Namsob said:

One of these days I shall buy a helmet just so that I can have the
pleasure of installing a helmet camera.

You could just velcro it to your head:
http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/helmetcammounts.htm#strap

They also have mounts for baseball caps, to clamp onto various things,
or possibly (if you happen to be bald):
http://www.dogcamsport.co.uk/helmetcammounts.htm#sucky
("This high quality mount will suck to all shiny surfaces"😉

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Marc Brett

(') said:

Maybe because they can catch the Google Bus:

http://memostomyself.wordpress.com/2007/03/12/the-google-shuttle-commuter-paradise-found/

Quoted message said:

And how's this for cool: "bicycles are allowed on exterior racks".  Why
don't we have that as stantard on TfL buses?

They do in (e.g.) Seattle. I believe bike racks are common on busses in the
US. They're apparently banned in Britain for, errm, 'safety' reasons.

No fun to be a pedestrian (or cyclist) struck by a front-mounted carrier. Maybe
buses only hit cars in the US?

CTC has a position on this:

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4498

Summary: internal carriage, rear racks, or trailers are a Good Idea, by and
large. No chance for front racks in the UK with US-style equipment.

Marc Brett wrote on 26/03/2007 01:07 +0100:

Quoted message said:

No fun to be a pedestrian (or cyclist) struck by a front-mounted
carrier. Maybe buses only hit cars in the US?

CTC has a position on this:

http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=4498

Summary: internal carriage, rear racks, or trailers are a Good Idea,
by and large. No chance for front racks in the UK with US-style
equipment.

And yet the much more litigious and risk averse USA seems to be quite
content with them. What do they know that we don't?

I've used rear racks on Swiss Post Buses but they are out of sight in
transit and the driver has no idea whether you have finished loading or
unloading.

--
Tony

"The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there
is no good evidence either way."
- Bertrand Russell