Ride Melbourne's CityLink Tunnel with Critical Mass!

[Andrew Morris]

I've been to a CM ride, so I can offer an educated opinion, and you guys are pains in the ass.... As
a motorist, you **** me off, and as a cyclist, you distress me, as you have ALL cyclists tarred with
the same brush as being

We all know what you believe CM does, but you're all wrong... CM does NOT raise the awareness of
anyone to cyclists... All it does is **** everyone off... The only reason you get Police support is
so that none of you dickheads get killed by motorists....

Riding the tunnel on a Friday night is infantile... I for one, hope there are a few bull bar fronted
vehicles that don't slow down for, or avoid you...

"PC" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 12:24:23 GMT, "Ben" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >All critical mass like this does is turn the average aussie even more against cyclists then they
> >already are. These protests are always done at the worst possible times in evening peak traffic.
> >Motorists and those catching public transport and held up in traffic jams, total gridlock, so
> >that a bunch of people can have some pointless fun. Here in Sydney my brother is caught up in
> >this on regular occasions, total chaos. So what happens? i'm told about it. Why? because i'm a
> >cyclist. All you are doing
is
> >turning people away from cycling and from being supportive about cycling infrastructures
> >whatsoever. My brother has two sons, i can tell you they will never have bikes of their own, you
> >can thank critical mass for that!!!!!!!!!!!
>
> You sound like a broken record.. You're not convincing or converting anybody, and since you
> apparently haven't been to a Critical Mass, you don't know the lengths they tend to go to to keep
> out of the way of public transport.. CM in Melbourne always makes an effort to let trams through,
> and a few months back we even did a weird manouver to let a 253 bus through the mass at a
> roundabout in South Melbourne..
>
>
> PC

 

[Pc]

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 23:39:09 +1000, "Andrew Morris" <[email protected]> wrote:

>I've been to a CM ride, so I can offer an educated opinion, and you guys are pains in the ass....
>As a motorist, you **** me off, and as a cyclist, you distress me, as you have ALL cyclists tarred
>with the same brush as being

Well, learn to live with it, cos no matter how much you whinge CM is global, it ain't going away and
it sure ain't slowing down..

>Riding the tunnel on a Friday night is infantile... I for one, hope there are a few bull bar
>fronted vehicles that don't slow down for, or avoid you...

I doubt it.. The tunnel is apparently to be closed during the event


PC

 

[Jeremy Lunn]

In article <[email protected]>, Andrew Morris wrote:
> I've been to a CM ride, so I can offer an educated opinion, and you guys are pains in the ass....
> As a motorist, you **** me off, and as a cyclist, you distress me, as you have ALL cyclists tarred
> with the same brush as being

As a motorist (though I don't personally own a car), I find that all other motorists **** me off....
as a cyclist I find that mostorists **** me off.... as a pedestrian I find that motorists **** me
off.... I wish they'd go away!

--
Jeremy Lunn Melbourne, Australia Homepage: http://www.austux.net/ http://www.jabber.org.au/ - the
next generation of Instant Messaging.

 

[Jarkko Altonen]

"Ben" <[email protected]> wrote:

>All critical mass like this does is turn the average aussie even more against cyclists then they
>already are. These protests are always done at the worst possible times in evening peak traffic.
>Motorists and those catching public transport and held up in traffic jams, total gridlock, so that
>a bunch of people can have some pointless fun. Here in Sydney my brother is caught up in this on
>regular occasions, total chaos. So what happens? i'm told about it. Why? because i'm a cyclist. All
>you are doing is turning people away from cycling and from being supportive about cycling
>infrastructures whatsoever. My brother has two sons, i can tell you they will never have bikes of
>their own, you can thank critical mass for that!!!!!!!!!!!

Well said. I've been arguing a similar position for years

 

[Rman]

"Ben" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>[snip]

My brother has two sons, i can tell you they
> will never have bikes of their own, you can thank critical mass for that!!!!!!!!!!!
>
>

And not thank Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft etc ?

 

[Pc]

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 20:48:58 GMT, [email protected] (Jarkko Altonen) wrote:

>Well said. I've been arguing a similar position for years

And yet Critical Mass is still active in hundreds of cities worldwide.. Is it really worth
your effort?

PC

 

[Markforsyth]

On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 11:30:03 GMT, ghostwombat <[email protected]> gushed forth:
>> From: [email protected] (Mark(desalinate for e-mail)Forsyth)

[deletia]

>
>Naysayers like Mark just don't get it. It's not about pissing off motorists... it's about viewing
>the world in a whole new way. Cities are for

In your view you may not start out with the intention of pissing off motorists but they inevitably
get ****** off, rightly or wrongly, at the disruption caused.

>people... it should be fun to be out on the streets. And, once a month for 90 minutes during CM,
>the streets become a carnival. Conversation flows

For some motorists, and others, for 90 minutes once a month the streets become a source of
frustration and anger. Frustration and anger that could well be taken out on YOU - think about it.

>among the riders, and smiles randomly and repeatedly break out on the faces of riders, pedestrians
>and motorists (gasp... yes, even motorists!) alike.

And for a few days after the CM ride I will have to put up with more abuse and downright
anti-cyclist behaviour than I would if the CM ride hadn't happened. But it's nice to know that the
CM sheep enjoyed themselves randomly smiling all over the place.

>
>Come along to a CM one time Mark, and you might actually enjoy it! I spent

Sorry - I'm not into deliberately putting myself in the position of annoying the **** out of others.

>my first CM in constant danger of falling off my bike coz I was laughing so hard at the sheer
>pleasure of it all. Not at the anti-motorist stuff that some people always sprout, but at the
>cameraderie, the inspiration and the revelation. Oh that the other 718.5 hours of the month would
>be as joyous to be on a bike as during CM... Have fun on Friday night, Mark, coz I will sure will
>be, along with 400+ of my biking friends.
>

Have your fun on Friday night - the rest of us will put up with extra abuse and aggro you generate.
Go forward - be selfish.

--
Ooroo Mark F...

Another Optus Cable Traffic Monitor. http://www.members.optushome.com.au/forsythm/traff/

Today is Boomtime, the 31st day of Confusion in the YOLD 3169

 

[Ghostwombat]

> From: [email protected] (Mark(desalinate for e-mail)Forsyth) Reply-To:
> [email protected] Newsgroups: aus.bicycle Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2003 14:39:34 +1000 Subject:
> Re: Ride Melbourne's CityLink Tunnel with Critical Mass!
>
> On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 11:30:03 GMT, ghostwombat <[email protected]> gushed forth:
>>> From: [email protected] (Mark(desalinate for e-mail)Forsyth)
>
> [deletia]
>
>>
>> Naysayers like Mark just don't get it. It's not about pissing off motorists... it's about viewing
>> the world in a whole new way. Cities are for
>
> In your view you may not start out with the intention of pissing off motorists but they inevitably
> get ****** off, rightly or wrongly, at the disruption caused.

Disruption? 5 minutes, max. Car drivers get mad at other other car drivers all the time... when are
you going to start campaigning against that, Marky?

>> people... it should be fun to be out on the streets. And, once a month for 90 minutes during CM,
>> the streets become a carnival. Conversation flows
>
> For some motorists, and others, for 90 minutes once a month the streets become a source of
> frustration and anger. Frustration and anger that could well be taken out on YOU - think about it.

Boohoohoo... see above. Can you tell me about any time of the month when the streets AREN'T filled
with frustrated & angry motorists? You should see my Dad on a Sunday morning driving to the local
shops. He's a shocker, and he's far from alone.

>> among the riders, and smiles randomly and repeatedly break out on the faces of riders,
>> pedestrians and motorists (gasp... yes, even motorists!) alike.
>
> And for a few days after the CM ride I will have to put up with more abuse and downright
> anti-cyclist behaviour than I would if the CM ride hadn't happened.

What a load of ********. This comment is spouted so often, you could almost harvest it to use it for
fertiliser. I've never heard a bigger piece of **** in my cycling life. Your proof, Marky? Any
empirical evidence to back up your outlandish claim? Or will you just rely on the old "it happens to
me, so I know it happens" ****. Do you even know when Critical Mass happens, so that you can
correlate your "observations" to your "thesis"?

>> Come along to a CM one time Mark, and you might actually enjoy it! I spent
>
> Sorry - I'm not into deliberately putting myself in the position of annoying the **** out
> of others.

Are you getting enough, Marky? Sounds like you're a bit damned grumpy there...

>> my first CM in constant danger of falling off my bike coz I was laughing so hard at the sheer
>> pleasure of it all. Not at the anti-motorist stuff that some people always sprout, but at the
>> cameraderie, the inspiration and the revelation. Oh that the other 718.5 hours of the month would
>> be as joyous to be on a bike as during CM... Have fun on Friday night, Mark, coz I will sure will
>> be, along with 400+ of my biking friends.
>>
>
> Have your fun on Friday night - the rest of us will put up with extra abuse and aggro you
> generate. Go forward - be selfish.

Extra abuse, my ****. Selfish indeed... imagine if the 400 Critical Massers were driving cars in the
Friday evening peak, rather than riding bikes. People like you wouldn't even make a comment about
that, but imagine all the aggro, pollution, resource use and congestion that 400 steel cages would
cause. Yes, Marky, it's really selfish to want a better world. I'm sorry. I apologise in advance to
your grandchildren for trying to give them a half-liveable world.

 

[Markforsyth]

On Thu, 26 Jun 2003 07:01:34 GMT, ghostwombat <[email protected]> gushed forth:

[deletia]

>all the time... when are you going to start campaigning against that, Marky?

I may even have been bothered to read the remainder if you hadn't said that.

Childish name-calling gets you nowhere. Bye bye.

[probable **** deleted]

--
Ooroo Mark F...

Another Optus Cable Traffic Monitor. http://www.members.optushome.com.au/forsythm/traff/

Today is Boomtime, the 31st day of Confusion in the YOLD 3169

 

[Jeremy Lunn]

In article <[email protected]>, Mark(desalinate for e-mail)Forsyth wrote:
> For some motorists, and others, for 90 minutes once a month the streets become a source of
> frustration and anger. Frustration and anger that could well be taken out on YOU - think about it.

What difference does it make? Motorists are arseholes to start with, either way they'll still be
arseholes in the end.

--
Jeremy Lunn Melbourne, Australia Homepage: http://www.austux.net/ http://www.jabber.org.au/ - the
next generation of Instant Messaging.

 

[Ben]

Both participate in other sports on weekly basis as well as during school time, they don't own a TV
game of any kind either.

"RMan" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> "Ben" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> >[snip]
>
>
> My brother has two sons, i can tell you they
> > will never have bikes of their own, you can thank critical mass for that!!!!!!!!!!!
> >
> >
>
> And not thank Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft etc ?

 

[Ben]

So why isn't crital mass organised out of peak hour traffic???????????

"Jeremy Lunn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, Mark(desalinate for
> e-mail)Forsyth wrote:
> > For some motorists, and others, for 90 minutes once a month the streets become a source of
> > frustration and anger. Frustration and anger that could well be taken out on YOU - think
> > about it.
>
> What difference does it make? Motorists are arseholes to start with, either way they'll still be
> arseholes in the end.
>
> --
> Jeremy Lunn Melbourne, Australia Homepage: http://www.austux.net/ http://www.jabber.org.au/ - the
> next generation of Instant Messaging.

 

[Smee]

Nothing like ploughing through a pack of wankers on cycles deliberately congesting the tunnels when
they PAY NO REGISTRATION.

PC wrote:
>
> On Wed, 25 Jun 2003 20:48:58 GMT, [email protected] (Jarkko Altonen) wrote:
>
> >Well said. I've been arguing a similar position for years
>
> And yet Critical Mass is still active in hundreds of cities worldwide.. Is it really worth
> your effort?
>
> PC

--
Look beyond the window, don't just focus on your own reflection. [email protected] for all spam.

 

[Stu]

jeremy said
>As a motorist (though I don't personally own a car), I find that all other motorists **** me
>off.... as a cyclist I find that mostorists **** me off.... as a pedestrian I find that motorists
>**** me off.... I wish they'd go away!
and
>What difference does it make? Motorists are arseholes to start with, either way they'll still be
>arseholes in the end.
so l guess that makes him an asshole must be a ***** riding up to the snow with all your gear on the
back of your bike

 

[Pc]

On Thu, 26 Jun 2003 10:02:37 GMT, "Ben" <[email protected]> wrote:

>So why isn't crital mass organised out of peak hour traffic???????????

Because it is essentially a group of riders on their way home from work..

Besides, it's 6pm on a Friday - show me any peak hour traffic metrics that say 6pm on a Friday is
the height of peak.. Just about anybody who has a bit of flexibility in their working hours (who are
probably those who have the kind of high income jobs that involve driving their pollution generators
to and around the CBD at 6pm) leaves a little early on Fridays, so the traffic in and immediately
around the CBD at 6pm should be quite low by most standards..

If it was 5.05pm on a Monday, well, it'd be a different matter entirely..

Anyway, since when did the right of non-car operators to use the road diminish when there are more
cars on the road?

If anything, it should increase to counter unsustainable transport practices.. Just like tram
clearways should not exist to aid peak hour traffic (which should instead be metered with aggressive
traffic light sequences to prevent too many cars from entering narrow sections of road during peak
hour).. Dramatically increase the amount of time that traffic off Victoria Parade gets a red light
to get across Hoddle Street and you've fixed the problems with Route 109 around Victoria Street,
ditto Victoria and Burnley Streets westbound in the morning peak, Moonee Ponds Junction and Mount
Alexander Road southbound in the morning peak, Flemington Road at Racecourse Road in the afternoon
peak.. All these people should be taking the public transport services or the nearby freeways
(Eastern Fwy for Victoria St, Tulla Freeway for Moonee Ponds Junction etc) provided, not clogging up
city streets, and the sooner our transport bureaucracy stops giving the car priveliged status on the
road, the better..

PC

 

[Jeremy Lunn]

In article <[email protected]>, stu wrote:
>>What difference does it make? Motorists are arseholes to start with, either way they'll still be
>>arseholes in the end.
> so l guess that makes him an asshole must be a ***** riding up to the snow with all your gear on
> the back of your bike

Not really, I seldom drive, though when I do, I don't find that I'm treated any better than I am as
a cyclist, it's just that I'm more their size! That and there's quite a difference in driving to the
snow and driving in peak hour traffic.

--
Jeremy Lunn Melbourne, Australia Homepage: http://www.austux.net/ http://www.jabber.org.au/ - the
next generation of Instant Messaging.

 

[Jeremy Lunn]

In article <[email protected]>, Smee wrote:
> Nothing like ploughing through a pack of wankers on cycles deliberately congesting the tunnels
> when they PAY NO REGISTRATION.

Troll....

--
Jeremy Lunn Melbourne, Australia Homepage: http://www.austux.net/ http://www.jabber.org.au/ - the
next generation of Instant Messaging.

 

[Stu]

>Not really, I seldom drive, though when I do, I don't find that I'm treated any better than I am as
>a cyclist, it's just that I'm more their size!

you said "As a motorist" you said "Motorists are arseholes" there for????

>That and there's quite a difference in driving to the snow and driving in peak hour traffic.
and that would be??

 

[Jeremy Lunn]

In article <[email protected]>, stu wrote:
> you said "As a motorist" you said "Motorists are arseholes" there for????

In the first case I specifically meant when I am driving. No that I am a motorist. As I do not own a
car and I very rarely drive, I don't consider myself a motorist in a general sense. As for those who
are aresholes, I generally refer to those who never walk anywhere, never take public transport,
never cycle, whinge about speeding legislation and constantly demand freeways.
>
>>That and there's quite a difference in driving to the snow and driving in peak hour traffic.
> and that would be??

Well first, I haven't heard of any CM going up Hume Hwy. Second of all there aren't all that many
alternatives for going to the snow (short of catching a coach up the mountain). Most people who
contribute to peak hour traffic are commuters who are making urban based trips that could be done by
public transport or cycling.

--
Jeremy Lunn Melbourne, Australia Homepage: http://www.austux.net/ http://www.jabber.org.au/ - the
next generation of Instant Messaging.

 

[Stu]

>In the first case I specifically meant when I am driving. No that I am a motorist. As I do not own
>a car and I very rarely drive, I don't consider myself a motorist in a general sense
so a motorist is someone who uses there car for something as worthless as getting to work, but if
someone is using it for something important like getting to the snow then you aren't a motorist?

>Well first, I haven't heard of any CM going up Hume Hwy. Second of all there aren't all that many
>alternatives for going to the snow (short of catching a coach up the mountain). Most people who
>contribute to peak hour traffic are commuters who are making urban based trips that could be done
>by public transport or cycling.
well you could ride your bike for a start? what not practical? would it be inconvenient?well then
don't go. guess you have worked out by now why people drive there car