Half Pint Pixie

NaBloPoMo – Day 9

You all know that we’re a carfree household & that Mr. Halfpintpixie cycles to work. Along with being an environmentally sound mode of transport, cycling is an excellent way to keep fit. From The Herald (UK)

David Ogilvie, formerly of the Medical Research Council at the University of Glasgow, now at Cambridge, wrote a paper in 2004 promoting cycling as an alternative to using cars. “If you are physically active in general, you are less likely to suffer from a range of chronic diseases, especially heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer,” he says. “Some people don’t like going to the gym or don’t have the time, but they still have to get to work and back – so the best way of getting the required amount of physical activity is to embed it into your daily routine.”

There are heaps of blogs and websites dedicated to every possible aspect of bicycle commuting, from choosing a bike, clothing and equipment, to doing your own repairs and even instructions on the best way to fold a tire to stash in your bag!

Mr Halfpintpixie is fortunate, his employers have provided shower facilities for their cyclists, but for those of you who are not so lucky, here’s a few tips on how to freshen up after your cycle.

Here in Galway, the Galway Cycling Campaign is a group that exists to forward the interests of everyday adult cyclists, they have the following aims:

* Safer conditions for cycling
* Planning that gives equal priority to all road users
* Improvement of existing facilities
* Secure parking for bikes
* Recognition of the rights and responsibilities of all road users by all road users

The main danger to cyclists, and indeed pedestrians, in Galway is the large multi-lane roundabouts favoured by the city council. Most cyclists choose to dismount and cross them on foot as the danger from bad drivers here is very real.

However, these roundabouts have no protected crossing points, so you have to take your life into your hands and run across during a break in the traffic. Madness. Have a look at some pictures here.

On a trip to Amsterdam last year we were amazed by the high level of bike usage there, little children were carried on their parents’ bikes, something I’d be too scared to do here with all the cars on the road, and most of the city centre was just for bikes and pedestrians.

There were bikes everywhere, it took a little getting used to, they cycle on the paths in Amsterdam.

In Ireland a cyclist by law must stay on the road no matter how dangerous the conditions (anyone familiar with Galway will know what a state the sides of our roads are in).

Needless to say, this is a law that’s not always possible to obey when your own safety is your main concern!

Here’s a summary of the laws relating to cyclists in Ireland.

There’s a book which several websites recommend about the urban cycling, it’s by Robert Hurst & is called “The Art of Urban Cycling“, the second edition is called “The Art of Cycling“, apparently both are the same. Here’s some wisdom from it…

The most effective way for a cyclist to stay out of trouble on city streets is to forget entirely about the possibility of blaming others, and to take on full responsibility for his or her own safety.

This attitude will be fundamentally different from the prima donna mind-set displayed by many humans, drivers and cyclists among them, who put their safety in the hands of others, count on everything working out just right, and have a royal freak-out at the first sign of trouble. The successful urban cyclist counts on nothing but chaos and stupidity.

Bike Seattle has a great review of it, Mr. Halfpintpixie will be getting a copy in his Christmas stocking, although he doesn’t know it yet!