Resident energiser bunny Kropa has taken the bull by the horns and started organising polo again for all us lazy sods. We also have a sweet court to play in, it's actually quite incredible, it's smooth, flat, grippy, has corners, all in all perfect, apart from the basketball hoops you can crash in to, but that's a small price to pay. Games are every Saturday from 1pm. Court is located in Eamon Ceannt Park, Sundrive Road. It's behind the velodrome, behind the kids playground.
We have mallets etc., but these break so if you can make and bring your own please do. The best materials are aluminium ski poles and abs piping, but whatever you can do that works is fine. There's a good how-to here from the New York Hardcourt guys. Also a rough guide to rules.
So i was wondering why people I know were angry with Mr. Leto all over arsebook today. A quick popular search engine search later I was to find out why...
Far be it from me to wax lyrical about the sanctity of cycling, but there is something distinctly sickening about this video. Cycling, and fixed-gear riding in particular, has finally jumped the shark.(actually I take it back, that happened a long time ago).
Combine it with this piece of turgid schmaltz, where pudgy, adolescent boy meets hot, pierced biker chick, who falls madly in love with his boyish charms and inability to fix a fucking flat(you know, that old story), and you leave many us who actually enjoy riding bikes, wanting to quickly find some 14 year-old ebayer who's into vampires, henna tattoos, and fixed-gear bikes, and offload that shit as quickly as possible...
In Fight Club, if I remember correctly, Edward Norton kicks Jared Leto's ass and smashes his prettyboy face in. When asked why, he states that he 'wanted to destroy something beautiful'. Well Mr. Leto has put one of the final nails in the beauty of cycling and is helping it on it's winding, downhill, no-brakes road, off that fucking pier, to destruction.
You know what, I just re-read what I wrote and have completely changed my mind. These videos are great for cycling. Now the pudgy adolescent need not fear the closed circle of fixed-gear aficionados. He will go on that midnight ride on his clunker with his head held high, and hit on girls that he used to think were out of his league. Elliot Smith would not be turning in his grave if this were to pass.
As for emo kids, they no longer have to skulk in corners wearing dark clothes, bemoaning the darkness of life and the expense of hairspray. They can now worry over what they can buy to match their hot pink NJS crankset!(nb. in the real world, all NJS parts must be silver, no colurs allowed, thans Ed!) Watch in wonder as hordes of youths ride brakeless and fearless through your neighbourhood, careening off car windscreens with a carefree attitude (well vampires are immortal so they have nothing to fear from mere mortal car drivers!).
Anything that gets more people who look like freaks cycling bikes they have no idea how to control is a-ok! Can we make Jared Leto official mascot/spokesemo of the IFBMA? Please?
2nd ghost bike of the year will be unveiled this Saturday coming at 11am.
Karl McGee died on the 15th September when he was involved in a collision with an articulated truck on Wellington Quay.
Here are the details:
On the 15th of September Karl McGee, a cyclist of 51 was killed on Aston Quays(sic). To remember him, a ghostbike will be unveiled at the location of the accident on Saturday November 14th at 11AM. The ceremony will take place on the south quays, at Ha'penny Bridge in presence of Karl's family and friends. After that, a group will cycle to Harolds Cross bridge and place flowers at the first ghostbike of Dublin, in memory of Paul who died there in January.
A great night by all accounts. Diarmuid consistently posted the fastest times all night, and really wanted to break 25 seconds... next time. We'll keep working on the system and things will get smoother as we progress. Next time we'll have a dj outside with us so we can properly announce it and make a better show for everyone. If anyone has any (constructive) comments to make about how we can improve please make them below, we really want to make this as big and inclusive as possible.
The Shaw have been on to us to host it again, so we're looking at the first week of December for the next event. There will be a chance to race again this Friday come in any time after 6pm (in Bernard Shaw again) and post a time and give it a go.
Dublin Messenger: I figured since for 2 years it's been me, it may as well stay me, so from now in it's Dublin Messenger, not Messengers... as that would imply some sort of co-operation, and it being overtly just me frees me up to talk about shit I want to talk about with no inference that I am speaking for a group of people.
I was in Barcelona at the end of August for another edition of Paradise Weekend, hosted by the ever smiling Dave of Imensajeros. It's a great city to ride your bike in, and combine that with sun, sea and cheap food and booze, and it's a recipe for a fantastic time. Turnout was pretty low this year, for out-of-towners at least, but it was good to see more locals taking part.
The Saturday night alleycat is always my favourite part of the weekend, a proper pick-up drop-off, multiple manifest alleycat. I generally don't take it too seriously and I guess that's my way of enjoying it; stopping at checkpoints for a chat and a beer.
There were a few people writing an article about the race and I managed to do Dublin proud in it if I do say so myself... I guess it's a different attitude over there, as people were genuinely bemused to see me roll up to a checkpoint with a can of beer in my hand!
(click image to get larger resolution)
There's a new forum in town... dedicated to the fixed-gear fanatics in Dublin: Dublin Fixed Gear Agus Singlespeed, although I think the singlespeed is there just for forms sake, they're a really decent bunch of people, no snobbery, and so far no Boards-like behaviour.
A nice gallery of Britain's crap cycle lanes in the Guardian this week.
Aly has come out with another short video, this time featuring Kropa and his backwards cycling shenanigans. It's only available on Arsebook at the minute but as soon as he puts it on YouTube I'll pop it up here.
Nice article on BBC about small courier firms in the UK benefiting from the threat of Royal Mail strikes. (Via Joe Hendry)
Also from Joe, news that a new movie C.O.D, is in the works, about a New York Messenger forced to deliver bombs... hmmm. One reviewer states nicely: "Everybody hates bike messengers. First of all, the profession attracts douchebags. Second of all, they're a hazard on the road to drivers and pedestrians alike. Third of all, they always smell." Nice...
I haven't posted here since... well since the last post, and I'm not hitting the 'back' button to see what date that was, needless to say it's been a while. Nobody has stepped forward to try and keep this thing alive, so I guess I may as well try and help it limp along until it finally gives up the ghost or someone pulls the finger out.
What to report since last time...
Well, CMWC Tokyo happened. Daz won backward circles, 2nd in skids while wasted, got tied up and drawn on as he annoyed so many people, and finally got arrested(still in Tokyo awaiting sentencing I believe), Perrine won Fixie Queen(even though she's not actually a courier ...shhhhhh).
Um... I almost forgot, it has been so long that there wasn't even a report on ECMC Berlin! As far as I can remember Team Dublin won the Mechanical Bull riding... 25Sean came top 10, then promptly had a baby. Hungary successfully 'bid' for ECMC2010, many people got drunk and danced to electro music. Props to ex Dublin Messenger Gar for being one of the main organisers of a spectacular event. My photos here.
There is a raffle taking place to help Daz's legal costs. Tickets are 3 for €5 or sumfink... Matt(eternal rookie) from Dublin's newest (and only fixed-centric) bike shop Cultured has kindly donated a sweet bike as first prize. Tickets can be bought in the shop or at the Bernard Shaw this weekend and draw will take place after Halloween Alleycat. The Bernard Shaw are having another 'fixie day' this Saturday the 24th, from 4pm. There will be a parts market, videos, messenger dj's best in show comp, and finally Goldsprints will make a return to Dublin. 8 fastest times posted will go into knockout stages. Be patient with us as it's our first time running this and we are bound to fuck something up royally.
The week after will see the Halloween alleycat, this year organised by Colin and Kropa. They are getting some sweet jerseys(yes jerseys) made for this, based on one of Colin's designs.We are hoping to run some more goldsprints in Bernard Shaw afterwards.
Niamh, who has been filming Dublin Messengers since CMWC 2007, gave us a glimpse of her work with a short entitled 'Alleycat', which screened at the Galway Film Festival and recently during the Darklight festival in Dublin. We hope there's a lot more to come. For now you can see the magnificence of my arrospok (which I have since become too ashamed of to ride in public) in the first few seconds.
Elsewhere in the world of bicycle fashion, the bicycle chain bracelet recently jumped the shark when Louis Vuitton released this: A steal at $700, but not guaranteed to hold your chain together as a quick bodge when you snap yours doing a keo spin while wearing this to add momentum (and bling) to your revolutions.
In short... Registration now open for CMWC 2011 Guatemala Ex-Dublin Messengers Goofy and Tomek now helping with production of Polish mish-mash of all my favourite track bikes Torro. ECMC 2010 to be held in Budapest, CMWC 2011 in Warsaw. Tokyo organisers $34,000 (yes all those zeros are correct, and yes that is twice what we spent on our entire CMWC) in debt. Messengers trying to help here. I got a new Pac (yum)
I'll still update here with more general messenger info and race times etc. but I will be focusing my efforts on the company. Again, if anyone wants to contribute to keeping this blog alive please get in touch.
A slow and windy course set our times behind those of previous years, but the main thing is everyone had fun and finished the race safely. Well done to Lizard for organising this years race.
Starting on Sunday, National Bike Week will comprise of a series of events aimed at encouraging more people around the country to get on their bikes.
There's a Family Day in the Phoenix Park on Sunday, with a 10k group ride around the park, and on Wednesday there is the cycle through the city, which thankfully this year they have had the balls to actually put midweek and in the evening. Places are limited apparently (not sure how they can stop anyone from cycling on the roads that night however!?), so you can sign up here . If it's another exercise in high-vis jacket wearing I'm pretty sure I shall ride off into the sunset and tell them where they can shove their cycle.
This is overall a good thing for the city however so be sure to check out www.bikeweek.ie and get involved somehow.
Hey all, just a quick post to advertise a new forum for working messengers. Cassandra from NYC has created a really good forum here: http://cyclecourier.org/vanilla/
you may have noticed there has been a paucity of content over the last while. Some of you may know that myself and Chris are hard at work trying to get our new company off the ground, which has left me little time for filling this blog. It's a shame as I love it, but it deserves more attention than I can give it right now. If there is any messenger out there in Dublin who would like to contribute to the blog PLEASE get in touch, as I'd hate to see her wither away and die. I'll add when I can, but who knows when that may be.
On another topic, Global Gutz is just around the corner, I've officially registered us as of this evening. I'm stepping down as course creator and we'll have a fresh design this year, hopefully giving us a better chance of competing with those Europeans who can apparently maintain an average of 42kp/h in city streets over a 21km course while negotiating 5 checkpoints... lets see if we have found their secret...
Details of start/finish will come some time after we return from Berlin. Stay tuned... and get the legs spinning.
There are two places you can drink alcohol in this country; one is in your private home and the other is in a public house. This place is neither. You have to leave this place... NOW!!
Those were the immortal words of the Garda who moved us along from Grand Canal to marc the start of the last race in the ECMC Berlin Dublin Qualifier Series. So we started and ended at Portobello. Evening was very pleasant and they all turned out, Lizard with freshly shaved legs for the occasion. About 15 riders raced the final race; two manifests, both with four checkpoints, two pick-ups and drop-offs at each one. It took 27Aidan just under an hour to come in first with Kropa in second and Lukasz in third on the night. All got t-shirts from another Lukasz from dotties as did Doricea as first girl. Then came the prize-giving ceremony with a cacophony of prizes for the top ten. Results are below. 27Aidan had a great race on the night which left him that one point ahead of Lukasz to put the quiet Pole in third and to take second for himself. And Kropa took first, got a fancy shirt so as not to go away empty-handed on the night. He wins the flights and registration for ECMCBerlin which is not so far away at all. There was a closing ceremony in the Portobello Pub where we all shouted, shoved and downed pints in one, as is our want. I am happy that people took part and made the series a good one and I am thankful. Thanks to the marshalls, to those who gave prizes over the weeks and thanks to the racers of course.
Can somebody put on an alleycat now please so I can have a go...
ECMC Berlin Dublin Qualifier Series. Results after Race 3
Race last week got a bit trickier, perhaps too much so. But the numbers were good. Niamh was filming on the night for her soon-to-come 2 minute short, looking forward to it. Kropa took first, great result for Josh in second and 33 Steve takes third two weeks in a row.. All this meant that the table looks like this:
1. Lukasz. 46
2. Kropa. 45
3. Lally. 44
4. 27 Aidan. 43
5. Vinny. 34
6. 33Steve. 32
7. Lizard. 27
8. Josh. 27
9. Delo. 21
10. Cliffy. 14
11. Jonny. 14
12. Colin. 13
13. Doricea. 12
14. John W. 12
15. Geri. 10
16. 23 Cormac. 10
17. Big Al. 9
18. Eoin. 8
19. Pádraig. 5
20. Rob. 4
21. Seán. 4
22. Dennis. 3
23. Caríosa. 2
24. Raj. 2
25. Aly. 2
26. Lorcan. 2
27. Brian. 2
A Polish double bill for first and second, Lukasz and Kropa, with our man Lally trailing just behind in third. The points could not be closer with Aidan on 43 in fourth. This series is very much open. It's all to win for, flights and registration that is for ECMC Berlin 09 in six weeks time.
Race number 4 is this Friday 24th, 7pm at Grand Canal Square. Come one, come all!
Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death. ~Hunter Thompson
With the fairer weather, more turned out. Pre-race refreshments were idyllic under the walls of the old city. The race itself had a few more checkpoints than the week before and this week's looks to be a bit trickier as well. Friday 17th, 7pm(2 pm for anonymous) at the Green. Race starts 730 sharp as craic to follow is in Anseo of Camden St. with 25Seán puttin down an electro seton the turntables. As always, results, prizes and refreshments to follow.
"It's still very early to make any calls on this race, nobody is talking just yet. But a few hungry faces can be seen in the pack..."
Thursday April 9th. Cook St. By the old walls of Dublin. Drinks in Dice bar to follow. Remember all accumulated points from this series go towards a grand prize of return flights and registration for the ECMC in Berlin.
Another bike gone... this one belonged to Oisin from Knog who was very good to us during CMWC. He didn't have it long and it should stand out quite a bit. Please keep the eyes peeled. Here's the description: The bike was stolen outside of Twisted Pepper on Abbey Street at 11PM last Saturday 4th April.
Basic Description:
Custom built at brick lane bikes so the frame, crank etc are all BLB parts,
Frame: colour black
Rims: Velocity Electric Blue deep V with black tires
Riser Bars - Electric Blue with black grips
Two finger front break
Electric Blue pedals with silver cages and blue strap
ECMC Berlin Dublin Qualifier is ready to go. First race, this Friday (3rd) April, 7pm at Portobello. Five alleycats over the month with the final on May 1st. Winner gets flights with his/her bike and registration for ECMC Berlin over our June bank holiday weekend, 28th May-1st June 2009.
There are five races with points awarded for placing as well as participation:
1st: 10 points, maximum 2nd: 7 points, maximum 3rd: 5 points, maximum Participation: 2 points
Races are on the Friday of every week except Friday 10th, Good Friday, with the race on the day before, Thursday 9th. Qualifier final on May 1st with afterparty. €5 per race, craic to follow, always. Keep your eyes on http://www.dublinmessengers.org/ for race results, points table and upcoming race details.
Friday at Portobello, we see you there. S25
Also! weardotties.com will be supplying some sweet t-shirts as prizes. Check them out.
For anyone who hasn't got a manifest yet, there should be some around the Green in the morning, or alternatively you can copy the list below:
You have all day to collect as many of these items as possible. Gather at Wilton Place from 5.30pm to tally scores. Cut-off is 6pm. Overall prizegiving ceremony will take place in Bernard Shaw from 7.30pm. Have fun!!!
copy of Metro (5pts.) copy of Herald AM (5pts.) Unlimited Magazine (6) Totally Dublin (6) GCN (6) Event Guide (6) IFI Timetable (6) Argos Catalogue (10) Golden Pages(10) Docket Sheets from 5 courier companies (20) Rubber Duck (20) Lump of Coal (10) Housebrick (20) Briquette (10) Carrott (6) Rose (10) Shamrock (10) No Bicycle Sign (50) 'I like to ride' sticker ((10) Giant Novelty Sunglasses(must be worn) (25) Tricolour Afro (must be worn) (25) Leprechaun Suit (100) Green facepaint(on face) (20) Traffic cone (50) Photo of you and cycling police (50) Photo of you with motorbike police (100) Photo of you and security (50) Photo of you in a lift (10) Roll of toilet paper (10) Photo of you with receptionist (50) 8 ball (100) Pizza box (20) Happy meal toy (25) Deck of cards (10) Fresh tattoo (200) American Visa Application (200) Driving License application stamped and signed by police(200) Recipe for sponge cake (10) Spare spoke (10) Photo of you cycling an eco cab (50) Photo of you cycling in Custom House Plaza (100) Photo of you with security guard in Wilson House Fenian Street (100) Photo of you with Horse and boy at Percy Place (200) 6 pack of booze (0) Photo of you demonstrating with crazy people at Leinster house(bonus holding placard) (100) Guinness beermat (10) Whiskey tasting certificate from Jameson Distillery (200) Photo of you in sky bar at Guinness Storehouse (200) A bra (100) A famous persons autograph (depends on how famous in OUR perception)
Sun. 15th: Grass track racing(as the velodrome is being resurfaced) Venue tbc. Footdown, messing... booze
Mon. 16th: Workaday Scavenger Hunt. It's going to be quiet on the road so spend your time looking for random stuff: full list will be handed out and available here on Sunday night. 5.30pm points will be tallied... booze
Tue 17th: Hey! It's actually Paddy's Day! If you're not too hungover go see the parade and realise that messengers aren't the only group of raging alcoholics wandering the streets of Dublin.
Party-wise we're looking at Thomas House for one of the nights... maybe Bernard Shaw or Feile for another... any suggestions still welcome.
If anyone out there wants to donate a few prizes please get in touch also, this event is about so much more than winning (in fact, that's probably the last thing on anyone's mind), but it's nice to reward those who shine.
Photos from previous Massacres here, here and here
Alleycats to beat the band this year! Hot on the heels of the Valentine's Day race comes Ali's Cleudo race (with lots of help form Perrine). He's been wanting to run this for a while so I'm looking forward to it, I know he's put a lot of work into it.
As the flyer states, registration is open form 6.30pm at my favourite start point; Grand Canal Bridge.
All proceeds are going to Frank, who is still hospitalised with an unknown illness at last report.
After party has actually been organised; we have downstairs in Sin e, on Ormond Quay. Anyone who's not racing could help the cause by filling some seats there around 8.30pm.
Lovely video about London's cycle messengers, dedicated to Sebastian Lukomski, who was killed while working 5 years ago.We threw a Ride by Numbers alleycat here in his memory that year if I remember correctly.
Also, photos from the Valentine's alleycat can be found here. 25Sean took the win, becoming a regular occurrence, Daz in 2nd(even though he went to the other side of the city for a checkpoint that didn't exist)... the rest is a blur, someone give me the results please!
Ali's ambitious Cleudo alleycat is happening this Friday. I'll post some more details on that tomorrow when I get them. Proceeds from this are going to go to Frank from Cyclone. Apparently he's been taken into hospital with some illness. Details are sketchy so I won't presume to guess, but there'll be a whip round in Cyclone and all donations on the night of the alleycat will be welcomed, it's a bad time to be out of work.
Sin e, keep the rubber side firmly pressed to the tarmac.
The other finally bringing to light the untold statistics of cyclist deaths in Dublin. Hopefully this can prompt some debate like in London and get all HGV's installed with 'blind-spot' mirrors.
"Crashes where the fault is more likely to be attributable to the cyclist accounted for a much smaller proportion of incidents. In just over 4 per cent a cyclist hit a pedestrian, while in fewer than 3 per cent of collisions a cyclist turned right into on-coming traffic."
My, my... maybe we're not such a reckless bunch of suicidal maniacs after all! Who'd a thunk it...
Former long-time Cyclone messenger and annoying base controller(sorry Max, but you were :)), Max Kryzanowski (6 Max to most of us), was last night crowned Mr. Gay World in Whistler, Canada.
Max was a great courier, and is a great guy; Dublin Messengers would like to take this opportunity to congratulate him and wish him all the best in the future.
A double decker bus had it's roof ripped off this morning on Amiens's St. Thankfully there was nobody sitting upstairs... and nobody behind the bus when this occurred. I should also say... thankfully there was nobody in the bike lane while the bus was driving in it which is what caused the collision. A team of accident investigators are being sent to figure out the cause of the incident, and a spokeswoman for Dublin Bus said there had been no complaints or safety concerns regarding that tree in the past. Can I save the accident investigators some time and money? Look at the tree, look at where the bus hit it. Now look down. Bike lane. There are no safety concerns, as long as large vehicles don't enter the bike lane. I know it's a dual-use lane, the bus can drive there... but look how far in he must have been! How does this city function at all when some of it's main arteries are clogged up like an 80 year old smokers'...
Registration for this years' European Cycle Messenger Championships in Berlin opened today. €30 until the end of February and rising incrementally after that. Check out their web page here for registration.
Only found this today in my internet wanderings, but if you would like to post a reply to these morons(read the comments section for why I didn't just laugh this off), go here: http://thriftcriminal.org/?p=65
Judging from this guys recent blog posts, he actually cycles!? I'm confused, a cyclist laughing at dooring?
Pete’s brakes screeched as he pulled up beside me, dismounted and dexterously unclipped his lock.
“Hey, how’s the form?”
“Give me a minute to calm down”
Pete locked the bike to the railings and removed his helmet.
“I fucking hate middle aged Foxrock women in big expensive cars”
“What happened this time?”
“Stupid cow did what they all do, overtook me and turned left almost immediately. It’s always some middle aged wench in a big fucking Merc or Beemer that their hubby bought them to make them feel their existence is in some way worth while”
“Chip on shoulder much?”
“Look, I cycle right?”
“So do I”
“No, no. What you do can only be described as ‘Faire des promenade aux bicyclette’, you refuse to take the right approach to dealing with the urban cycling environment. You are a wuss bag.”
“You mean I refuse to run red lights, hop onto curbs to avoid standing traffic and annoy motorists as much as possible?”
“Precisely. I behave in as arrogant a manner as possible on the road and expect all other road users to defer to my whim. This is my right as a cyclist, more vulnerable road user, and ecological high horse rider”
“And the broken collar bone last year”
“Proves it”
“Ah. So, the irrational problem with your target demographic is that they try to kill you?”
“No. They try to out arrogant me. Totally unacceptable. Roll on crossbar mounted side-winder missiles”
Haha talk about the mouse that roared! Although our bloody cycle couriers would knock a pedestrian over in a wink! There’s a hierachy you know bikes kill pedestrians, cars kill bikes, trucks kill cars. I’m catching the train!
K8, I think that qualifies for sidewinder action Happened a mate of mine once. It was VERY funny normally he was captain gel with bloody ralph lauren shirts, very full of himself. That whack brought him down a notch or two. For a short while anyway.
Hello all, Alan Neenan is organising a trip to the World Track Chapionships in Poland this March. He always gets the best finishing straight seats. Here are the details:
Hi there
Would you both mind sending out a reminder to your database that we're operating a package to the World Track Championships in Poland on March 25th.
Departing Wednesday 25th March and returning Sunday 29th. Staying 3 nights in Pruszkow where the championships are on and then staying the last night in Warsaw.
Package price based on sharing a twin room is approx €460 per person including taxes. That's for flights from Dublin, 4 nights accommodation and the tickets for the championships.
Because of deadlines in terms of getting the best track-side tickets I'll be closing off registrations for the package next week so if anyone is interested in travelling they should contact me no later than Friday 30th of January or earlier if possible.
Thanks Alan
______________________________
_________________ Alan Neenan Managing Director Neenan Travel - Breakaway.ie 12 South Leinster Street Dublin 2
Phone 01-6079921 Mobile 086-8233791 www.neenan.travel www.breakaway.ie
A bit of light-heartedness after the previous sombre post: This from June 12th 2008, An Irishman's Diary;
"...still on the subject of walkers, there was a flurry of letters on this page recently from outraged Dublin pedestrians, angry at the invasion of their space by cyclists. Fair enough. On behalf of the cycling community, I apologise for the excesses of our militant fringe.
But while pedestrians are probably entitled to an even higher position in the hierarchy of self-righteousness than cyclists, they are not without faults themselves. And along with my apology, I wonder if I might also offer them a small note of criticism. If we cyclists are to avoid your footpaths, is it possible that you pedestrians might stay out of our bicycle lanes? I don't mean the ones on public roads, necessarily. If walkers want to share with us the thrill of never knowing when we will be mown down by a reckless motorist, good luck to them. No, I mean those special cycling routes in public parks - the ones with colour coding and little bicycles painted at intervals to let walkers know that they should be somewhere else.
Even here, I don't mind the occasional stroller intruding, just so long as he gets out of your way in time and looks gratifyingly apologetic. But such pedestrians are unusual in my experience. And the enjoyment of, for example, the Phoenix Park's bike paths is greatly diminished for cyclists by the numbers of walkers who clog them up, with the same sense of entitlement as they do the public footpaths.
These are not just strollers, either. Unfortunately, public parks attract high numbers of "power walkers", who pump their arms violently as they go, in such a way that a cyclist approaching from the rear and mistiming his passing manoeuvre even slightly can be knocked clean off his bike.
There are other risks too. Casual walkers who use one hand to hold a mobile phone and the other for gesticulating carry the added danger of being unpredictable. And don't get me started about dreamy young lovers, whose lack of lane discipline even on ordinary city footpaths is one of the biggest risks faced by bicycle couriers at this time of year.
But these summer evenings, the power-walkers are out in force in all the parks. And I can only explain their serial misappropriation of cycle lanes - rare as such things still are - by the fact that, for aerobic reasons, they have to hold their heads up while walking and thus never see the markings on the ground."
A man has been killed in a crash in Dublin this morning.
The male cyclist, believed to be in his 30s, died on Harold's Cross Road after a collision with a cement truck. No one else was injured in the crash, which happened at about 10.30am.
The road is shut in both directions from Leonard's Corner at the Upper Clanbrassil Street junction to the canal bridge to allow Garda forensic investigators examine the scene.
Gardaí are at the scene and are diverting outbound traffic via the South Circular Road. AA Roadwatch is advising inbound traffic to turn around and divert through Leinster Road and Rathmines.
According to AA Roadwatch, access has been blocked from from Lower Kimmage Road onto Harold's Cross Rod, and traffic is therefore busy on Kenilworth Road inbound.
Happy New Year to everyone. Here's hoping work picks up for everyone and you can all stop living on less than minimum wage. You gotta love this job!
No news to report as such, but I got a mail about a stolen bike. It was taken from Stoneybatter on New Years Day, I guess some knackers resolution to stop taking other people's shit didn't last very long.
The stickers you see above are what were on it when it got stolen. Top pic is pre-stickering.
If you spot this anywhere feel free to dispense some justice to the thief.
Mail me or leave a comment with any details.
Cheers! and let's hope that we have some nicer stories to continue the year with,
February 20th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Haha talk about the mouse that roared! Although our bloody cycle couriers would knock a pedestrian over in a wink! There’s a hierachy you know bikes kill pedestrians, cars kill bikes, trucks kill cars. I’m catching the train!
February 21st, 2008 at 7:51 am
You’re hilarious you know.
I love these posts.
February 21st, 2008 at 9:55 am
Cheers guys. I particularly enjoy these too. It’s fun to come up with this sort of nonsense
February 21st, 2008 at 3:16 pm
I particularly enjoy opening car doors into the paths of cyclists. You get extra points if you can get them to go through the window.
February 21st, 2008 at 4:14 pm
K8, I think that qualifies for sidewinder action
Happened a mate of mine once. It was VERY funny normally he was captain gel with bloody ralph lauren shirts, very full of himself. That whack brought him down a notch or two. For a short while anyway.