Your Supermarket cycle racks - empty of full?

[Joe]

yep flatter land is an encouragement. also how fast the A roads are between town and country. all roads can be ridden with courage but some these days are just accidents waiting to happen. i will use A roads if i have no alternative but i dont find them enjoyable. by contrast once in town the going is easier as speed drops.

 

[mk1]

yep flatter land is an encouragement. also how fast the A roads are between town and country. all roads can be ridden with courage but some these days are just accidents waiting to happen. i will use A roads if i have no alternative but i dont find them enjoyable. by contrast once in town the going is easier as speed drops.

I agree Joe some of the faster roads can be pretty scary, especially when you are not given enough room.
On a similar topic, is it just me or are 4x4s getting bigger. I am sure they keep making them wider. Some of them must weigh nearly 3 tons!.
I am not against them all together but I cant see the point of driving one of these monsters in urban areas.

Martin

 

[flecc]

On a similar topic, is it just me or are 4x4s getting bigger. I am sure they keep making them wider. Some of them must weigh nearly 3 tons!.
I am not against them all together but I cant see the point of driving one of these monsters in urban areas.

Martin

They are Martin, and the same is true of nearly all cars. Investigating the availability of narrow cars for my garage to permit getting bikes in and out without moving the car, the choice was only a fraction of what it was not long ago, all recent revisions having added inches.

Could it be connected with the worldwide concern with increasing fat/obesity I wonder? It seems logical, fatter cars for fatter people.
.

 

[Ian]

They are Martin, and the same is true of nearly all cars.

Agreed. When I see cars like Ford Zephyrs and Vauxhall Crestas at classic car events it still surprises me how small they are by modern standards despite being the big cars of their time. Mind you when I ride down former trunk routes, long since bypassed, I realise the same is true of roads.

 

[flecc]

Agreed. When I see cars like Ford Zephyrs and Vauxhall Crestas at classic car events it still surprises me how small they are by modern standards despite being the big cars of their time.

They are, and even more recently the growth is huge. Compare a mark 1 Cortina with today's equivalent Mondeo, the increased width and length is astonishing. Even the motor magazines say the Mondeo might cause parking problems, something that could never be said of those little Cortinas.

Another factor is that truck and bus width was increased from 7' 6" to 8' round about the late fifties, a change that took a decade or two to fully filter through into new designs and replace the old stock.

And of course, today's side mirrors on cars are monsters compared with the little wing mirrors they used to have, widening most cars by 8 to 10 inches overall beyond their body width.
.

 

[mk1]

They are, and even more recently the growth is huge. Compare a mark 1 Cortina with today's equivalent Mondeo, the increased width and length is astonishing. Even the motor magazines say the Mondeo might cause parking problems, something that could never be said of those little Cortinas.

Another factor is that truck and bus width was increased from 7' 6" to 8' round about the late fifties, a change that took a decade or two to fully filter through into new designs and replace the old stock.

And of course, today's side mirrors on cars are monsters compared with the little wing mirrors they used to have, widening most cars by 8 to 10 inches overall beyond their body width.
.

Yes Flecc, and unfortunately the roads can't be made any wider in a lot of places. In fact they are getting narrower with wider cars been parked nose to tail on each side. If it goes on like this they might have to make them all one way

Martin

 

[Ian]

There is the odd gas guzzler that I admire though, such as the 1935 4.5l Bentley and more recently the Rover P5

 

[flecc]

GM chief executive Rick Wagoner has just said in his speech at the CES that driverless cars will be a reality in a decade.

That's when cycling will really get scary.

He said travellers will then be able to read newspapers, eat breakfast, put on make-up or watch a video.

I wonder if he's heard of trains?
.

 

[Ian]

GM chief executive Rick Wagoner has just said in his speech at the CES that driverless cars will be a reality in a decade.

I wish they'd make up their minds, one minute they're promoting the very experience of driving the latest model and the next...

As a cyclist I like the idea of driverless cars, at least they would have a brain dedicated to the task in hand.

 

[flecc]

at least they would have a brain dedicated to the task in hand.

True, but it's not the brain but they eyesight that worries me!

Sensors are not much better than technology's white cane.
.

 

[Branwen]

Sorry Branwen, I didn't mean to cause offence. I will try to be more tactful in future.

Martin

Don't worry Martin, I love my fat ass, and dont listen to Alex, I seem to remember him saying he had difficulty seeing in one post previously.....