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Cadel Reignites Car versus Bike Debate

Dec 12th, 2008
by Rodney Olsen.
1 comment

If you want to get emotions running hot there’s nothing that works quite as well as talking about cyclists on our roads.

Cycling star, Cadel Evans, has stirred things up by claiming that Australian drivers are far too agressive, especially towards cyclists. He has been quoted by News.com.au in an article titled, Australians drive cyclist star Cadel Evans to despair.

I drive on the road and I don’t like people just not having respect for other road users.

I spend half my year in Europe so I know what the traffic is like there.

It is really strange, to be honest, the way Australian drivers are.

Our roads have much less traffic, are far larger, and the drivers have much more space, but they are much more aggressive and negative to other road users.

When you ride a race in Italy or Switzerland or France, the roads are much narrower and there is much more traffic, but the drivers are much more tolerant and easier to deal with. It is a bit of a shame.

His comments have started a flood of comments on the article with both drivers and cyclists throwing insults.

I see the main problem being the lack of education for road users. Many drivers are unaware that it is perfectly legal for cyclists to ride two abreast. Unfortunately some cyclists will ride two abreast even when it isn’t safe to do so.

I’m currently cycling about 250 km a week and I’d admit that the majority of drivers are courteous but it would only take one errant driver to put me in hospital or a morgue so it concerns me that there are many drivers still don’t get it.

The argument from a lot of drivers is that cyclists break the road rules all the time. Let me tell you something, it not only annoys you, it annoys me. For some reason we all get tarred with the same brush so when some cyclists do the wrong thing, there are motorists who take that as a license to harrass the rest of us.

Common sense tells us that not all cyclists break the rules. Common sense also tells us that even though I’m seeing more and more motorists running red lights and making other dangerous and careless errors on the road, I don’t have the right to make blanket statements about ‘all drivers’.

Some drivers are dangerous. Some cyclists are dangerous.

Some drivers complain that cyclists slow them down. I wonder what those drivers would do with the extra 10 or 20 seconds they would gain if they didn’t have to slow down to pass a cyclist. (And lets face it, you probably don’t even lose that much time. You probably just get to the next red light a little later.) On the other hand, if the thousands of commuter cyclists in each city decided to jump into a car instead each day, could you imagine the extra traffic chaos? Could you imagine how much longer the daily drive to work would take?

Thankfully, most of my new commute is on a well built and well maintained cycle path. I have great joy in whizzing past rows and rows of cars which are stuck in peak hour traffic.

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World Carfree Day

Sep 22nd, 2008
by Rodney Olsen.
3 comments

carfree_day_logo.jpgI didn’t know until a very short while ago that today is World Carfree Day.

We’re all supposed to be ditching our cars today in favour of public transport, walking or cycling.

I guess I’ve done my bit by cycling to work as I usually do.

The organisers are very keen for people to get out of their cars not just for the day but forever. I must say that while I love cycling and truly believe that we could use our cars a lot less, I’m not convinced that abandoning all cars is the answer. I think it’s like so many things, we need to find some kind of balance.

I agree that we rely way too much on cars and that a lot of trips would be better suited to walking, cycling or public transport, but cars can make our lives easier if we use them correctly.

I was interested to read some of the information on the World Carfree Network website about the amount of time the average American male pours into his vehicle.

The typical American male devotes more than 1,600 hours a year to his car. He sits in it while it goes and while it stands idling. He parks it and searches for it. He earns the money to put down on it and to meet the monthly installments. He works to pay for petrol, tolls, insurance, taxes and tickets. He spends four of his sixteen waking hours on the road or gathering resources for it. And this figure does not take account of the time consumed by other activities dictated by transport: time spent in hospitals, traffic courts and garages: time spent watching automobile commercials or attending consumer education meetings to improve quality of the next buy. The model American puts in 1,600 hours to get 7,500 miles: less than five miles an hour.

Do you find that you’ve become a slave to your car? Do you use other methods of transport when it makes more sense or do you just jump in your car every time?

As for me, I’m happy to stay healthier, reduce pollution, save money, feel more energised and enjoy my daily commute more by staying on my bike.

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There is only one Jeep

Jul 17th, 2008
by Rodney Olsen.
4 comments

jeep.jpgI had a close call on the way to work this morning.

I was cycling up to a set of red lights and noticed a Jeep with a sticker on the back saying “There is only one Jeep”.

Well, I’ve seen lots of Jeeps so I knew right away that this vehicle was clearly delusional. I went past it as quickly as possible.

Then as I was stopped at the lights I saw another Jeep going through the intersection and I thought, “Hurry up. You don’t want this vehicle behind me to see you. There’s no telling what it might do if you shatter its illusions. It thinks it’s the only one.”

Thankfully it got through the intersection without incident. I don’t think the first Jeep saw it and if it did it certainly didn’t recognise it.

If you’re out on the roads today, take care. There’s no telling what some vehicles might be thinking.

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Big Al's Poker Run

Feb 10th, 2008
by Rodney Olsen.
4 comments

Something was obviously happening. Everywhere we looked we saw beautifully preserved or restored cars from a bygone era.

We headed to Burswood yesterday where some markets had been set up to celebrate Chinese New Year. There was lots of yummy Asian food as well as a range of Asian entertainment from places such as China, Japan and India.

We noticed lots of shiny old cars were heading through the Burswood car park towards a large grassed area. When we were leaving we drove past the area and saw many more cars and enthusiasts.

During the afternoon we met up with Pauline’s parents to have a swim at a riverside pool and we noticed dozens of old cars driving up and down a road by the river.

Later, we headed towards Pauline’s parent’s home. We stopped along the way to grab some dinner and saw hundreds of the cars, all polished and purring, driving up Canning Highway. Pauline and her mum managed to ask the occupants of an old Holden Monaro what was going on and they were told that it was Big Al’s Poker Run. The run is an annual event that regularly draws around 700 vehicles.

In an all-but-forgotten corner of the Frankston Caravan Park in Victoria can be found the birthplace of WA’s most famous hot rodding event. Nestled amidst the weeds and long grass is the very caravan within which Al Erdman and Eric Warren, after participating in the Confederates Rod & Custom Club Poker Run of 1980 and armed with little else besides a pencil, some beer and an out-of-date Perth street directory pulled from the clutter on the back seat, created the very first Big Al’s Poker Run.

Soon after their return to the west coast, the inaugural Run was held. On that second Saturday in February 1981, entrants paid $5 to enter and cruised from the Carousel Shopping Centre carpark to the finish at Bernie’s Drive-in Hamburger Bar on Riverside Drive where the judging was done by Mal Hardwick. Eight trophies were given away that night, amongst them Top Street Rod which was won by John Hyde’s ’39 Ford Sloper and Top Street Machine awarded to Lee Weir’s Pontiac. History doesn’t record who won the Joker prize of a monster-steak barbecue pack. That first Poker Run attracted 52 entrants. Two decades years later, it takes a staff of 60 just to man the event. The Run has grown to a size where it demands six months worth of organising, involves numerous government departments and attracts a growing list of sponsors.

I’d heard of Big Al’s Poker Run before but really knew nothing about it. From my understanding, the participants are given instructions and then make their way via various detours to their destination for an evening of celebration.

Maybe we should mark the second Saturday in February 2009 on our calendar and be at the starting point to have a closer look at the vehicles involved.

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