another cycling forum
=> Freewheeling => Topic started by: sam on April 12, 2008
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Another FAQ (https://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/acf/faq.html) provided my definitive answers to many of the questions which pop up on a regular basis. I certainly don't expect everybody to agree with me, and that's fine. Not overvaluing the importance of being earnest, I won't go so far as to say that if everybody agreed with me life would be boring.
Let's examine a few of those FAQs.
Q: Are motorists trying to kill me?
A: No.
Motorists just want to get from A to B as quickly and painlessly as possible. Cyclists are moving, and therefore frustrating, road furniture. Once you understand that, you can begin to relax (https://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/acf/index.php?topic=51361.0). It's nothing personal. Well, usually.
Q: Is the Highway Code required reading?
A: No.
We live in a society of rules – indeed, I run a forum with rules and expect people to read them. (Or I used to.) This does not mean you have to have read them to behave well. Some people already have enough nous to know.
(https://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/acf/pics/scarecyclist.jpg)
Q: Are couriers the epitome of cool?
A: No.
Nothing against couriers (https://notanothercyclingforum.net/bikereader/solo/couriers.html). If I wanted to be a slave to fashion I'd buy GQ.
Q: Does singlespeed have to be fixed to be good?
A: No.
I once read, on a forum as it happens, that riding single unfixed is like sucking on a sweet still in its wrapper. It's a nifty epigram, but that's all it is.
Q: Are cyclists obliged to wave to or acknowledge each other?
A: No.
Just because we share the same kind of vehicle doesn't mean we're related by blood. Not that you have to be a relative to wave. Context is important. On a race, acknowledging every cyclist you pass will significantly impact your wind resistance. When mountainbiking, you may get caught in a bush or the antlers of a deer or whatever it is that lurks offroad.
Q: Is there such a thing as a real cyclist?
A: Yes. Anybody on a bike.
As with the definition of 'is' (https://www.slate.com/id/1000162/), it depends what you mean by 'real'. Dunno about you, but I don't ride around with the OED in a Bob Yak.
(https://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/acf/pics/kirsty.jpg)
nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah (https://youtu.be/oZFt46aQyQ8)
House prices. I believe
- Houses are at least 100% overpriced (depending when you read this - note that it was posted in 2007. I could see things starting to get a little silly maybe 5 years earlier).
- They got so expensive primarily because of easy credit. We have been in a credit bubble which also blew up the house price bubble.
- Rampant house price inflation [HPI] does not benefit society. It soaks up money which is better spent on other things. It limits job mobility. It traps people in houses unsuitable for their needs. It represents a giant transfer of wealth from one generation to another. It encourages a money-for-nothing attitude. It makes people hope their house is a retirement package, which will only work if somebody is able to afford it. It spawns amateur landlords whose shaky business models will in all probability cause them and their tenants grief. In short, it is a pox on all our houses.
- Mainstream reportage on this issue has been appalling, with estate agents, banks, and other vested interests being given the loudest voices. Even when the press awakes from their stupor they tend to get it wrong. House porn (your license fee at work) show hosts have the mistaken notion they are experts, rather than entertainers.
- Low interest rates do not translate into true affordability. I think the actual price of the house also has something to do with it. It is very risky for buyers to be lulled into a massive mortgage on the basis of them.
- There is no such thing as a cheeky offer when the market is awash with cheeky asking prices. Ordinary people - as opposed to speculators - are unfortunately moved to ask ridiculous prices to make it further up the pyramid. It's got to end somewhere.
- The ability to buy a house should not be based on having been born at the right time.
- Just because it has always been hard to buy, does not mean the current situation is equivalent to times past, when many people were able to swing it on one income. Few can even dream about that now. Relying on two incomes has been a giant step backwards.
- That because the price of rentals has not matched the torrid pace of HPI, there is no housing shortage. While there is undoubtedly a lack of affordable housing in places it's needed, i.e., near jobs, supply isn't our main problem here.
- It is not "gloom and doom" (https://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/acf/index.php?topic=51482.msg727194#msg727194) to want prices to stop going north and try south for a change. My definition of gloom is an entire generation priced out, and homeowners stuck in incredibly expensive boxes.
- In a 20% deposit, rates fixed for the entire term of the loan, and conservative income multiples. You may call me a dreamer.
Vegetarianism, or in my case, sorta veganism
Vegetarians are holier-than-thou
If you think it's wrong to eat other animals, it's hard to get around this one. I don't preach, as I don't wish to be preached to.
Omnivores should remember that vegetarians are in the minority, kind of like cyclists, and vegans the minority of a minority. If as a meat-eater you've ever been grilled by a veggie about your eating habits, to walk a mile in our moccasins you'd have to multiply that experience by a thousand. We're constantly having to justify ourselves. It can get tiring.
Vegetarians are hypocrites
Usually by wearing leather shoes or using a Brooks saddle. Look, it's impossible to be a 'perfect' veggie; animal-based ingredients are used in so many products that you could drive yourself crazy (https://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/bikereader/solo/vegan.html) trying to avoid them all. You do what you can. We all find our comfort zone and live in that.
Vegetarians eat 'fake meat'
The point is, it's not real meat. It doesn't matter what it looks like.
Cycling forums
So much of what you see on cycling forums reminds me of a song: (https://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/acf/905.html)
And everything I know is what I need to know
And everything I do's been done before
Every sentence in my head
Someone else has said
At each end of my life is an open door
That doesn't completely work for my purposes, but it'll do. The same themes emerge, relentlessly. The pleasure is when you read something different which helps you see things in a new light; or at least are entertained by what are essentially reruns which have a thoughtfully reworded script. In this respect cycling forums are like cycling mags, which I used to write for (https://notanothercyclingforum.net/bikereader/solo/hello.html) and which I stopped buying years ago.
(https://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/acf/pics/CT.jpg) (https://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/acf/pics/Cplus.jpg) (https://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/acf/pics/knit.jpg) always wear a helmet when purling
Would you like a bag?
Yes, because I'm going to recycle it as a bin liner rather than almost literally throw money away on official rubbish bags. [on edit: my bad]
(https://www.notanothercyclingforum.net/acf/pics/wc.jpg)
How does this work?
Riding shotgun to the disabled toilets on Southeastern Trains (which I usually do because it's the seat that's set farthest apart from the others, I can stretch out, not feel too guilty about turning up the music, and sit next to my bike if I've brought one) is a rewarding experience if you enjoy dispensing instructions, and serial conversations about the functioning of the sliding door. I'm not terribly bothered, but it does always get me wondering if perhaps this thing could have been designed better.
Always remember to lock it once you're inside, people.
Want to buy some drugs?
The low level dealers and spammers of big pharma are more persistent than the guy who once threatened to cut me bad. (https://www.prettygoodbritain.com/bokeh/pulp/sayno.html) Thanks but no thanks.