takahashi

Depends where you are, I think Melbourne and Adelaide are the greatest city to ride on.

We have a great network of bike lane - 3m wide lanes for us to ride on. The people show respect and give us room. They only get mad at us when we block both lanes of the road .

Bicycle is counted as a vehicle in Victoria. So if drivers does funny stuff to a cyclist, a cop see that can charge them with reckless driving or something similar. They are on beach road to make sure that we don't go through red lights too :o

timbo

You obviously haven't been to Canberra. Lots of bicycle lanes including paths that are bike only (oh, and the odd pedestrian ) We usually ride around the Lake at least once and sometimes twice each weekend (c35K -- don't know why I'm not in gay shape after that ). Fantastic, especially early in the morning and when the hot air balloons are around

takahashi

Oh yes... countryside are great places to ride on too :oops: LOL

Been to Canberra once for my interview..... I think it is a very nice, neat city.

sco

I've done a fair bit of riding around Perth and Fremantle.... lots of good paths and quiet streets. Only complaint is if the doctor is in and you're riding against it... that isn't much fun.

Revolver

Sydney has some bicycle lanes and the odd facility (like Centennial Park) but numbers are against us I'm afraid - just too overcrowded.

Sydney drivers have also become a little jaundiced by:

1. Blokes with a mid-life crisis who suddenly think it's a good idea to stuff their corpulence into fluro lycra and 'ride to the office' in peak hour - thus driving already stressed out motorists even further around the bend.

2. The antics of suicidal bike couriers and keen cyclists (who should know better) who regularly flout traffic signals and other road rules. When drivers see that they tend to have less respect for the bicycle's status as a 'vehicle'.

I'm also constantly amazed by the amount of cyclists who are unable to ride in a straight line.

And don't even get me started on the guys who stick their knees out and/or have bikes the wrong size.

labrat

I'm a cyclist, been doing it for 30 years. I ride for an hour every morning before breakfast. It's great exercise for the more mature person, since you don't pound hips, knees and ankles to obliteration as in jogging. It is also a great way to get the blood flowing through the brain and get my heard on straight for the day's work. However, I share all your criticisms of cyclists in traffic. I confine my exercise to the streets of our suburb, and I'm home by 7am. As a natural-born coward, I am terrified of motorists, and keep out of their way as much as possible.

I currently ride a road bike, great because its easy to push, but kind of skittish when you hit sticks and stuff on the road. We're probably going to move to an even hillier suburb, so I'm thinking about a mountain bike because of the greater gear spread. Personally, I think that road bikes are one of the most sublime expressions of the engineers art and I like the variety of riding positions, but I guess I'll give in to practicality....

takahashi

Get triple chain ring and a 25 Teeth at the rear... you will be right

I climb with a 27 teeth (lowest gear) in the Alpine Classic - I need that to drag me up Mt. Buffalo.

I am too fat to do it now

labrat

Revolver, on the subject of Latin in the courtroom, you could have asked the court to appoint a translator if he wished to continue in that language.

It used not to be the case that Latin was taught only in private schools. I went to Hawthorn West Central School (years 7&8 in newspeak) before I went to Melbourne High. You had a choice between Latin and French at Central School. I chose French, not the right choice as I found out later in life.

I was recruited to join the start-up team for the then brand-new alumina refinery at Gove in the NT. They sent us to Germany to learn how to boil bauxite, and turned on a Berlitz teacher in German so we could talk to the guys running the plant. I was initially at a disadvantage because when I was at high school they didn't spend too much time on English grammar, preferring to have us write lots of essays and compositions instead. German has a highly formal grammar, and if you had learnt Latin you had an advantage because you understood the structure. Eventually I caught on, and actually learnt English grammar backwards from German. I guess this is logical, because English is at heart a Germanic language after all.

The point I am making is that some knowledge of another language can be a help in understanding your own. Hell, the schools aren't even teaching English these days - what hope have the kids got?

Revolver

And they're still not teaching grammar either.

I was unfortunate enough to go through public schools in the 70s and 80s, when the curriculum was comprehensively trashed by the hairy legged hippie sandal wearers. No doubt latin was abandoned as reminiscent of patriarchal excess or something like that.

The professional bureaucrats in charge of political correctness have such a hold now we're lucky if kids get out knowing how to read, write and add up. Oh well, at least they can do an interpretive dance about it all and hold hands while respecting others rights to be different.

labrat

I think the system has to change. I note the restrictions on political discussion, so I guess I'm risking permanent banishment to a cold, dark corner of cyberspace when I say that I think Nelson is generally on the right track. I think that schools need to get back to being schools instead of teacher's soviets.

Melbourne High was an interesting place in the '50's - we had Max Gillies in drag in the school plays (he was also in the Inter School Christian Fellowship - hard to believe now). The guys from the Seekers were in the year ahead of me. Bill Woodfall the Aussie test captain during the bodyline series was our headmaster.

Revolver

Damn, the best I can do is say the Waughs sledged some of my mates when they played cricket against them. :D

Oh, and I used to surf a bit with Ryan Girdler and his big brother Clayton. Ryan was a sponsored surfer and could have made a good living on the pro circuit but decided to play footie instead. He didn't do too badly with the girls either from memory - I lived for a while on his off-cuts.

auzoom

Nope :P

timbo

Shhhhhhhh! We're trying to sleep

EZZY

2 spares here...

EZZY

sms me your tracking number...

Revolver

How come Kall?

Revolver

Walked past a Lambo Diablo targa parked on the side of the road this morning (East Circular Quay).

Man, those things are wiiiiiide. Looked wicked.

zoom44

i would say "she is changing her names like she she changes men". but i dont know her well enought to say that so ill say "she's changing names as often as she changes shoes"