Bike Trek: Episode 1 – Trekacide, A Bike For A Snip

So here I am again…. 3 blogs in under a week. The writing bug has (hopefully) well and truly bitten me. This little ramble shall be bike related. As my title suggests, all is not well in my bike world. Some langers stole my bike from UCC over 10 days ago and I’ve been feeling a little empty since. Partly my own fault – I only had a cable lock on it which didn’t even put up a struggle for me. It just lay there like a cheap lockwhore and gave the thief/thieves my bike. 

 I should have done in UCC what I do in the city – lock my cobra lock with my D-lock and it’s highly unlikely it would have been taken. I was planning on selling it in the near future anyway so I had already thought of a Trekless future, well this particular Trek, I shall more than likely be purchasing another one. It was a great, nay, an amazing bike. So many memories with it! It was amazing to me however that even in such a public place, the thieves managed to take it! And even more amazing was that the CCTV quality up in UCC is quite honestly, terrible. A letter shall be on its way to try and get more investment into that for their own benefit. 

What really hit home about the whole episode however, was just how vulnerable us cyclists are to theft. It’s not something I had thought about until I started trying to do something about the theft. I reported it to the Gardai, but I was told it’s highly unlikely they’ll find it and even more unlikely that I’ll ever see it again. Now that’s not a criticism – I know how impossible a task it is for them to find a bike especially as it has probably made its way up the country at this stage. On the contrary, even following the recommended steps of reporting a crime early and giving as much detail as possible about your stolen goods proves more or less pointless when it comes to bike theft. Even if the CCTV in UCC had been good and we had seen someone at the bike – all that would ultimately prove is that someone definitely took it! While there are insurance companies offering cover now, it just feels bad that once your baby is gone – it’s gone! Highly unlikely you’ll ever see it again! Especially if it’s a valuable one.

My learned lessons? Better locks, all the time, everytime. 

And insurance. Because you never know when this distressing event could happen again. The only consolation is the therapy. Bicycle shopping therapy for a new one! And hopefully my new locks won't leave me in this situation.....

Ideas for cyclists and drivers to coexist

It’s been a while! But your humble blogger has been busy! Deadlines loom for my thesis proposal and essays are being decided upon!  But I’ve made time today! Let’s get this baby written!

This little blog shall be about coexistence between cyclists and drivers. Bit ironic it’s taken until blog number 5 to write about cycling, you know, what the theme of my blog is supposed to be actually about…… but what are you going to do?! 

In Cork recently the council have started putting more cycle lanes around the city, the suburbs and are investing in more parking spaces for bicycles around the city center. It’s all really welcome and appreciated from this cyclist I can tell you. However there are still demons that need to be exorcised: Cyclists and Drivers. It astounds me how little regard there is for ‘rules’ of the road and how the rules are being casually disregarded by both. Currently, drivers seem to think the following:

Red lights are suggestive rather than enforcing.

Stop signs look nice, but what are they trying to stop me doing exactly?

Yie – “hmmm I missed the end of what that said due to me texting”

“Why is there a third lane in the road? It’s half the size of my car lane. I think I’ll drive in it to be safe.”

“Speed limit? I don’t understand. There’s nothing in my car to limit my speed?” *FOOT DOWN*

Person A drives this:

But drive it like they're driving this:

Or Person B driving this:

And they drive it like they're actually driving this:

GAH! ARGH! That's what being on the same road as the above makes me feel.

So firstly, a small rant. I feel very strongly that driving standards need to be improved in this country. I do not find it remotely acceptable that people are not giving respect to cyclists on our roads; that applies to both sharing the road and cyclists in cycle lanes. The amount of times I’ve had a car overtake me, then move into the cycle lane in front of me and join the other cars in their traffic jams is crazy! Drivers over-taking me on blind corners and then cutting me off when an oncoming car forces them back into their lane is another favourite move of mine.

Fellow cyclists do not escape my wrath either. I cannot stand the idiots who cycle through red lights on blind junctions with traffic coming from the right or left. Or idiots who cycle through pedestrian lights when pedestrians are crossing the road: they’re called pedestrian lights therefore right of way is given to the pedestrian. I do believe cyclists can and should be able to go through pedestrian lights. Just after the pedestrians have finished crossing! Simples!  And when it’s dark – em….. light up? Seriously? Unless you’ve consumed uranium, or have glowworm genes thanks to your distant 5^th cousin’s uncle – you can’t be seen in the dark.

I think that with the upgrades to and investments in cycling facilities, there should be a greater emphasis on having minimum standards and even enforceable rules for cyclists. I’m not for discouraging people from cycling, but I think cyclists who break red lights should get a €20 on the spot fine. I also think people who don’t have some form of reflective gear or lights on their person or bike should get a €20 fine also. It’s enough to make you think about your actions and change your behaviour but it’s not going to force you off the saddle when you know a similar system exists for drivers. That’s right, I’m swinging back to them. People who break red lights should be given a whopping €100 fine if caught doing so. It’s extremely dangerous and completely ignorant. People using mobile phones when driving should be given a €200 fine and 5 penalty points. You are NOT in control of your vehicle or concentrating on the road or its users if you’re on your phone.  The driving test should be completely revamped also. But my ideas on that will be saved for another blog.

Neither camp are innocent and both drivers and cyclists need to improve their road behaviour. It’s about time our feckless behaviour behind the wheel of cars and on the wheels of bikes is clamped down on and we’re made responsible for our actions. Fine by you? Fine by me!

The Highway is alive tonight

Well the last week hasn't gone to plan due to the passing of a close family friend. She will be missed.

So - a quick catch up!
I had completed about 40km from last Thursday to Tuesday evening. Those were training days 4 to 9

Wednesday evening was my first time up on the saddle post work in quite a while. Months even. Lots of months! Last month it was mainly rain related tardiness. I'm not against cycling in the rain, I just hate the fact that you put on some wet gear but you end up sweating so much in it, it's pointless! I'm sure any cyclist out there would agree!
So Wednesday evening I came home from work, had my protein shake and headed back out while the muscles were still warm. I was aiming for a nice 10km cycle, with a few photo opps for this blog! I honestly think I'm quite lucky with the beautiful road routes I have in my local area. I was taking the photos this evening with my beloved iPhone, but on future trips I might just bring my better samsung camera. I want to document this training and my holiday so I have a personal scrap book to look back on!

As you can see above, Cork is blessed with a beautiful entrance to its harbour. And while this photo is really nice, I honestly don't think there's anywhere nicer in late spring / early summer when all the trees are green!  Check out my photos on picasa web for more if you wish!

So my first evening went well. I pushed myself hard coming home from work, then pushed myself pretty hard on the cycle around the Marina. That is just under a 9km cycle so it is a nice warm up route. My back muscles seem to be holding up fine - my spine felt like someone was giving it a Chinese burn. It's a tightness which is difficult to explain. The best I can offer is it feels like one vertebrae is going one way, the next vertebrae the opposite direction. Weird uncomfortable feeling.

Thursday evening I pushed it out an extra 4km.  I went around the same area as last night, just mixed up the direction.  I also went by Blackrock castle..... 

which as you can see, looks slightly pretty with the sunset on it!  It really was a beautiful evening out.  


I felt good this evening for the whole cycle.  No real pain, just the muscles reacting to my maintaining an average speed of 28km/h for the majority of my cycle.  Normal!  My favourite shot this evening thought was this:

It was taken from a bridge on the old railway line route I go.  Truly awesome in my view!


Tomorrow I'm thinking of a 30km roundtrip to Carrigaline. I was thinking of something bigger but I have my gym session with my trainer tomorrow night and I don't want to over do it! My planned cycle would also mark my longest cycle in a little under 1 year. Should be very interesting to see how I fare and how the body feels come Saturday.  So far - I know it's been quite a basic training - but I'm coming along nicely I feel!  You have to start somewhere and I'm 11 days in now and feeling good for what I've done.

I'm going to throw up some pics of my gear and equipment soon so you know what I'm using!