The mind of motorists

 

The mind of a motorist

 

Cycling has not yet fully infiltrated into Australian culture.

A classical Australian way of cycling. It requires a huge multi-lane highway, bulldozed 'clean' to do a few rounds of fitness cycling.

Australia is set up for automobile dependency. Cycling is done mostly in groups of plastic clad sweaty people hunched on sporty bikes. Fitness seems to be the main motivation. It is sport - like

Manly SUV on cycle path

most things in Australia. The plastic accessories are necessary to not lose face, as one has to display that it is only a 'recreational' thing. Imagine one could think you are of 'lower status', not part of the motorist community that hoards a garage full of fossil fuel machines. The bike is basically a recreational gadget or a children's toy. Youth prefer to hop around on mountain bikes on delicate forest soil.

Once back in the SUV the motorist mindset despises non-motorised forms of mobility. The expectation is for a carpet to carpet delivery via unobstructed roads - but fast.

Status and an absence of a cycling infrastructure combine to make cycling deadly risky for people who wish to integrate a fossil-fuel-free form of mobility on an everyday basis.

Leaders and motorists are in deep denial about the climate disruption delivering an uninhabitable planet. Some see the need to wean off fossil fuel addiction.

The Dutch Cycling Embassy is sharing their know how with Australia. "We read about bike-related accidents, complaints about the lack of cycle lanes, and road-rage aimed at cyclists. It is difficult to change such prevalent ideas about infrastructure...Cycling has not yet fully infiltrated into Australian culture. "

Sydney Bike Rage

In Sydney it is not about sharing spaces of mobility, but a "level of premeditation" by motorists leads to "bike rage".

"An international transport expert said Sydney drivers were more hostile towards cyclists than motorists of any other country."

Firecrackers (images: yuck danger) were thrown into a group of bikes. In 2008 "a motorist deliberately slammed on his brakes in front of up to 60 cyclists - including Olympians - before fleeing the scene."

Via news.com.130909
Image: Dysfunctional plastic bike for young people at Manly Beach

Bicycle evolution

For some, bicycles are perceived as old technology, like a stage in the development of the car. Deep in their unconscious, motorists believe they have the right to bump off cyclists who are seen as evolutionary losers. Survival of the fittest.
This is of course not true and bikes will outlive the road dinosaurs if their emissions don’t make us all extinct first.
Many cyclists also still think in terms of bikes as they were decades ago. They learnt what they know when they were kids from their dads. A lot of bike riders never blow up their tyres enough and consequently don’t get the full pleasure of rolling along easily. Biking is experienced as hard work.
Bicycle tyres “these days” can be inflated to a high pressure. Read the text on the tyres - mine say they can go up to 100 psi. In the “old days” this would have blown out the tyre or tube or both. Cyclists were warned about using car tyre pumps in garages.
It is very hard to achieve anything like 100 psi with a little hand pump.
I bought a two-hand floor pump with a gauge. A few pumps and the tyres were 80 psi, much harder than they had ever been. The effect was amazing. The ride is slightly more bumpy, but it is so much easier and free from road resistance.
Although a modern bike looks basically the same, almost all of its parts have been through major improvements. Tyres, brakes, gears, lights, frame all require rethinking on the part of users. A fold-up bike is now stable and high-tech. An old-style Holland bike now has some interesting technology including integrated locking, a quality dynamo and halogen lights.