New Dawes Bike,Bendy Buses,Bad Cycle Lanes,Park Life.

I got a New Dawes Audax Style Bike last Thursday for Long Distance and Touring. It is a great Bike ,it is Steel and very Responsive and is very Nimble and fast. It was a Model that they had for a while and I got it cheaper than it normally was. The only thing I do not like about it is it is in Silver and a bit Garish looking,I would have preferred if it was Green or even Red but apart from that I like it very much.

The other thing about it is the Bars are to thick for the Light attachment Band to fit. I have 2 Lights but the Band does not fit around the Handlebars. This is the Light Brackets on the Trek Bars and they should fit it like this,also the Cateye Light. I was looking at the Blog People Powered from Andy in Germany and he did a Feature on making Gadgets out of Old Inner Tubes.One of the Respondents made a Band out of an Old Inner Tube and put 2 Holes in it to fit a Narrow Light and Wedge it around the Bar so this is something I could try. I thanked them for the Idea and said it is a good Gadget to try.

Woman in Saint Annes Park with Her Bike and a King Charles Spanial and a Basket on the Bike. One of those Bendy Buses they are trying out in Dublin beside Trinity College, CIE Dublin Bus has two,I hate them as they are Double the Length of a normal Bus and they can Trap you if you are not careful on your Bike.

One of our Rotten narrow little Cycle Lanes on O 'Connell Street where a Bus can catch you out stopping at a Bus Stop. They have very wide Paths along here they could easily make a dedicated Cycle Lane Here. The D.C .Council decided to Narrow the Road around Ten Years ago to make it Safer for Pedestrians but forgot about the Cyclists.

Shared use Cycle Lanes,good or bad.

These shared use Cycle Lanes only really work well on the outskirts of the City where you will not find many People if at all walking on the Paths. Choosing rather to Travel by Motorcar or Bus in most circumstances and hardy ever by Bike. The closer you get to the City you will have increased levels of Pedestrians vying for the space on the Pathways.

My Pictures shows starting from the bottom up approaching the City of Dublin from about 4km then eventually about 2km. At Fairview Park you can find People often Walking on the Cycleway oblivious of Approaching Cyclists from behind in spite of the Bike Markings on the shared use Path. You will notice a Bus stop,when People are Queuing for a Bus that means less space for those walking by and also the Cyclists,often there can be a large amount of People waiting for a Bus which means they will be standing on the Cycle Path causing less Room.

This is a Major Commuting Route for Cyclists which means there can be very fast Cyclists Trundling their way into the City in the Morning coming up against Pedestrians walking on the Cycling area. So you tinkle your Bell if you have one ,then you have to raise your Voice but often they just do not hear or care . It is not really their fault but the bad infrastructure in place. You have a very wide Road,the obvious thing would be to narrow that Road and put in proper off Road Cycle Lanes. On this stretch of Road you have a further Hazard with that Pedestrian Bridge over the main Road. When you come to it you suddenly have to turn at a Sharp Right Angle to the left to avoid it to get back on the Cycle Path,it is even worse if you meet a Pedestrian walking on it and possibly with a Dog on a long Lead. It has happened to me a couple of times People with Dogs on long Trailing Leads. Some Cyclists actually go to the right of those Bridge Supports it can be safer to do this.

About a further 1 1/2km further on you come to the North Strand,further Hazards with another Bus stop. Then you come to a small crossing and go to the far side of Road where you attempt to go on the marked Cycle Lane and find that the Path is not Champered in line with the Cycle Path. If you continually use this route you will know about this but a Stranger using this Route for the first time could be thrown off their Bike if they Automatically believed the Champered Curb was in line with the Cycle Lane. There are instances of this all over Dublin and Ireland generally,it is just bad Infrastructure. These are the little things that do not cost much Money to fix and are so obvious to all but the Planners.