MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Barriers in London central bridges; cyclists protest width of lanes
Barriers have been installed on three central London bridges following the latest terror attack to hit the British capital. The structures have been introduced to stop traffic from mounting the pavement on Westminster, Lambeth and Waterloo bridges. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesCyclists in the UK think that they are the ”kings of the road (and of pedestrian crossings and pavements!)” which they use mainly with no protective gear and without warning bells!
Jun 07th, 2017 - 01:11 pm - Link - Report abuse +1They are the scourge of the cities and should be banned forthwith!
Anglo Turnip just above...
Jun 07th, 2017 - 01:27 pm - Link - Report abuse -3As a former asiduous cycling conmuter in many an European, Asian And American town..., loooong before Boris Johnson learned how to pedal..., I can see that the Engrish authorities seem to share your views about us...
Looking at the picture above..., I ask meself...
Will protective headgear and warning bells help Engrish cyclists against the white vans of Jihadis next door...?
Gordo1, that is utter bollocks. There are a lot more selfish, incompetent drivers than cyclists, and the drivers are mostly risking other people's lives rather than their own. If more people cycled instead of drove then cities would be safer for everyone, and maybe you could change your name to Flaco1.
Jun 07th, 2017 - 03:35 pm - Link - Report abuse -1;-)))
Jun 07th, 2017 - 03:39 pm - Link - Report abuse -3I can't see what the cyclists are complaining about when I look at the above picture. The cycle lane seems to be about the width of a small car. If they can't handle that, they should walk or use public transport.
Jun 07th, 2017 - 04:45 pm - Link - Report abuse +2Of course it will not protect a cyclist from a van being driven at him. It's designed to protect the mass of pedestrians walking across the pavement on the bridge.
Demon, yes but there are more drivers than cyclists so you are correct.
Jun 07th, 2017 - 04:49 pm - Link - Report abuse +1Lowlander gorilla...
Jun 07th, 2017 - 05:03 pm - Link - Report abuse -3Can you see what the cyclists are complaining about when looking at the below linked picture...?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DBjexJZXoAQ0vsr.jpg
Anglo Turnip just above...
Not for long,..., turnip...
vimeo.com/129572824
DemonTree
Jun 07th, 2017 - 05:24 pm - Link - Report abuse +4I live in a university city and the students think they own the place - it is rare to see a student cyclist actually using the highway. Just the pavements and with no protective gear or even warning bells. They are worse than the users of mobility scooters - who are usually deaf and blind to all pedestrians.
That's the way to do it..., Anglos...
Jun 07th, 2017 - 05:31 pm - Link - Report abuse -3https://vimeo.com/13499122
I was thinking the same thing as Clyde15, they really should have used Think's picture to illustrate the article.
Jun 07th, 2017 - 05:34 pm - Link - Report abuse -1Golfcronie, it's true there are a lot more drivers on the road than cyclists, and there are plenty of bad examples of each, but when I am driving and see a dangerous cyclist I worry that they will get themselves killed, whereas when I am cycling and encounter a bad driver, I worry that they will kill ME. Motor vehicles can cause a lot more damage, as we have unfortunately recently seem.
Gordo1, in that case you probably do have more bad cyclists than drivers, but it's not the case elsewhere in the UK. Building some cycle paths to get them off the pavements would be much more constructive than banning them though.
Maybe you'll like this: ;)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBFFrsvgu1Y
A bit more propaganda from us..., the Scandinavian Thinking Cyclists...
Jun 07th, 2017 - 05:58 pm - Link - Report abuse -3https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qYGL80qx71g
Looks nice, but drivers in Britain are mostly too dumb to realise that the more people cycle, the less traffic there will be, so they don't want to pay for cycle lanes etc.
Jun 07th, 2017 - 06:09 pm - Link - Report abuse -1How's cycling in Buenos Aires?
Clyde
Jun 07th, 2017 - 06:14 pm - Link - Report abuse 0That picture is not rush hour either, when they will be trying to overtake each other and more than one abreast...
One of the very few things I can compliment Mr. Mauricio Macri as Mayor of Buenos Aires...
Jun 07th, 2017 - 06:23 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The last 10 years have been a real cycling revolution in Buenos Aires...
Heh, glad to know he's done something good.
Jun 07th, 2017 - 06:34 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I don't know why our national and local governments have been so slow to improve things really. Maybe you need a critical mass of cyclists around to make them think it's worthwhile, but you can't get that if the roads are too dangerous. There are some cycle paths but they generally are not well thought out and they don't always go where you want to.
Question of priorities..., I Think...
Jun 07th, 2017 - 06:55 pm - Link - Report abuse -1Can't get both..., cycle paths and aircraft carriers..., lad...
”Kanonen statt Butter“ seems to be still a popular parole in many places...
And then the cycle paths are not used by the cyclists - they prefer to ride on pedestrian pavements/sidewalks!
Jun 07th, 2017 - 08:47 pm - Link - Report abuse +1@Think
Jun 07th, 2017 - 09:40 pm - Link - Report abuse -1And yet we currently have neither. You can't blame everything on the military budget; it's pretty clearly a lack of will on the part of the public and politicians rather than strictly a lack of money, though I suppose lack of money doesn't help.
@gordo1
Round here most of the cycle paths are on the pavement; I once got shouted at by a driver for riding in the road instead.
If cycle paths are well designed then cyclists will use them, it's all about being safe and feeling safe. Simply painting a line down the side of the road does not move the cyclist further away from traffic, or make drivers any more likely to see them at junctions. IME it can even make things worse, as after seeing a cycle lane marking, drivers no longer bother to pull out to overtake you and instead scream past with inches to spare.
But if cyclists are really kings of the road in your town, why don't you buy a bike and start cycling too?
Mr. DemonTree....
Jun 07th, 2017 - 09:43 pm - Link - Report abuse -1Funny coincidence...
Here we were..., speaking about biking in Macri's new bike lanes in Buenos Aires..., and just a couple of hours ago..., the State Prosecutor investigatng Macri's involvment in the Panama Papers & Odebrecht scandals was hit and knocked off his bike by a car driver hat didn't respect the red light...
https://www.pagina12.com.ar/42655-atropellaron-al-fiscal-federico-delgado
Don't tell the Turnips though...
They will get all red in the face and start with their conspiracy theories...
I like to keep my bike off the road as much as possible...
Jun 07th, 2017 - 10:55 pm - Link - Report abuse +1Here it is...
https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4243/34321160574_c35434b08f_o.jpg
@Think
Jun 07th, 2017 - 11:37 pm - Link - Report abuse 0How come there are no comments on pagina12? I had a look at the ones on Clarín, and they are indeed full of conspiracy theories.
Sooo-ooo, was it just an accident?
Also TIL that traffic lights are called semaphores in Spanish, now I am imagining they all have little arms making semaphore signals. Somehow that seems really cool.
@Voice
Looks like a nice spot for cycling, and no one's going to be complaining that you are riding on the pavement. :)
The question is why is this piece appearing in Mercopenguin, a propaganda organ supposedly devoted to America, South America and the “South Atlantic”?
Jun 08th, 2017 - 02:01 am - Link - Report abuse -2The problem is that our roads are too small to accommodate motor traffic and cyclists safely.
Jun 08th, 2017 - 10:28 am - Link - Report abuse +2My local council decided to put in a large cycle lane on one of the busiest trunk roads without any consultation. They made the lane about two meters wide with solid concrete blocks separating the lane from the main road, redesigned the bus stops with ramps resurfaced the lane with a blue non-slip surface. The result was mammoth traffic jams and gridlock as the resultant road width was too narrow for container lorries to pass each other safely. This road passes the main town cemetery where mourners parked their cars to attend burials. Parked cars brought the road to closure.
Householders could not get their vehicles out of their driveways because the concrete blocks forced them to turn onto the far side of the road facing on-coming traffic.
During the month the lane was in existence, it was hardly used by any cyclists. They would cycle on the quiet residential roads parallel to the main road.
The road was finally put back to it's original condition wasting a couple of £100k.
However, we have plenty of cycle tracks covering the country area which are ideal as no motor vehicles can use them.
Anyway, cycling around where I live is a dodgy prospect because of the hilly nature of the land and the weather. Yesterday it was blowing a gale with horizontal rain. Anyone using a bike to commute would have to have a spare set of clothes and somewhere to dry out never mind the prospect of getting blown over by the wind. In winter time, exposure would probably kill you !
@Clyde15
Jun 08th, 2017 - 11:16 am - Link - Report abuse 0Sounds like the airport on St Helena which was also built without checking if it was workable. You'd think they would learn that it's cheaper to plan things properly in the first place than to build something and then have to remove or redo it later.
People could just cycle in summer or when the weather is good though, and drive when necessary. Hills are good exercise and fun on the way down. :)
When I used to cycle to work I would wear shorts and t-shirt and change when I got to the office, I'd get far too hot otherwise even if the weather was bad. IMO by far the worst thing about bike commuting is the darkness in winter; I lived in a village back then so there were no streetlights for the last few miles, and bike lights are not very visible to a driver doing 60 on a country lane. One time my back light conked out on the way and I honestly thought I was going to die. If there had been a pavement I *definitely* would have cycled on it.
Rather than build cycle lanes, the money would be better spent on filling potholes which are a more serious danger to cyclists. Some of the marked cycle lanes I have seen cannot be used for deep potholes and broken surfaces which could easily unseat a cyclist, burst a tyre or buckle a wheel..
Jun 08th, 2017 - 12:00 pm - Link - Report abuse +2In the past years I have had two alloy car wheels damaged and 5 tyres burst on the sidewalls by hitting “invisible” pot holes.
I got fed up with this so, the last time, I photographed the road surface and sued the council for damages which they grudgingly paid up.
A few days later I was back on the same section of road and there was a gang of workers filling all the holes and resurfacing it !
Lazy Lowlandef Gorilla just aboves says...:
Jun 08th, 2017 - 12:27 pm - Link - Report abuse -2“ In winter time, exposure would probably kill you !”
I say...:
Look at all those dead people cycling in their Pertex Shield..., eVent... and Gore-Tex Down Jackets...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_mXOqv38euQ
Besides...
If anybody is interested in how the Scandinavians tackle the small matter of cycling around in hilly country..., just ask...
Thinko chimp
Jun 08th, 2017 - 04:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Have a look at the wind chill factors and driving rain. On the west coast in winter we don't have very low temperatures compared to Scandinavia BUT the combination of rain and wind will kill you more quickly than dry cold. The Scottish hills are a testament to that.
People die of exposure here in Summer !
These people are cycling about in snow....dry conditions. Easy peasy.
Try it here in the rain with flooded roads and see how you fare.
I have been out in some frosty sunny still days here with temperatures about zero and was quite happy without a jacket . Yesterday I needed a woolen shirt, pullover and a windproof jacket in a temp. of 10 °C in a gale with driving horizontal rain.
Because I don't cycle I am lazy? There is another method of propulsion called
W-A-L-K-I-N-G. I do this frequently for 2/3 hours a day bird watching along the shore, cliffs and hilly country. I don't need a bike or lycra clothing and I don't get to breathe in traffic fumes.
I think I do reasonably well for a 75 year old with dodgy knees, subacromial bursitis and lower back problems caused by excessive physical exercise when young.
So, what's your excuse for being bone idle?
Geeeeeeee.... You fat, lazy motorised Lowlander Gorilla...
Jun 08th, 2017 - 04:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Don't try to learn this lean, active bikng Highland Chimp no tricks...
Scottish breeze and some air humidity..., ya say...?
That' why I explicitly wrote about them wearing Pertex Shield..., eVent... and Gore-Tex Jackets..
Do you Lowlander know what Pertex Shield+..., eVent..., Gore-Tex.. et al ìs...?
Educate yourself..., Google Pertex Shield+..., eVent... or Gore-Tex...
Get into the XXI century..., laddie...
(I bet ya roam ye Lowland city paks, looking at sparrows in one of them silly Engrish Barbour oilskin...)
Chukle chuckle...
Huh, I though people over 70 might be mature enough to have stopped trying to one-up each other, but apparently not...
Jun 08th, 2017 - 05:41 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Think, do they have special tyres to cycle on snow in Denmark, or does it not get warm enough there to thaw and then refreeze into a rutted ice rink? I've always found cycling on fresh snow is okay, but after a few days it's damn near impossible to get any grip.
Also it's only -3C according to the sign. Don't people get far too hot cycling in down jackets at that temp?
@Clyde15
Yeah, they need to fix the potholes too, but they did the ones on our road in such a half-arsed way they started reappearing after only a few weeks. Seems like a waste of money if they're not going to do a proper job.
A) Those Lowlander Gorillas are an immature species...
Jun 08th, 2017 - 05:59 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Evolution went wrong..., I Think...
B) Spike tyres ars popular in northern Sweden and Finland... In the rest of Scandinavia one just learns how to balance.. A bit as skating..., on a bike...
C) Those are light down jackets (500-900gr.)..., not 4 kgs. Canada Goose's...
Besides... when snowing... speed goes Utomatic down to 10-15 km. x hour... = No Sweat...
Hepatitis - can you not read? This report “Barriers in London central bridges; cyclists protest width of lanes” was published by Mercopress in Montevideo as an international news item.
Jun 08th, 2017 - 06:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Kindly direct your question to the publishers as any normal person would do?
DT.
Jun 08th, 2017 - 08:04 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Yes it is childish but Think is just here to insult everyone especially me. The Lowlander title and Laddie are meant as an insult as he thinks he is the reincarnation of a Highland chief and keeps talking garbage about Scotland. I believe I called him an arsehole recently. I apologise and take that back....an arsehole has some use.
Think
Your speech pattern would indicate you are of Jamaican descent not Highland.
If you knew anything about apes you would realise that Gorillas are gentle placid creatures whereas Chimps are quite vicious and unstable animals liable to irrational outbursts....your avatar suits you.
If you wish to talk about outdoor clothing, I am your man.
Before Goretex came onto the market, I had a Ventile anorak and a lightweight Peter Storm Cagoule, in 1963, when I was an active climber. My boots were Lawrie's as used by Himalayan Climbers.
For general bird watching in Sutherland and Bird Atlas work around the N.of Glasgow , I used a Harris jumper bought in Tarbert in 1965. The advantage being it is windproof and bullet proof and is still warm when wet.
I bought a Goretex jacket in 1980 which was OK but the lining gradually wore out through time.
I have a couple of lightweight shell jackets made by Trespass
One Country Innovation Rover jacket in Ventile....better than Goretex. The material is used by the RAF for their flying suits as they still cannot find anything better. Completely water proof.
One Shott Bros lightweight Parka for dry cold weather.
One heavy padded parka for cold a la Cairngorms.
One light down jacket which comes in a small carrying bag.
Several pairs of Goretex lined shoes and boots. Heavy jackets don't bother me as I am strong enough to wear them. You must be a wimp needing featherlight clothing.
As to the XX1 century, you are still stuck in the X1X century and the great Malvinas myth
Anyway, you will no doubt be hitting Google again trying to catch me out ....feel free.
What a collection of unpractical clothes you wear...
Jun 08th, 2017 - 09:49 pm - Link - Report abuse 0No wonder you get wet and cold in sunny Scotland...
Though..., you were right on one account..., Lowlander Gorilla...
I had to “hit Google” to find that “Wonder Waterproof” material of yours...: “Ventile”
OMG...!
Developed in the 1940's...
Hydrostatic head rating...: 900mm
Weight...............................: 290gr. x sq.M
To make a long story short..., me current jacket...:
https://www.crux.uk.com/product/magma-jacket
Developed in the 2010's...
Hydrostatic head rating...: 20,000mm
Weight...............................: 80 grs x sq.M...
Dry and cozy even after weeks of Patagonian mountain trekking...
As I said before..., Laddie... Try to get into the XXI century... It's warm in here...;-)
Do you two really need all that stuff? Surely it's not that much colder or wetter in Scotland or Patagonia than in England? Am I risking hypothermia by cycling in my normal clothes?
Jun 08th, 2017 - 10:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Think, the snow in Finland was different to the UK, you could even run on it without slipping, but maybe Denmark is more similar to England? Anyway, I don't suppose I will ever get enough practice to learn to cycle confidently on snow, although probably my hybrid tyres don't help. Even if I go slowly I still sweat though, only my extremities get really cold.
Shhhhhhh..., lad
Jun 08th, 2017 - 10:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I'm watching that red dressed blonde with the big nose on the BBC...;-)
DemonTree
Jun 09th, 2017 - 10:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0”surely it's not that much colder or wetter in Scotland or Patagonia than in England?
Is that tongue in cheek...?
It once rained here for 110 days...recorded at Benmore... that more than doubles Noah's deluge...
The rain East to West is an inch more per mile..
It's certainly colder a couple of thousand feet up in the hills and Clyde does bird watching type stuff...not moving, but watching he will need to retain heat...
I run, mountain bike and climb and wear not much more than your average running gear, I don't feel the cold as I'm always moving quickly...
So it's really a matter of what your leisure involves...
@Voice
Jun 10th, 2017 - 12:04 am - Link - Report abuse 0“It once rained here for 110 days”
And you live there voluntarily? Since rain varies west to east it isn't wetter everywhere in Scotland, but you live on the west coast don't you? How much do you get in an average year?
It's a good point that you get a lot colder sitting still. People die of exposure on mountains but that's usually when they get lost or become trapped, I think cyclists commuting to work would not be at much risk, although it doesn't sound very enjoyable. If you have something windproof to wear you shouldn't get too cold while moving.
Isn't Patagonia supposed to be very dry though? I imagine most of the rain falls in the Andes.
Apart from the silly remarks by the resident turnip, and some interesting ones from other posters, commenting on the bad habits of some disrectpectfull cyclists, perhaps the turnip should look into the bike lanes in São Paulo, a gift from our last (PT) mayor. One of his 'clever' ideas, without the slightest planning, was to paint red lanes on the sides of many roads, many already too narrow, making them even narrower ....the result was traffic jams and a few dead cyclists...not to mention that quite a bit of the red paint washed away with the first heavy rain....when the local DA asked to see the Municipality studies to implement the lanes, due to the obvious waste of public funds, the mayor confessed they had made none...so his populist project was suspended until he presented something viable. Don't think he ever did. Similar to another 'smart' idea by a PT mayor of about 20 years ago...she (Luiza Erundina) had a brainwave to 'create' another lane on most busy roads/ avenues, by repainting the dotted lines in order to narrow the existing ones and add one more - she then proudly claimed she had added more than 2,000 kms of 'new' roads during her tenure...the result was quite predictable : cars slamming their mirrors one against the other, and far worse, bikers getting crunched between cars as they weaved in and out of traffic. Seems that populism and safety don't combine too well.
Jun 10th, 2017 - 05:13 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I was right about the Dunoon area then... ;-) how dismal is that. Our rainfall is similar to Beirut.
Jun 12th, 2017 - 03:32 am - Link - Report abuse 0Do they get much flooding in Beirut...?,
Jun 12th, 2017 - 10:14 am - Link - Report abuse 0All those English villages that were under water...seems to be becoming a regular occurrence...
How dismal is that...?
Here it just fills the Lochs...and creates electricity...
Yes, actually. http://floodlist.com/asia/floods-lebanon
Jun 12th, 2017 - 11:23 am - Link - Report abuse 0Places where it is very dry for much of the time and the rain all comes at once are MORE prone to flooding.
This is a silly argument. There have been floods in England, Scotland and Wales in recent years and it's usually an issue of extreme weather and local geography.
Evidently Voice doesn't mind the rain or is willing to put up with it, and it's kind of childish to slag off a town or a country just because you dislike one person who lives there.
We ain't got not so much air humidity in Patagonia...
Jun 12th, 2017 - 01:53 pm - Link - Report abuse 0But's kind of breezy down here...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PvcDJi1kYxU
Heh, why is the guy screaming like a girl? I don't understand why people have to be so loud in videos, can't they just appreciate stuff quietly?
Jun 13th, 2017 - 10:21 am - Link - Report abuse 0Also the geography in the video looks weirdly familiar, like a valley carved by glaciers. I suppose they might actually still have some in that park?
Here's another video from a valley 200 km. north from the previous one..
Jun 13th, 2017 - 11:24 am - Link - Report abuse 0And yet another tourist screaming like a girl...
They seem fascinated by our breeze...
We just cope with it...
You forgot to include the link.
Jun 13th, 2017 - 11:44 am - Link - Report abuse 0I still don't see why screaming is necessary. How windy is it right now where you live?
Ooooooops...
Jun 13th, 2017 - 01:55 pm - Link - Report abuse 0https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-_VJuB6WaZw
+-40km/h
Ugh, more shouting. Why can't people ever be quiet in videos?
Jun 13th, 2017 - 08:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0That looks like some nice gentle weather anyway. ;) Is it winter or is there snow on the ground there all year?
Tbh I have no idea what a 40kmph wind feels like, but it sounds high. Probably a good place for this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXMaCJHR-cM
Now that you mention it...:
Jun 13th, 2017 - 08:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=URAVTKvzOA0...
My kind of place...Scotland on steroids...
Jun 13th, 2017 - 10:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Maybe I should visit...
People kite-surf near where I grew up, although it's not quite so scenic. And the water is probably about the same temperature in January, I don't know what they are complaining about.
Jun 13th, 2017 - 10:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@DT
Jun 14th, 2017 - 05:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Those using force were the ones who’d gone to Cuba, attracted by communism, to learn urban warfare tactics, with the purpose of replacing the government with one to their liking. There was no national, or regional movement against the govt, only the formation of small groups of armed militants, concentrated in big urban centres, where their actions would inflict most damage and fund their movement (bk holdups). What eventually caused Jango’s downfall weren't these groups but rather the dissatisfaction amongst influential sectors of society, due to his proximity to the USSR. After his removal, the commies were up against the military.
In the 50’s, Brazil was said to be the ‘country of the future’…problem is, it still is ; despite lots going for it (plenty land, natural resources, good climate, relatively free of natural disasters), nationalistic politics worked against it, opening the gap between Brazil and today’s developed countries. Back then, Brazil was kind of laid back, imported just about everything (except food), so life was good. Population was smaller, demands were less; No doubt corruption existed, but not on the same scale, nor as obvious as today, because still not having become an industrialized nation, there was far less tax money to steal (believe it or not, only those who wanted to, paid income tax), communications were primitive, everything moved at a slower pace. Common street crime was unheard of in the 50’/ 60’s, starting in the mid-70’s, when hundreds of thousands migrated from the northeast, looking for work in construction (which was taking off in the southeast). We stayed on, got used to the changing reality and learned to live with it. The good things, despite the corruption /crime, is the ‘laissez-faire” (up to a point), and unlimited opportunities, provided you're prepared to work.
In Japan, I had trouble with the language, but not with the customs ; and yes, those that don't toe the line aren't too welcome. And rightly so.
Think
Jun 16th, 2017 - 12:09 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Back to jackets. Yours looks very pretty and ridiculously expensive. I don't think it would stand up to pushing your way through gorse bushes and brambles without ripping the fabric.
Ventile does and still remains waterproof. Another advantage is that unlike other man-made materials it does not rustle when moving. This is a huge advantage when trying to get close to wildlife as their hearing greatly surpasses ours.
Horses for courses.
So you are happy with your overpriced clothes, I am happy with mine and see no reason to change just because it's the “21st century”
DT
Rainfall can vary in short distances. Ayr has an average rainfall of 40“ .Benmore has a rainfall of 80” +. In a straight line the distance is 40 miles.
Due to Scotland's location, we are in direct line with the prevailing westerly winds from the Atlantic. On the Clyde coast, calm days are infrequent and it can be very windy from September to April.
In my time, we have had 3 Hurricane force winds which been pretty destructive. However, I think the building regulations here are tougher than down south.
If you look at the wind speed records for the UK, only Caernarvonshire and Anglesey appear in the top ten, with the rest in Scotland.
Shetland tops the bill and is the only place you can experience a force 10 fog!
The Cairngorms hold the record for an unofficial gust of 194 mph. The winds up there can reach well over 100mph all year round and can spring up from a what appears to be a breezy day.
Anyway, back to cycling. Using a bike to commute, in this area, is impracticable due to roads, terrain and weather.
@JB
Jun 16th, 2017 - 12:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Hmmm, so the would-be revolutionaries were not the reason for the military taking over, it was the President? Who almost certainly did not want to turn the country into another Cuba. That makes the dictatorship seem even more unnecessary.
I have heard the 'country of the future' thing, but I didn't know the street crime only started in the 70's, it's a shame and it sounds like in some ways it was caused by the development of the country, people moving to the city for opportunities and then not finding them. And seriously, how does a voluntary income tax work? Who would ever agree to pay it?
Japanese language looks hard, it's so different to English or any European language and then there are all the characters to learn if you want to read and write it. But I'm surprised you didn't have trouble with the customs, I heard the Japanese are very insular and also have confusing rules about politeness, such as never saying no to a request but instead saying 'maybe' to mean no, and saying 'yes' means maybe.
@Clyde15
I have a down jacket (not nearly as expensive as Think's though) and I have already torn the sleeve, and I certainly wouldn't try pushing through gorse or brambles while wearing it. It's not waterproof either but it is very warm, I was comfortable wearing it in Finland at -20C (actually Finland never felt all that cold, it was surprising).
I grew up on the east coast, it's surprisingly dry but does get quite cold and windy in the winter. When we had a wind from the east we would say it came straight from the Urals as there was nothing in between, though I have no idea if that's true. We also had the joy of the cold grey North Sea, but I miss it now that I live so far from the coast.
A force 10 fog sounds weird, doesn't the wind blow the fog away or at least make gaps in it?
I've only been up two mountains in Scotland but they both had some pretty crazy wind, I suppose that is normal for mountains though.
DT
Jun 16th, 2017 - 03:59 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I took a picture of the Kilt Rock waterfall in Skye with the water blowing up the cliff face and never reaching the ground.
Yes it is much colder on the east coast but it is usually a dry cold. It can feel colder here because of the damp and the wind.
As an example of weather conditions in the west. When new flats were being built at Greenock, they decided to install German double glazing units. These were the best on the market. Six months later they were leaking. The engineers came from Germany to examine them as they were guaranteed not to fail.
They had never encountered weather conditions such as they found there. The rain was hitting the units from the bottom. Driven by strong winds the rain was coming up from sea level instead of down from the sky. This was something they had never seen before and they had to redesign the window seals to take account of this “freak” condition.
That's why, if you want a waterproof that works, buy one designed and preferably made in Scotland.......such as my Ventile parka.
@Clyde15
Jun 16th, 2017 - 05:32 pm - Link - Report abuse 0That happens in England too :)
http://www.funnyjunk.com/A+slightly+windy+day/funny-gifs/5331629/
I think Finland did not feel so bad because it was a dry cold and there was mostly no wind. I was way too hot in my cheapass ski gear except for the one day when the wind got up.
LOL at the German windows, I can confirm it snowed upwards the first time I visited Scotland. Also I did buy a waterproof hat while I was there, and unlike my 'waterproof' goretex boots, my head stayed perfectly dry.
@DT
Jun 16th, 2017 - 06:10 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Might be good to remember that in the 60’s the cold war was at its height, and whether Jango believed in communism or not, I don’t know, but his untoward friendliness with the USSR at that time, concerned the military and influential sectors of society. At that point, I presume the military didn’t like what they were seeing…and nipped the rose in the bud.
We lived in a good neighbourhood , the houses had no high fences, nor did we have to worry about locking our gates or doors during the day….but the massive migration from the NE in the 70’s, with people thinking that money grew on trees in the SE, changed that. The migration brought an excess of illiterate, unskilled workers, who eventually, unable to find work, were forced into subhuman living conditions (the beginning of the ‘favelas’ in SP) ; the Federal and State governments’ failure to see the writing on the wall, just aggravated the situation, and that’s what spurred crime…initially, only petty theft and that kind of stuff – we once had an attempted break-in while we were travelling, and it was the first concrete sign that things were changing.
In the 50’s/60’s, the “IRS” had virtually no information on who worked, far less what they earned, and despite (income tax declaration) being a legal obligation, there was no way to enforce it (until the early 70’s).
When I went to Japan, I’d already been working with the Japanese for a couple of years, so I had plenty of time to become familiar with their customs ; deep down, they aren’t so different to those of western cultures, but they do demand a rather more formal approach to most situations ; and you’re right about their reluctance to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’, outright, so one learned to never insist. Language was a problem, but not the customs.
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