Posts by Gregor Ronald
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Separation by speed is the answer. Cyclists and scooters can get on fine if they do around 15-25kph. Cyclists and walkers on longer paths won't work, but in city centres everyone is more alert, and the mix will work.The 5-10kph group (walkers, families with pets and kids, old people) need their own lane.
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We're red zone refugees, now in safe suburbia - but we wre lucky. Our 100 yr old house in River Road was nuked in the September 2010 quake - the "forgotten quake" in many ways. Once the red zone payouts were announced, we purchased a place before the prices went crazy, so we're happy. The people who came behind us have been treated so badly, we feel a bit guilty for getting through without problems,
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"This meant they closed the gap with National a little, but that wasn’t enough for them to take a seat off another seat off them." - can you please persuade your writers to read over their material before they hit Send?
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I should have kept my mid-70s Sonophone amplifier...
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I suspect that whatever happens in the US will depend on making a profit, and that change will happen in spite of the government rather than because of it. For example electric cars are taking off so fast that oil companies are scrambling to adjust. The good old profit motive might enforce reality if Trump won't.
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"The driver had swerved suddenly into the bus lane, at around 70km/h, to try and pass a line of cars on the inside..." This happens every day in Christchurch, though it's cycle lanes that cars think they can crowd into. The other danger is motorists who pull over to answer a phone call - they stop in a cycle lane and force cyclists out into the vehicle lanes. They probably feel a warm glow for not using their phone while driving, but cycle lanes are not parking spaces!
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Eye contact, or a flashing head torch on a winter evening, is vital. Once I make eye contact with someone, you can see their demeanor soften, and a quick blast of flashing LEDs will always get the right-turning jerk at the intersection to admit you exist. And I queue behind cars at the lights, just like I'm another vehicle.
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"...drug-testing was a good way to lose the race for talent..." This also applies to the ski industry. Zealous management at a major US resort implemented testing several years ago, and they couldn't get enough staff to work the chairlifts and cafes. They did some fast talking and wound back the testing, and all was well. (Staff weren't stoned at work, but cannabis stays in the system for a long time, especially in a party town.)
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I'm jealous, SmartMotion have come a long way since I bought my eCity in late 2014. But in those two years I've done about 8000km (the mileage counter got confused at 6500km, I'm guessing a bit), which at 20c/km for fuel is $1600 give or take. So it's paid off 2/3 of its $2400 initial cost.I still have my Avanti Explorer commuter bike, but it's not getting much use. I go everywhere on my eCity - supermarket, library, pub (no breathalyzers!), movies, etc.
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I bought a SmartMotion eCity two years ago when I found my 13km commute across Christchurch was becoming a bit tough, especially on the return leg against the inevitable NE wind. I did 6500km on it over the last two years at work before I retired.
Now I don't ride it so much, because I usually need to use the car for errands and shopping, trips to Bunnings, etc. But if I need to go into the CBD I wouldn't think of taking the car, the bike is far more versatile. I have kept my hybrid commuter bike for fitness riding in the weekends, but it doesn't get much use.