Posts by BenWilson
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Was out cycling with my son and mentioned that cycling was more efficient than walking. He was a little incredulous.
I'm pretty sure my boys already know it, even at 3 and 7. They have balance bikes and several times we've gone for long trips with them riding and me on foot. I have to jog to keep up, and they can go on for half an hour. There's no way they could keep up with me jogging at all, let alone for that length of time. That's without any of the efficiency of pedaling, just the pure effect of having a seat on wheels.
ETA: Well, actually they could probably go a lot longer than that, but I'm not really willing to push a 3 year old along like some kind of sadistic coach. And I don't really like jogging.
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Hard News: You can Roughan but you just…, in reply to Joshua Arbury,
It's frustrating how "mode oriented" public transport debates often are. Buses, trains, ferries and even trams all do different things and it's almost certain we need all of them to complement each other and create a world class PT system for Auckland.
Yup, it's like there's no such thing as your job. Intuition is all we need. And, of course, a monorail.
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Hard News: The War Stories, in reply to Graeme Edgeler,
The mean age for army personnel at that time was around 29.5 according to this study. So I think comparing to the general population, rather than just the 20-29 year old population, is relevant. Although that is quite an interesting stat.
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Hard News: Dressing for the Road, in reply to Richard Grevers,
"chinese cycling speed" - 2-3 x walking pace, which is reportedly the most energy efficient means of transport known
I'd believe it. Occasionally I've rambled around like this for 3-4 hours without feeling noticeably tired at all - it's less effort than concerted walking for the same amount of time, and 50km slips behind you. Somewhere around 15km/h on the flat is like walking around at a shopping/dawdling pace, without getting sore feet. Can get a sore bum though.
It's barely exercise at all. I only do it if I'm browsing around looking at stuff, rather than riding for fitness. It was pretty much how I cycled in Holland, for instance. It's a bloody great way to see a whole city without costing much, or getting exhausted. I also felt unusually safe, because if someone is hassling you, they won't do it for long once you jump on the bike. Beggars, scammers, and annoying hassly salespeople following you for miles don't bother with cyclists. I wish I'd had one in Bangkok.
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Capture: Autumn lite, in reply to Hebe,
Two metres??? We have 12 metres and wondering if that will be enough!
I wish I had a fireplace at all. Next house. But I can't complain about the heating in here, we have HRV ventilation and above/below insulation. The HRV is doing it's thing at the moment, it's really an autumn/spring thing. Just enough sun to give me warm air to push down. In winter the roof space temperature is less than the house so it switches off. In summer the house is hotter than we want, so it switches off. By "off" I mean it goes into the lowest air exchange setting, so it still keeps the air fresh.
My folks have the same setup in a big high ceiling villa. We all noticed how much more effective the open fireplace became when they put in the ventilation system. I speculate that's for 2 reasons - the air is drier, and the positive pressure created by the air pumps forces into the fire, which roars on only smaller amounts of fuel.
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Capture: Autumn lite, in reply to Russell Brown,
Perhaps signs also of the efficacy of good insulation? I haven't felt the need for heating in the house yet.
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Hard News: The War Stories, in reply to Ana Simkiss,
The particular devastation of the world wars on Maori can't be underestimated. I don't know, but would not be surprised to learn, that they are a high proportion of the armed forces today.
They are. Somewhere around 20%. Interestingly, Maori women are even more represented, as a proportion of the female armed forces, over 25%. The overall proportion of women is still quite low, though, less than 20% of the army are women.
Just a pedantic thing here, but it's better to say they "shouldn't be underestimated" rather than that they "can't be underestimated". The latter phrasing implies they are zero.
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Capture: Autumn lite, in reply to Simon Bennett,
Great shot, great eye to see it. It looks like a nuke went off just past the city.
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Hard News: Dressing for the Road, in reply to Russell Brown,
The Vaude one I bought from Rode even doubles as a backpack.
Yes, and, contrary to my expectation, it's actually a good backpack too. The across chest strap redistributes the weight downwards so it doesn't become the horrible forward leaning grind that poorly designed backpacks become. The zips and straps are good quality so waterproof and hardwearing. Separate book/laptop and general compartments keep things like wet clothes and food away from paperwork and electronics. The lack of padding in the straps seems mostly compensated by their separation at the top, and their width.
Only niggle - the zip for the pannier compartment does rub against my pelvic bone at the back. For any hike longer than a few minutes, this is fixable by attaching the chest strap, but a few minutes is exactly the hike I do up to 5 times a day when at varsity. I expect callousing will become the long term solution :-)
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Hard News: Dressing for the Road, in reply to Martin Roberts,
Has anybody thought to Capture the cyclists at the Avondale Market (or similar)? The 'old Chinese gentlemen' demographic, for example, displays a fine variety of refurbished bikes with ingenious cargo facilities.
I've considered it many, many times since Avondale is my hood. They're dudes after my own heart, utterly impervious to style, dedicated to cheap, and all about the practicality. I'm a mere understudy.
I'll see what I can do.
Such cyclists rarely feature in discussions like this -- perhaps like the construction workers discussed upthread. Are they considered by planners and advocates? Have they ever been engaged in cyclist community building?
This type is also a frequent occurrence hereabouts, the industrial area is just past me, Rosebank Rd is somewhat cycle friendly, there being something resembling a marked lane, but most importantly there is no parking. Also, it's dead flat. Guys in their work fluoro and boots ride past every morning.
Are they considered by planners and advocates? Have they ever been engaged in cyclist community building?
I don't know for sure, but I'd be amazed. It seems to be a demographic people not commonly associated with riding. Their reason is almost entirely around the cost, I'd guess, since we're talking about intra-suburb commutes, for which cars are much more "convenient". But maybe they don't own cars, or can't drive. I don't know if this is common in other "poor" neighborhoods - Avondale is unusual in Auckland for being flat.
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