Why do we do it?
Why do we waste precious resources criminalising 'cycling without helmets' when we know that the rest of the world eschews such squeamishness because helmet data is unsubstantiated?
Anyhoo they are not questions for police but rather politicians, so this morning after affable chat with cute policeman near Harbour Bridge Steps, I ended up having my details taken for issue of helmet infringement notice via mail in the next few days.
According to aforementioned CP (cute policeman), helmets save lives, doesn't matter if you don't make a habit of falling off, only takes one accident...and to my remarks that if I should wear one so should motorists, apparently motorists have big cars protecting their heads and therefore don't need helmets...
hmmmn
...even though CP and I both sort of agreed that motorists really do make up most of the statistics relatively or otherwise for head injuries...
(thanks to @CyclingRSmith for timely tweet grahphic!)
But back to CP and me, he asked where I had cycled from, and I said Newtown and that I'd come over to photograph the steps which I thought were a ridiculous feature as part of the cycling route because they did their best to preclude me and my type of cycling. As I said to him, it was no easy feat getting my big heavy dutch bike down despite the ramp!
He seemed surprised at the thought of people like me struggling with the step feature of the bridge, and said that he and his colleagues usually cycled down them as did a lot of bridge users!!!
Totally gobsmacked, I was most impressed and wished I'd arrived earlier to see the downhill of harbour bridge mountain bike course in action...
As it was, users when I was there were quite tame, albeit even if they could hoick their bikes up on their shoulders, something I certainly can't do.
So long story short...it's off to court for me again in the not too distant future - sigh
Really sorry to hear that the local constbulary is STILL unaware of the stupidity of their mandate (to save the world from un-plasticated heads)!
ReplyDeleteI am confused though...Groundhog Day is in February...what's the deal?
Apologies for my very liberal use of 'Groundhog Day' - I'm using it in the sense of 'uh-oh here we go again' !!!
DeleteI suspect it's illegal to cycle down the stairs? If so, he should write a ticket for himself and his colleagues every time he does it. No exceptions!
ReplyDeleteThat would make sense, Jim! - it certainly looked pretty treacherous to me, not that that's saying very much!!
DeleteIn reference to the difficulty of getting your dutch bike up the ramp, I notice there are only beefy blokes on the steps in the photo...did you see anybody other than fit, 20-30-somethings using the ramp?
ReplyDeleteNo I didn't and that is a really moot point - cycling in Australia is still packaged with a view for 'fit, 20-30-somethings'!!
ReplyDeleteBasically that is why I was checking out the ramp in the first place, and what I suspected was confirmed...
Sydney Harbour Bridge, an iconic world landmark with cycling track primarily designed for those who can either cart their bikes up and down no probs or (as I found out yesterday) can cycle down no probs (wish I'd been there for someone doing that!!!)
Such a pity about the ramp. That there isnt something else. I am disabled and this ramp is just not an option for me to use :0(
ReplyDelete