Anger and Gadgets

Anger pretty much comes with the territory when you spend enough time riding on the roads of London. Let’s face it you’re going to have a close call with a car, or a pedestrian, or both at some time fairly soon and the chances are it’s as likely to be their fault as yours and you’re likely to get annoyed and possibly find yourself in the road, swearing at someone (or possibly being sworn at) in a way you’d never expect if you were just walking along.

Proof that this isn’t just restricted to the normal riders in London and can also affect couriers and pop stars comes in the form of this article about Paul McCartney saving a lady form being hit by a bike on Oxford Street. Obviously you’d hope that the cyclist was paying attention, in a way that he appears not to have been, and hopefully we’ll all have convenient rock heroes to drag us to safety. It certainly doesn’t help the cause of cyclists being respected on the roads if people are riding with careless abandon towards pedestrians.

At least sometimes cyclists are justified in their annoyance at being targeted by anger. This story seems to suggest that mountain bikers are victims of some serious and organised vandalism in Port Angeles. If the story isn’t enough to convince you that mountain bikers are being victimised then I think some of the comments certainly will.

On the subject of anger I was slightly annoyed at the Gadget Show’s review of dirt-cheap bikes. I am a big fan of people getting to ride a lot, but I find it tricky to enjoy anyone recommending anything under £100. I’ve always maintained that spending even a bit more will get you something you’ll get far, far more out of.

Finishing on gadgets, it seems that Bosch have come up with a brilliant sounding solar powered electrically assisted bike. Which is great if you approve of cheating on your bike rides in the first place.

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