Posts by BenWilson
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Lisa, thanks! Never knew that.
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Lisa, considered hiring them casually? About $4 an hour (you return them to various spots when finished), gotta be a lot less hassle and potential cost than carting a bike on a plane. If you're staying in city or central suburbs there would probably be a spot within walking distance. Just a thought.
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a wonderful slope and so easy to get carried away, but if you meet a pedestrian along the way down you're going to regret it...
Yes, pedestrians don't really know what to do when they see someone hurtling along the footpath at upwards of 40kmh. "Keep Left" isn't really that helpful. "Slow Down" is actually best advice - shouldn't really pass a pedestrian going any more than 20kmh. I'd think if they're children or animals 10kmh would make even more sense.
But there isn't a road code for cyclists. Perhaps there should be. The problem is that cyclists don't want to give up inertia, getting it back means hard pedaling. There's a sense of entitlement to the speed the bike can provide akin to the same thing in motorists when they have to slow down for cyclists.
When I was last in Germany, cyclists even acted like motorists, ringing their bells angrily and shouting at pedestrians who might have strayed into the cycle lane. It certainly did not endear me to their cause and did not seem like a good idea. It was not conducive to harmonious sharing of the resource. But then I did notice quite a lot of angry shouting in Germany, especially when they sensed a foreigner.
Holland had a much better culture, brought about to some extent by better infrastructure. Cycle lanes that were separated from footpaths by actual kerbs meant far less people unwittingly standing in them. The proliferation of these meant that when cyclists did ride amongst pedestrians, they knew that they were really the ones who should give way.
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They said they had it under control, anyway. Also, the statistics are limited to 'frequent users'. I couldn't find how frequent. Once a month is quite different to 5 times a day.
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Ah. Then Oakley creek is certainly out of the way. But if he's still keen, I recommend the way I just said. Watch out bombing the cycleway by the tech too, I was nearly collected by some loon blundering out of the bushes.
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Saying "some people find X helpful" or "have you considered Y" or "there's a study which suggests Z" is far less likely to backfire horribly
Sound enough, but smart people will usually see them as weasel words for "I advise". It's pretty hard not to shit some people off if you are going to give advice, no matter how nicely you dress it.
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You could save a kilometer and some hills by taking Rosebank Rd. Not as scenic, though.
You could, but you'd be going through Unitec to get to Oakley Creek, then finding a way back to where you would have been anyway. On weekends, I'll sometimes go via Unitec's back road, just for fun.
You don't need to go through the Tech to get to the creek. There is a path off Gt North Rd, just near the bottom. Take the overbridge, and on the other side turn around and continue down. The path has a sign. It's not the best path for bikes but it can be done. There are stairs at the end. Cross the field to Harbutt Ave. The path continues on for another km or so to a dead end on the far side of the railway from Pak'n'save, trap for young players. Harbutt connects through to Woodward, which becomes Richardson.
It's uphill all the way along the creek. Not a very hard uphill, mind, except for the stairs.
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I've noticed that some people only give advice to shut other people up about their problems. It does work.
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After you've heard x number of random acquaintances/complete strangers suggest positive thinking/exercise/anti-depressants/patent remedy/exorcism/drinking own urine*, your patience for receiving advice gets pretty short.
My patience only gets short when they won't just leave it at that if you decide not to try it, and go on about it every time you see them. I seriously stop talking to people who do that. I don't have CFS, but another chronic lifelong 'disorder'.
I think what a lot of people don't get is that often you're not telling people about your illness so you can get advice. You're telling them so they can understand how you are. Just telling people helps with some illnesses, especially when there is a psychosomatic component.
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I was definitely not reading Graham as saying everything was sweet in Fiji. Did he waste his opportunity to sink the knife in? I don't think so, that has been done amply already. Not just a diplomatic knife, but also an economic one.
I'm sure quite a deal of the perception gap between Fiji and NZ is being carefully managed by the regime there, but I also think you have to take account of the way people there feel about without getting all paternal and implying they don't know their own minds, or they're too scared or whatever. The incidences of outright oppression are wrong but they are extremely mild by comparison with what you'd expect from an unpopular totalitarian government. They're not rounding up dissidents, killing people, torturing the resistance, running show trials. Soldiers aren't randomly beating people up to get bribes etc.
To act like they are plays into the whole "they're misrepresenting us" line. The way everyone I've spoken to about it who actually comes from Fiji, is that the only real impact the coup had on them has been felt through the sanctions. This means that the only people they perceive as enemies are us. I don't see what good that can possibly do.
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