Nuxx:MPG.279846076e2d75fc989859@news.zen.co.uk

Path: num2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!num1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!number.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border3.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!goblin2!goblin.stu.neva.ru!xlned.com!feeder3.xlned.com!feeder.news-service.com!tudelft.nl!txtfeed1.tudelft.nl!dedekind.zen.co.uk!zen.net.uk!hamilton.zen.co.uk!prichard.zen.co.uk.POSTED!not-for-mail Message-ID:  From: Nuxx Bar  Newsgroups: uk.rec.cycling,uk.rec.driving Subject: Amusement Today in Brixton Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2011 23:13:47 -0000 Lines: 35 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit User-Agent: MicroPlanet-Gravity/2.9.14 Organization: Zen Internet NNTP-Posting-Host: 505ff05f.news.zen.co.uk X-Trace: DXC=\d9k>^GH=fi]gU6dG2T\Vn0g@SS;SF6ngRiiCXJE[K>g4iOIocafY3b`:ITG5aA:cgOWQ[T5:Y2Xf X-Complaints-To: abuse@zen.co.uk Bytes: 3091 Xref: perfectly-safe.chapmancentral.co.uk uk.rec.cycling:842926

In Brixton today outside the tube station, I saw a moped rider come up behind a bunch of cyclists, "beep" them out of the way and then do the same thing again to the next bunch. I was most amused and thought "That's the way to deal with sanctimonious slowsters".

Of course, the cyclists in question did at least have the good sense to move over, albeit somewhat reluctantly and only after being prompted. No doubt there are those here (and on URCM, like Wacko) who would have obstinately gone out of their way to hold up the moped rider for as long as possible, for not only daring to use powered transport, but for being in "their" lane as well, despite the fact that the bus lane had expired a few minutes before, and there was plenty of room for two streams of two-wheeled traffic in the lane.

Anyway, usually if cyclists (especially in London) invoke any emotion in me then it's annoyance (most often for sailing through red lights), so it was nice to be laughing instead for once. That moped rider deserves a medal for refusing to submit to the loony, unworkable, sneaky and thoroughly unpleasant socialist crusade against useful, long-range personal transport. I think his mode of transport has to be the fastest of all within the capital, despite the best efforts of some.

(That particular bus lane was only put in a couple of years ago, and was ludicrously 24/7, thus rendering a 4-lane dual carriageway less useful than a 2-lane single carriageway (where at least one can overtake) in one fell swoop, and on a trunk route as well. Pretty soon afterwards it was made 0700-1900.  That's a rare case of common sense at least partially winning the day against a blatant and obviously unnecessary anti-car measure, and I'm curious as to how and why reason prevailed there when unfortunately it usually doesn't.  If it becomes apparent what leverage was used in that instance then perhaps it could be used more often.  Of course it would be even better if such leverage wasn't needed because local authorities wanted to represent the will of the vast majority of people in the first place by not trying to inflict pain on motorists all the time.)