Mega Thread "I need to vent" thread.

[jathanas]

You are wasting your time trying to “educate” us with your actions.
Because the number of arrogant riders far outweigh the responsible ones.

I got back on the shared yarra trails this week and that was not my experience at all.

The numbers out there were much greater but walkers and cyclists shared the path fine. Cyclists would slow down and warn when approaching, no angst-no hate. Just people sharing a beautiful natural resource.

 

[jathanas]

I know ‘real’ cyclists think they’re daggy but the problem for the walkers is that you can’t hear the bikes coming

Agreed. When I rode much more than I do now, my buddies and I would slow right down call out "cyclist". Most bikes are sold without bells.

Some cyclists are always trying to beat the clock, even when its not appropriate or safe to do so. It's silly and dangerous.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Seven's Pete Evans exits $800,000 My Kitchen Rules role

Celebrity chef Pete Evans has activated his last almond by parting company with the Seven Network and his My Kitchen Rules $800,000 contract with the broadcaster after the hit show tanked.

www.theage.com.au

Breaks my heart, but maybe this will allow Pete to focus on his passions: Vitamin A bone broth for newborns and lava lamps that can defeat covid-19.

I have never in my life watched the show.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

So true. My dog walks wherever he wants.

Some people specifically train their dog to walk on the left and insist that anyone who walks it does the same. It is a pleasure to walk a dog that sticks to that side rather than one tha swans from side to side , forcing you to pass the lead behind your back or perform little pirouettes. The most difficult dogs are the ones that have to sniff everything, or even suddenly backtrack you.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

I got back on the shared yarra trails this week and that was not my experience at all.

The numbers out there were much greater but walkers and cyclists shared the path fine. Cyclists would slow down and warn when approaching, no angst-no hate. Just people sharing a beautiful natural resource.

'Beautiful natural resource.' A concrete path! Whatever rocks your boat Jathanas.

 

[jathanas]

'Beautiful natural resource.' A concrete path! Whatever rocks your boat Jathanas.

No concrete on the Yarra trails in Warrandyte/Templestowe TGG. You city slickers get the concrete.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

No concrete on the Yarra trails in Warrandyte/Templestowe TGG. You city slickers get the concrete.

I lived most of my life in the Dandenongs on a half acre block next to Sherbrooke forest, jathanas. I moved to the city at the end of 2015. The only positive I see in concrete city trails is the separation of pedestrians and cyclists. This area has bike paths coming out of its ears.

 

[barrackers]

Dog walkers please keep your dogs on the left of you.
Cyclists please ring your bell when at least 100m away.
Not when you’re right up a pedestrians clacker.
Give them time to react, (other than to *@it their pants).

I encountered a different kind of idiot pedestrian the other day.

I was jogging towards an intersection just 20m away having ran the whole block already. Two able bodied people one mid 30s, the other 50s without kids or dogs walking side by side crossed the intersection coming towards me. I moved to my left towards the fence.

Normal non-virus etiquette would dictate that two people walking together would move across or drop behind to form a single file. Virus etiquette would dictate that they also move left in their case onto the grass to create social distancing. Nope and nope; these idiots just kept walking next to each other on a footpath that wasn't wide enough for three people.

I pointed my elbow and braced my shoulder; these idiots who are clearly only walking because they have nothing better to do have to learn somehow!

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

I encountered a different kind of idiot pedestrian the other day.

I was jogging towards an intersection just 20m away having ran the whole block already. Two able bodied people one mid 30s, the other 50s without kids or dogs walking side by side crossed the intersection coming towards me. I moved to my left towards the fence.

Normal non-virus etiquette would dictate that two people walking together would move across or drop behind to form a single file. Virus etiquette would dictate that they also move left in their case onto the grass to create social distancing. Nope and nope; these idiots just kept walking next to each other on a footpath that wasn't wide enough for three people.

I pointed my elbow and braced my shoulder; these idiots who are clearly only walking because they have nothing better to do have to learn somehow!

It probably doesn't help much that the paths have become what the roads used to be. Every second person and their dog is out walking, family groups on bike abound and assorted walkers spread out in between. With the onset of cooler weather I suspect the number of users will substantially thin.

 

[barrackers]

It probably doesn't help much that the paths have become what the roads used to be. Every second person and their dog is out walking, family groups on bike abound and assorted walkers spread out in between. With the onset of cooler weather I suspect the number of users will substantially thin.

I hope so. I suspect easing of restrictions will also help.

 

[jmac70]

Some people specifically train their dog to walk on the left and insist that anyone who walks it does the same. It is a pleasure to walk a dog that sticks to that side rather than one tha swans from side to side , forcing you to pass the lead behind your back or perform little pirouettes. The most difficult dogs are the ones that have to sniff everything, or even suddenly backtrack you.

You just described my dog!

 

[Vicky Park]

That moment when you know you’ve failed miserably as a parent.

Having an iso phone call with my daughter who lives two suburbs away but whom we haven’t seen in seven weeks. Anyway, we got onto the topic of footy, and she says:

Is Bucks still our coach mum?

 

[JB1975]

That moment when you know you’ve failed miserably as a parent.

Having an iso phone call with my daughter who lives two suburbs away but whom we haven’t seen in seven weeks. Anyway, we got onto the topic of footy, and she says:

Is Bucks still our coach mum?

It is a failure, no shying from it.

But my son doesn't care for football at all. He'll say 'Collingwood' if forced to declare a team, but he's now 16 and has never shown any love or care for the game.

I don't blame him. Maybe he watched me watching the footy and became wary of something which could cause his Dad to lose his mind in the way that it tends to do. But I admit that it saddens me. He's my only child, and it would be great to go to games with him, talk nonsense, celebrate together, lament together, shared experience and all that.

 

[Vicky Park]

It is a failure, no shying from it.

But my son doesn't care for football at all. He'll say 'Collingwood' if forced to declare a team, but he's now 16 and has never shown any love or care for the game.

I don't blame him. Maybe he watched me watching the footy and became wary of something which could cause his Dad to lose his mind in the way that it tends to do. But I admit that it saddens me. He's my only child, and it would be great to go to games with him, talk nonsense, celebrate together, lament together, shared experience and all that.

I tried. I really tried. Regularly took both girls to the footy, bought them black and white stuff, taught them to hate Carlton. All the right and honourable things. But for what? A mild interest at best. Although the daughter referred to above - I got her a ticket to GF1 in 2010 and she witnessed the draw. I think the trauma of it was the tipping point.

 

[JB1975]

I tried. I really tried. Regularly took both girls to the footy, bought them black and white stuff, taught them to hate Carlton. All the right and honourable things. But for what? A mild interest at best. Although the daughter referred to above - I got her a ticket to GF1 in 2010 and she witnessed the draw. I think the trauma of it was the tipping point.

I try not to dwell on my failures as a parent, because they're plentiful, but I've thought that my misstep on this occasion was to assure the lad that he has free will. That he could choose to follow football, or not. Not that he could choose his own team, of course. He always knew that he'd become an involuntary organ donor if he followed Carlton, but for some reason I left him a choice about whether to love the game.

These are the sorts of things which prompt men to start a second family in their later years, to make amends...

 

[jackcass]

Dog walkers please keep your dogs on the left of you.
Cyclists please ring your bell when at least 100m away.
Not when you’re right up a pedestrians clacker.
Give them time to react, (other than to *@it their pants).

Appreciate the sentiment but as I understand it, by law it is the cyclists responsibility (as with motor vehicles) to avoid pedestrians and be prepared to stop if needed. What I all too often see is cyclists who don’t even slow as they approach a potential interaction with a pedestrian.

 

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Appreciate the sentiment but as I understand it, by law it is the cyclists responsibility (as with motor vehicles) to avoid pedestrians and be prepared to stop if needed. What I all too often see is cyclists who don’t even slow as they approach a potential interaction with a pedestrian.

How often have you seen them crash into pedestrians? My experience on shared bike paths is that everybody cooperates well. In fact the most dangerous of all are pedestrians wearing headphones and reading their phones. And dogs illegally let off the leash. Cyclists on shared paths are generally courteous and careful. I don’t recall seeing or being involved in a stack on a bike path. ( ok that was that one time but that was just me and some mulch)

 

[Black_White]

It is a failure, no shying from it.

But my son doesn't care for football at all. He'll say 'Collingwood' if forced to declare a team, but he's now 16 and has never shown any love or care for the game.

I don't blame him. Maybe he watched me watching the footy and became wary of something which could cause his Dad to lose his mind in the way that it tends to do. But I admit that it saddens me. He's my only child, and it would be great to go to games with him, talk nonsense, celebrate together, lament together, shared experience and all that.

If you were Japanese, you would have done the honourable thing by now....

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

It is a failure, no shying from it.

But my son doesn't care for football at all. He'll say 'Collingwood' if forced to declare a team, but he's now 16 and has never shown any love or care for the game.

I don't blame him. Maybe he watched me watching the footy and became wary of something which could cause his Dad to lose his mind in the way that it tends to do. But I admit that it saddens me. He's my only child, and it would be great to go to games with him, talk nonsense, celebrate together, lament together, shared experience and all that.

A centenarian with a 16 yr old son. Wow! Your sperm must be the envy of every childless occupant of an aged care bed dreaming of miraculously reproducing themselves before they die.

 

[jmac70]

I try not to dwell on my failures as a parent, because they're plentiful, but I've thought that my misstep on this occasion was to assure the lad that he has free will. That he could choose to follow football, or not. Not that he could choose his own team, of course. He always knew that he'd become an involuntary organ donor if he followed Carlton, but for some reason I left him a choice about whether to love the game.

These are the sorts of things which prompt men to start a second family in their later years, to make amends...

You’re a great dad.

 

[JB1975]

You’re a great dad.

Thanks mate, I'm sure you are too, We can only try our best.

 

[JB1975]

A centenarian with a 16 yr old son. Wow! Your sperm must be the envy of every childless occupant of an aged care bed dreaming of miraculously reproducing themselves before they die.

Not sure envy is the right word, whippersnapper. The urge leaves lesser men alone once they've turned into their 8th decade of life, but remains a harsh taskmaster over me...

 

[JB1975]

If you were Japanese, you would have done the honourable thing by now....

I carefully noted that the boy has not become a Carlton supporter, to my knowledge. Ritual disembowelment in such circumstances would be both honourable and preferable.

 

[neilk]

Agreed. When I rode much more than I do now, my buddies and I would slow right down call out "cyclist". Most bikes are sold without bells.

Some cyclists are always trying to beat the clock, even when its not appropriate or safe to do so. It's silly and dangerous.

Blame Strava for the beating the clock thing, and I’ve been guilty of it myself in the past.

 

[jathanas]

Blame Strava for the beating the clock thing, and I’ve been guilty of it myself in the past.

Agreed.

I raced bikes for a few years. I totally understand the buzz of getting a KOM, but taking risks on shared paths and scaring pedestrians is bad for all of us.

It's not like we're short of quiet roads with challenging gradients for roadies to test themselves, and I'm sure that's what serious cyclists do. Similarly, mountain bikers can and mostly do save it for the single track.

Newish cyclists riding their new bikes on shared trails are the biggest problem IMO. Passionate experienced cyclists are aware of the bad image that riders have and work to change it.