Raise the Hammer

i love alley riding/walking, this is a great idea.

I'm so sorry I'm not allowed to come! (I can't cycle without a helmet.) I hope you enjoy the ride.

Comment edited by Tybalt on 2016-03-18 12:25:27

Mind that Kevin didn't say that you're not allowed to come without a helmet; he asked if you would please come without one.

But I understand your evident ire: I've found myself irked to be unable to attend a few cycling events (e.g. Mike's Ride) because I don't own a helmet (and am not going to buy one just to join a cycling event).

Comment edited by moylek on 2016-03-19 18:02:53

Kenneth, if someone says please do not bring X when I have to bring X, I can't come. This is straightforward.

Please do not say I have ire when I obviously have none. Thanks.

As I said, I hope the riders enjoy the ride, and I am genuinely sorry I cannot. It does sound extremely fun and interesting.

That “no helmets” requirement struck me as odd. I don’t really agree with laws mandating that adults wear helmets, but a lot of people choose to, and why shouldn’t they be able to make that choice?

It’s your event and you can certainly exclude whomever you like; I’m not trying to say you need to be inclusive of everyone. But if the objective is to demonstrate to more people how safe and useful cycling can be and how many routes are available to them, it seems strange to say that people shouldn’t be biking unless they’re comfortable biking without a helmet. I would imagine the majority of people who don’t bicycle now will probably choose to wear a helmet when they first try it.

Full stop no without the helmet

and likely the safest, severely reducing the chance of interaction with automobile traffic, exactly the sort of initiative our civic planners need to encourage and promote. Good effort

Why no helmets? Why would you not want to protect your brain!!!

Ya I can't tell if the helmet comment was sarcasm or not.
Does the author really feel helmets make cyclists look weird?

Helmets almost invariably make cyclists look weird; it's a scientific fact(1).

More importantly, helmets make cycling look dangerous.

After all, when do we wear helmets? When doing something dangerous.

So what does wearing a helmet when riding a bike down the street tell people? That the cyclist is doing a dangerous thing.

But the thing is ... riding a bike in town is not especially dangerous. Not unless you consider walking dangerous. Or takin a shower dangerous.

(Gah - there goes my New Years Resolution no. 3: "do not discuss religion or bike helmets in mixed company")

1. There are some cute exceptions, but they are exceptions.

Comment edited by moylek on 2016-03-19 18:03:38

So you are telling anyone under 18 that wants to join you to break the law by not wearing a helmet. I'd say that a special circle of deepest Hell is earned by the sort of violent, dangerous, child abusing criminal who would suggest such a thing.

I am outraged that I cannot participate either!

I cannot, simply cannot, leave my helmet at home when I ride my bike! Why should I not be allowed to come just because I don't own a bike helmet to not bring?

(need I add that I'm very much looking forward to this guided tour? :)

Some very interesting comments. One of my main goals is to promote cycling safety. The #1 cycling safety factor is infrastructure. #2 is the safety in numbers effect. The more people who are cycling, the safer cycling becomes.

This is because almost all of the danger to cyclists comes from car drivers. Dutch-style protected infrastructure is the best in the world. When it comes to protection, concrete and steel have a good track record for reliability.

Where we do not have protected infrastructure, the safety in numbers effect becomes important for cycling safety. When car drivers routinely and continuously encounter large numbers of cyclists on the streets, they learn to expect and anticipate the presence of cyclists and drive appropriately.

A lot of companies spend a lot of money on marketing and branding because branding works. To negatively brand cycling as something weird, scary or dangerous has the effect of reducing the number of people cycling. This, in turn makes cycling more dangerous by reducing the safety in numbers effect.

A good example of this on a large scale was provided by Australia, which brought in mandatory helmet laws in the early 1990's. The effect of these laws was to reduce the amount of cycling by 30-40 percent overall, and up to 80% in some demographic groups, such as secondary school aged females. This in turn led to a reduction in the safety in numbers effect and to an increase in the rate at which car drivers caused death and injury to cyclists by crushing them.

Other people have done a much better job than I at explaining this. See, for example, Mikael Colville-Andersen's excellent TEDx presentation at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07o-TASv...

No helmet is flat out stupid. I don't go along with your reasoning. The goal should be to make helmets more acceptable not to concede that they might be unacceptable and promote helmets as being weird or nerdy

Helmets don't work.

Neither does common sense.

What not to bring: please leave at home body armour, helmets or anything else that makes cycling look weird or dangerous.

Does this make biking look weird or dangerous?

• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c...

• http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/images/g/zi...

• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c...

• http://www.bikewhenever.com/accessories/...

• http://i00.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/939/721/7...

• http://www.designboom.com/weblog/images/...

The way something "looks" is subjective. If you're trying to foist some idea that wearing a helmet when biking is weird, then you're on the wrong side of the argument. Let's look at what someone like the Hamilton Police Service says about bike helmets: https://hamiltonpolice.on.ca/prevention/...

It is absolutely crucial to wear a helmet. A serious head injury may cause loss of cognitive or mental capacity.

All cyclists under the age of eighteen years are required by law to wear a helmet while riding or operating a bicycle.

When putting on a helmet, level it over your forehead and adjust the chin strap to fit snugly and comfortably. It should protect the forehead without slipping.

Helmets should comply with CSA safety standards. The following standards are acceptable: CPSC, ASTM, ANSI, Snell, BS and the AS although some regulations may be out of date.

Comment edited by DowntownInHamilton on 2016-03-19 23:15:11

I've not made much use of alleys when trying to get across town - mainly because I don't know what to expect in terms of surface, broken glass, sudden obstructions, sketchiness, and other traffic.

But I also shy away from alleys for the same reason that I avoid the quiet side streets: I don't want to have to come to a stop or near stop every single block. With side streets, I'm stopping (or almost stopping) because of stop signs more than traffic.

But it occurs to me that alleys might not have stop signs. Is that the case?

By law full stops are required when a minor roadway or driveway enters a major roadway even if unsigned. I believe that means an alley requires a full stop

Bring a sensible city bicycle? Im sorry but I dont have a chain guard and never will so I guess my bikes dont qualify for your little alley ride. A ride through dirty alleys led by a bike design control freak. Sounds like fun. *rolls eyes* Maybe I should show up on my fun fur covered low rider with fat tires that is outfitted with rope lighting and speakers with no reflectors wearing a horned helmet just to get under your sensible skin. Get over yourself!

rain gear is not safety gear, rolls eyes. No doubt in my mind you are discouraging safe riding and would prefer that only unsafe riders show up

Safe riding has absolutely nothing to do with helmets.

I'm 90% sure Matt is Kylo Ren. By "Matt" I mean "really" and by "Kylo Ren" I mean Allan Taylor.

Maybe alleys could be the beginning for Hamilton in the annual World Naked Bike Ride. The first year could start out discreetly in the alleys so not to shock anyone, then move out from there in subsequent years.

I avoid the alley between Ferguson and Jarvis as it's almost always blocked by a parked car out back of one of the restaurants.