Saturday 28 March 2009

Align and Commit

It may seem that these cars are double parking in front of a bike lane, and certainly there is a bike lane just behind, in Elton Road, which now has a google street view, one which forever documents this parking option.

If you look closely, you will see they are not blocking bicycles. The clio PE05CUH has positioned itself perfectly to stop cars turning into the one-way street, so avoiding the problems which plague Nugent Hill. It has put enough of a gap between it and the BMW parked alongside for a bike to get through.

It would be tight, because your handlebars need to get through the gap between the two wing-mirrors, which rules out ultra-wide MTB handlebars. MTB bars would still be recommended though, as after you get past the cars you will either need to bunny hop over the kerb build-out or zig-zag round the corner tightly. This will make the commute into town more entertaining for anyone, yet as they are parked cars, far less hazardous than having to deal with oncoming vehicles giving you the same amount of room, which is what you would get if you went through Montpelier in the morning rush hour.

This is not Monty, it is Bishopston; the part of town where the local residents have been successfully campaigning for the council to do something about inconsiderate cycling. Do be careful then, when solving this "problem" by hopping the kerb, that there are no PCSOs around to ticket you for abusing the pavement.

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