fifty shades of black and white…sorry christian, there is no grey. so this morning two of our members in separate incidents have been collared by the constabulary at traffic lights in the city. one was told that they weren’t allowed to walk their bike with the pedestrian traffic while the other was told that they couldn’t ride at a slow pace and cross on the green man. the second received a $300 fine and was also told off for not having any id on them (not a law here as far as i know, but it is in nsw). the first example was certainly weird. being told that you had to mix with traffic rather than walk with pedestrians because “it is the right thing to do” is certainly heading towards an opinion rather than a road rule. especially since bikes can now legally ride on the footpath in wa. the second case is kind of the opposite. in our opinion, riding slowly with the pedestrian traffic is safer for the cyclist, but technically, is it the right thing to do. the inference from the first case is that if you want to be a road user, be a road user, not a pedestrian. the worrying part is that within law enforcement, there is room for the interpretation of the rules, which can be clearly guided by personal bias and opinion. if the first case was given a fine, i would certainly be taking it to court, the second…not so much. there is no grey. if rules were made on opinions, then the overwhelming majority out there would not allow us to ride on the road. even if it is safer to do something a particular way, please have a think is it actually against the road rules and how does it look to everyone else.
ride leader sponsor – the ride leader sponsor for june is wa cyclocross. cyclocross is a cross between road and mountain biking usually held on a grass or dirt circuit. there are divisions for all abilities and a kids race before on a shortened circuit.
check out any of the events coming up soon and get on down to ring a cowbell.
earlybird lights – the nights are dark and full of terrors, so that is why you need to have a good set of operating lights on your bike during the earlybird. on the thursday group 3 ride, there were 3 people that did not have operating lights on their bikes. if it is a once off “my lights just died” situation, then fine, but don’t argue, just apologise and say you will have them fixed before the next ride. there is a very big risk that you can be cleaned up by a car because they can’t see you. especially since people seem to wear a lot of black kit during winter. if your lights are repeatably failing, then it is time to buy some new ones. as we have always said, no front flashers and make sure your rear is not on retina burn mode for the people trying to follow your wheel.
kit collection – the latest order of standard spr kit (not the national kit) is now ready to collect and will be available at the coffee shop after the main ride on saturday. if you cannot collect then, please contact kit@southperthrouleurs.com.au to organise another time, or purchase a “post my kit” option in our shop.
winter woolies and retro riders – pull out your retro jersey or retro bike and ride with the south perth rouleurs. saturday 30 june. meet at coode st jetty carpark in south perth by 7am. spr ride leaders will take the group over a 40-50km ride ending at dome westralia square. there you can display your bike, parade your jersey and #bheroic
spr tomr 2018 eoi closing soon – we know that is seems really early, but team nominations for the tomr need to be in soon. this is where the club pays the deposit based on how many teams that we wish to enter. if the deposit is not paid, then we cannot enter a team later on if more people want to be a part of it. last year we had three men’s, three women’s and a mixed team. so far this year, we actually do not have enough numbers for a women’s only team. after being involved with this event for a number of years, i can hands downs say that it is a lot of fun and one of the best biking experiences you can have without leaving the state. even just the social aspects of the event for the club make it worthwhile. so, if you want to be part of it, or need to set a goal to make sure you actually train this year, then check out the previous post and get your name to the race committee before the end of next week.
entertainment books – we will again be selling entertainment books this year through the club. the digital versions actually come online now and last years don’t finish till the end of june allowing you twice as many offers for 3 months. check out the links on the previous post to find out more.
saturday start locations – we have revamped the group start locations on saturday morning. please have a look at the map so you know where your group will congregate. this makes it easier for ride leaders to give you a briefing before the ride starts. see the previous post for more details.
from the ride coordinator –Today is the shortest day of the year, don’t forget to keep your lights charged up.
saturday 23rd june
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special
all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am
development group – novice shelley 36.06km spr saturday
transitional 1/2 – trans rebold 38.69km spr saturday
fast/main – tv stations 50.29km spr saturday
sunday 24th june
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
early lap – earlybird 40.93km spr special
all rides start at coode st carpark at 7:00am
development group – coffee ride
short – brktn weir 82.89km spr sunday
long – f’berg urch obs 96.16km spr sunday
monday 25th june
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
south stock 33.76km spr monday
tuesday 26th june
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
spr tuesday 36.37km (river ride)
ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am
development group – interval training kings park
wednesday 27th june
ride starts raffles bike path at 5:30am
interval training – stock road repeats
thursday 28th june
ride starts under the narrows (cityside) at 5:30am
see previous post for ride groups
spr thursday 37.26km (cott & freo)
ride starts frasers ave at 5:45am
development group – interval training kings park
friday 29th june
ride starts under the narrows (sth perth side) at 5:30am
Peter, as always, another very interesting and thought provoking cycle-related comment.
The issue of how cyclists are dealt with by law enforcement is not a new one and generally is of little concern as not much attention is paid to cyclists by Police. However, occasionally incidents such as the two you mention occur which highlight that some Police, like many members of the general public do not know the legislation regarding bicycles and also may apply their own opinion and prejudices to the interaction they have with cyclists.
It is lawful for a person to walk across a pedestrian crossing pushing or carrying a bike, just as it would be for them to push a pram or trolley. They can then mount the bike and ride off on the other side if they wish (on the road or the path). It may irritate some people (motorists) to see a cyclist swap from being a ‘road vehicle’ to being a ‘pedestrian’ for the purpose of continuing their movement through an intersection – but so be it, that is the benefit of being on a bicycle. To tell someone off for doing it shows the ignorance of the Police Officer.
On the other hand, riding a bicycle through a pedestrian crossing, at any speed, is unlawful. It is for pedestrians only and is likely to attract a penalty (traffic infringement). The bicycle is a vehicle when ridden and is controlled by the Red Traffic Light holding the vehicles stopped.
There is no legislation requiring a bicycle rider to carry any form of identification in WA. To tell someone off for not carrying it shows the ignorance of the Police Officer.
The regulation of vehicles (including bicycles) and pedestrians on our roads is controlled by legislation. There is no room for interpretation of these laws/rules, you are either complying with them or you are not. However, Police officers have discretion in how they deal with people – the ability to deal with people differently in accordance to the circumstances is at the very heart of policing. Sometimes education of a person is much better than punitive fining of them, sometimes arrest may be the only option.
People should also be very wary of making decisions about matters they read of in social media unless they are aware of ALL the facts, including BOTH sides of the story, the relevant circumstances and understand the applicable legislation fully.