Pumping the silence with noisy, meaningless fumes

acotrel says:

06:25pm | 27/06/12

I get my daily dose of Tony Abbott and asylum seekers by watching the ABC TV news.  It is enough to keep me regular.

Ripa says:

11:41am | 27/06/12

I saw these at a petrol station in Revesby, cnr river road/milperra they are the most annoying pieces of crap the volume is turned way up, there is no missing the screen and the noise of loud squealy advertising, if you want to shove advertising down my throat at least pass on a discount or have an off button!
Pedro I suggest you go visit a station that has them installed then come review your comment. I worked in the area for 10 months and never returned to that petrol station.

Sean says:

11:56am | 27/06/12

Pedro is right on the money - Who has ever thought of a petrol station as the last place of peace and quiet in the world?! Who cares if there is a little extra noise at the pump in among the cars, air pressure machine and trucks.
If you’d like some quiet time Lucy, rather than heading down to the petrol station, I’d suggest you try a park or a country town or even the beach Lucy.

bigdaddy says:

11:54am | 27/06/12

Too right Emm! I love my cycling for many reasons but the silence, the peace and tranquility are a major part of its appeal.

jase says:

12:17pm | 27/06/12

Fitness aside I am curious as to what makes someone put on the lycra and cycle everywhere?

I can think of many negatives, but other than fitness, the cyclist gains zero benefit.

Just off of the top of my head.

1) lack of comfort.. It looks awfully uncomfortable, plus your exposed to the elements.
2) Lack of safety.. It certainly is not the safest exercise, mixing it up with multiple tons of steel vehicles that all go quicker than you.
3) Lack of efficiency.. It sure would be a slow commute, especially for longer distances.
4) Negative health effects.. Spending a good hour per day cycling through vehicle pollution.

Just curious?

Giraffe says:

12:46pm | 27/06/12

@Jase,

1. I am as comfortable on my bike as I am in any car / bus / train.
2. True. Keeping an eye out for impatient / inattentive / just plain dickhead drivers makes it a bit safer. Plus, depending on where you are riding too it’s easy to avoid heavily populated roads.
3. Depends on your measure of efficiency? Cars are more expensive, and not necessarily any quicker when you account for traffic and parking and fueling up etc. You get absolutely zero fitness benefit from driving so you need to find that time elsewhere in your day unless you enjoy being a fatty. I would argue cycling is far more efficient than driving a car.
4. Or spending a good hour a day sitting in your car, in that same vehicle pollution.

James says:

12:46pm | 27/06/12

Jase the best way to explain the use of lycra is this: If you go running you wear clothing specific for running, you don’t do it in jeans and skate shoes. Similarly when surfing you don’t wear speedos, you typically have your branded wetsuit/ surboard etc.  So to with cycling you wear clothing made for cycling. It is surprisingly comfortable and trust me if you value your nether regions, you DO NOT want to ride 100kms in anything other than padded bike knicks!

as for the other points:
1) No more exposed than going for a run or a walk. This is also where good/ appropriate clothing (inc lycra) makes a massive difference
2) safety I agree its a little hair raising but its also quite fun and a thrill at times. You have to ride within your means and do what you can to ensure safety (helmets, lots of lights reflective gear etc). Also where you are riding makes a difference.
3) Depends on the ride, distance etc. I find long commutes hard, hence i’m barely riding these days. when I was 7km from work though it was sometimes faster to ride. Also think of it in this way: this is not time wasted while commuting, its time spent getting valuable exercise as well. Two birds one stone, so actually quite efficient.
4) Sorry but this is a complete nonissue. The positive health benefits of an hour of cardio exercise far outweigh any potential negative concerns.

Hope that helps.

Anubis says:

01:19pm | 27/06/12

Why is it that cyclists (like vegetarians) feel the need to constantly berate motorists for being motorists? What is it about the health nut that makes them want to preach and to piss off people that they annoy on a regular basis already.

Sniper says:

02:04pm | 27/06/12

@Anubis

Guess it’s the same thing that makes motorists think they are entitled to all public (road) space.  Equally moronic, except they idiot motorists tend to far outweigh the cyclist ones.

M says:

02:05pm | 27/06/12

@ Anubis, the same thing that makes Christians feel good, moral superiority, self righteousness and holier than thou.

rach says:

02:31pm | 27/06/12

@Jase

1) My bike is very comfortable.
2) True. To minimize this, I try to stick to bike paths and low-traffic streets.
3) This is actually the reason why I started to ride. Firstly, it is quicker for me to ride than for me to take public transport or drive to work. Secondly, public transport would cost approx $25/week, and driving would cost approx $40/week. So it’s quicker, saves me money AND gives me exercise.
4) I’m lucky and get to ride through parks and bikeways, so minimal pollution.

Lily says:

03:21pm | 27/06/12

I only cycle on the days where I work one job (5xdays per week the other 2 I drive) but I love it.

1. My bike is perfectly comfortable.

2.I ride on bike paths where available, luckily for me my local council has invested lots of money into creating safe bikeways. Where there are no bikeways I ride on the quietest streets I can. I also always signal my intentions with my hand WELL before I have to turn etc and keep that arm out the whole time.

3. It’s way quicker to ride. I don’t have to stop at 15 sets of traffic lights between work and home.

4. I don’t live in a capital city so the air is not to bad, particularly when there is a nice sea breeze and I avoid main roads.

I also don’t wear lycra. I wear a pair of shorts and a tshirt.

Condor says:

02:32pm | 27/06/12

Bingo! Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

Phil says:

02:37pm | 27/06/12

Yep just another way to advertise to us, god forbid that we can go somewhere in our daily lives and not have advertising and promotion shoved down our throats in the endeavor of selling ad space and revenue streams that only go up and up!
The world has become a joke where advertising is everywhere you go, even public rest rooms you cant escape it!
Rather sad reflection on society isnt it.

Ytterbium says:

08:12pm | 27/06/12

When they put ads on the circular bit on the petrol pump handle, I knew the battle was lost.

James says:

12:49pm | 27/06/12

Oh its out there alright, you just need to get out suburbia! Or at the very least turn off everything in your house

M says:

01:54pm | 27/06/12

Who does give fair and unbiased coverage of the situation up here in gladstone? Someone was caught dumping cyanide into the river the other day and there’s aluminium oxide being blown off a conveyor into the water, but everyone blames the dredging operations for the raised aluminium content in the water.

How do I know this you might ask? Well, right now I can see the conveyor from my desk.