h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

To start off with, I fully support the protestors and think that the cost of fuel in the UK is criminal, and a tax cut should most definately be considered, perhaps even before the next budget. However, it is slightly worrying to see it's effects on the rural county of Herefordshire. Being rural, a car is almost vital to be able to do anything and if you've read my entry on Hereford's bus system, you'll get a good idea of what Herefordian public transport is like... And since the buses depend on petrol as well, their services are being compromised as well... This means that people have resorted to using bicycles...

This is the nub of the problem... People who use bikes in Hereford on a daily basis don't have any consideration to other road users and will alternate from pavement to road without and hand-signals and will not even look. These are people who use bikes everyday, I must stress.

Now, it is the people who have used their car on a daily basis since God-knows-when and now, since their tanks have run dry, they have taken to their bikes... These bikes are from what i've seen, not fit for anything apart from the scrap heap. Rusted, buckled wheels, chains and gears which have a six year head start over us for lack of oil...

The riders themselves are an incredible danger to themselves and other road users... Everyday cyclists can keep up a steady, rythmic pace yet these people alternate from mad dashes to half a mile an hour crawls... Wobbling is standard and these people should try and take these facts into consideration...

Me? Well, when my tank runs out, i'm going to walk the six miles into college...
I haven't seen my bike for at least a decade....