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Article NHK article on brakeless fixies this morning.

Would that be Fuji TV? They were at Oifuto along with 3 vans of Tokyo's finest stopping riders going through red lights. They interviewed me. I pointed out that the gates to the container port were closed so the traffic lights were, in many cases, pointless. They did film the closed gates.
If riding at Oi, it's better to do so before 9:00 when the plod turn up.

Just got home from work and some crappy j-news station "Super news" is looking at roadies cutting red lights and "racing" on public roads- actually they're in a group and going 40km - they think this is racing.

Typical alarmist, end of world is nigh, super abunai nonsense that you'd expect from Japanese telly.

Anyway, looks like roadies are now in the sights of the masscomi now.

Incidentally, walking home I was nearly hit by three or four mama charis going at least 15-20kph on the public footpaths. I'm waiting for the next programme to cover this.
 
Yes, I didn't realise it yesterday, but it was Fuji TV. They were in Oifuto as you mentioned.

You can see the clip here:

http://www.fnn-news.com/news/headlines/articles/CONN00208782.html

I'm sorry, I couldn't really stand to watch the full clip (applies to most Japanese tv) so I missed your interview - they had all the scary background music and some little man shouting "abunai" at the cyclists as they cycled past.

Awful to have this stuff on in the house.
 
Meanwhile in this morning's Daily Yomiuri...

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111003004176.htm

The first paragraph says it all for me. They define a "fixed gear bike" as a bicycle without brakes. i.e., they really don't have a clue.

"More and more riders of fixed-gear bikes--racing bicycles without brakes--are being ticketed by police for riding on public roads."​

They repeat this error in the caption for a graph on accident statistics, not included in the online article.

Well, it's their job to report what the government tell them to report. Shōganai. However I wonder whether the police don't choose which minorities to persecute based on the newspaper & TV reportage, which in turn is usually essentially a regurgitation of police press releases.

--
Edit: I have written to DY to point out their error. Got to get some value out of my post-graduate degree in Writing Pompous Letters to Newspaper Editors.
 
Daily Yomiuri Forum

The Daily Yomiuri is currently soliciting contributions in response to the question...

Do you think bicycles should be totally banned from sidewalks?

In recent years, there has been an increasing number of accidents--even fatal ones--involving cyclists and pedestrians on sidewalks. There were about 2,900 collisions between bicycles and pedestrians in 2009 and 2,800 in 2010, a steep rise from about 1,800 registered a decade before.

The Road Traffic Law requires cyclists to travel on roads, but there are many exceptions. For example, cyclists are permitted on sidewalks if road signs indicate so. Children under 13 years old, people aged 70 or older and physically disabled people are allowed to ride bikes on sidewalks.

Many pedestrians say cyclists should be banned from sidewalks as they are often frightened by speeding cyclists.

On the other hand, many cyclists are simply unaware of stipulations in the traffic law, or opt for sidewalks as they feel it is too dangerous to ride in ordinary roads which are often narrow.

You are invited to submit your opinions on the subject. Selected letters will be published on Oct. 29. Letters must be received by Oct. 24 and should not exceed 300 words. Please include your name, address, nationality, occupation and daytime telephone number. Confidentiality will be respected if requested. Letters that appear in other publications will not be accepted. The DY reserves the right to edit letters for length and clarity. As always, we welcome any and all opinions.

Address letters to:
Readers Forum, the Daily Yomiuri, 6-17-1 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-8243
Fax: 03-3127-8247
email: [email protected]
So if you have an opinion worth sharing, send it along. And copy us here on TCC if you like.:bike:
 
Thanks for that information Mike - but the link is just to the general site.

I wish the NPA were consulting on this rather than a mere newspaper.
 
If you wish to live in a country where the media acts as the 4th branch of the government, you can only leave Japan. Cyclists cutting red lights deserves attention but coverage about Tohoku, Fukushima and that mess is distorted and limited. May these bigots be struck down by mamacharies on sidewalks.

Btw. Mike, your effort makes me proud
 
On my way to the chiropractor this morning I did two laps of the Imp Palace. On the second lap, where route 246 Ts into the palace loop, on the downhill part of the circuit, I got chased down by a motorcycle cop, and then yelled at for 10 minutes :rolleyes: "Sorry, Nihongo Tabenai" I kept saying :p

From some good advice I got here a while back, when I ride I carry a small wallet, it has a bit of money, my Gaijin card, and my National Health card, that is it, no drivers license. He eventually let me go.:angel:

One other note, he stopped me just past the point that Roppoing Dori Ts into the palace loop, then we stand at the side of the road, with a zillion cars, and truck whizzing by inches away from us, around a bit of a curve, I kept telling him it was "DANGER!! DANGER!!" but he ignored me, good way to get killed!

Anyways, it seems they have a bug up their collective arse, so be warned.
 
Thanks for that information Mike - but the link is just to the general site.
I know. Couldn't find info about the Reader Forum on the site, so typed the whole thing out from the newspaper. Aren't I kind?

"Sorry, Nihongo Tabenai" I kept saying :p


On the second lap, where route 246 Ts into the palace loop, on the downhill part of the circuit, I got chased down by a motorcycle cop, and then yelled at for 10 minutes
You missed out the important part: what had you supposedly done?
 
I read the article this morning in the DY, and instantly thought of you lot, and what you would be saying.

The article is as ridiculous as the targets of the rules, and the lack of any repercussions for Mama-Chari riders who CONSTANTLY break the rules.

Points of exasperation;

"In May last year, a piste bike hit a 92 year-old woman cleaning a road in Shibuya and the woman suffered a broken collar bone"

-This old bird was no doubt one of those who hunches over in the road, brushing the gutter. Asking for trouble.

"52% of traffic violations by bicycle riders" (were faulty brakes).

-Utter UTTER UTTER bollo*ks.

...and this little gem...

""Haruka Takachiho, 59, a writer who is also an avid fan of bicycles, said, "Professional bicycle racers who know the most about piste bikes say it's impossible to ride them on public roads without brakes"".

-Words fail me.
 
Stu, so what did the cop hold you for?

Mike, how about organizing a vote on this one? It would be very powerful if we could submit a collective reply from TCC that says we are against bicycles on the pavement (=sidewalk in US English). A bicycle club arguing this is dangerous and taking a swipe at mamacharis - this will get attention!
 
It might be where I live, but even when riding close behind police cars, at or around 40kmph (never over!), they do not even give me a second look.

I have now jinxed myself, I realise, but the most trouble I seem to get is from cocky angry young-ish men in their cars. Projected envy, no doubt.

I am almost looking forward to being stopped by the police, when I know that I ride strictly within the confines of the law (when I am riding on busy roads :p)
 
On my way to the chiropractor this morning I did two laps of the Imp Palace. On the second lap, where route 246 Ts into the palace loop, on the downhill part of the circuit, I got chased down by a motorcycle cop, and then yelled at for 10 minutes :rolleyes: "Sorry, Nihongo Tabenai" I kept saying :p

From some good advice I got here a while back, when I ride I carry a small wallet, it has a bit of money, my Gaijin card, and my National Health card, that is it, no drivers license. He eventually let me go.:angel:

One other note, he stopped me just past the point that Roppoing Dori Ts into the palace loop, then we stand at the side of the road, with a zillion cars, and truck whizzing by inches away from us, around a bit of a curve, I kept telling him it was "DANGER!! DANGER!!" but he ignored me, good way to get killed!

Anyways, it seems they have a bug up their collective arse, so be warned.

http://g.co/maps/ynk2m

Was it here, Stu?
 
I wonder what makes police single out some of us. I have never been stopped on my bike by police. Motor bike police has twice asked me to stop (Hakone Ekiden and when the Emperor passed me on the way to Nojiriko), but these were actually polite requests rather than orders (and I continued irrespectively on the Ekiden as the runners were still miles away).
 
I know. Couldn't find info about the Reader Forum on the site, so typed the whole thing out from the newspaper. Aren't I kind?

Yes you are.

Anyway I wrote in to the address you gave using my work email address - for Japanese this will carry more weight than from my gmail account.
 
Mike, how about organizing a vote on this one? It would be very powerful if we could submit a collective reply from TCC that says we are against bicycles on the pavement (=sidewalk in US English). A bicycle club arguing this is dangerous and taking a swipe at mamacharis - this will get attention!
Maybe.

Thing is, I'm not opposed to bicycles on the sidewalks in Japanese cities at this time, per se.

Allow me to present my case...

What's lacking in many sidewalk cyclists is the sense and courtesy to share the sidewalk with pedestrians, to ride at a sensible speed for their environment, and to refrain from deploying their umbrellas, mobile phones, luggage rack passengers, headphones, cigarettes, etc.

I'm still trying to gather my thoughts on the matter, and it hurts my brain. Many conditions need to be met, including (1) sufficient education programmes accessible to all cyclists and motorists for at least two generations, (2) improved bicycle infrastructure including but not limited to extensive provision of cycle lanes, and (3) mandatory effective lights at both front and back. Without these, I argue that one cannot reasonably brush everyone into the road and expect them to survive.

There are many people - children, adults, seniors, TFBUNDYs - out there on bicycles who have never driven a car or had any road safety education. Not even in elementary school.

For the majority of cyclists, the bicycle is simply a quicker alternative to walking to the shop or the station. And by-and-large they treat cycling with the same disdain as walking. There's a huge difference in usage pattern and attitude between them and us - hobbyists, athletes, concerned minority, whatever we might collectively label ourselves.

Personally, until ALL those mamacharionauts have got some street sense, I don't want them on my road. If there were more cycle lanes, and all the mamachari were in the cycle lanes, I'd still want to be in the road. But at the same time there are often occasions in the city when I find it expedient or safer to ride on the sidewalk for a short distance.

Some motorists are so selfish - driving and parking illegally in bus/cycle lanes and wherever they please, passing cyclists with millimeters to spare, turning or changing lanes without looking or indicating, tailgating, driving without their lights on at night, etc. etc.

Some pedestrians are so selfish - crossing the road wherever they please, never looking before stepping out or changing direction, oblivious to the rest of the world, walking in the sidewalk cycle lanes, dressing all in ninja black when out at night, etc. etc.

Some cyclists are so selfish - imagining that nothing should impede their progress or deplete their momentum, riding and chatting side-by-side, riding the wrong way in the road because they are too lazy or impatient to cross the road twice, etc. etc.

Is this just human nature? Give people the task of getting from A to B on their own and a certain proportion take the attitude that the world had better get out of their way? I don't profess to know the answer(s), or to be anything more or less than a hypocritical, selfish cyclist, usually in a hurry. But at least I have brakes and lights.
 
Yes, that is where Route #246 or Aoyam Dori Ts into the loop around the Imp Palace, that is the light I went through, but I did slow, and look to see if there was anyone in the crosswalk, there was no one, and then continued on down the road, just like the two guys in front of me did, and I've done following many others when I ride the loop in the morning. This was at about 9:30AM if that makes any difference.
Go to the past the next T intersection, where Roppongi dori runs into the loop, just maybe 20 meters past it, is where I got stopped, or pulled over. I think the Shiro-bi guy was across the street or maybe he was in traffic that stopped at the light, as I did not see him until he came past me, lights and siren wailing, and yelling on the PA, I did not slow as I did not even think that a motorcycle cop would pull over a cyclist :eek: learn something new each day! :D
 
[..]just like the two guys in front of me did[..]
Not quite. The two guys in front of you were riding in front of the medatsu gaijin.

I pass that junction a lot. On weekdays 0900-1800 the cops are all over it and the next one down, just looking for an excuse to ticket people.

It's an accident blackspot in bad weather. A taxi had driven halfway up an imperial tree in last week's typhoon. And famously, several years ago, a GAI-numbered diplomatic car from a nearby Embassy skidded right across the junction and ended up floating in the moat.

Be careful, is all I'm saying. And don't run lights when the cops are watching.
 
Mike, I see your point. Maybe make it a requirement that bikes need to be at walking speed on the pavement? It would somehow be nice to be able to make them more aware they are doing something dangerous and potentially illegal. But I agree - I don't want these guys on the road either.
 
I wonder what makes police single out some of us. I have never been stopped on my bike by police. Motor bike police has twice asked me to stop (Hakone Ekiden and when the Emperor passed me on the way to Nojiriko), but these were actually polite requests rather than orders (and I continued irrespectively on the Ekiden as the runners were still miles away).

Same here Ludwig.... once for riding without a back light at night and rightly so..... he told me to ride on the pavement as when he saw the my visa he relaised it was just around the corner.

Second time was at a road block and they were stopping everyone.
 
Yes, that is where Route #246 or Aoyam Dori Ts into the loop around the Imp Palace, that is the light I went through, but I did slow, and look to see if there was anyone in the crosswalk, there was no one, and then continued on down the road, just like the two guys in front of me did, and I've done following many others when I ride the loop in the morning. This was at about 9:30AM if that makes any difference.
Go to the past the next T intersection, where Roppongi dori runs into the loop, just maybe 20 meters past it, is where I got stopped, or pulled over. I think the Shiro-bi guy was across the street or maybe he was in traffic that stopped at the light, as I did not see him until he came past me, lights and siren wailing, and yelling on the PA, I did not slow as I did not even think that a motorcycle cop would pull over a cyclist :eek: learn something new each day! :D

So you blew a red light and complaing that you got busted?

Actually reminds me of a time I was riding to the office in Yokohama flying down route 16 after it crosses route 1 and there is a crossing it had just turned red and I though "yep I can make that"....out of the corner of my eye I saw the Shiro-bi hiding in a side road and applied plenty of front brake and ended up stopping with the back wheel in the air.

Brought the bike under control and took a quick glance at the rozzer..... he was giving me a round of applause and a big smile. Lights turned green and I saluted him which he returned and I was on my way....if I had blasted that red he would have had me for sure and rightly so.
 
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