Selfsufficientish.com

After the Farmers yesterday now its the turn of the Bikers

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,, ... 26,00.html

Around 1,500 bikers massed at Birch services between junctions 18 and 19 on the M62 before riding in convoy into Manchester city centre.

They are expected to bring chaos to rush hour traffic.

The demo has been organised by motorcycling clubs in Greater Manchester. Taxi and lorry drivers are due to take part as well.

Police, the Highways Agency and local councils have held talks with the protest leaders, but the demonstration had was organised through word-of-mouth and it was not possible to stop.

And here was me hoping this was going to be about cyclists bringing the motorways to standstill over the wanton misuse of fuel...!

urbanwookie wrote:And here was me hoping this was going to be about cyclists bringing the motorways to standstill over the wanton misuse of fuel...!

I wish!

My only reaction to these kinds of protest: Obviously, petrol is still far, far too cheap, if people can use it to drive about protesting over the price of it!

Why not have a protest by, say, walking to work and everybody being 2 hours late for a week? Say you can't afford it anymore, so you'll have to walk?

We had the same thing along the M4 in South Wales last week ... wasn't widely reported which makes you wonder if 'someone' is trying to keep things quiet ;)

ina wrote:My only reaction to these kinds of protest: Obviously, petrol is still far, far too cheap, if people can use it to drive about protesting over the price of it!

Exactly...it also annoys me that many of these "bikers" are simply middle-aged leisure motorcyclists who think they can recapture some of their youth by driving way too fast and burning unnecessary petrol. Many of the "bikers" I know are also from two car families and one of them is generally a 4x4....

I have to confess to having a stinky old 2-stroke scooter in the shed but that's just my (t)rusty standby...

ina wrote:Why not have a protest by, say, walking to work and everybody being 2 hours late for a week? Say you can't afford it anymore, so you'll have to walk?

I like this idea a LOT! However, I think it should include cycling to work and using the protest to also demand better provision for cycling such as pavement cycle paths and bike racks on buses like many other parts of Europe. This would make the whole concept of cycle-commuting much more attractive to people who feel obliged to use a car.

rb

I'm an "ex-biker" myself; and yes, when I was young and stupid, I did sometimes go out just for the fun of it. But less and less of that as I got older; and now, I'd love a bike, but I know that I really need a car, for transport purposes, and bad weather; and having two vehicles is just not on any more. (Never was - when I had a bike, I also had friends nearby who'd be willing to lend a car, when a transport of large items was necessary!)

mybarnconversion wrote:We had the same thing along the M4 in South Wales last week ... wasn't widely reported which makes you wonder if 'someone' is trying to keep things quiet ;)

To be frank, I think it was more likely not reported because it really wasn't that interesting. Not when there's already been a dozen protests already. Newspapers in the UK report anything that is likely to embarass the government and very little can be done to stop them, not for this sort of thing, anyway.

That said, I think the government is probably quite pleased by the staggering cost of motorfuels. Aside from the "enhanced" revenue effect, it seems as though the high prices are delivering something that no political strategy has mangaged thus far: reduced consumption - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/22467 ... -fuel.html.