6th July 2019 Flashers are not all bad.

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Saturday 6th 55F, and raining with a heavy overcast and more rain promised for most of  this morning. The temperature records continue to fall like skittles around the globe. This time it is Alaska's turn to enjoy over 30C [86C] temperatures. The record high temperatures are leading to forest fires and thick smoke. Thank goodness global warming is a myth or we'd be in serious trouble!

Electric, "kick-along" scooters are causing mayhem in several Danish cities. The young in particular are blamed for riding too fast, in the wrong places, while completely ignoring the rules and the law.

There is a minimum age of 15 for hiring these things but this is being ignored by those who own credit cards or smart phones. Many young teenagers routinely employ these to pay for their sweets or cigarettes in the supermarkets. Overcoming the payment system for electric scooters is hardly rocket science. Particularly when their age is not registered on their tech. Or they get somebody older to unlock the scooters for them.

One idiot was reported to be riding repeatedly, under power, along the aisles inside a supermarket. The maximum speed limit for these "children's scooters" has been set at 20kph. Which is 12.5mph, but many machines are claimed to be much quicker than the law allows. Given the intended, congested inner-city use, simply reducing their speed would be an obvious and instant way of reducing their fatal attraction for the "battery heads."

I am certainly not against alternatives to traditional means of transport. Far from it. It is just that intelligent rules must be set to protect riders and everybody else. All such changes demand a learning curve from users and non-users alike. I worry about already overloaded drivers as well as pedestrians and cyclists badly misjudging approach speeds of these scooters and even faster electric bikes.

Perhaps they could be fitted with headlights which flash more quickly [increased frequency] with increasing speed? I have long advocated compulsory flashing lights for all cycles. The flashing makes them far more visible and instantly recognizable at any distance. They also ought to be fitted up high for maximum visibility. The old fashioned, hub height lights were only useful to light the road ahead with dim, incandescent bulbs.

Years ago I used to commute along a very long straight road. This started in the dark of winter and then later on as it got steadily lighter with the arrival of spring. Flashing cycle lights were visible from incredibly long distances. Fixed [i.e. continuous] beams could have been literally anything in the dark. They always needed very close proximity to be recognized for what they really were. Usually the handlebars rocking from side to side with the pedalling effort finally gave them away.

Having been denied my morning walk I went out for 40 minutes after lunch. It is odd how warm and different the light looks pm. Probably about 50% cloud overhead. Not much to report other than a westerly gale blowing the grass and trees [and me] around.

Sunday 7th 55-63F, heavy overcast and breezy. The forecast suggests we should be enjoying sunny periods. By the time I had returned from my walk to the village the cloud was beginning to break into blue patches. At least the westerly wind kept me cool as temperatures soared by another whole degree. It remained mostly cloudy all day.

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