Thomil's Random Ramblings

I just noticed that I haven’t really talked about cycling all that much on here in recent times. To be honest, there wasn’t really that much to write about recently. I don’t cycle much anymore, not least due to the continuing poor state of cycling infrastructure here in Cork, all thanks to a city council that doesn’t give a flying fuck. However, things have recently started changing and I think it’s high time to get back to that particular topic. Cork’s official bike rental system, officially Coca Cola Zero Bikes Cork after its main sponsor, has been a staple of the city ever since it was opened back in early 2015. I’ve been a customer of the system since day one and for a long time, the distinctive red and black bikes were part and parcel of my life on a weekly basis. However, within a year or so of its introduction, things started going downhill. There was no real maintenance and once the time for flashy photo opps was gone, Cork City Council predictably lost all interest in the sy...

Cork has undergone some pretty drastic changes since the beginning of the COVID lockdowns, there’s no denying that. Significant parts of the city centre are finally pedestrianised, particularly Oliver Plunkett Street and its side streets. A smattering of small side streets north of Patrick Street have also been given the pedestrian treatment. Outdoor dining is finally taking hold in Cork in a major way, with Princes Street in particular taking the lead here. Expansions of Cork’s nascent bike lane network have also taken place, with the South Mall bike corridor in particular being a prime example of what can happen if the city really puts some effort into things, while many existing cycle lanes have been secured against incursion by all but the most obnoxious and selfish motorists! Between “parklets” and the controversial City Trees , public seating has also increased across the city, making it feel less like a crumbling, poorly maintained strip mall and more like an actual city centre...

Well, the last eighteen months have been interesting, to say the least. Like most of the rest of the world, Ireland and its people found themselves effectively confined to quarters for over a year. We had to adapt our homes, find spare spaces to work from , and in some cases even needed to find a way to get our hands on basics like a desk or a decent chair. At times, it seemed as if this period would never end. Then, towards the summer of 2021, rumours began to swirl that Ireland, which had been slowly opening up retail & hospitality since May, would allow people back into the office, something which was confirmed in early September, when September 20th was set as the return date for office workers. My own employer announced the reopening of our own office, a brand-new property that had been sitting idle for months, shortly thereafter and so, by Monday, September 20th, I found myself on my way to the office for the first time in one and a half years!  Hey, hold on there! Looks...