Cyclists, bikers and cars!
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I used to do time trials and race pushbikes in a local club, I own and ride motorcycles and drive so think I have a reasonable knowledge of all three.
Last year I was working in London for a while and some of the motorcyclists and cyclists there are just suicidal. I don't have much sympathy for people who are just bloody idiots.
If the other road users are constantly having to make allowances for them then eventually they meet one who doesn't and they croak.
Last year I was working in London for a while and some of the motorcyclists and cyclists there are just suicidal. I don't have much sympathy for people who are just bloody idiots.
If the other road users are constantly having to make allowances for them then eventually they meet one who doesn't and they croak.
Let me explain my frustration.....................
i live and work in NI, our roads aren't big and wide like the mainlands, most of where i drive, and i do 1000 miles a month for work, to various appointments with school principles, are double width but with no or few white lines, never more than a hundred yards straight with very few places where you can overtake safely.
now then, in the middle of the morning, i am on my way to a pre arranged appointment 30 miles from the office along country roads and i come up behind a lycra clad cyclist riding "by the rules" 1 meter out from the edge at 15 mph.......and i can't safely pass him.....will he move over ? will he hell !! i'm riding by the rules so be damned !!
when i do manage to pass this ignorant selfish cyclist who is on a day out cycling for pleasure, i am now running late for my appointment.
i then come up behind two cyclist riding side by side chatting away with not one iota of concern or respect for anyone trying to pass them......utterly selfish.
I don't take risks to overtake, i've been a biker for too long not to respect the road and what it can do, but these lycra clad selfish people have absolutely no respect for anyone else.
having safely passed these two, 5 miles later i come up behind a group of half a dozen lycra clad wan......cyclists spread across the road.......and there's a hill coming up !
I would give my left nut for a machine gun.
I'm trying to do my job !.......you are on a pleasure day out !...........MOVE !!
i live and work in NI, our roads aren't big and wide like the mainlands, most of where i drive, and i do 1000 miles a month for work, to various appointments with school principles, are double width but with no or few white lines, never more than a hundred yards straight with very few places where you can overtake safely.
now then, in the middle of the morning, i am on my way to a pre arranged appointment 30 miles from the office along country roads and i come up behind a lycra clad cyclist riding "by the rules" 1 meter out from the edge at 15 mph.......and i can't safely pass him.....will he move over ? will he hell !! i'm riding by the rules so be damned !!
when i do manage to pass this ignorant selfish cyclist who is on a day out cycling for pleasure, i am now running late for my appointment.
i then come up behind two cyclist riding side by side chatting away with not one iota of concern or respect for anyone trying to pass them......utterly selfish.
I don't take risks to overtake, i've been a biker for too long not to respect the road and what it can do, but these lycra clad selfish people have absolutely no respect for anyone else.
having safely passed these two, 5 miles later i come up behind a group of half a dozen lycra clad wan......cyclists spread across the road.......and there's a hill coming up !
I would give my left nut for a machine gun.
I'm trying to do my job !.......you are on a pleasure day out !...........MOVE !!
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Life's full of annoyances. Leave earlier, relax, the world won't end if you're ten minutes late, but if you get so wound up over trivia, you'll have a heart attack.
A nice relaxing bicycle-ride would do you the world of good, I reckon.
A nice relaxing bicycle-ride would do you the world of good, I reckon.
i'm going to carry a big supply of broom handles, no finer way to de-stress 
the faster you go the further you fly......roll up roll up....who's next !
the faster you go the further you fly......roll up roll up....who's next !
No, fast but dim, he has just suffered a sense of proportion malfunction. Happens to us all from time to time. I once took a great dislike to Jehova's Witnesses (or poss. Christian Scientists) for reasons which now escape me, and became quite incandescent with righteous indignation on the subject for a while.
Possibly somewhat over-aggressive, but there is an element of truth in whats been said. Cyclists do hold up traffic on single lane roads - there can be no argument about that. Only yesterday there was a line of traffic at least half a mile long stuck behind a cyclist bimbling along in the centre of the lane. Oncoming traffic meant there was no room to pass safely, and the cyclist never even thought about pulling into one of the many places he could have done to let the traffic build-up pass. Yes, he was obeying the HC, keeping well out from the side. But he was a grade A wally, nevertheless. Forcing motorised traffic to keep to 10mph - less on the hills - is not conducive to good relationships between cars and cyclists! (And for the Greens amongst you, think of all the excess petrol/diesel being wasted by crawling along in low gear - proof that cyclists are out to devastate the planet with their evil contraptions )
)(And for the Greens amongst you, think of all the excess petrol/diesel being wasted by crawling along in low gear - proof that cyclists are out to devastate the planet with their evil contraptions )
My hero :You_Rock_
) My hero
:You_Rock_
I understand your frustration - honestly I do. I was a service rep for several years, doing 50k miles a year. One year I hit 80k miles. My patch included big chunks of rural lincolnshire and yorkshire, and I was no stranger to the cyclist, or the crowd of cyclists.
BUT
You are making a few mistakes here. First of all you are assuming that work is more important than pleasure and should take precedence. Please don't answer that one straight away, just have a bit of a think about it.
Second, you are assuming that anyone on a bike is on a pleasure day out. Personally, I really don't like cycling. I don't like driving either - I've done too much of it. No, I cycle for transport. Mainly to get to work. So how is your work related journey more important than mine?
Third, you're generalising your experience with a small number of people to anyone on a bike. I get impatient with cyclists too. I get impatient with huge groups of club cyclists taking up the space of a HGV at 15mph. I think it's uncooperative and provokes motorists at a time when cyclists could really do with getting along with motorists better. I get irritated with the ignorant b*st*rds around Ilkley who think that a punctured tube should just be left in the gutter. I get impatient with people who ride along in the gutter bumping over every grating and wheel trim, making them wobble and waver alarmingly and giving motorists the wrong idea that that's correct cycling behaviour. Yes, I also get irritated by the cyclists who ride in the middle of a country lane, knowing damn well I'm sat in my van behind them, but won't make any effort to let me past.
But I don't do any of those things, and neither do many other people who ride bikes. Behaving aggressively to everyone because you are frustrated with some is unreasonable, and it's going to get someone hurt. The 1m rule puts bikes in the field of vision of motorists, and away from slippy metal gratings, leaf mulch, and dangerous junk. It doesn't mean "don't make an effort to let people pass on a narrow road" - that's rude, and also against the highway code (Rule 66 - be considerate of other road users).
If we all ride/drive according to the rules, it all gets a lot more relaxing and safe. That's what they're there for.
What else can we rant about...
Horses, tractors, mopeds, old people, lorries, joggers, mobility vehicles, white van men....
How about we all calm down. There are idiots riding bikes yes, but the idiots driving cars are more dangerous.
Let's just ban inconsiderate idiots.
Horses, tractors, mopeds, old people, lorries, joggers, mobility vehicles, white van men....
How about we all calm down. There are idiots riding bikes yes, but the idiots driving cars are more dangerous.
Let's just ban inconsiderate idiots.
Some of the roads here in south wales are incredible narrow so I drive at a much slower speed as you never know whats around the next bend, several times you pass cyclist coming the other way 2 abreast speeding, god knows how I manage to avoid them.
Yup, but to play devils advocate you also get plenty of car drivers (locals inparticular) whizzing around narrow country lanes.
And they're a damn site harder to dodge.
Like I said before, there are idiots driving all manner of vehicles. I don't think you can pigeonhole.
They don't allow mopeds on motorways (or invalid carriages - anyone remember them?)
Why? Because they can't keep up with traffic flows, and are a danger to themselves or others. Sad to say, the roads are now so overcrowded that the same should apply to bikes. As I said earlier, I'm all in favour of bike paths, and was happy to let my children ride their bikes in Germany from town to town, as they were safely segregated from the traffic. Over here? No way I'd have let them out on the roads.
Humans, being what they are, unfortunately get angry when they get frustrated by cyclists. Sure its wrong, but its going to happen whether anyone likes it or not. And that means they take chances to get past, adding to everyone's danger.
Wouldn't it be nice if the roads were as vacant as they were say 50 years ago? But its not 1960 any more.
Why? Because they can't keep up with traffic flows, and are a danger to themselves or others. Sad to say, the roads are now so overcrowded that the same should apply to bikes. As I said earlier, I'm all in favour of bike paths, and was happy to let my children ride their bikes in Germany from town to town, as they were safely segregated from the traffic. Over here? No way I'd have let them out on the roads.
Humans, being what they are, unfortunately get angry when they get frustrated by cyclists. Sure its wrong, but its going to happen whether anyone likes it or not. And that means they take chances to get past, adding to everyone's danger.
Wouldn't it be nice if the roads were as vacant as they were say 50 years ago? But its not 1960 any more.
To return to the point of the topic - my view on staying safe: be predictable. For cyclists that means you are *always* a vehicle, not just when it suits you.
Stay off the pavement
Stop at red lights
Be very very visible.
Robbi, I'll accept that apology any time you care to make it.
Here's my manifesto:-
1. Compulsory insurance for all road users.
2. Dog licences for all owners.
3. Cats to wear bell collars when out of doors.
Oh and possibly cut off the hand of motorists who drive and text - Caria law sort of
Alan
1. Compulsory insurance for all road users.
2. Dog licences for all owners.
3. Cats to wear bell collars when out of doors.
Oh and possibly cut off the hand of motorists who drive and text - Caria law sort of
Alan
Well I'm shocked! Even the thought of an encounter on the road has induced a red haze road rage in some here. We all have the solution in our hands. Relax, be more considerate of others on the road whatever your chosen mode of transport and enjoy the freedom of being out and about
All road users? That means you'd need to be insured in order to cross the road ~ and, let's face it, some pedestrians do just step out without looking and cause accidents ...
I'm a big fan of cycle paths, it'd stop a lot of the issues. But I'm also a fan of designated cycle routes within the normal road network ~ after all, you've got to be able to get to a cycle path and it's unlikely that designated paths will go to and from every conceivable location and destination. A lot of areas have a free map for cyclists which highlight: Where the quieter roads are, Where the cycle paths are, Where the Bridle Ways are, Which crossings are Toucan, etc.
Decorum said
"All road users? That means you'd need to be insured in order to cross the road ~ and, let's face it, some pedestrians do just step out without looking and cause accidents ..."
Exactly. Joggers, walkers, mobility scooters, segways( great fun) all the way up to HGVs.
Financial implications to being a prat might rein in some of the idiots of all shades who use the roads?
On another note:-
Will rough close meets ever be resurrected?
Alan
"All road users? That means you'd need to be insured in order to cross the road ~ and, let's face it, some pedestrians do just step out without looking and cause accidents ..."
Exactly. Joggers, walkers, mobility scooters, segways( great fun) all the way up to HGVs.
Financial implications to being a prat might rein in some of the idiots of all shades who use the roads?
On another note:-
Will rough close meets ever be resurrected?
Alan
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