Good, but don't give way to temptation. A swift half can often lead to many others and onwards toward intoxication. Then you'll be scything through traffic jams hurling abuse at W.I. members in Honda Jazz's before you can say "Bradley Wiggins"
Guys, Most cyclists, especially those who have ridden for a long time, are extremely careful and courteous. Please don't tar us all with the same brush. That would be the equivalent to my saying that you are all SQUIDS on gixxers with your hoodie on top of your leather jacket, in trainers, seeing who could accelerate away from every junction and break the 0-60 record to get back and see your Essex girl in the pub. Rather a generalisation. I am presuming you don't see yourself as having much in common with that low-life either - but to a car driver they and you would all be equivalent "bloody motorcyclists" etc.... Bikes are all good, all types. But the lack of a road tax/license plate does allow for some fairly shocking liberties to be taken by some.....
I don't see much evidence of poor cycling practices in my part of the world. Some, but not a lot. My only complaint in that direction is that some (not all) cyclists insist upon using a very busy single carriage road I use during rush hour, instead of the cycle path that has been constructed for their use (and which I myself have used in the past). These twits irritate me. As for hating cyclists - I generally do not hate them. I often see cyclists waiting to cross the aforementioned busy road, as the cycle path changes from one side of the carriageway to the other just prior to a roundabout - and if safe for me to do so, I will slow down to allow them to cross the road. In the end, I don't care if cyclists are good, bad, indifferent or freaking space-aliens - they don't belong on most roads. Any more than pedestrians do. Or three-fucking-piece suites, for that matter. I will fess up now. My ultimate super-duper bugbear with them, over and above my other objections, is that cyclists insist on using narrow country lanes. This means tail-backs for the motorised road-users (best case scenario) or it means that car drivers are on the wrong side of the road, impatiently over-taking the 10mph doofus on a 60mph road, at times that are extremely inconvenient (read, dangerous) for road users going the other way. Additionally, you may be travelling around a bend and encounter a tail-back - naturally you are travelling in such a way as to be able to stop or slow down in time - but it is still infuriating. Yadda-yadda-observation-anticipation-respect-blah-blah. I believe that my complaint is largely motivated by selfish impulses - and I don't care. I have self-centred and pragmatic objections, both. Now, go on, ask me how I feel about horses on the roads.
I try to give appropriate hand gestures - thanks to people who give me plenty of room. I find looking someone directly in the eye and thanking them before I pull out or whatever really helps. Loz, there are some cycle lanes where I am and unfortunately they put the cyclist closer to traffic coming out of side turnings or driveways. I don't know if you've done training with the police or Rapid or whoever, but they advise moving to the centre line to avoid driveways or junctions on the left if it's safe to do so. Riding in cycle lanes just makes life that little bit more dangerous. Oh, and horses - WTF - people give them more room than humans on two wheels.
Well Loz, you're not an easy man to please, are you?! You don't want cyclists on busy roads (ie fast ones) and you don't want them on country lanes. So what's left? Doesn't look like a whole lot. Don't tell me, you don't think the roads are suitable places for horses, tractors, lorries, disabled carriages, or buses. I'm glad you're not Minister of Transport!
That is totally at odds with my experience, I'm afraid. I have to say that most cycle lanes I've used in the past have been shite. Sure, they separate you from traffic, but they come to a halt just as you build a head of steam, and that's no good at all, hence why they continue to use the roads. And I've no problem with queuing behind cyclists - when they're riding single single file, the ones who don't are ignorant twats - but they need to extend the same courtesy. If there's no room to squeeze up the side of a car, wait, the car'll be long gone before you get into your stride anyway, yet still some people seem to need to make that extra few feet despite the fact they know it'll antagonize everyone else. Appreciate that, but it would help more if you indicated which direction you were headed in beforehand. No-one indicates on bicycles in my experience, and that's where most of the problems start.
There is no pleasing me :smile: Pretty much, motorcycles are the only vehicles that ought to be on the roads. :biggrin: I have little problem with cyclists in the towns I frequent. If there's a cycle lanes, great, if there isn't, OK. I get how cycle lanes can be dangerous, with road crossings, exits, etc. I believe cyclists are better off on the pavement with pedestrians compared to being on the road with motorists, if the road is over a 20mph speed limit. Hopefully signing off on the thread now!
I watched this and I was disappointed at the actions of both some of the riders and drivers. I've been riding my motorbike into London for around 15 years and the massive increase in cycling is obvious. Many cyclist are excellent and respectful of other road users, but a large proportion are not. I was disappointed that there was no mention of motorcyclists in the programme. I share bus lanes with cyclists and I'm always careful to give them space. They are often less good at giving me space and have a terrible habit of popping out of the traffic when you are filtering on the outside lane. Recent observations - a cyclist running straight through a pedestrian crossing red light near the Tate Modern bridge whilst people were crossing the road, he missed a really old guy by about 2 inches, and it was only because I couldn't catch him that he avoided a smack on the nose. A carbon fibre lycra 'dude' (only way to describe him), with his girlfriend, cutting in front of me as they jumped the lights. I followed them for about 2 miles and in that time they jumped 5 sets of lights, and the girl was almost hit by a van. When he eventually stopped for a red light I got next to him and asked why he was riding like such a knob? I got a mouthful of abuse from him and told to mind my own f*cking business. I said fair enough but his girlfriend (who was looking sheepish) would probably be dead within a few days if he carried on like that. I also hit a girl on a bike earlier this year when she just turned right without looking when I was about 10 feet behind her. Luckily we were both OK. http://ducatiforum.co.uk/f6/multistradas-tough-enough-london-4050/#post48871 Another worrying trend is applications such as Strava, which allow you to time a particular route and encourages other riders to beat your time. This might be something like the time taken to ride from Waterloo bridge to Trafalgar square. Strava's KOM awards blamed for reckless bicycling - SFGate One other thing that impressed me was the actions taken by the mother of the girl killed by the cement truck. The drivers now have additional training and cabs are fitted with proximity sensors that sound an alarm when passed on the inside. That can only be a good thing for motorcyclists as well.
I got into a bit of pedestrian rage on friday in the tube station; was about to walk down the steps when a woman yakking on her phone bumped into me and then proceeded to moan on the phone that she'd nearly been pushed down the stairs! I turned round and told her it wasn't my problem if she couldn't walk and talk at the same time, and maybe she needed to focus on one task or the other. I don't think she quite understood my sarcasm and started swearing at me. As has been said many times, you can be a cock whether you're driving, riding a motorcycle, cycling or just walking.
what brush would you use to tar the idiot I passed going to work today, no safety helmet, no hi vis gear, rode thru 2 red lights and then held traffic up because motorists could not squeeze past him without endangering either the cyclist or the panels of their cars This idiot was shown loads of courtesty by other road users but is a statistic waiting to happen - no doubt be will blame car drivers for his inevitable misfortune
Cycling lanes are now more dangerous than the road because you can't get a move on and have to still look where your going ??? Are you talking about the ones on the main carriageway or the ones you share with pedestrians ? Sod it ill get a bus pass
Sweet of you to say so, Matt, but I assure you I am quite capable of hurling abuse when it's merited, and traffic-scything is one of my specialities. Just never on a push-bike.
A 'safety' (?) helmet will make no significant difference in the vast majority of serious accidents involving cyclists. Not wearing one is about personal choice, it should not be used in a pejorative sense.
I have run a couple of marathons over the last few years and the training takes me on mostly country roads. I know I'm an obstruction to traffic so I try to pick quiet roads. If there is a vehicle coming towards me and no vehicle comingin the other diretcion I'll stay on the road as they can overtake efortlessly, if there are vehicles coming both ways I'll jump onto the verge early so as to not cause an obstruction (which can be quite an effort after 18 miles in the legs). Anyway the my point (finally :wink: ) is that the only issues oe abuse I have ever suffered is fom cyclists ! , some of them seem to think i should dive in hedgrows to save them the inconvenience of shifting out to the right a bit. Not all of them obviously but too many. They also never nod or smile or say hello, I always make a point of it, I have more of a laugh with horse riders than cyclists. There, I'll get back in my box now :smile:
