fear of roads

plain lazy

Has anyone else become put off road riding by arsehole drivers. I have alway have a pretty even mix of road riding and mountain biking but over the last year or so have been fearful or road riding by the threat of being clipped by a vehicle. I used to ride country lanes and roural roads but even these have become race tracks. The part i hate the most is that i am rapidly being put off a area of cycling that i used to love. Does anyone else share my thoughts?

popette

I recently had a teenage boy leaning out of the window shouting something at me as his spotty mate drove past me very fast. Why do that? I must have been having a hormonal day because it nearly made me cry. I couldn't get the number plate because they were just going too fast.
There are some total prats out there and I do worry a bit about it, especially as I have such a young family. As time goes on I do seem to get a bit less nervous and a bit more assertive until someone does something stupid again and then I regress.
idiots!!

Random Vince

i had someone lean out of a window to yell at me as i flew round a roundabout yesterday,

they chose the same point in time to lean out as i chose to signal (purely by chance, it wasnt deliberate on my part)

i'll bet it hurt tho.

inkyfingers

After quite a while without incident I nearly got knocked off by a chap in a skoda, then about a half a mile further a kid smoking a joint on a bmx cycled straight out in front of me when i was doing about 30mph.

I felt really bad because the chap that drove out in front of me in the skoda was an old chap, but before I knew this I had shouted out "watch out you f*****g idiot", then when I saw it was an old man I made a point of stopping an apologising, whilst politely making the point that he should look before he pulls out.

Also, while cycling from Greenwich to Canterbury last sunday a bloke leaned out of the passenger window of a small van and slapped my girlfriend on her bum. We were both more shocked than angry. When I told her to just take it as a compliment she nearly slapped me!

siobhansdad

It gets worse , I was faster away from the lights than 17 year old in white "souped" up escort and on hearing the persistant hooting as he followed me I waved him past

As he got level he looked over and aimed the car at me , his girl friend pushed the wheel away

Same day , on a wide road , lady in Volvo pulls alongside me and tells me I should be using the cycle path . Not politely but with abuse . I told her it was more dangerous than the road , which it was , and was then treated to her car skimming my shoulder as she drove off

Near misses and careless drivers is one thing , sometimes you can anticipate them but this is getting scary

popette

my husband just got run off the road by an articulated lorry - just this minute called me to let me know. He was driving his car today though so he's not injured although the car is.

Porgy

There's a roundabout on the South Circular - near Kiddebrook in South London - which is particularly dodgy - or the people who use it are.

It's a very big roundabout and drivers get very impatient having to give way to cyclists already on the roundabout. I often get someone creeping over the give way line, and occasionally its obvious they hadn;t even seen me.

There was one guy in a white van - a couple of years ago - who was about to go and then he saw me, but kept going forward, until I reached him and went in front of him. He stopped but shouted abuse at me. So I shouted back. He went after I passed and then did a very skillfull hand-brake turn that made his van come along side my right side and the back end of his van acted like a pinball flipper with me as the little metal ball. I went flying - it hurt - my back light was smashed to pieces and my back wheel was slightly buckled, though rideable.

He immediately raced off - I couldn;t get his number.

No one helped, though I got beeped and told to get out of the way.

And 5 minutes later a cyclist passed me and told me I needed to get a back light!!

I've not been too happy about that roundabout since - in fact for a while I was hyper sensitive about cars creeping forward at any roundabout. I'm better now - its just THAT roundabout that bothers me now. sometimes I ahve to get off and walk round it.

nolf

Not generally scared of car drivers- only time they scare me is when i'm going very fast- like 30mph+

Mainly on fast descents where there is a road joining it.

Had 1 very near miss where I was hurtling down a hill at about 45/50mph (60mph section of road) and a car was waiting at a t junction ahead (joining my road) the (female) driver looked at me, looked the other way, and looked at me again, then pulled out- about 10 metres in front of me.
I sh!t myself, I threw my bike onto the other side of the road by leaning over to that side, then yanking the handlebars and almost jumping over to that side. Overtook the car as she was still accelerating (slowly) and free wheeled down the rest of the hill in the dead centre of the lane at about 30.
I think I may have scared her a bit tho when I screamed at her at the bottom telling her how close she had been to killing me.

overmars

A passenger gave me verbal abuse yesterday (so easy when you're in a tin can).
Anywho they got caught in traffic. And I cursed them. Yes I did! F this F that "Your mother" this and "Ya mother" that.
I was really, really vicious.
Aaaaanyway, the traffic moved... about 15 meters, and I carried on cursing the occupants*. Eventually the driver apoligised, told their passenger to shut up and I rode off.
*I'd like to thank the academy for bestowing on me "Best actor in a cussing role"

I hate it when people spoil my Sundays :x . 'sposed ta be a day of rest for Chr!st sake!

jellybellywmb

I got verbally abused and a Mcdonalds wrapper thrown at me whilst changing a puncture by a bunch of spotty scrotes in a Nova.
Continued my ride and spotted same car in a pub car park,couldn't resist and let all four tyes down and rote in the dirty tailgate 'love Lance Armstrong' which is who they ask me if I thought I was (Even though on a Mountain bike,don't they know anything!!!).
Naughty I know but I hate that kind of person that is only brave enough to throw an insult at 50mph

SteveR_100Milers

Am I the only one who was thinking "Fear of sheep <insert suitable silly animal phobia>" when I read the post title....sorry...I'm leaving :oops:

sloboy

I had some amusing chaps out chucking eggs at cyclists last year. Missed me first time, then 5 mins later came round again and splatted me on the back of the head. Tosser.

daniel_b

sloboy wrote:

I had some amusing chaps out chucking eggs at cyclists last year. Missed me first time, then 5 mins later came round again and splatted me on the back of the head. Tosser.

The most worrying thing is, that these people are the future of our country.

France becomes ever more enticing, with each passing day - and that's even now that I don't live in the London suburbs, and live in a nice part of the country

France: Better roads, more cyclist aware drivers, less pressure on land, better weather (Depending on where you go), not quite as crazy house prices.


Dan

term1te

There used to be a car on my commute to work that had adjusted the windscreen washer so that it squirted sideways, soaking cyclists when they went past. Must have got me 3 or 4 times in a month. I could smell my jersey and tell when they used a different brand of windscreen wash.

Some times consideration goes wrong. Going down a fast hill recently at about 50 kmh a car waited patiently, then overtook me leaving loads of room, before slamming his breaks on to let another cyclist out of a junction. I stopped with about an inch to spare and a nice flat spot on my rear tire.

ricadus

Daniel B wrote:

sloboy wrote:

France: Better roads, more cyclist aware drivers, less pressure on land, better weather (Depending on where you go), not quite as crazy house prices.

They are only cycling "aware" because the insurance law there states that the car driver is liable in an accident involving a pedestrian or cyclist unless it is proven that the ped/cyclist was suicidal or incompetent.

ContrelaMontre

Daniel B wrote:

France: Better roads, more cyclist aware drivers, less pressure on land, better weather (Depending on where you go), not quite as crazy house prices.


Dan

F**k that! I've recently come back from cycling in France (Loire Valley near Roanne) and the French drivers are arrogant twunts. Regularly got beeped for no reason (and it wasn't for encouragement) very few actually slowed down for us, they almost always seemed to put their indicators on, but didn't actually give any passing space which I thought was very weird! At least one lorry with a trailer very nearly ran us both of the road. It was definitely as bad (if not worse) than cycling in England - whereas the English are ignorant, the French are arrogant!

Sorry rant over.

If you want nice drivers go to Asturias in Northern Spain - they're lovely, especially the white van men!

bigmug

I cycle a lot on my own and some years ago fitted a mirror. I started with a 'pinny' which slotted into the bar end but these came out easily - and then went out of production. Now have a 'blackburn' bar end (ithink) - apart from needing to tighten and adjust it regularly it is great. We rely on rear view mirrors when driving don't we. I find it gives me more confidence in positioning for following traffic (and idiots) and helps when swerving round holes or pulling out to turn etc. I cycle with my son and it also allows me to keep an eye on him. It has saved me a few times.
Careful though I nearly ran into a tree while looking behind!!