Stricken rider on the side of the road

frenchfighter

Interesting topic and I agree with most of what has been said.

Group rides - yes people do ride off certainly, and there are some with the mentality that a road ride is all about actually trying to drop the newcomers. I would steer clear of these people. I would say though that if you are actually part of a club and on your club ride then this is much less likely to happen.

Very rarely to people stop, and this is evident on my commute regularly - as I am sure it is with many of you. A situation where you have a confrontation with a car or pedestrian should call for solidarity amongst cyclists, or where other cyclists witness bad driving. But this rarely occurs. I for one will shake my head etc if I see other cars treating other cyclists inconsiderately.

This point actually reminds me of a time where I slid out at a busy roundabout, (fortuantely the traffic wasn't too fast moving), the car behind screeched to a halt, made eye contact with me, gave me a look of 'why did you have to go and do that' then proceeded to drive around me while I was laying on the floor!! I picked myself and the bike up and went to the side of the road, and none of the cars or pedestrians stopped to ask if I was ok etc.

pjh

I must say that as a former motorcyclist where there was tremendous camaraderie between fellow riders i.e. hemlet-nodding as you passed eachother ... I've been quite dissappointed with my fellow cyclists since starting a year ago.

I reckon about 60% of cyclists nod or acknowledge .... the others simply stare straight ahead which I always think is just plain rude.

There's enough anti-cycling feeling from other road users so we really should all stick together and look out for eachother IMHO.

dennisn

z000m wrote:

i would stop if he was an ugly man with an attractive sister

Good one. I almost spit my sip of cola on the monitor when I read it. LOL

Dennis Noward

Denny69

pjh wrote:

I must say that as a former motorcyclist where there was tremendous camaraderie between fellow riders i.e. helmet-nodding as you passed each other ... I've been quite disappointed with my fellow cyclists since starting a year ago.

I reckon about 60% of cyclists nod or acknowledge .... the others simply stare straight ahead which I always think is just plain rude.

There's enough anti-cycling feeling from other road users so we really should all stick together and look out for each other IMHO.

True true.....

keef66

I sometimes get cramp in my left calf. Never really worked out why. Suspects have been: legs too cold, legs too hot, pushing too hard in too high a gear, insufficient hydration, not enough stretching pre ride, lack of salt, eating too much before ride etc etc. All I know is it's bloody painful.

I always acknowledge other cyclists, whether it's the postman, a granny on a shopper, or a supreme lycra clad being on an Italian carbon spacecraft. It's just courtesy.
The other day doing a road circuit on my mtb I passed a roadie going the other way twice (I think he must've been doing the same circuit but the other way round) and on both occasions he completely blanked me. I'll look out for him when I get my road bike and see if I warrant a nod and a grunt then.

I'd have stopped for you, but then again I'm a first aider always looking for people to practice on.

MoonCircuit

GFowler22 wrote:

Last night I went out for a blast on my mountain bike, bit of road and bit of off-road. Coming back on a road section I got massive cramp, skidded to a halt fell off and screamed in agony. A road rider went passed and didn't even bat an eyelid, whoever you are - thanks very much!

Did you want him to rub your leg?

Patrick1.0

There have been countless occassions when I have cheerily waved at other cyclists for them to just keep their heads down and not even recognise me. Even when I am really riding hard, I'll ease up and say hi to somebody going the same way and even ride alongside even if it's far slower than the speed I'd usually go at. I just see it as being the thing us cyclists do when out on the road together. I usually have more joy with with the older statesmen of the group. The young riders are just too interested in trying to race me on a training ride and when I talk to them they just nod or shrug. Really pisses me off. People taking themselves too seriously. The older boys have a chat and a laugh. So do the ladies if we're ever all out together on a ride without A and B groups forming.

The reason I do all of my training on my own these days is because I don't appreciate having to race through country lanes to catch up - pushing my legs more than I want to when I have a session planned for the next day - when I drop a chain and nobody waits. I wait for others and actually wait with them and shout to everybody else that they have a problem (Sub text - slow the f*** down, once again, this is not a race). I mean, a sunday group ride is a sunday group ride. Why everybody startsputting digs in on long climbs and then sprinting full on out of the saddle, I have no idea. It means I have to use up a bit more energy on a day that is supposed to be designated for easy riding and recovery.

MoonCircuit

pjh wrote:

I must say that as a former motorcyclist where there was tremendous camaraderie between fellow riders i.e. hemlet-nodding as you passed eachother ... I've been quite dissappointed with my fellow cyclists since starting a year ago.

I reckon about 60% of cyclists nod or acknowledge .... the others simply stare straight ahead which I always think is just plain rude.

There's enough anti-cycling feeling from other road users so we really should all stick together and look out for eachother IMHO.

I've nodded at a few cyclists if they look serious, they're the only ones who identify as cyclists and nod back, unless they are commuting and 'do this every day'. I know everyone's different and don't always feel in a nodding mood. I've nodded at two seperate horseriders but they both looked at me like they had seen a ghost so I ignore them now.

MoonCircuit

Shadowduck wrote:

Out of interest; if you see an unaccompanied cyclist skid to a halt, fall off and start screaming in agony how do you diagnose it as cramp in the couple of seconds available as you ride past without batting an eyelid?

The pitch of his squeal. The moral of the story is if you want assistance FLAG. Each and every one of those cyclists would stop for you. I carry a few bandage/spanners and a repair kit in my rucksack and would help any injury/mechanical case if they flagged me down.

I remember standing in a bus stop and the driver went straight past me because I didn't hold my hand out, I was in a bus STOP. I have stuck my hand out ever since.

Patrick1.0

MoonCircuit wrote:

I've nodded at two seperate horseriders but they both looked at me like they had seen a ghost so I ignore them now.

I have actually applied my brakes so much that I've come to pretty much a halt for two horse riders before and even though I did this and crawled past, because one of the horses jumped a bit just at the sight and sound of the bike - even at less than 5 mph it makes a noise as we know - the girl on the horse in front shot me a look of venom and stuck out her arm and held it there for a prolonged period. I just said "OK?" and she didn't say a thing. Just glared at me as if I shouldn't be on the road. Neither should they if they cannot control their horse.

MoonCircuit

I suppose you have to give horses the right of way in case they rear up and lob the rider over the nearest hedge into a drinking trough

Big Red S

spen666 wrote:

GFowler22 wrote:

If so, then why single out someone on a bike for your sarcasm/contempt/whatever emotion you were using?

Because:
- Historically cycling's had a bit of a fraternity to it. It's expected, to the best of my knowledge, that if you come across someone who's having some difficulty on or with a bike in the middle of nowhere, you stop to see if you can help. It's certainly nice to think that there is some kind of 'friendship' across it.
- A guy on a bike is the most likely kind of person to be able to help another guy on a bike, what with them both having probably had the same problems before.

spen666

Big Red S wrote:

spen666 wrote:

GFowler22 wrote:

If so, then why single out someone on a bike for your sarcasm/contempt/whatever emotion you were using?

Because:
- Historically cycling's had a bit of a fraternity to it. It's expected, to the best of my knowledge, that if you come across someone who's having some difficulty on or with a bike in the middle of nowhere, you stop to see if you can help. It's certainly nice to think that there is some kind of 'friendship' across it.
- A guy on a bike is the most likely kind of person to be able to help another guy on a bike, what with them both having probably had the same problems before.

Historically white men have treated blacks as slaves- doesn't mean it is right though!!!


I agree that it is nice to have someone offer to help you. I offer help and have received help (thank you kind people). However it is a different thing from this to getting rude and angry because somebody chose for whatever reason not to help

SCR Pedro

Seeing as we are speaking of horses; I was caught up in a pretty nasty one earlier this year.

I seen a peloton of horses in the distance, so I slowed down to less than 10kph. The lead horse passed me, then decided it was going to throw a fit anyway. It threw the rider to the ground and trampled him before running off.

I took to the muddy verge to avoid it, and did well to stay on. The injured rider wasn't so lucky, and had to be medivaced. The other riders were telling me how the horse is a pain in the arse, and is always wild.

I've never gone back down that road, but I still see horses on the road. They worry me more than I worry them!

Cheers
Pedro