How often do you do something stupid?

biondino

So, I don't mean things like undertaking, or filtering through stationary traffic, or even RLJing (when you know you're being naughty but not in danger etc.). I mean when you do something that could actively cause an accident - pulling out of a side street without looking, RLJing a junction, squeezing between two lorries etc.

Crapaud

whooooooooooooooooooooooooooo *tumbleweed smilie*

Greg T

Every 10 miles!

Who said every 10 miles - how can you have survived long enough to learn to type if you have "Hail Mary" moments every 10 miles?

heavymtb

biondino wrote:

or even RLJing when you know you're being naughty but not in danger etc. quote]

Did I not see you hoping through the junction of Fulham and Munster road last thursday evening?!?!? If not someone who has a very simlar bike/look to you!

Tut tut!

Clever Pun

just every now and again... it's woah that was pretty dumb, why didn't I just hang back or sh!t I knew those big motor vehicles would move as soon as I tried to squeeze between them

biondino

heavymtb wrote:

biondino wrote:

or even RLJing when you know you're being naughty but not in danger etc.[ quote]

Did I not see you hoping through the junction of Fulham and Munster road last thursday evening?!?!? If not someone who has a very simlar bike/look to you!

Tut tut!

No chance! I never ever RLJ at junctions full stop, but that one strikes me as being trickier than most and I tend to be the one hanging back shaking my head at the tools who RLJ in front of me.

heavymtb

biondino wrote:

heavymtb wrote:

biondino wrote:

or even RLJing when you know you're being naughty but not in danger etc.[ quote]

Did I not see you hoping through the junction of Fulham and Munster road last thursday evening?!?!? If not someone who has a very simlar bike/look to you!

Tut tut!

No chance! I never ever RLJ at junctions full stop, but that one strikes me as being trickier than most and I tend to be the one hanging back shaking my head at the tools who RLJ in front of me.

That's cool, it must have been someone else, quite tricky to determine not having met anyone on here! For reference he did go through very slowly and observantly on red but the lights had changed for peds and there was noone crossing..... Hence the original - you know you are being naughty but not in danger.....

Sorry for the false accusation! :oops:

DavidTQ

Every day since illness forced me off my bike :x Getting into car for a lift to work with a young lad driving his girlfriends car... First of all this thing has pink fluffy dice, a pink "princess" head and a pink floral new beetle toy mounted to the dash... If thats not ASKING for trouble I dont know what is.

However I KNOW this guys driving standards, not a day goes by when Im not hitting the imaginary brake pedal or yanking the imaginary steering wheel... It might be cheap and effort free, but I have more heart in my mouth moments now than I ever did on the bike. Oddly enough the steel cage of a C1 really doesnt seem all that much of a safety measure.

Wrong side of the road round blind bends, pulling out in front of people, impatience coupled with a stunningly short fuse - 5 second delay is unbearable for this driver, despite the fact that we always get to work about 20minutes early...

He actually reversed into another car the other day in his hurry to find another route when the road was temporarily blocked by traffic. He also likes texting whilst driving, using his phone without a hands free kit whilst driving etc etc... Very poor judgement and every day Im stupid enough to get in the car with this guy...

On the plus side he does at least give cyclists plenty of space when Im in the car with him...

UnworthyPapaLazaru

I would have said once in a blue moon, but in the past two weeks I have had three. I dunno if it is the early starts I have been doing and Im not quite awake or what. Anyway, I have been taking it a wee bit easier of late and not trying to beat my PB's every time Im out.

boybiker

Only once had a bit of a 'oooops that could have killed me' moment turning left at a roundabout and it was my fault so I am a good boy now, mostly

_Brun_

Most Friday nights at around 11pm :oops:

Bassjunkieuk

I've said every 10 miles as the next leap would only allow for one hair raising moment a week!

I'd have put it around 20 miles to allow for one risky moment a day. This at the moment would be my decent down Knight's Hill where I can easily breach the speed limit :twisted:
Not that I'd class that as stupid (much) as I try to only ride as fast as I feel comfortable with.
I do the occasional close overtake on buses/cars - normally coming from the RHS tho and will only attempt it if I think I can get through - I like to think I have a pretty good turn of speed from 15mph+

I'm not proud of it, but I guess I'm just a bit of a thrill seeker, and lets face it to ride in London you have to be!

dennisn

Every day that I ride I do something stupid. Taking a chance in traffic, not paying attention
to the road conditions, taking a drink at what always seems the wrong time(always seems that a 50 wheel cement truck goes buy me at 100 MPH while I'm drinking and on the narrowest part of the road). Why is that? Yeah, a little "improper" move here or a little "bad judgement" there or a little bit
"too brave" somewhere else.

Dennis Noward

toshmund

Every other day - bit of a minor thing, nothing life threatening though. City centre traffic lights - which are on a inordinate delay timer setting, with the pressure pad as a back up. They are just a recipe for disaster. With the weight of a bike you won't register, so finish up waiting until either a car pulls up behind you or the timer sequence comes around to your junction again. Struggling to find a bike light good enough to register with the lights as well...

downfader

The last time I did something daft was nearly pull out of a junction onto a mini roundabout just as the guy ahead was doing a u-turn. I couldnt see his indicators due to the glare of his headlights being on full, but in hindsight I should have just waited a second. I stopped just in time with just enough space for the guy to move.

That was last november I think.

whyamihere

Pretty much never. Though my interpretation of what's risky is probably different to other people's. On my road bike, I know I can accelerate very very fast, which means I can sneak into some nice gaps... Whether anyone else would see the gaps I see as being massive is debatable.

roger_merriman

Blue moon for me as well, I don't tend to rush or worry and the big heavy bike is solid short of anti tank ditch not much unsettles it.

patchy

on a bike? hardly ever (well, unless its a mountain bike or a road bike and i'm having fun...)

off a bike? probably about once every twenty minutes...

Specialized Needs

Toshmund wrote:

City centre traffic lights - which are on a inordinate delay timer setting, with the pressure pad as a back up. They are just a recipe for disaster. With the weight of a bike you won't register, so finish up waiting until either a car pulls up behind you or the timer sequence comes around to your junction again.

OT: Hate the set of lights that I use feeding into the Old Kent Road. Why don't they have pushbuttons on sideroad traffic lights (especially when they are on a signed cycle route :roll:) for cyclists to press?

Stuart

frasbo

Hi

I've been riding miles to work for the last months on my son's mountain bike. Throught the bike to work scheme I'm planning to but a boardman, but can't make my mind up between the 'hybrid' model and the full on race bike.

My concerns are, that the bus lane isn't that smooth, and I'll feel all the bumps, and the riding position will leave me with an aching neck and sore back.

The plus is that I'll 'blast' past everyone who 'blasts' past me at the moment. Your views and advise are welcomed.

biondino

In life, do you tend to be sensible or impulsive? Compromise or extreme? If the former, try the latter; if the latter, then you don't need our advice

(serious answer - I commute on a full balls-out race bike - albeit with the stem flipped for a gentler riding position - and it feels great. You don't even notice the bumps when you're enjoying the ride so much!)

frasbo

Thanks for your reply and advise, makes sense. I hadn't realised you could flip the handle bars, how do the brakes and gear change mechanisms work?

Wrath Rob

frasbo wrote:

Hi
I've been riding miles to work for the last months on my son's mountain bike. Throught the bike to work scheme I'm planning to but a boardman, but can't make my mind up between the 'hybrid' model and the full on race bike.

I've got the road comp and its great. I was contemplating a hybrid but after 2 weeks on a mountain bike and having pretty much everything else come past me I got the road comp. Its been great but I'd check it over as the set-up wasn't 100%. Rear gears didn't quite index properly and the front brake cable needed a little more tension to actually work properly. Once those were fixed its been a fantastic bike

biondino

frasbo wrote:

Thanks for your reply and advise, makes sense. I hadn't realised you could flip the handle bars, how do the brakes and gear change mechanisms work?

It's not the bars, you flip, but the stem - most road stems don't stick out perpendicular from the headset, but are set at an angle. A race bike will angle the stem towards the ground; a less aggressive setup will angle the stem towards the sky (it's usually not such a big difference - a standard angle is 6 degrees so obviously there'll only be 12 degrees difference between the two. Even so, this will make the bars on a relaxed setup an inch or two higher, providing a less aggressive body position.

Here is a stem angled upwards in a relaxed position:



And here's one angled downwards in a racier position:

teagar

My usual "that was close" moments come when trying to race past a parked bus at a bus stop before it indicates and pulls out. Maybe they can't see me but they always pull out when i'm half-way past them!

Bassjunkieuk

teagar wrote:

My usual "that was close" moments come when trying to race past a parked bus at a bus stop before it indicates and pulls out. Maybe they can't see me but they always pull out when i'm half-way past them!

Had that happen this morning! The light's in Brixton by the Ritzy where phasing badly. My the time they changed it was quite busy so I took the middle lane and saw a gap. Dropped to a smaller cog and upped the pace to whip down the middle of the cars and buses :twisted: just as I cam past the third it starting pulling out. Bailing out wasn't an option as I had a car to the right of me so I had to flick the bars and speed past! Kept up the pace and managed to get in front of the bus at the front of the line and into a clear stretch!

Job done :-)