Inconsiderate roadies in the Forest Of Dean today!

alp777

Driving through the Forest today on the A4136 i came across about 6 roadies, male and female, all looked the part, nice bikes etc. However, i was really suprised by their road sense, or lack of it. They spent a lot of time blocking the whole side of the road they were cycling on forcing drivers to overtake when there was no oncoming traffic. They didn't seem to give a toss!

No wonder a lot of car drivers dislike cyclists!

pneumatic

eh?

was the road wide enough for three cars?

could you have overtaken anything else whilst there was oncoming traffic?

how much time did you lose on your overall journey? (to the nearest second)

I'm not sure I understand why this would make a car driver hate a cyclist any more than they might hate a horse, a tractor, a caravan, a refuse lorry or anyone doing 10 mph less than they wanted to.

Am I missing something? :?

alp777

The point i am making is if they had gone into single file when they had cars behind them the cars would have been able to overtake safely without having to go onto the other side of the road.

Like i said inconsiderate!

redddraggon

alp777 wrote:

The point i am making is if they had gone into single file when they had cars behind them the cars would have been able to overtake safely without having to go onto the other side of the road.

Like i said inconsiderate!

Hmm, you say inconsiderate, I would say probably not.

Unless you have blue flashing lights you aren't rushing anywhere.....

Have you ever been on a club run where every couple of minutes you have to keep going into single file? That's damn annoying.

If the motorists couldn't afford to have a couple of extra minutes added to their journey they should have gone out earlier....

pinkbikini

Sometimes it makes sense to single out (for very infrequent cars). If cars are anything other than infrequent then it is a real pain, and potentially more tricky if the group is bigger or contains less experienced riders.
alp777, I don't think you have right of way in a car do you? Had the slow moving obstacle ahead of you been a car or a tractor, would you have been complaining so much?
Just goes to show that even cyclists become whingers when they get into a car! And like everyone else says, what were you in such a hurry to do anyway?

Frank the tank

I get sick of telling non-cyclists it's not against the rules of the road for cyclists to ride two abrest. :?

chuckcork

Gosh, cycling and blocking the road leaving you with no option but to overtake when there is no oncoming traffic! Gee, that sounds like just about every motorist I ever came up behind when on my motorbike! And I don't recall, ever, motorists pulling over to let me go past?

To be honest, even if they did single out, was the lane they and you were in, the 4 metres width needed to safely overtake a group, even one in single file?

singlespeedexplosif

the cars would have been able to overtake safely without having to go onto the other side of the road.

This is only possible if you're on some ridiculously wide road, like one in the US. If there's only 1 bike (or people riding in single file) a driver should still go into the other side of the road...

alp777

I agree with most of what you have all said, however i didn't mention that i had to pass this group on more than one occasion and both times they were blocking the whole of the lane. You could have put another two or three cyclists between two of them that were blocking the road and yes the road was probably 4 meteres wide.

I too am a keen road rider, I just thought they were a little ignorant to other road users.

rant over!

MrHulot

Classic cager - expecting cyclists to ride in the gutter and allow an overtake without crossing the white line. Do cars emit a sort of mind altering sonic wave or something?? Unbelievable - and to hear it here as well.

If nothing else, get yourself a faster car if you had to pass the bunch several times.

fnegroni

I speak as someone who had to retrain himself in terms of driving.

I come originally from Italy. I was a driver and a cyclist there too.

I have been in this country now for 11 years.

I do agree it is important to keep a safe distance from cyclists, both behind, in front and on the side.

But I can also say that British drivers do have the tendency to be over cautious when overtaking cyclists, or underestimating distances and overtaking where there isn't much space.

In Italy drivers are definitely less observant of the law, I know because I too did not observe the law back there, but I also know that if in Italy cars were to use the opposite lane to overtake a single bike, the country would probably come to a standstill.

We have far too many cyclists and motorcyclists on mopeds to make any such rule practical.

Roads are built to take people places in a way that does speed up movement. Otherwise we would all be walking.

So it is important to share the road. I give space to cyclists but i also plan my overtaking well in advance and give as much space as is practical, but certainly don't hang around waiting for a clear opposite lane when a few feet will do.

As a cyclist myself, i feel more annoyed and weary of the driver that hangs around my rear wheel constantly missing perfectly good opportunities to overtake than the guy that takes it with some speed and gives me enough space for corrections.

I look behind me pretty frequently (as a an ex motorcyclist) and find that two abreast might be allowed by law, and certainly acceptable on a weekend, but certainly completely inconsiderate in high traffic areas or even worse during mid week rush hours.

I am not saying "go and learn from the Italians" because that would be nonsense, but I would like to suggest that we also remember that just because something is legal does not mean it is sensible, because it is legal to ride your bike without lights on but I would never dare do that day or night.

SBezza

To be honest on a normal carriageway (ie one normal sized lane for each direction), you should be going over the white line to overtake, even if it is just a single cyclist. The roads in the UK are generally rubbish, and the cyclist might want to suddenly go around a pothole/drain etc.

There is no need on this style of road to overtake and squeeze a cyclist towards the gutter. They are not doing anything wrong with 2 abreast, in fact I would say it is safer, as it does make the car driver do a proper overtake, as he would need to do for any other motorised vehicle going as slow or slower than a group of cyclists.

On on a narrow country lane would I say it is ideal for a group to single out, just so the car has more room to safely complete his overtake, without squeezing anyone.

To be honest if you are in a group ride, you are not ignorant if you force a car to overtake properly, you are doing what is perfectly legal, it isn't our fault car drivers are all in such a hurry to get to the place they are going. Perhaps the car drivers who expect you to single out everytime there is a car behind is the ignorant one. Roads are for everyone, not just cars.

chuckcork

If it was a horse rider you were overtaking, would you be so angry?

Kenjaja1

At the risk of offending many people on this thread I would say that both cyclists and motorists are capable of great selfishness and intolerance on the road - and I include myself in that criticism.

I commute at night and try to avoid blocking cars and lorries when possible. If someone has held back and waited I try to give a small "thank you" wave and then wave them on when it is clear. However, when drivers show lack of consideration I do no hesitate to be assertive and, on occasion, downright aggressive.

There are cyclists and motorists who should not be on the road because they are such a danger to themselves and others. Sometimes this is due to selfishness, sometimes stupidity (a failing we are all capable of at times) and sometimes it is it is down to aggression which seems to surface when some people get on the road.

Fngroni's point about retraining is valid but needs to be taken further. We should all be learning all the time and I would be very happy to see continuous campaigns to encourage better driving and cycling. This could be like the "clunk click" seat belt campaign which was run before belting up became compulsory. I also remember as a youngster that there were a few TV ads aimed at cyclists and encouraging better roadcraft.

I cannot say if Alp's criticism of the cyclists in the Forest of Dean is valid or not since I do not know the area, did not see the incident and do not know why the cyclists were riding as they were. I am sure that with a bit more education and thought all our views could become less entrenched and our actions could become safer for us and others. Until we are guided by some sort of campaign we will continue to see, for example, red light jumpers, (cyclists and motorists), drivers hogging the middle lane on motorways, drivers driving much to close to other road users when overtaking, breaking speed limits, cyclists on pavements and so on (ad infinitum)

One of the main lessons we cyclists have to learn is how vulnerable we are. Many of us have learned this the hard way and have the scars to prove it (again I include myself). Understanding our vulnerability is more important than arguing about who is right and wrong. If you appreciate that almost any motorised vehicle can make you history in a split second then you increase your chances of staying alive and if you are alive you can have the right/wrong argument. If you have been squished by a lorry then the right/wrong discussion will not get you out of your wooden box. A few motorists have too little understanding of cyclists' fragility - but we cyclists are the ones who get most pain and grief when things go wrong.

My philosophy is to try and stay as safe as possible when a motorist is posing a threat. That way I survive and may then have the opportunity to begin that driver's education if I catch him at the next lights. (At the very least I can start by making him aware that he is an @sshole)

kaimag11

kenjaja1
great post.

MattBlackBigBoysBMX

Frank the tank wrote:

I get sick of telling non-cyclists it's not against the rules of the road for cyclists to ride two abrest. :?

Not quite.

Highway Code wrote:

ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends

*

Not that I can remember ever being unduly held up by cyclists when I've been driving.
Horses god yes, but other cyclists, no.


*Yes I am very aware that not everything in the highway code specifically relates to law, but they still are "rules of the road".

giant_man

MattBlackBigBoysBMX wrote:

Frank the tank wrote:

I get sick of telling non-cyclists it's not against the rules of the road for cyclists to ride two abrest. :?

Not quite.

Highway Code wrote:

ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends

*

Not that I can remember ever being unduly held up by cyclists when I've been driving.
Horses god yes, but other cyclists, no.


*Yes I am very aware that not everything in the highway code specifically relates to law, but they still are "rules of the road".

Absolutly correct! The problem is when cyclists flout this rule, or of course are not aware of it.

dilemna

alp777 wrote:

I agree with most of what you have all said, however i didn't mention that i had to pass this group on more than one occasion and both times they were blocking the whole of the lane. You could have put another two or three cyclists between two of them that were blocking the road and yes the road was probably 4 meteres wide.

I too am a keen road rider, I just thought they were a little ignorant to other road users.

rant over!

You're just feeling guilty you weren't one of the cyclists you encountered. Hope you gave them plenty of room.