Boy racers

Aidy

Stopped at a pedestrian crossing on my way home to have a boy racer pull up next to me.

"Excuse me mate?"
"Yeah what's up?"
"You know you were doing, like, 30 MILES PER HOUR?!"

Awesome

If I'd've thought a bit faster, I had the perfect response:

"Yeah, I'd be going a bit faster, but it is a 30 limit"

doog442

part of my downhill stretch in a 30 mph limit still has the muppet motorist gagging to overtake me for no other reason than

'He is a cyclist ...i must overtake'...repeat in robotic manner

depite the fact i often knock up 32-35 on this stretch (downhill)

this encourages me to plonk mysef in the middle of the road, usually there are loads of pinch points ahead yet they will still try and chance it

lost_in_thought

Aidy wrote:

Stopped at a pedestrian crossing on my way home to have a boy racer pull up next to me.

"Excuse me mate?"
"Yeah what's up?"
"You know you were doing, like, 30 MILES PER HOUR?!"

Awesome

If I'd've thought a bit faster, I had the perfect response:

"Yeah, I'd be going a bit faster, but it is a 30 limit"

Ah bless 'em. They do get impressed! I had two on a scooter tell me I was doing 25mph and they 'wouldn't want me to kick them' on the Chiswick High Street t'other day.

fossyant

I had this a couple of years back......

Out on a training run, in a rough area..... these lads pull up next to me...start shouting........"Yay...30mph......" gave me the thumbs up and they are off..... I nearly fell off my saddle.....I was expecting a load of abuse......... :?

fossyant

A number of years back, I also out ran a Scooter on a night training run - left it for dead for about 4 miles on open roads...... pulled up at lights, the lady rider catches up....."you were doing over 30 mph"......I said..."yup"......

jimmypippa

must wait for next C2W to get a proper bike...

spasypaddy

which ped crossing was it?

graeme_s-2

fossyant wrote:

I had this a couple of years back......

Out on a training run, in a rough area..... these lads pull up next to me...start shouting........"Yay...30mph......" gave me the thumbs up and they are off..... I nearly fell off my saddle.....I was expecting a load of abuse......... :?

On the way home from work on a bright sunny spring evening pulled up at a red light and spotted a couple of lads with the windows down listening to the theme from Rocky with the volume set to 11. They very enthusiastically cheered me on as I sprinted away from the lights, made my week!

redvee

I have overtaken scooters in the past on my MTB albeit downhill and I guess the 'scalpee' was still restricted.

Aidy

spasypaddy wrote:

which ped crossing was it?

It was a fair few miles out of London proper. North of Edmonton. I don't generally see other cyclists for the vast majority of my commute.
I'll go find a map and work out which one it is if you really care.

spasypaddy

ah no, just thought it might be somewhere i ride sometimes as i do occasionally ride the a10 all the way to edmonton. If it was past edmonton i wont have been there!

gabriel959

That probably only happens in London and very built-up areas, I barely overtake (probably because I go on 60 mph roads!).

rally200

redvee wrote:

I have overtaken scooters in the past on my MTB albeit downhill and I guess the 'scalpee' was still restricted.

can we once and for all get over the moped/scooter distinction

some scooters are mopeds - i.e. the legal definition 50cc or under and limited to 30mph - I have seen children running up a hill alongside a Vespa 50 taunting the rider - beating a moped is literally childsplay.

Most Scooters are over 50cc & therefore (legally classed as) motorcycles, whilst not worrying the boys on their Fireblades - a Vespa 200 will do over 80mph -

cjcp

Harrumpf. I never receive any comments about going faster than traffic.

<goes off to sulk.>

lost_in_thought

cjcp wrote:

Harrumpf. I never receive any comments about going faster than traffic.

<goes off to sulk.>

They probably think you've secretly got a motor on your bike somewhere.

lost_in_thought

rally200 wrote:

redvee wrote:

I have overtaken scooters in the past on my MTB albeit downhill and I guess the 'scalpee' was still restricted.

can we once and for all get over the moped/scooter distinction

some scooters are mopeds - i.e. the legal definition 50cc or under and limited to 30mph - I have seen children running up a hill alongside a Vespa 50 taunting the rider - beating a moped is literally childsplay.

Most Scooters are over 50cc & therefore (legally classed as) motorcycles, whilst not worrying the boys on their Fireblades - a Vespa 200 will do over 80mph -

I've learned something new today! So a moped is limited and a scooter isn't... got it.

jonginge

lost_in_thought wrote:

cjcp wrote:

Harrumpf. I never receive any comments about going faster than traffic.

<goes off to sulk.>

They probably think you've secretly got a motor on your bike somewhere.

*remembers comments from saturday, mutters grumpily*

Once got told by a mopedder I had been doing 40 through blackfriars tunnel. Would have been nice but methinks the calibration of her speedo was a bit off.

Edit: Rally200's QI fact may explain the above

Clever Pun

jimmypippa wrote:

must wait for next C2W to get 1/2 a proper bike...

fixed that for you

il_principe

I've had a few comments from mopeds before, once at VB lights when I'd just done a scooter at 30mph plus and once heading uphill underneath Holborn Viaduct, I took a scooter at full sprint and he passed comment at the lights. "You should get a bike" I told him...

...they always offer the same sort of amazed expression people have when they realise that bikes can actually cost more than £150.

Headhuunter

I had a guy wave a pretend chequered flag as me and a guy from the club whisked along a road on the edge of London/Kent once but no comments yet...

The Rookie

rally200 wrote:

redvee wrote:

some scooters are mopeds - i.e. the legal definition 50cc or under and limited to 30mph

Close, they must have a design speed of 30mph or less, in practice this means engine power is restricted, but downhill they will still exceed 30mph and be legal.

My first ever cycling scalp was at the age of 9 and was an invalid carriage, the parafin powered little pale blue 3 wheelers made by AC (yes the same company that made the Cobra!), they maxed out at about 20mph i think!

Simon

oscarbudgie

Police often set up a speed trap on my street as there's a school nearby - went past once and the copper aimed his gun, gave me a thumbs and said '27 miles an hour - not bad not bad' Its on the flat too and I'd begun to slow cause I was getting towards my house. Naturally I told everyone who would listen, several times.

Aidy

... and today I was passed by a van, whose passenger yelled out:

"27 miles per hour, go on son!"

rally200

The Beginner wrote:

[

My first ever cycling scalp was at the age of 9 and was an invalid carriage, the parafin powered little pale blue 3 wheelers made by AC (yes the same company that made the Cobra!), they maxed out at about 20mph i think!

Simon

What a great image, 1977, Jubilee Street parties, and kids in flares, snorkel parkas scalping Invalid carriages on their Choppers and Tomohawks. you've made me quite bleary eyed with nostalgia

girv73

I've got a thumbs up and a cheer from a WVM passenger for a 40mph road descent, and a round of applause from a group of lads for taking a series of 3 corners on a gravel path sideways on my MTB. Other than that, I'm not fast enough to be impressive

Dudu

doog442 wrote:

part of my downhill stretch in a 30 mph limit still has the muppet motorist gagging to overtake me for no other reason than

'He is a cyclist ...i must overtake'...repeat in robotic manner

depite the fact i often knock up 32-35 on this stretch (downhill)

this encourages me to plonk mysef in the middle of the road, usually there are loads of pinch points ahead yet they will still try and chance it

+1

Feltup

A young lass having a picnic with her family in the Peak District said to her folks "how is he doing that? How is he going so fast?" I was doing 7mph............but it was up a 17% hill I paid for it later in the ride.

I had it proven to me that the Specialized Singlecross has too much metal in its frame (damn heavy) when I was spinning like a loon down a hill near Overton and the flashing 30mph sign lit up. I actually shoulder checked to see if there was a car behind me setting it off but no it was the Singlecross - Kudos by signage!

girv73

Feltup wrote:

I had it proven to me that the Specialized Singlecross has too much metal in its frame (damn heavy) when I was spinning like a loon down a hill near Overton and the flashing 30mph sign lit up.!

Do those signs not work by radar? So it's more your ... erm .. cross section that counts rather than how much metal you're made of? Dunno, I may be wrong.

Feltup

girv73 wrote:

Feltup wrote:

I had it proven to me that the Specialized Singlecross has too much metal in its frame (damn heavy) when I was spinning like a loon down a hill near Overton and the flashing 30mph sign lit up.!

Do those signs not work by radar? So it's more your ... erm .. cross section that counts rather than how much metal you're made of? Dunno, I may be wrong.

I think they are radar but you need a decent amount of metal or reflective material i.e. not flesh to set it off. The Singlecross has very big tubes!

edit: my Felt doesn't set it off btw.

girv73

Ah, so if I had my tinfoil hat on or was carrying a roast turkey I might set one off? Excellent, that's this weekend sorted.

Feltup

girv73 wrote:

Ah, so if I had my tinfoil hat on or was carrying a roast turkey I might set one off? Excellent, that's this weekend sorted.

Remember the roast turkey needs to be a large one.


No reason other than all turkeys should be large and juicy mmmmmm