On and Off Trains - am I invisible?

CanalRider

Me and my bike catch 4 trains a day, I usually stand by the doors or in the bike section. If I am by the doors it seems that the other passengers view is I must be the last person to get off the train. People will rather squeeze past rather than let me get out of the way. This has been going on for about 9 months now and is starting to grate. The same can be said of people who try to board before I have gotten off, but that generally applies whether I have the bike or not.

redvee

Make sure the oily chain is pointed out to them and the 6month oil chainstain on your jacket and the trouble you've had getting out of the, at the time, brand new jacket. Might make them think twice.

BigJimmyB

I think that people just think you're in the way and the best thing they can do is get past you.

Not always what you want, but a sad fact of bike-train commuting.

ride_whenever

trackstand inbetween the doors, cycle out as soon as they open.

SORTED!

8)

fenboy369

ride_whenever wrote:

trackstand inbetween the doors, cycle out as soon as they open.

SORTED!

8)

Hmmmm, done that on Cambridge Station a couple of times. The station staff seem to have a pretty dim view of it, cant think why. Never mind. This time of year I just turn my lights on. Seems to work. And stand holding your bike by the saddle and just push it. People get out of the way or get hit by a bar.... oops :roll:

itboffin

Happens to me everyday more so coming into London, mostly i'll let women, children and older folks go first everyone else needs to watch their shins, its fair game esp for my swinging a steel bike

sicknote

I used to get this alot when I was in the TA but when I had my Army rucksac on ( which had a steel frame on the outside ), I used to cross my hands and wacth them jump as they pushed passed me and got clipped by the frame.

If they had waited, it would not have happened :roll:

unscarred

No manners these days - and little old ladies are the worst.

If you're male and able bodied you're fair game for everyone to literally push you out of the way to get out, bike or not.

Fortunately, being 6'3" and 105kg I don't push easily, which has given some impatient/rude people a nasty surprise in the past!

Roastie

Yup, a standard feature of my commute - though fortunately without people pushing to try to get off before me (mostly because I am on quiet routes I guess).

What does amaze me is idiots who push past when I'm carrying the bike up and down stairs. It is always chain side out, and I'm guessing more than one city "gent" has arrived at work to find strange oily marks on his jacket.

Cafewanda

Unscarred, I disagree. If you are a very short female you truly are invisible unless you have a heavy rucksack on your back. Then you can use it as a buffer to heft people out the way :twisted:

I might 'borrow' you next time I'm forced to travel on a crowded train/tube

unscarred

Cafewanda wrote:

Unscarred, I disagree. If you are a very short female you truly are invisible unless you have a heavy rucksack on your back. Then you can use it as a buffer to heft people out the way :twisted:

I might 'borrow' you next time I'm forced to travel on a crowded train/tube

I have to admit you may be right, there's a few times I've almost tripped over a vertically challenged female who appears apparently out of nowhere and dives under the old size fourteens!

My problem is I'm too damn polite - I never push and actually avoid making any physical contact, just in case I hurt someone accidentally. Part of being raised with younger sisters I think...

CanalRider

I have my lights from DealExtreme now, including one that is helmet mounted. I may start to turn it on earlier and 'white-eye' a few people.

At least I know it's not just me.

Another strange phenomenon. People with suitcases who when they get to the top of an escalator suddenly stop and look around. On the plus side it leaves a nice place to park my bike :P

Cafewanda

unscarred wrote:

Cafewanda wrote:

Unscarred, I disagree. If you are a very short female you truly are invisible unless you have a heavy rucksack on your back. Then you can use it as a buffer to heft people out the way :twisted:

I might 'borrow' you next time I'm forced to travel on a crowded train/tube

I have to admit you may be right, there's a few times I've almost tripped over a vertically challenged female who appears apparently out of nowhere and dives under the old size fourteens!

My problem is I'm too damn polite - I never push and actually avoid making any physical contact, just in case I hurt someone accidentally. Part of being raised with younger sisters I think...

Oy! We do not dive under your s14s. You weren't looking at the ground. Pay attention matey

will3

Cafewanda wrote:

unscarred wrote:

Cafewanda wrote:

Unscarred, I disagree. If you are a very short female you truly are invisible unless you have a heavy rucksack on your back. Then you can use it as a buffer to heft people out the way :twisted:

I might 'borrow' you next time I'm forced to travel on a crowded train/tube

I have to admit you may be right, there's a few times I've almost tripped over a vertically challenged female who appears apparently out of nowhere and dives under the old size fourteens!

My problem is I'm too damn polite - I never push and actually avoid making any physical contact, just in case I hurt someone accidentally. Part of being raised with younger sisters I think...

Oy! We do not dive under your s14s. You weren't looking at the ground. Pay attention matey

have you considered getting one of those flags they use on kiddy trailers?

Cafewanda

Will3, that was not nice. I are very upset That should read 'I love my hybrid' :roll:

Overgrown bully :P

will3

Cafewanda wrote:

Will3, that was not nice. I are very upset That should read 'I love my hybrid' :roll:

Overgrown bully :P

8)

just trying to help

Cafewanda

So you say

will3

Cafewanda wrote:

So you say

well then, just for you:

http://www.cafepress.co.uk/+i_love_my_h ... r,43260172

Cafewanda

Fantastic!! You have redeemed yourself

jedster

Funnily enough I was barged by a little (fairly old) lady while trying to get onto a train last night. I'm not that big but I avoid shoving people, and try to "filter in turn" if there is any doubt about who is next in line to get on the train. Yesterday, I felt a shove in the back and thought it was an accident, so ignored it. Then I got another so turned to see what it was about and there was a fairly old woman shouldering me in the back. Predictably this tended to make be slower in getting on the train :twisted: She kept shoving me.

When we boarded I got one of the last seats, she did not. I would have ordinarily given up my seat to an elderly woman. In this case I felt that she had demonstrated that she was sufficiently robust not to need to be patronised in that way. :twisted:

hisoka

I find I tend to not get too badly crowded most of the time. I think it is the fact my chest/shoulders are wider by an enter shoulder then most people. That helps. That and for some reason when I am concentrating on walking in a crowd people say my face looks like I will just plain walk over people. Never done it, except once and that person had called me something rather rude and insulting the night before (in the same clothes so had not changed at all since the day before) so I thought walking into them was fair game.

Though I prefer to think I only walk in the spaces in crowds, which I can do quite well for a robust (well, nicest way to put it) chappy. I always though look for the smaller members of society, look down I say you never know when a shorter lady might be wearing a low cut top.

Oh wait, that might make me seem even worse then normal. I'll use the excuse of "it's wednesday.". Not sure that will work but oh well.

lost_in_thought

I like to think I'm 'assertive' on public transport...

To the OP, if you let one person pass you, all the rest will do the same. They're all on their way to Very Important Jobs and don't have the time to wait for the likes of you, nor to be polite. There's a recession on, don't you know. Join the 'queue', in an assertive fashion.

On another note, it used to really annoy me when folding bike users got out of the train then immediately unfolded their bike about 3 feet from the door, or, in more ovbious parlance, right where everyone getting off that carriage wants to be walking. Go out of the main stream of foot traffic and do it there, k?

Cafewanda

jedster wrote:

Funnily enough I was barged by a little (fairly old) lady while trying to get onto a train last night. I'm not that big but I avoid shoving people, and try to "filter in turn" if there is any doubt about who is next in line to get on the train. Yesterday, I felt a shove in the back and thought it was an accident, so ignored it. Then I got another so turned to see what it was about and there was a fairly old woman shouldering me in the back. Predictably this tended to make be slower in getting on the train :twisted: She kept shoving me.

When we boarded I got one of the last seats, she did not. I would have ordinarily given up my seat to an elderly woman. In this case I felt that she had demonstrated that she was sufficiently robust not to need to be patronised in that way. :twisted:

and here was I thinking of employing that tactic when I get to 65 :twisted: .

Yep some oldsters are worse than the young and they expect to get away with it due to age :roll:

singlespeedexplosif

always puzzles me this one. The fight to get a seat is quite ridiculous, particularly when there are enough to go round.
This morning I did the 'please, after you' bit to a woman who was hesitating about whether I was going to push in front of her or whatever. She thanked me, then immediately sat in the 'this area is for cycle storage. The fold-down seats are available when cycle storage is not needed' bit. Erm...are you going to tell me you didn't see me?

sicknote

I think the best one I had was when on the train with a big rucksac on ( taking tools to a job, so not light ) and there was just enough room for it to be comfortable in the carrage.

Well this guy wants to get on this train and takes a step or two back so he can push me in, well as he does I drop my weight just right ( 12 years of karate ) and he bounces off me
He said come on mate but if he had asked I might have move :roll:

Plus it would have felt like running into a wall, as I have had to do something like that with my teacher and he is 5'-4'' and I am 5'-10/11.

gtvlusso

redvee wrote:

Make sure the oily chain is pointed out to them and the 6month oil chainstain on your jacket and the trouble you've had getting out of the, at the time, brand new jacket. Might make them think twice.

+1

alan_sherman

Is it right for bicycles to be taking up space on packed peak time commuter services?

A bit like: is it right that fat people have the same carry on luggage alowance as thin people?


Debate away!

Roastie

Trying to get up to the platform this morn, while heading up the left hand stairs (which convention would suggest is the "up" stairway, this silly tosser comes forcing his way down, pushing his way past other people. I headed up to meet him, bike on my right, but dirty side safely to the handrail.

So toss pot pushes his way through and gets a bar end straight into some squishy part of his abdomen. Then proceeds to swear at me (something along the lines of "stupid f&&k").

I feel rocks. Idiot.

biondino

Canalrider, I didn't see you on my train journey in today, so I think the answer to the thread title has to be "yes, yes you are".

CanalRider

biondino wrote:

Canalrider, I didn't see you on my train journey in today, so I think the answer to the thread title has to be "yes, yes you are".

Ticket inspector has magic goggles, he found me :-)

24 people filed passed between me and my bike stopping me getting it out of the storage rack, the last one said, "thank you". Cheered me up no end.