Drivers Unusually Gracious Today WTF
NWLondoner
Posts: 2,047
I had the day off work today so thought I would do a "pretend" commute to see how the rest of you live. Colindale-Edgware Road-Marble Arch-Finchley Road-Home Total of 25kms .As I only live a 20 minute walk from work cycling to work is not really an option LOL.
It's been a while since I rode first thing on a dark, wet rush hour morning. I was expecting the worst but was pleasantly surprised.
Most drivers gave more than enough room when overtaking and even with me riding in a very primary road position no-one tried to intimidate me to speed up.
I even had one White Van Driver slow down and let me cut in when we approached a pinch point on Cricklewood Broadway. Normally overtaking cars try to speed up and get passed you but he was more than happy to let me cut in 8) Sadly i can't remember the name on the van or i would have contacted the company to thank them.
As usual the only pain in the ass was the Big Red London Buses. TFL MUST really try harder to educate Bus Drivers on when and how to overtake cyclists. Whats the point in an overtake if you are going to stop at a bus stop 100mtrs down the road :roll:
Mind you they do need to repair some of those massive pot holes between Brondesbury Road and High Street Kilburn. Some nasty accidents waiting to happen on those.
It's been a while since I rode first thing on a dark, wet rush hour morning. I was expecting the worst but was pleasantly surprised.
Most drivers gave more than enough room when overtaking and even with me riding in a very primary road position no-one tried to intimidate me to speed up.
I even had one White Van Driver slow down and let me cut in when we approached a pinch point on Cricklewood Broadway. Normally overtaking cars try to speed up and get passed you but he was more than happy to let me cut in 8) Sadly i can't remember the name on the van or i would have contacted the company to thank them.
As usual the only pain in the ass was the Big Red London Buses. TFL MUST really try harder to educate Bus Drivers on when and how to overtake cyclists. Whats the point in an overtake if you are going to stop at a bus stop 100mtrs down the road :roll:
Mind you they do need to repair some of those massive pot holes between Brondesbury Road and High Street Kilburn. Some nasty accidents waiting to happen on those.
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Sadly the car drivers of Birmingham didn't get the memo - they were as agressive, petty and vindictive as always
Crash 'n Burn, Peel 'n Chew
FCN: 20 -
NWLondoner wrote:I had the day off work today so thought I would do a "pretend" commute to see how the rest of you live. Colindale-Edgware Road-Marble Arch-Finchley Road-Home Total of 25kms .As I only live a 20 minute walk from work cycling to work is not really an option LOL.
It's been a while since I rode first thing on a dark, wet rush hour morning. I was expecting the worst but was pleasantly surprised.
Most drivers gave more than enough room when overtaking and even with me riding in a very primary road position no-one tried to intimidate me to speed up.
I even had one White Van Driver slow down and let me cut in when we approached a pinch point on Cricklewood Broadway. Normally overtaking cars try to speed up and get passed you but he was more than happy to let me cut in 8) Sadly i can't remember the name on the van or i would have contacted the company to thank them.
As usual the only pain in the ass was the Big Red London Buses. TFL MUST really try harder to educate Bus Drivers on when and how to overtake cyclists. Whats the point in an overtake if you are going to stop at a bus stop 100mtrs down the road :roll:
Mind you they do need to repair some of those massive pot holes between Brondesbury Road and High Street Kilburn. Some nasty accidents waiting to happen on those.
That's London drivers for you....! 0 -
NWLondoner wrote:As usual the only pain in the ass was the Big Red London Buses. TFL MUST really try harder to educate Bus Drivers on when and how to overtake cyclists. Whats the point in an overtake if you are going to stop at a bus stop 100mtrs down the road :roll:
Single deckers can be equally painful in the posterior.
I was approaching the Tooley street area this morning - there's a couple of traffic lights where I like to get ahead as I usually go faster than the traffic along there and manage to avoid all the lane swapping that inevitably takes place once the lights change.
Only a bus had pulled over slightly to the left - for no apparent reason, though I assumed that she was intending to turn left (she wasn't) and had forgotten to indicate, and was blocking the clearly marked cycle lane. I managed to get past the bus and into the ASL by leaning over the edge of the pavement and pushing along with my left foot.
When the lights changed she didn;t turn left as I expected and tried to pass me as the road narrowed, but couldn't get enough speed up to do so, and dropped back. Had she succeeded I would probably had to have slammed my brakes on as the road wasn't wide enough for both of us.
This was just as we were approaching a red light - so what she thought she was going to gain I do not know. anyway she went into the lane to the right, just as the road opened up again, with a lane to the left for left turn only, I intended to go straight on and into the ASL which was clear ahead and only about 20/30 feet away. She was now in the lane to my right buit wanted to turn left, so she cut straight across me, couldn;t get all the way across due to other traffic and stopped dead, blocking two lanes and forcing me to stop. I went around her, stopped in front of her to wait for some sort of explanation and she just wouldn;t give me eye contact. She knew she'd done wrong.
All that effort - getting in my way three times in less than 5 minutes - and for what? she should have just let me go ahead and I'd have been out of her way completely. why this bleeding obsession some drivers have for always overtaking the cyclist?
Flipping eejit!0
