This is what we are up against!

father_jack

I thought I was going to die but people just walked past looking at me

What lovely people we are... :roll: Woman is bleeding and we just continue..

Bacteria Man

This 'you don't pay road tax' argument, quite apart from the fact that roads are apparently paid for out of council tax, seems tenuous: I would imagine the majority of cyclists also own cars.

Even that line of argument doesn't make much sense. Has anyone who drives a Bluemotion Golf or other tax exempt vehicle ever been on the recieving end of this nonsense?

Bottom line is there are idiots everywhere; on bikes, in cars, in power. I'd like to think that most people into cycling are reasonably safety-concious. But there are many other people who just use it occasionally as a means to an end and are less bothered about safety.

37monkey

I would be happy to be on the receiving end of verbal abuse, blasting horns, angry hand signals and the like, as long as I had at least a meter of space between me and the vehicle. Has anyone ever had abuse or attempts (purposeful not accidental) on their life from women? Perhaps men should be banned from driving?

Bigpikle wrote:

"the only thing guaranteed to happen when you put a group of people together is conflict"

Nothing unites people better than a them and us situation.

starlet_gt

Father Jack wrote:

I thought I was going to die but people just walked past looking at me

What lovely people we are... :roll: Woman is bleeding and we just continue..

When I came off my bike last december after hitting some black ice, I'd sliced my eyelid open it was peeing out with blood. I was standing at the side of the road with bike on the floor and one person stopped their car, looked at me then drove off...

rick_chasey

Bigpikle wrote:

its the same lack of tolerance for others that pervades every element of society isnt it - religious, political, you name it? People just seem incapable of co-existing peacefully in whatever we do, which is really so sad...

I heard a colleague say somethng years ago which really struck a chord with me:

"the only thing guaranteed to happen when you put a group of people together is conflict"

It always depresses me that it continues to be played out every day of the week

Peace, love and understanding man.....

You've clearly never been swinging.

father_jack

starlet_gt wrote:

Father Jack wrote:

I thought I was going to die but people just walked past looking at me

What lovely people we are... :roll: Woman is bleeding and we just continue..

When I came off my bike last december after hitting some black ice, I'd sliced my eyelid open it was peeing out with blood. I was standing at the side of the road with bike on the floor and one person stopped their car, looked at me then drove off...

Too right, he doesn't want to get his interior finished in blood red

StillGoing

37monkey wrote:

I would be happy to be on the receiving end of verbal abuse, blasting horns, angry hand signals and the like, as long as I had at least a meter of space between me and the vehicle. Has anyone ever had abuse or attempts (purposeful not accidental) on their life from women? Perhaps men should be banned from driving?

Bigpikle wrote:

"the only thing guaranteed to happen when you put a group of people together is conflict"

Nothing unites people better than a them and us situation.

Yes resulting in me trying to smash her rear quarter with my fist to alert her to the fact she was about to nerf me into the guard rails. I'm sure we've all had the car drivers who deliberately close the gaps to stop you getting ahead of them in rush hour traffic jams too.

Phate

Had a puncture on the way to work this morning and whilst I was fixing it I had 3 different people shout abuse at me from their car windows! Erses the lot of them!

father_jack

Phate wrote:

Had a puncture on the way to work this morning and whilst I was fixing it I had 3 different people shout abuse at me from their car windows! Erses the lot of them!

In the middle of the road?

Phate

Father Jack wrote:

Phate wrote:

Had a puncture on the way to work this morning and whilst I was fixing it I had 3 different people shout abuse at me from their car windows! Erses the lot of them!

In the middle of the road?

Hardly, wasn't even at the side of the road as I was in the city centre so was fixing the puncture on the pavement whilst getting abuse like 'haha get it up you! you tree hugging poof!' and 'Serves you right you effing cyclist barsteward'

father_jack

Pay no notice to them.

d87heaven

I can only speak as someone who has taken up cycling only recently so here are a few points...........

Whilst out running I often come across cyclists is full 'tour de france' (pardon the description but its the first thing that sprang into mind to describe them) outfit who seem to want to pass as close as they can to me. I can think of 2 occasions when they actually brushed my arm which I had to pull in sharpish.
As a driver I find it frustrating to spend ages trying over take a cyclist then when I do he undertakes me again then I have to repeat the whole process. We need better roads and proper cycle paths.
I see more instances ofcyclists red light jumping and pavement riding during rush hour, probably not a good advert as bad behaviour stands out more. But then I see awful driving all day.
As a cyclist I realise how vunerable cyclists are on the road.
With an estimated one million uninsured cars on the road I think you can safely say there are some right to@@sers on the road who care about no one.
As a final ramble.....I think its going to get a lot worse on the roads for everyone before it gets better. :?

jim453

d87heaven wrote:

I can only speak as someone who has taken up cycling only recently so here are a few points...........

Whilst out running I often come across cyclists is full 'tour de france' (pardon the description but its the first thing that sprang into mind to describe them) outfit who seem to want to pass as close as they can to me. I can think of 2 occasions when they actually brushed my arm which I had to pull in sharpish.
As a driver I find it frustrating to spend ages trying over take a cyclist then when I do he undertakes me again then I have to repeat the whole process. We need better roads and proper cycle paths.
I see more instances ofcyclists red light jumping and pavement riding during rush hour, probably not a good advert as bad behaviour stands out more. But then I see awful driving all day.
As a cyclist I realise how vunerable cyclists are on the road.
With an estimated one million uninsured cars on the road I think you can safely say there are some right to@@sers on the road who care about no one.
As a final ramble.....I think its going to get a lot worse on the roads for everyone before it gets better. :?

Presumably you wear hobnailed boots and a bowler hat whilst out running rather than full (chariots of fire) outfit of running shoes, shorts and a vest/t-shirt.

Why is it relevant what a rider is wearing? In any case what would you have a road cyclist wear so as to be not worthy of comment? What do you wear?

Also, whilst you're riding do you memorise and then remain to the rear of any car that passes you? Regardless of the speed of traffic at the point which you catch up with them?

rick_chasey

D87 - if it's hassle to pass a cyclist twice why not just wait in the first place?

d87heaven

jim453 wrote:

Presumably you wear hobnailed boots and a bowler hat whilst out running rather than full (chariots of fire) outfit of running shoes, shorts and a vest/t-shirt.

Why is it relevant what a rider is wearing? In any case what would you have a road cyclist wear so as to be not worthy of comment? What do you wear?

Also, whilst you're riding do you memorise and then remain to the rear of any car that passes you? Regardless of the speed of traffic at the point which you catch up with them?

The bowler hat only comes out in the winter as its too hot in the summer.

I never said it was relevant, I used it as a description. However it would leave me to believe that they are cyclists who are keen on thier sport and would want it to have a good image.

No I don't memorise vehicles. What has that got to do with anything? I was merely pointing out the fact that motorists can and do feel frustration as the road network is frankly appalling.

d87heaven

Rick Chasey wrote:

D87 - if it's hassle to pass a cyclist twice why not just wait in the first place?

Clear road ahead - get to a turning , car infront turns right. I wait behind car, cyclists undertakes. Repeat process. Not a problem for me but sometimes you just think aw bugger im stuck behind him/her again'. Its just one of those things. Other people get wound up. Look at the case's of road rage, people can get very fiesty in a car.
I was just pointing out how people can feel.

rick_chasey

d87heaven wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

D87 - if it's hassle to pass a cyclist twice why not just wait in the first place?

Clear road ahead - get to a turning , car infront turns right. I wait behind car, cyclists undertakes. Repeat process. Not a problem for me but sometimes you just think aw bugger im stuck behind him/her again'. Its just one of those things. Other people get wound up. Look at the case's of road rage, people can get very fiesty in a car.
I was just pointing out how people can feel.

If people are going to get road rage from that, then there's little anyone can do to stop them getting road rage! They'd probably flip out over anything.

The people (invariably men) who get that angry about bizzarely trival stuff like that are usually the same people who are out on a friday night, vomiting on their own penis whilst pissing on the pavement, trying to get into a fight with someone because won't lend them a fag.

There's not a lot you can do, other than try and diffuse the situation when they do get road rage.

NatoED

i had a nurse almost run me over and an ice cream van that had "LOOK OUT " written on the back . I almost fell of laughing at the irony of that one.

mattward1979

d87heaven wrote:

I can only speak as someone who has taken up cycling only recently so here are a few points...........

Whilst out running I often come across cyclists is full 'tour de france' (pardon the description but its the first thing that sprang into mind to describe them) outfit who seem to want to pass as close as they can to me. I can think of 2 occasions when they actually brushed my arm which I had to pull in sharpish.
As a driver I find it frustrating to spend ages trying over take a cyclist then when I do he undertakes me again then I have to repeat the whole process. We need better roads and proper cycle paths.
I see more instances ofcyclists red light jumping and pavement riding during rush hour, probably not a good advert as bad behaviour stands out more. But then I see awful driving all day.
As a cyclist I realise how vunerable cyclists are on the road.
With an estimated one million uninsured cars on the road I think you can safely say there are some right to@@sers on the road who care about no one.
As a final ramble.....I think its going to get a lot worse on the roads for everyone before it gets better. :?

I can agree that a cyclist undertaking is a cause for concern, but if it takes a long time for you to overtake a cyclist, and he then overtakes you for you to then repeat the overtake, wouldnt that suggest that overtaking them in the first place is an exercise in futility?

I base this purely on the assumption that you arent on a clear road with a cyclist taking up an entire lane, stopping you from overtaking.

The point being, I get over taken regularly on dual carriageways only for the driver to stop dead in front of me 50m on because of traffic, for me to then overtake THEM + 20 cars, which then obviously insults them in some way so they have to chase me down to "be first" in whatever pathetic race they believe they are taking part in.

d87heaven

I find it interesting the questioning/critiscism of the overtaking part of the thread, you can't know what the person 10 cars ahead is doing. Nobody has commented on the jumping of lights or the aggressive cycling part apart from the first response defending what the cyclists were wearing.
I think people being in a tin box with all the protection a modern car/lorry affords makes people insulated from the dangers they pose on the road. That combined with some people with twisted values and warped minds makes a hazardous driver. How many people speed and then moan when they are caught because the police should be tackling proper crime? Warped isn't it?
The people responding to the originall poster in the paper are clearly unfit to drive, but hey he passed his test so that gives him the right to carry on like the piece of human detrius he is.

CiB

d87heaven wrote:

jim453 wrote:

Presumably you wear hobnailed boots and a bowler hat whilst out running rather than full (chariots of fire) outfit of running shoes, shorts and a vest/t-shirt.

Why is it relevant what a rider is wearing? In any case what would you have a road cyclist wear so as to be not worthy of comment? What do you wear?

Also, whilst you're riding do you memorise and then remain to the rear of any car that passes you? Regardless of the speed of traffic at the point which you catch up with them?

The bowler hat only comes out in the winter as its too hot in the summer.

I never said it was relevant, I used it as a description. However it would leave me to believe that they are cyclists who are keen on thier sport and would want it to have a good image.

Presume it hasn't occurred to you that wearing the full TdF gear is actaully the best stuff by a mile to wear for any kind of distance? When I'm cycling 21 miles to work I don't wear the full TdF gear because I think I look like Lance and travel at the same speed, it's because lycra is the best stuff to wear. Ever tried cycling that sort of distance in jeans & tee shirt, or a suit? Lycra is by a country mile the best stuff to wear if the ride is anything more than a short trip or a casual family bimble.

People who use lycra as a peg with which to harangue cyclists get my goat. I'd like to imagine that these people also tick off fat blokes wearing Chelsea shirts in Asda on a Saturday afternoon, or go to their local park on a Sunday morning and have a pop at these Sunday League footballers, wearing full Man Utd type football kits and real football boots just like Premier League players, when all they are in reality is rubbish footballers. Gah. It's the right kit for the job.

rick_chasey

d87heaven wrote:

I find it interesting the questioning/critiscism of the overtaking part of the thread, you can't know what the person 10 cars ahead is doing. Nobody has commented on the jumping of lights or the aggressive cycling part apart from the first response defending what the cyclists were wearing.

I don't jump lights, and when i'm in built up areas I certainly avoid the ADP.

I didn't comment on it because it doesn't affect me.

Cars do pass me, so that does.

CiB

d87heaven wrote:

As a driver I find it frustrating to spend ages trying over take a cyclist then when I do he undertakes me again then I have to repeat the whole process. We need better roads and proper cycle paths.

As a cyclist I find it frustrating to be riding along and having some driver sitting on my back whel instead of overtaking. Maybe your roads are all single track, but round here drivers do seem to hang back for an age even when it's more than safe to do so, and the reality is that a car doesn't need a big long stretch of empty road with no oncoming traffic to pass a cyclist. I wish drivers would get on with it and be on their way, rather than sitting there causing a tailback that will inevitably be the fault of the cyclist.

soveda

d87heaven wrote:

I can only speak as someone who has taken up cycling only recently so here are a few points...........

Whilst out running I often come across cyclists is full 'tour de france' (pardon the description but its the first thing that sprang into mind to describe them) outfit who seem to want to pass as close as they can to me. I can think of 2 occasions when they actually brushed my arm which I had to pull in sharpish.
As a driver I find it frustrating to spend ages trying over take a cyclist then when I do he undertakes me again then I have to repeat the whole process. We need better roads and proper cycle paths.
I see more instances ofcyclists red light jumping and pavement riding during rush hour, probably not a good advert as bad behaviour stands out more. But then I see awful driving all day.
As a cyclist I realise how vunerable cyclists are on the road.
With an estimated one million uninsured cars on the road I think you can safely say there are some right to@@sers on the road who care about no one.
As a final ramble.....I think its going to get a lot worse on the roads for everyone before it gets better. :?

It's not "undertaking" if the cyclist is following the path they were following before, if you are in a queue of slow moving traffic it is perfectly reasonable to pass (as you would in a car). given your post later on describing being stationary this is even more relevant.

"proper cycle paths"- what is a proper cycle path? To my mind for a road/path to be suitable for bicycles it needs to be suitable for moderate speeds (up to 40 mph if downhill for any length of time) and I can't see how this is possible with "cycle paths". The more you segregate bicycles the less people who do not ride bikes will expect to see them on the road and that could make it more dangerous for people to ride on the roads.

Red light jumping, I don't do it (hmm, exception: lights that are activated by a sensor that doesn't pick up bikes and would therefore not change until a larger vehicle arrives). Riding on the pavement is silly IMO in various ways: it causes friction between bikes and pedestrians, it's dangerous for pedestrians (and postentialy the cyclist) and it means there are fewer bikes on the carriageway so motorists are less used to having bikes where they should be.

I agree there are idiots in all modes of transport and we need to be aware of that but there is no justification in being an idiot because someone else is.