Why the f**k do drivers think you ride at 5mph all the time?

Shishman

Riding to work this lorry pulled out on me. I had my light, dayglo yellow jacket on and it was daylight. I left a trail of rubber behind me but stayed up thank god.

:evil:

Massimo

I think the reason is because that's as fast as they could go if they were on a bike.

For some bizarre reason the title of your post made me laugh out loud

Jay dubbleU

No idea but most non-cyclists seem to have no idea of the speed of bikes - I had a ped wander out 10m in front of me on my way home last night and then panic when I had to slam the brakes on

il_principe

Shishman wrote:

Riding to work this lorry pulled out on me. I had my light, dayglo yellow jacket on and it was daylight. I left a trail of rubber behind me but stayed up thank god.

:evil:

That's your problem right there. They see the HiViz and think 'slow'.

hfidgen

My "Gates of Hell" TM squeaky front brake usually puts the shits right up lazy-eyed peds and motorists

Not far off as loud as an AirZound, but much more "I'm a bike" than that.

Headhuunter

Il Principe wrote:

Shishman wrote:

Riding to work this lorry pulled out on me. I had my light, dayglo yellow jacket on and it was daylight. I left a trail of rubber behind me but stayed up thank god.

:evil:

That's your problem right there. They see the HiViz and think 'slow'.

Whereas if you don't wear hi viz they just don't see you...

snailracer

Headhuunter wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

Shishman wrote:

Riding to work this lorry pulled out on me. I had my light, dayglo yellow jacket on and it was daylight. I left a trail of rubber behind me but stayed up thank god.

:evil:

That's your problem right there. They see the HiViz and think 'slow'.

Whereas if you don't wear hi viz they just don't see you...

Add some black spots to your hiviz - they'll see you and think cheetah.

gaz545

Headhuunter wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

Shishman wrote:

Riding to work this lorry pulled out on me. I had my light, dayglo yellow jacket on and it was daylight. I left a trail of rubber behind me but stayed up thank god.

:evil:

That's your problem right there. They see the HiViz and think 'slow'.

Whereas if you don't wear hi viz they just don't see you...

As we all know, hi viz makes you compleatly visible to someone that isn't looking.

Headhuunter

gaz545 wrote:

Headhuunter wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

Shishman wrote:

Riding to work this lorry pulled out on me. I had my light, dayglo yellow jacket on and it was daylight. I left a trail of rubber behind me but stayed up thank god.

:evil:

That's your problem right there. They see the HiViz and think 'slow'.

Whereas if you don't wear hi viz they just don't see you...

As we all know, hi viz makes you compleatly visible to someone that isn't looking.

Well clearly if they're not looking then impact is inevitable...

Camion

My wife thoughtfully bought me a Mavic Signal jacket for Christmas, bless her. She thought my Assos winter jacket, along with all my other gear being black simply wasn't safe enough.

I now turn up to the office each morning to comments like "been moonlighting on the railways?" or "Is there a luggage handler at Gatwick feeling a little nippy today?".

It is embarassingly bright and railway workerish but it is bluddy high viz, although as you all say, not much use when the peds step out into the road THEN look or just don't look up from their Blackberry or Iphone as they don't hear an engine, just the low fizz of static coming from my waterproofs.

SimonAH

I reckon that it's the number one cause of the near misses that I've had over the past year or so. I've been cut up, pulled out on and on one memborable event bloody nearly wiped out by a car with all four wheels locked up skidding sideways back into my lane after nearly embedding themselves into a traffic island trying to overtake me.

At 20+ you need a good bit of space to pass me you idiot!!! It really gets my tits in a sling :evil:

jeepie

Related to this, is it reasonable to boot it on your bike as hard as you can in crowded urban areas, and expect other road users to anticipate this, because you are doing nothing wrong on the bike, so you are under the speed limit (normally 30mph)?

Headhuunter

Jeepie wrote:

Related to this, is it reasonable to boot it on your bike as hard as you can in crowded urban areas, and expect other road users to anticipate this, because you are doing nothing wrong on the bike, so you are under the speed limit (normally 30mph)?

Perfectly acceptable, in fact riding at or near the speed of traffic (I find) is far safer than pootling in the gutter at 5-10mph. Obviously you have to slow with the rest of the traffic sometimes and watch out for potential hazards but generally speaking, slower does not equal better...

Camion

By the way, speed limits only apply to motorised vehicles

You can however be fined for 'furious' cycling......

mcj78

Headhuunter wrote:

Jeepie wrote:

Related to this, is it reasonable to boot it on your bike as hard as you can in crowded urban areas, and expect other road users to anticipate this, because you are doing nothing wrong on the bike, so you are under the speed limit (normally 30mph)?

Perfectly acceptable, in fact riding at or near the speed of traffic (I find) is far safer than pootling in the gutter at 5-10mph. Obviously you have to slow with the rest of the traffic sometimes and watch out for potential hazards but generally speaking, slower does not equal better...

I concur - if you can keep up with free flowing traffic it's probably far safer to sit in the middle of the lane so idiots don't try to overtake & if anyone pulls out on you, you've more chance to avoid them.

Camion

As long as you concentrate on the car/ bus in front and not the fine filly with the short skirt on the path!

mcj78

Camion wrote:

You can however be fined for 'furious' cycling......

I'd take that rap!

Camion

My ex busted me once for doing something else furiously. I didn't realise she was in the house....;(

rolf_f

Camion wrote:

It is embarassingly bright and railway workerish but it is bluddy high viz, although as you all say, not much use when the peds step out into the road THEN look or just don't look up from their Blackberry or Iphone as they don't hear an engine, just the low fizz of static coming from my waterproofs.

Some idiot lad just killed himself whilst texting - fell 7 floors off a multistory carpark. You just can't allow for that degree of idiocy. At least he managed to remove himself from the gene pool without affecting anyone else.

secretsam

Camion wrote:

My ex busted me once for doing something else furiously. I didn't realise she was in the house....;(

Yeah, I've been caught chopping cucumber like that before

That was what you meant?

secretsam

Rolf F wrote:

Camion wrote:

It is embarassingly bright and railway workerish but it is bluddy high viz, although as you all say, not much use when the peds step out into the road THEN look or just don't look up from their Blackberry or Iphone as they don't hear an engine, just the low fizz of static coming from my waterproofs.

Some idiot lad just killed himself whilst texting - fell 7 floors off a multistory carpark. You just can't allow for that degree of idiocy. At least he managed to remove himself from the gene pool without affecting anyone else.

Apparently, it's called "multi-tasking"

Camion

I was actually preparing for my Wednesday evening sports night. I used to love a weekly game of baseball. I was just oiling my bat, thats all..............and there was the other time...she was a veggie and loved chickens, I was caught throttling one!

SmellTheGlove

A thread to perfectly reflect the last two days' commuting (apart from the bit about being busted by the frau).
You're travelling at a respectable clip along a parked up street; car is however approaching but clearly visible ahead, Following @r$ew!pe simply HAS to overtake you and slam the brakes on in a space you'd comfortably sail through along with approaching traffic.

Now, on another thread, much of the idiocy observed in our fellow cyclists has been ascribed to the many new riders hitting the tarmac. Are the motorists with no road sense likewise freshly spawned or something? I think not.

SimonAH

SmellTheGlove wrote:

A thread to perfectly reflect the last two days' commuting (apart from the bit about being busted by the frau).
You're travelling at a respectable clip along a parked up street; car is however approaching but clearly visible ahead, Following @r$ew!pe simply HAS to overtake you and slam the brakes on in a space you'd comfortably sail through along with approaching traffic.

Now, on another thread, much of the idiocy observed in our fellow cyclists has been ascribed to the many new riders hitting the tarmac. Are the motorists with no road sense likewise freshly spawned or something? I think not.

True - but even the freshly spawned motorist must demonstrate an awareness of the law (if not ettiquette) whereas the freshly spawned cyclist need only wander into halfords with his chequebook.......

jeremyrundle

Rolf F wrote:

Camion wrote:

It is embarassingly bright and railway workerish but it is bluddy high viz, although as you all say, not much use when the peds step out into the road THEN look or just don't look up from their Blackberry or Iphone as they don't hear an engine, just the low fizz of static coming from my waterproofs.

Some idiot lad just killed himself whilst texting - fell 7 floors off a multistory carpark. You just can't allow for that degree of idiocy. At least he managed to remove himself from the gene pool without affecting anyone else.

I know you are probably joking, but if this is true then I feel sorry for you, he may have been a complete moron, or just someones son who made a mistake, I have a twenty year old son, one day you may, think again.

jeremyrundle

AIRZOUND x2 work

Marcus_C

jeremyrundle wrote:

AIRZOUND x2 work

Isn't there womething in the highway code about not antagonising other road users? Either way i've been commuting most days for 3 years now and haven't needed one yet.

jeremyrundle

Isn't there something in the highway code about stepping out in front of cyclists, pulling out from a junction without looking, stepping off pavements in front of on coming vehicles, etc, etc, etc, and I am pleased I DO have TWO on each bike, also scares dogs with their owners who let them walk in front of cyclists as though they don't exist.

thelawnet

SimonAH wrote:

SmellTheGlove wrote:

A thread to perfectly reflect the last two days' commuting (apart from the bit about being busted by the frau).
You're travelling at a respectable clip along a parked up street; car is however approaching but clearly visible ahead, Following @r$ew!pe simply HAS to overtake you and slam the brakes on in a space you'd comfortably sail through along with approaching traffic.

Now, on another thread, much of the idiocy observed in our fellow cyclists has been ascribed to the many new riders hitting the tarmac. Are the motorists with no road sense likewise freshly spawned or something? I think not.

True - but even the freshly spawned motorist must demonstrate an awareness of the law (if not ettiquette) whereas the freshly spawned cyclist need only wander into halfords with his chequebook.......

Nope, the motorist cutting you up could be foreign/unlicenced/uninsured/all of the above. They very often are.

SimonAH

Accepted.

Fun today on the way home with one of those astra chavmobiles with the triangular central zorst. Little twunt got so irate that I kept passing him in traffic that everytime he came past again it was with tires scrabbling and throttle buried in the carpet three inches from my elbow. Passenger screaming abuse at me on the fourth pass. Shut the f&ck up when I pulled level next time and stared through the window at them.

Marcus_C

jeremyrundle wrote:

Isn't there something in the highway code about stepping out in front of cyclists, pulling out from a junction without looking, stepping off pavements in front of on coming vehicles, etc, etc, etc, and I am pleased I DO have TWO on each bike, also scares dogs with their owners who let them walk in front of cyclists as though they don't exist.

Probably, but if everyone around you is irresponsible IME it makes a commute far easier if you don't bait the trolls. They hate us enough already, we are faster than they are.