Big decision help please ( big )

Toe knee

Hi everyone,
Need some big advice here please,

I have just gone from hybrid to road bike ( 4 weeks ) , I started cycling again last November, after quiting smoking in the July, and trying to turn my life round, I am 47 15 stone and thought I needed to change things,I have been riding on the road on my own in willaston Wirral ,which I thought would be quite and nice to get used to a road bike, until on Wednesday, I had just started my ride into willaston past clatterbridge hospital and a white van overtook me, if he had hot any closer he would have took the tape off my handlebars,to make matters worse I could hear them laughing through the open passenger window after they had passed, to say I s**t myself is an under statement, I wasn't confident to begin with just starting again, so I am having second thoughts about coming back into road riding,as I now think is it worth risking my life for these d**k****s on the road, and leaving my kids with no dad and my wife a widow,so I am now considering going back to a hybrid on the cycle tracks ? Or having a go at cyclo cross, or am I to old for this at 47 ?
Please help me as I was really enjoying it up until now.

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated on this one, more than ever!

Thank you all tony.

bmxboy10

You need to enjoy the cycling that you do and if you are happier on trails just do what suits you. We all have near misses in life not just on bikes so perhaps you need to put this into context. What ever you do keep riding and next time report the idiots to the police. Funny thing is I keep hearing of this behaviour more and more and it's a concern. I am thinking about an MTb for. The winter so I only ride the roads in fair conditions.

adm1

Can you plan routes that avoid major roads until you get your confidence back? See if you can discover some of the more out of the way country roads and enjoy the scenery...

gjpollitt

Get yourself third party insurance and a decent helmetcam. Any collisions that aren't your fault and you will be so glad you did.

Start on quiet roads that are fairly wide so you have plenty of room without cars squeezing past you. but not too quiet where if you have an accident it would be a while before someone came past.

Riding in slow traffic in a town is good practice too. Plenty of people around, slow speeds. Get you used to being close to different types of vehicles.

Just remember not to squeeze down the left side of vehicles almost rimming the kerb! Join the traffic in centre of the lane as it will be moving slowly so you won't be holding the flow up.

You'll find these dick drivers are the minority. Lots of traffic slow down, give way and keep their distance. Just keep good awareness of what is going on around you and if in doubt then stop and get off the road!

kentphil

Don't let one scare put you off too much. As has been previously said ride when traffic isn't as heavy and try and choose a route that has less traffic on it.

Ringo 68

There are plenty of quiet roads around the Wirral and leading into Wales and also many cycle paths (not the wirral way) where the only danger is the odd dog running infront of you.

I have done 40 miles rides from Bromborough and been passed by about 3 cars the whole ride.

If your confidense has been knocked I would head for these cycle paths. Chester has miles of them.

Jim C

Do the riding U enjoy. Trails are fine. Cross is great. If U fancy the road, do a bit of that. Keep enjoying it. There R many people on this forum, all with different aspirations. No one is right. Or wrong. Cycling and cyclesport is great, but U have to do what U enjoy

sungod

just ride, it takes a while to develop confidence/skills

stay aware of what's around you, ride defensively, avoid the gutter, if you move a bit further out you'll tend to be given wider clearance, stay wide of parked vehicles to avoid being doored or turned across, don't pass on the inside, don't get close behind vehicles that might brake suddenly or reverse into you, ignore casual idiots, report dangerous ones to the police

i'm in london, most drivers are ok, in fact on average i find them a bit more considerate than a few years ago, but you can have the misfortune of encountering idiots, bullies and thugs anywhere, it could happen on a walk in the park, coming home from the pub, or out shopping, just remember that such people are worthless, you really are better than them, don't let them restrict your freedom

Wirral_paul

Absolutely as the above - always one or two morons about who set out to act like pr!cks and think its funny to endanger a cyclist. On the whole though - i've always found most drivers on the Wirral are pretty good when around cyclists.

Plenty of nice roads around the Raby / Thornton Hough areas. Also, heading down to Parkgate, Burton and Puddington is pretty nice. I also enjoy the run though Caldy down to West Kirby, and then along to proms at West Kirby or Hoylake (at the end of my road).

Drop me a pm if you fancy a run around the local lanes Tony.

Toe knee

Thanks for all the replies and the confident boost people , f**k those idiots,I'm back out on the road tommorow.

unixnerd

A common mistake is to ride too far to the left, vehicles try to squeeze past you when there's not enough space. You'll see two wear marks in the road from vehicle tyres, I tend to ride on the left edge of the left track. If there's nothing coming cars can get past you. If not they have to wait until it's safe to overtake, they can't squeeze past. If you look up Primary and Secondary position you'll find lots of info.

Also make yourself as visible as possible. Be decisive on the road and remember you have every right to be there, you're not a second class citizen. That said don't fall into the trap of being arrogant towards motorists, a little courtesy on both sides goes a long way. I've had one incident with an aggressive driver in the last twelve years and I cycle a lot.

Gizmodo

unixnerd wrote:

A common mistake is to ride too far to the left, vehicles try to squeeze past you when there's not enough space. You'll see two wear marks in the road from vehicle tyres, I tend to ride on the left edge of the left track. If there's nothing coming cars can get past you. If not they have to wait until it's safe to overtake, they can't squeeze past. If you look up Primary and Secondary position you'll find lots of info.

Also make yourself as visible as possible. Be decisive on the road and remember you have every right to be there, you're not a second class citizen. That said don't fall into the trap of being arrogant towards motorists, a little courtesy on both sides goes a long way. I've had one incident with an aggressive driver in the last twelve years and I cycle a lot.

I totally agree with what UnixNerd says. I'm only 2 years younger than you and when we were kids we were told to cycle in the gutter to stay out of cars way - that advice was rubbish!

StillGoing

As has been said, make an obstacle of yourself to make them nervous going by you. Stay out of the gutter a) it's where all the crap is and b) you leave no escape route if a vehicle does get too close for comfort. I'm surrounded by A roads but can manage to avoid them for the majority of my rides so try and plan rides away from them. Also consider a club, a group out riding is arguably safer than a lone rider.