Got shouted at by a cyclist, what would you do?

Kieran_Burns

I was out on a 100Km ride on Saturday and on this stretch:



http://goo.gl/maps/yfwOb

If you follow the road you'll see exactly why it is a problem. It's a very fast stretch of NSL and cars tend to use the chicane as a launch point for over-taking slower traffic.

I was heading the way the image shows and could hear a car coming up behind, as I cleared the chicane I could see a motorbike coming towards me at speed and then heard the revs change from the car behind.

I put my hand out, palm facing backwards to indicate to NOT overtake and the car eased off, then as the bike came past he gave a double blast on his horn (full on Doppler shift). My first thought was "What the F*** is HIS problem?????" and it wasn't until I thought about it that I realised he was saying thanks (if the car had launched there was no doubt at all there would've been at least one fatality)

So, it can be easily misunderstood, the horn is much louder outside and it can be hard to differentiate between a BLAST and a friendly tap on the horn

(Oh, I got a thank you wave from the car driver as well

slowbike

Blast of horn ... when is it a blast and when is it a toot ... ?

A toot (single or double) is a short burst of noise - a bit like a polite cough when you try and interrupt a conversation ...
A blast (any number) is a longer burst of noise - accepted is around 1 second or more in duration - depending on the frustration level.

On a bike a toot can initially sound like a blast and either can make you jump.

The Rookie

Rider should have been aware and giving due considertaion, a polite Toot is fine to alert him to your presence, trouble is a 3-series horn setup rarely sounds like a polite toot (E46 here), we have to share the roads and that includes giving way when it is sensible to do so.

ballspondroad

I usually just pull over and let cars pass on roads like that, on one memorable occasion grabbing an overhead branch and hauling myself and the bike, still clipped into the pedals, into the hedgebank. Drivers usually acknowledge the action and the world is generally a happier place. I would note that on the streetview image that you posted there is a cyclist and the camera car seems to have been able to overtake but then they are quite tiny I think.

walkingbootweather

First Aspect wrote:

TailWindHome wrote:

What speed was he doing?

How long is the road?

I don't know, 8-12mph up longish hill, 15 max on the flat because he was puffed. The nearest two lane road is about 5 or 6 miles away in the direction we were travelling.

What would I do? Return home and get my bike. Sounds like a scalp to me.

Ouija

[quote="ballspondroad" I would note that on the streetview image that you posted there is a cyclist and the camera car seems to have been able to overtake but then they are quite tiny I think.[/quote]

+1

While not exactly roomy it looks like a car could squeeze by.

slowbike

Ouija wrote:

While not exactly roomy it looks like a car could squeeze by.

Is that REALLY what we want cars to do ... squeeze by ...

Not when I'm riding thank you ...

Ouija

See, i find that less annoying when a driver doesn't make a big fuss out of it, doesn't take his foot off the pedal and simply wafts past you with a little bit of clearance. Drivers who come up behind you and suddenly act like they encountered Freddy Krueger, take their foot off the accelerator and either crawls along behind you or suddenly hits the gas and goes so far and wide to avoid you they obviously think your carrying the bubonic plague are simply irritating. They make you self conscious and make a mountain out of a mole hill.

slowbike

depends how little is little when it comes to clearance ... there's very few ppl I trust with my life - in general motorists are not in that group - even ones I know - I've had words with a colleague who tried to encourage me to pedal faster by not quite overtaking me and drifting towards me ... he didn't intend any harm and didn't realise quite what danger he was putting me in (30+mph downhill into bend with drain covers in the damp) ..


I've had a Driving instructor (nobody in the passenger seat) sit behind me for ages - holding up traffic - when there was loads of room to pass ... but it was a double white line so he didn't want to cross it .. that was annoying as I had to sit up and wave him past ...

annoying but not quite as annoying as another part of my ride in small lanes with high hedgerows - a van comes up quickly behind and immediately hassles to get past - he won't wait 10-20 seconds for me to get to the next field entrance.

markhewitt1978

Ouija wrote:

See, i find that less annoying when a driver doesn't make a big fuss out of it, doesn't take his foot off the pedal and simply wafts past you with a little bit of clearance. Drivers who come up behind you and suddenly act like they encountered Freddy Krueger, take their foot off the accelerator and either crawls along behind you or suddenly hits the gas and goes so far and wide to avoid you they obviously think your carrying the bubonic plague are simply irritating. They make you self conscious and make a mountain out of a mole hill.

In that case you can't win. I always wait behind cyclists until I have an overtaking opportunity with both wheels across the centre line.

pinno

First Aspect wrote:

No, Cleat, say what you really think.

How... ...3 miles.

He did!

First.Aspect

Ouija wrote:

ballspondroad wrote:

I would note that on the streetview image that you posted there is a cyclist and the camera car seems to have been able to overtake but then they are quite tiny I think.

+1

While not exactly roomy it looks like a car could squeeze by.

Mine is a lot wider than a Citroen Bellendo, or whatever Google use. I don't think that the Google streetview guy is necessarily a measure of all things safe. If you look, the google car is either on the verge or damn close. So yes, there's enough room for a car to squeeze by, but I don't trust either my own driving or the line or a preoccupied cyclist to want to try it. I've been passed on that road and its not at all comfortable. I've also tried to pass a cyclist, to my shame, and bailed out.

OldSkoolKona

You've now spent more time on this thread whining than it would have spent to trundle behind the guy

#justsaying

_jon_

Slowbike wrote:

I've had a Driving instructor (nobody in the passenger seat) sit behind me for ages - holding up traffic - when there was loads of room to pass ... but it was a double white line so he didn't want to cross it .. that was annoying as I had to sit up and wave him past ...

Sounds like he needs to refresh himself on the highway code (unless of course you were travelling at over 10mph I suppose)

129

Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.

https://www.gov.uk/general-rules-all-drivers-riders-103-to-158/lines-and-lane-markings-on-the-road-127-to-132

Yossie

Sorry - I'm with that Cleat fella - you acted like a tit and your car is rubbish.

I think you need to chill out more and realise that just because you have a bottom of the range Beemer and a piece of pseudo intellecto look at me fibreglass on the top doesn't make you king of the road.

Sorry, but its true ......

seanoconn

Yossie wrote:

Sorry - I'm with that Cleat fella - you acted like a tit and your car is rubbish.

I think you need to chill out more and realise that just because you have a bottom of the range Beemer and a piece of pseudo intellecto look at me fibreglass on the top doesn't make you king of the road.

Sorry, but its true ......

Morning fellow commuter. I agree, also with cleats post and to a lesser extent, Pinarello.

slowbike

_Jon_ wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

I've had a Driving instructor (nobody in the passenger seat) sit behind me for ages - holding up traffic - when there was loads of room to pass ... but it was a double white line so he didn't want to cross it .. that was annoying as I had to sit up and wave him past ...

Sounds like he needs to refresh himself on the highway code (unless of course you were travelling at over 10mph I suppose)

129

Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.

https://www.gov.uk/general-rules-all-drivers-riders-103-to-158/lines-and-lane-markings-on-the-road-127-to-132

Well - I was probably doing between 12 and 14mph - up an incline - didn't have an issue with him holding back on that bit - but once over the top there is a clear view of the road ahead and whilst it is still double white - there is enough room to overtake safely providing you can't see traffic coming the other way. I wouldn't have accelerated - well not much - and it would be perfectly acceptable to overtake (I've had Police cars overtake me in a similar position but going the otherway) despite being technically a criminal offence.

First.Aspect

It's certainly interesting to see the split of opinion. My impression is that most people generally sympathise with being behind someone who steadfastly refuses to pull over. To those who disagree, I draw you attention to rules 155 and 67 of the highway code.

Oh and to the guy who doesn't like my car - the 1 series is bottom of the range. And it's a coupe. The boat is carbon fibre. My house will be nicer than yours. I actually am intellectual.

How about you?

Yossie

First Aspect wrote:

It's certainly interesting to see the split of opinion. My impression is that most people generally sympathise with being behind someone who steadfastly refuses to pull over. To those who disagree, I draw you attention to rules 155 and 67 of the highway code.

Oh and to the guy who doesn't like my car - the 1 series is bottom of the range. And it's a coupe. The boat is carbon fibre. My house will be nicer than yours. I actually am intellectual.

How about you?

Nice - a 3 series sales rep mobile. And a coupe at that. Wow. I bet the girls in the accounts team think that you're a real nobber. Is it an "M" series? No, didn't think so.

My house is an 18th century cider barn with 5 bedrooms and 4 acres of land in the countryside where the only noise we get is the farting of bumblebees and 2 minutes from some of the finest rolling roads ever. How is your Barrett home on the estate?

My car is a Merc convertible (hairdresser car I know but its restricted to 155mph and has 500 bhp so does good hand brake turns and my director of a law firm wife who earns more in a day then you do in a year likes it), but the work vehicle is an aeroplane. You know, like a big iron bird that you look up to in the sky while you head up the M5 (N) trying to sell some stationary to a carpet depot.

I also have a gun for work and a maroon hat with matching nifty green clothes if you fancy picking on that as well. Your call ......

You seem to be well intello, like. Much like Pete Doherty and Jade Goody. By intello I actually mean tw4t but I'm sure that you're mother will have told you that on several occasions.

Ciao, ciao, ciao, ciao.

Oh - don't hoot people ion the sales rep mobile: its just not nice.

First.Aspect

So you're a kept man then? Or a budding author, because you write fiction very eloquently.

Either way you seem extremely secure in yourself.

Do you live under a bridge somewhere in those 4 acres?

davis

Yossie wrote:

I also have a gun for work and a maroon hat with matching nifty green clothes if you fancy picking on that as well. Your call ......

Yes yes, all very impressive, but how are you at canasta?

tailwindhome

If I were the cyclist I would have waved you past.

If I were the driver I would have stayed put and not hit the horn.


YMMV.

seanoconn

First Aspect wrote:

So you're a kept man then? Or a budding author, because you write fiction very eloquently.

Trust me, he wasn't kidding about the gun! :shock:

First.Aspect

seanoconn wrote:

First Aspect wrote:

So you're a kept man then? Or a budding author, because you write fiction very eloquently.

Trust me, he wasn't kidding about the gun! :shock:

What, they give spotty 15 year olds guns now? Jesus.

I certainly agree the horn didn't help, however intended. If I see him again I'll sit tight until his head explodes with Indignance that I haven't overtaken yet.

First.Aspect

Mercedes have foot brakes, by the way.

Yossie

Not mine. It's down by my left hand. Generally near the spare change I throw at people like you as they play musical instruments in underground car parks for a living.

Yossie

davis wrote:

Yossie wrote:

I also have a gun for work and a maroon hat with matching nifty green clothes if you fancy picking on that as well. Your call ......

Yes yes, all very impressive, but how are you at canasta?

Rubbish unfortunately but pretty good at bridge.

_jon_

Slowbike wrote:

_Jon_ wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

I've had a Driving instructor (nobody in the passenger seat) sit behind me for ages - holding up traffic - when there was loads of room to pass ... but it was a double white line so he didn't want to cross it .. that was annoying as I had to sit up and wave him past ...

Sounds like he needs to refresh himself on the highway code (unless of course you were travelling at over 10mph I suppose)

129

Double white lines where the line nearest you is solid. This means you MUST NOT cross or straddle it unless it is safe and you need to enter adjoining premises or a side road. You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less.

https://www.gov.uk/general-rules-all-drivers-riders-103-to-158/lines-and-lane-markings-on-the-road-127-to-132

Well - I was probably doing between 12 and 14mph - up an incline - didn't have an issue with him holding back on that bit - but once over the top there is a clear view of the road ahead and whilst it is still double white - there is enough room to overtake safely providing you can't see traffic coming the other way. I wouldn't have accelerated - well not much - and it would be perfectly acceptable to overtake (I've had Police cars overtake me in a similar position but going the otherway) despite being technically a criminal offence.

I was surprised how low the speed the cyclist had to be going in order for you to be allowed to overtake was to be honest. Personally, I agree with you, I think you've just got to use common sense and just overtake when it's safe.

Yossie

First Aspect wrote:

So you're a kept man then? Or a budding author, because you write fiction very eloquently.

Either way you seem extremely secure in yourself.

Do you live under a bridge somewhere in those 4 acres?

If only I was a kept man - I could grow my hair then and not get shot at. Or wear green clothes.

Yes, I am extremely secure in myself. Some say arrogance, others say public school confidence. The Academy does that to you. It also helps when you have the support and gratitude of a nation and can get 10% off in Millets and Tredz whenever you want.

No - no under bridge living, we have a house. Well, a barn. Its quite nice really. We don't let people with BMWs on our land as we don't really get on with poor people. We have staff who live near a bridge if that helps. I understand that some of them drive BMWs. The stables are near the bridge as well but that's Mrs Y's neck of the woods.

First.Aspect

I used to love school holidays.