Does it bother you that we are mostly hated?
bongofish
Posts: 123
Out of a group of about 60 lads at work I am the only one to cycle and don't I just know about it. Everyone rants and raves about cyclists on the road and when ever I speak to anyone about road riding it's very rare to find someone who doesn't give you that slightly annoying look of 'its people like you j get stuck behind'.
Does it actually bother any of us? Do we just have to be selfish and ride safe and not care about what other people think? Should we worry that most of us wear lycra and most people following in a car are making fun or getting annoyed? Do we just ignore it and as long as we are having a good time?
I do t really care but i do plan routes that won't take me into certain roads that i know traffic will struggle to get around me and then end up with 20 cars trying to stay around me. I would have to pull over then.
How you all feel about this. Being new to road riding I'm genuinely interested?
Does it actually bother any of us? Do we just have to be selfish and ride safe and not care about what other people think? Should we worry that most of us wear lycra and most people following in a car are making fun or getting annoyed? Do we just ignore it and as long as we are having a good time?
I do t really care but i do plan routes that won't take me into certain roads that i know traffic will struggle to get around me and then end up with 20 cars trying to stay around me. I would have to pull over then.
How you all feel about this. Being new to road riding I'm genuinely interested?
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Idiots will always be idiots and refuse to accept that there are other people in this world or don't have the intellectual to learn from others.
So, I swiftly move on. And hope for the days when cyclists get equal respect from other road users.
I sometimes wonder; is this how women in the 60s and 70s felt, being treated as "second-class citizen"? Gay, transgender, etc of modern society?
It’s easy to get into a defensive mindset as a cyclist and think that most motorists hate us, but it probably the case that most motorists don’t even give us a second thought once they’ve passed us on the road.
As to worrying about wearing Lycra I don’t give a toss what drivers think. Particularly as most of them don’t have the fitness to do a fraction of the mileage or speed that most keen cyclists do.
...The argument to cyclists holding up traffic.
I often think about M25: Absolutely no cyclist is allowed on M25, or any motorway for that matter. And how come there are constant traffic congestion, jams, queues, accidents?
And how come we don’t hear on traffic news: “road to so and so is congested due to a cyclist”
Yes, you drivers, not cyclists, you are the cause of traffic congestions. Not cyclitsts. Cars cause congestion.
Drivers don’t like to hear it because it’s true.
It’s interesting to see as you grow older who looks after themselves or gives up.
Desmond Tutu
I can have some sympathy with drivers. Some sportives are basically slow moving roadblocks at peak times with hundreds of riders wobbling around and I can imagine getting frustrated with that. Apart from that it really shouldn't cause an issue - most groups or riders are <12 and should be easy to navigate around safely.
On the other side of it the reaction to cyclists is ridiculous. On facebook there was a picture of cyclist on the road to the side of of a newly-built cycle lane. Droves of people wanted to rant and rave about it what a waste of money, typical cyclist and so on. But the cycle lane was unfinished, she may have wanted to turn right, etc. A picture of a car illegally parked in that cycle lane (which of course happens all the time) would not garner the same reaction.
But I feel in this country you're only allowed to like certain things like watching TV, football and going to the pub. Almost everything outside of that is a niche and there to be poked fun at.
It's very similar. Someone decides to be vegan because they like animals and think it's better for the environment. They quietly get on with their life.
They'll hear constant "I hate vegans" comments. They'll get bashed for being a 'militant' told they're weak/lacking nutrients, have to put up with people constantly saying "How do you know if someone's vegan? 'joke'. They'll get people trying to poke holes in what they believe in, stupid comments about protein, stupid comments about why eat things in the shape of a sausage if you hate meat, get sent pictures of steaks online, etc.
There are more and more cyclists, drivers are more used to them and getting better at getting past safely. There is less of the "oh my god it's a cyclist what do I do" reaction from drivers. Cyclists seem to be improving too, better discipline from the club groups at weekends.
Just my perceptions and yes, there are idiots out there, but I think things are going the right way
The Moser
The VN
10 minutes after my last post, I stepped out of my front door to walk the kids to school and we saw a cyclist hit by a car. The car had gone straight over a give way line.
Fortunately it was minor and the cyclist was content to ride off after some angry words were directed at the driver. Visibility was perfect, cyclist had a hi-vis jacket and was doing <10mph.
Anecdotally I feel I get fewer close passes nowadays but there is still a big issue of people just not looking properly. Don't get complacent.
You've proved the point of the thread with that comment.
You appear to be judging a group based on the actions of a vocal minority.
Saying vegans are angry militants is no different to saying all cyclists ride are lycra louts flouting the rules and putting pedestrians at risk.
I don't care if people laugh if I am wearing lycra, I don't really mind any overheard comments about cyclists, what does bother me is that attitude will be putting other people off. It's lead to the idea you need to be suicidal in order to consider cycling as an option.
I try to be a thoughtful cyclist - if I know I'm holding up traffic on a narrow country road then I will pull into a junction or lay by or wave the vehicle past when it's safe in the hope that a driver sees it as the action of a responsible cyclist...that they're not all the same. Almost without fail this is greeted with a wave and/or toot of thanks. The same goes for a little wave if a car has waited patiently behind until it's safe. That smile and nod goes a long way in cycle/car relations.
But by the same token if I can see an approaching obstacle - say a parked car or and island - then I will take a very aggressive position to defend myself and not give a driver the option of trying to squeeze past where I deem the risk as being unsafe or dangerous to myself.
It is difficult for car drivers to distinguish between cyclists, and people on bikes. We understand the difference, but sadly the press and the majority of society don't.
More tolerance is needed from everyone concerned, as has been pointed out above we need to hold ourselves responsible as a group tackling the actions of the worst amongst us as much as educate others that we're not the bad guys that some would make us out to be.
Yes.
Sorry, but I really disagree with this collective responsibility nonsense. If you saw a car go through on red whilst you were driving would you chase them down and have a word about how they're giving motorists a bad name? Of course you wouldn't because it's bonkers.
Rinse and repeat that for any number of scenarios
Motorists don't just hate cyclists though - they hate each other, road works, the dustbin lorry, pedestrians, horse riders, -
Basically that have seen an ad on TV with a great looking car going down the road on its own - it looks fun, it looks fantastic, well worth £25k - Sadly with repayments up to the hilt, sitting in traffic frustrated "where is the fun I was promised? " - then a cyclists whizzes past , and to make it worse he actually looks like he might be enjoying himself !!
No wonder thay get angry, theve been had !
If you're frustrated at being held up for a few minutes (and even that would be rare) by a cyclist, and vent that frustration with a punishment pass or similar, you aren't mentally fit to drive and should have your licence taken away.
If you are genuinely in a hurry, the government will give you a vehicle with blue flashing lights and sirens. People will get out of your way, so you can get to where you need to be, as quickly as possible. OK, your wife may be giving birth, or some other emergency may have occurred where an ambulance can't get to you quickly, but I'm going to say that this is pretty rare.
You're not in a hurry, you just think you are. If you're late, you should have set out earlier. If you're late because of congestion, it's cars, vans and lorries that are the cause of that congestion.
I haven't met anyone who genuinely hates cyclists (touch wood), just a few loud and frustrated gobshytes, normally ones who earn a living from driving (buses, vans, taxis), which must be frustrating, especially in London, then there's the entitled and angry ones, and for them, I have a camera on the bike, which will improve their behaviour the second that they spot it, or when you tell them that it's there.
So, no, it doesn't bother me. I ride according to the conditions, defensively, quickly when I can, I stop at red lights, even empty ped crossings, I signal, I shoulder check, I acknowledge when a driver does something nice. I can't do anything more than that.
I think riding a bike in traffic should be part and parcel of learning to drive / passing a driving test.
Oh yeah, I drive too, fewer miles than I cycle in most years, but I have a car, quite a big one. My wife drives it less than a mile to the gym. :roll: I have tried hiding the keys and everything.
De Sisti wrote:
This is one of the silliest threads I've come across.
Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour