James May's talking about cyclists

chris_bass

https://youtu.be/4lIhNc6KhL4

About 2.35 into the video

Might not be what you are expecting

dannbodge

Very well said by him tbh

Exactly how it should be!

cougie

Some of the comment are neanderthal underneath the video.

shirley_basso

cougie wrote:

Some of the comment are neanderthal underneath the video.

Example? All the ones I read seemed pretty harmess

fenix

Such as this one - that actually got 5 likes..


UmmYeahOk
19 hours ago
I like to yell “Share the road!” Right before I hit them.

Seriously though, they’re not commuting, they’re not racing, this is purely for recreation. It’s a power trip for them. They’ll do it during rush hour, even on 50 MPH roads! Can’t pass them depending on the terrain/oncoming traffic. And those who try to pass ultimately cause me to slam on my brakes to avoid a head on collision. So either direction, I am still effected by them. They are basically one step above joggers/dog walkers which travel against traffic, because, I dunno, they want to see when a vehicle is about to approach them, but don’t actually care enough to step 2-3 feet onto the dry publicly owned grass for a few seconds.

cycleclinic

Not sure what your trying to say felix.

shirley_basso

He is quoting one of the neanderthals from the comments under the video.

Have to say I did look for them but didn't see any.

bendertherobot

Fenix wrote:

Seriously though, they’re not commuting, they’re not racing, this is purely for recreation. It’s a power trip for them. .

That raises an interesting point because, of course, James was effectively responding to a comment about recreational driving!

peat

Indeed, I (to my fault) responded to that with "Driving for or too a recreational activity doesn't trump someone's right to ride for recreation" but I think it fell on deaf ears.

Had the same arguemnt in the pub again yesterday. Some bloke bleating on how 'so f***kin cyclist' made his commute a whgole 8mins longer last night because there was nowhere to pass. He wasn't interesting in my suggestion that he should A)leave earlier or B)help campaign for a segregated cycleway. He just wants us off the road.

I have zero problem with commuting cyclists. It is what it is. But, I do wonder about the sanity of those who are just blatantly out on a training ride at 5pm on an A Road. How can that be even remotely enjoyable?

darkhairedlord

Peat wrote:

Indeed, I (to my fault) responded to that with "Driving for or too a recreational activity doesn't trump someone's right to ride for recreation" but I think it fell on deaf ears.

Had the same arguemnt in the pub again yesterday. Some bloke bleating on how 'so f***kin cyclist' made his commute a whgole 8mins longer last night because there was nowhere to pass. He wasn't interesting in my suggestion that he should A)leave earlier or B)help campaign for a segregated cycleway. He just wants us off the road.

I have zero problem with commuting cyclists. It is what it is. But, I do wonder about the sanity of those who are just blatantly out on a training ride at 5pm on an A Road. How can that be even remotely enjoyable?

Are they on a training ride, or commuting in cycling clothing on a road bike?

peat

Well, quite. If i cycle commute, I tend to drive in on the Monday & Friday to drop off/take home 3 days worth of food/clothes so i can cycle light. But, that's almost exclusively off-road for me.

It's about perception, i guess. And, largely, cyclists (regardless of what purpose thier journey is) are seen as a nuisance.

cougie

It is hard to determine if that bloke in lycra is going to and from work or out on a training ride. Personally for me I avoid busy roads if possible but it isn't always.

Then I have cycling acquaintances who are quite happy on busy main roads for their rides - I suspect it's more about keeping their speed up than anything else.

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Peat wrote:

I have zero problem with commuting cyclists. It is what it is. But, I do wonder about the sanity of those who are just blatantly out on a training ride at 5pm on an A Road. How can that be even remotely enjoyable?

Not every ride on my Cube is a training ride, but to get out to the edge of the South Downs hills, I have to escape from SO18 suburbia and the least hostile route involves crossing the A27 and then using a tiny stretch of the B3035 on the edge of West End to head down Moorgreen Rd towards Horton Heath... Both of which get very busy around rush hour and "school run" times.

The mini-roundabout a stone's throw west from the one I use to go up/down Telegraph Rd was featured in a BBC article last year, where a local rider was convinced he was going to die on that roundabout https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-h ... e-46173642 (yet Strava's route builder says it's the most popular route taken).

It's frustrating that once I get to Horton Heath, less than 5 miles away, motor vehicle hostility by and large changes to zero... You barely pass a thing on most roads up in the hills.

But I simply refuse to head out or head back around the rush hours (a bit earlier on Fridays) or school runs, which given most of my rides in the South Downs are typically 2.5-5 hours long, means my windows of opportunity don't have much of a buffer Mon-Fri.

Tashman

It's intereseting, I seem to be given more room with a rucksac on my back than the days when I leave it behind as everything is already at the office. I'm in the same clothes otherwise!

carbonclem

Do people actually contact that strange old man for advice?

peat

Tashman wrote:

It's intereseting, I seem to be given more room with a rucksac on my back than the days when I leave it behind as everything is already at the office. I'm in the same clothes otherwise!

I think there's something to that.

But then weirdly, when I'm toddling into town on my shopper, sans helmet and lycra, I seem to get an inordinate amount of close passes. I put that down to driver logic "*gasp* That guys not wearing a helmet! That's dangerous! I'd better punish him with a close pass so he knows how dangerous he's being!"

N0bodyOfTheGoat

There's a patent waiting to be claimed, a rear baby seat bike carrier with a human-like doll that blends into the rider's body to reduce aero drag, while getting less hostility from car drivers!

veronese68

Peat wrote:

Had the same arguemnt in the pub again yesterday. Some bloke bleating on how 'so f***kin cyclist' made his commute a whgole 8mins longer last night because there was nowhere to pass. He wasn't interesting in my suggestion that he should A)leave earlier or B)help campaign for a segregated cycleway. He just wants us off the road.

I reckon he's a bullshitter, 8 minutes behind a bike with no chance to overtake seems highly unlikely.

First.Aspect

Veronese68 wrote:

Peat wrote:

Had the same arguemnt in the pub again yesterday. Some bloke bleating on how 'so f***kin cyclist' made his commute a whgole 8mins longer last night because there was nowhere to pass. He wasn't interesting in my suggestion that he should A)leave earlier or B)help campaign for a segregated cycleway. He just wants us off the road.

I reckon he's a bullshitter, 8 minutes behind a bike with no chance to overtake seems highly unlikely.

Yes, by the same measures he will probably also have an 8 inch ahem, and an IQ of 180.

Reality is probably more like 8 seconds, 8 cm and 80.

kingstongraham

Veronese68 wrote:

Peat wrote:

Had the same arguemnt in the pub again yesterday. Some bloke bleating on how 'so f***kin cyclist' made his commute a whgole 8mins longer last night because there was nowhere to pass. He wasn't interesting in my suggestion that he should A)leave earlier or B)help campaign for a segregated cycleway. He just wants us off the road.

I reckon he's a bullshitter, 8 minutes behind a bike with no chance to overtake seems highly unlikely.

Maybe being behind a cyclist meant he also just missed a level crossing, and a farmer moved some sheep onto the road just in front of him.

cougie

But on the bright side it might have saved his life when that car did a stupid overtake round the blind bend.

He owes that cyclist everything.

peat

Nah, I well believe it. It's a very busy, undulating and winding A-Road. The bits where there is no oncoming traffic seldome tally with the bits you have a line of sight. I've seen big queses behind bikes.

But... It's that or the muddy goat track called the National Cycle Network that's about a mile away up a dirty great hill. Hence why people ride on the road, as per.

awavey

Peat wrote:

Tashman wrote:

It's intereseting, I seem to be given more room with a rucksac on my back than the days when I leave it behind as everything is already at the office. I'm in the same clothes otherwise!

I think there's something to that.

But then weirdly, when I'm toddling into town on my shopper, sans helmet and lycra, I seem to get an inordinate amount of close passes. I put that down to driver logic "*gasp* That guys not wearing a helmet! That's dangerous! I'd better punish him with a close pass so he knows how dangerous he's being!"

Id need to be convinced of that effect, as it doesnt seem to alter the close passing I get, if anything it feels the more sporty and pro style rider clobber Im in, seems to make it worse, and Ive often observed with riders ahead of me with no more head gear than a flat cap or a baseball cap, wearing trackie bottoms or normal street clothes, whilst Ill feel Ive nearly been skinned within an inch of my life, the same vehicle will then overtake that kind of rider at a much wider angle and give them more space, but then I dont know if their speed then becomes a factor as they are slower and easier to pass, if Im hitting 20mph on a 30mph road alot of drivers seem to find that more awkward to deal with.

but to escape from suburbia to the countryside, busy A roads are often the most direct route of getting there, and I know some clubs certainly in the summer arrange after work rides, and theres a summer crit race series too and youll often see people using the ride there as their warm up,

fenix

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/5334208.stm

Wearing a helmet does encourage close passes it seems.

kingstongraham

Wobble about a bit and look less like you know what you are doing and more like you are about to do something random, and you will get more room.

Alejandrosdog

Fenix wrote:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/somerset/5334208.stm

Wearing a helmet does encourage close passes it seems.

that was from 2006, i think the man responsible is still doing research on various things cycling but at Winchester University now. Some of it makes interesting reading to the arm chair psychologists out there.

overlord2

Peat wrote:

Indeed, I (to my fault) responded to that with "Driving for or too a recreational activity doesn't trump someone's right to ride for recreation" but I think it fell on deaf ears.

Had the same arguemnt in the pub again yesterday. Some bloke bleating on how 'so f***kin cyclist' made his commute a whgole 8mins longer last night because there was nowhere to pass. He wasn't interesting in my suggestion that he should A)leave earlier or B)help campaign for a segregated cycleway. He just wants us off the road.

I have zero problem with commuting cyclists. It is what it is. But, I do wonder about the sanity of those who are just blatantly out on a training ride at 5pm on an A Road. How can that be even remotely enjoyable?

That's because hes a dumbkof. The road is there to be shared with. Bicycles, tricycles, unicycles, handcycles, pedestrians, horses, motorcycles, vans, HGVs, buses, tractors, tanks, amphibious vehicles, oh and the high and mighty car.

Because it takes 'him' 8 minutes longer - which I doubt unless hes crap driver - which is possible is irrelevant. Like I say hes an f'kin idiot. Maybe he ought to be thankful he didn't meet them all in his commute. I still doubt it would have added 8 minutes.

essex-commuter

Tashman wrote:

It's intereseting, I seem to be given more room with a rucksac on my back than the days when I leave it behind as everything is already at the office. I'm in the same clothes otherwise!

You know what, I think I do too coming to think about it.