SiPie

Oh dear

Skoobie Dhu

iTrader: (3)

I'm baffled why cyclists take the risk of cycling on roads shared with vehicles, the stats are out there, you can argue all you like that vehicle drivers should respect cyclists and give them adequate space, but when it goes wrong there's only ever going to be one outcome.

hodgy0_2

Yes they get ignored, not by anyone posting on here, obviously, because we are all perfect

But some drivers will just eek out that extra road space a cyclist riding against the kerb affords them

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

Simple, because there's nowhere else to cycle, especially when you commute and want to get a sweat on at the same time

Skoobie Dhu

iTrader: (3)

Presumably you're okay with the fact that your commute is many times more dangerous than it would be by car or public transport? I'm not having a go at cyclists, it's just that after all the advances in car safety over the last 30 years (seatbelts, airbags ,euroncap) it just seems odd that cyclists are happy to take the risk of dicing with vehicles at reasonable speeds despite having virtually no personal protection if they're involved in an accident.

Simon Gunson

I pass on the opposite side, if possible, as who knows what could happen with the bike. I pass bikes a bit like I would pass horses. With horses I go as slowly as possible. I own horses and know full well what can happen if a horse decides to spook at something and lands on your bonnet. I wouldn't pass either on a blind bend, but whenever I take my horse out on the road or a bike, I make sure I'm courteous. Winds me up when cyclists don't just go single file when possible or go on the pavement when there is space and a huge line of traffic behind them.

Matteeboy

Fitness, freedom, lack of cost, can bypass traffic jams, etc, etc. It hardly needs stating really. The benefits in fitness far outweigh the risks IMO.

DYK

Isn't it really just that we live mainly in an impatient and ignorant road culture,motorists don't want to be held up for a mere few seconds,whether it be a cyclist or traffic light etc.
Not defending cyclists but few seem to realise that the roads are not just for one particular type of vehicle.

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

All of the above, and the fact that when I need to be in early I can do the commute 5-minutes quicker on the bike than in the car despite there being quite a few climbs. The fastest stretch of road I use is a 40 limit, and on my MTB with off road tyres I still average in excess of 15 mph so I'm not hanging around.

TBH, I don't see it as dicing with cars - I've been riding bikes for over 30-years, longer than I've been driving, and by maintaining good awareness and being sensible I've never been hurt on the bike. The last 6-years have been around north London but I've also commuted in North Wales, Lincolnshire and Wiltshire as well as growing up in the North West.

I agree that the Lycra clad retired folk who insist on riding 4 abreast whilst holding hands and swapping spit need to get over themselves, there are plenty of sensible cyclists who fall victim to arrogant road users who vent there anger at the aforementioned crowd on every cyclist they see, and equally those road users need to get over themselves rather than deliberately swerving to obstruct over-taking cyclists - rant over!!!!!!!

Mr Footlong

iTrader: (7)

Agreed on as wide as possible and slowly/quietly past but on the flipside, why on earth do people insist on riding horses on the bloody roads for these days??? Where I live it is surrounded by fields, the horses being rode live in fields, their stables are in fields, yet humans that slap a saddle on those lovely creatures decide oh no, must go out clippity clopping on the main road and around bends instead of around the fields.

I just don't get it and I have ridden horses many a time, you wouldn't catch me dead on one on the road.

hodgy0_2

really, I think WOW how fantastic that these guys are getting out there - doing something not sitting on their *****, smoking and watching TV

the problem in this country is that not enough people DO something

and if that means that I get held up for 15 or so seconds, that's fine with me to be honest.

dpb

Indeed, you'd get lynched for that sort of attitude back on the mainland. (europe)

hodgy0_2

drive in Italy and you see whole peletons of octogenarians, sure they look daft in lycra

but that is not the point, they are doing and living - and fantastic to see

only in the UK though is it somehow frowned on

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

It's one thing getting out and doing something - it is totally different when you have the arrogance to consider yourself above all others in the process. If these people showed a degree of consideration for other road users then we wouldn't be having debates like this. When there is a queue of traffic waiting to get by then move into single file, let the traffic past and then carry on with your spit swapping. Equally, don't stop and leave your bikes abandonded in such a way that is blocks the entire footpath.

It's all about being considerate, and if that attitude gets me lynched it's a sad sad world we live in

trails

iTrader: (41)

I'm guessing you are about 13?

hodgy0_2

but being considerate is the same principle for anyone, whatever they are doing

I see plenty of inconsiderate car and lorry drivers

Cyclist have just as much right to be on the road as anyone else – and for every inconsiderate group of riders there will be an inconsiderate car or lorry driver overtaking far to close

or are you saying that, as a species, cyclist are less considerate

ReallyReallyGoodMeat

Walking in this morning, I saw Boris Johnson cycling down Stamford street towards Waterloo - he looked pretty awkward, can't decide whether it was because he had a mahoosive backpack on making his balance a nightmare, or because he was on the wrong side of the road

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

No, cyclists are human, but for the odd few that are inconsiderate (and they all come out on a Sunday morning) the rest get tarred with that brush. We all agree that cyclists are vulnerable on roads with bigger and heavier machinery around and the inconsiderate operators of those vehicles vent there frustrations on any other cyclist they see.

It's all Darwinism, and as vulnerable road users we need to be more alert and make ourselves less obvious targets. Unfortunately the few undo all the hard work of the majority who probably are sensible. That's why I often here people shouting at myself and other cyclists "get off the f--kin' road".

I'd love to go out for a long bike ride at the weekend with the wife and kids, but there's not enough cycle paths or bridleways nearby and the though of taking inexperienced riders out at the same time as the 'several-abreast regardless of the delays they cause' crowd worries me.

If we want to get onto the inconsiderate crowd, what about the caravanner who's sipping his tea whilst doing 30mph in the 60mph single carriageway road with the 20-mile snake behind him

dpb

Clearly if they are 4 abreast on a country lane, then they're being unreasonable /daft

hodgy0_2

i agree

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

I have nothing against people who want to cycle in leotards with panty liners fitted, but equally those people probably don't understand people like me who want to race down mountain sides in shorts and t-shirts - but there are tw@ts in every walk of life...

ReallyReallyGoodMeat

In my experience of London, there are far more inconsiderate cyclists than drivers as a proportion of those on the road (as a pedestrian, and at some point everyone is a pedestrian).
i.e. seeing a cyclist stop at a red light, or zebra crossing, is the exception, not the norm.

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

As the OP I would lime to point out I lived in Germany and other places in Europe, it was never a problem there. We just lack the education, manners, commonsense and infrastructure to make cycling viable and safe.

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

London is the centre of the universe for arrogant cyclists, you can spot them a mile off with their helmets cams on for their daily commute

Wurzel

iTrader: (1)

It amazes me reading comments from cyclists, if they are all squeeky clean and obay the rules as they all claim to do how come there are so many **** cyclists on the road causing chaos and annoying other road users?

Cyclists is one of the hottest topics that never seems to go away and always ends up with the same comments by the same people for pages and pages, if all cyclists are all angels then why do we have so many cycling threads?

jonc

Ok let me put it to you this way, you're cycling with your family (I'm assuming you have kids of course), would you position your kids who are following you on the single carriage road, close to the kerb or in the middle of the road to stop motorist from overtaking because it may not be safe for them to do so. I take my kids out riding and would never dream of positioning them in the middle of the road, to me it's not 'safer'.

trails

iTrader: (41)

How is a helmet cam a display of arrogance?

urban

iTrader: (1)

Its not just that simple though, there is a knock on effect as each car behind gets held up for your 15 seconds, before they all get held up for 15 seconds them selves.

JonMc

iTrader: (51)

When you use it to record your daily commute, the same route you do day in day out, just to show the world how bad drivers are in your perfect little cycling world - it's all down to how the few use them to put their daily encounters, with lorries that don't allow them to undertake, on you-tube. Back to my earlier comments, the many get tarred by the actions of the few

trails

iTrader: (41)

I'm not squeaky clean but I don't cause chaos either...

Seems to be a bit of a seasonal thing...fair weather cyclist abound during the drier warmer months and they seem to the least experienced.