Pelotons

[BearTricks]

To be completely honest, the only thing that annoys me about cyclists is when I see a grown man or woman using the pavement instead of the road. That's actually illegal in most cases, instead of just being a pain in the arse, even when children do it.

I can understand why a child could be forgiven for not riding on the road, considering they likely aren't aware of the highway code, probably want to avoid the ire of adult drivers and are harder to spot but an adult riding on the pavement comes off as a specific type of laziness that really annoys me.

Otherwise I've never had much of a problem with cyclists unless they personally have a bit of an attitude problem. That's usually an issue with the individual rather than a symptom of riding a bike.

 

[Terry - Somerset]

The highway code is quite clear -

"never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends"

I question the sanity of cyclists who ignore this or the other worthy advice contained therein. A small "tickle" through carelessness or impatience of either driver or cyclist will leave a car with a £50 bill from "Dents Away" (or similar), and the cyclist with potentially life changing or life ending injuries.

Motorists and cyclists need to show more tolerance and consideration ..... and cyclists deploy a bit more common sense and ride defensively.

Just my thoughts

Terry

 

[Eric The Viking]

As a cyclist, and motorcyclist, and car driver, I have long thought the first two should be compulsory steps towards getting a car license.

I passed my bike test in my late forties, having given up previously in my early twenties. It taught me a huge amount about road safety, and the feeling of vulnerability I'm sure has made me a far better car driver.

That said, I too find cyclists round 'ere infuriating sometimes. Wuffles, do you ever drive up Cheddar Gorge? If so, you'll know what I mean...

 

[monkeybiter]

The point is; cyclists, motorcyclists AND car drivers are not all the same and are 'amazingly' as different as the rest of the genpop. Some are considerate and will yield, there are others who are ignorant [choose your meaning] and will obstruct, and of course there are others still, who know exactly what's going on but choose to belligerently disrupt all but the the blindly faithful Luddites. I added the plural.

There are good'uns and bad'uns in all camps, it doesn't make any camp inherently right, but neither does it make any bad'uns good just because of the camp they choose.

 

[Jacob]

......
There are good'uns and bad'uns in all camps, it doesn't make any camp inherently right, but neither does it make any bad'uns good just because of the camp they choose.

Exactly.
But cyclists do have to ride "defensively" for safety's sake, and this is what annoys some drivers.
This means being well out from the kerb and not necessarily edging in to let people pass, as this is where you get pinched or wobbled off.
In traffic lanes such as approaching a junction you have to stay centre of your chosen lane, otherwise you find yourself being passed on both sides with little room to wobble. This is where most cyclists get killed.
Passing parked cars you have to stay a doors width out or sooner or later one will suddenly open in front of you.
Cyclists have to wobble - this is how bikes stay up. The slower you go the wider the wobble; bikes can't be ridden in a straight line, or close to a kerb.

 

[NazNomad]

Awww, leave 'em be. After all, they pay the same road tax and insurance as the rest of us road users. ;-)

There is no such thing as road tax.
Roads are paid for by all taxpayers, whether or not they use them.
I think this little misunderstanding leads some drivers to imagine that they are paying for the privilege and are thus have more entitlement.
They are wrong.
The nearest you get to "road tax" in UK is in the occasional toll on road, bridge, ferry etc. Some of these are barred to cyclists. Some are free!

Did you see the 'wink' at the end of my post? I was completely kidding. :roll:

What would your reply have been if I had sarcastically said that cyclists pay the same Vehicle Excise Duty as car users?

 

[Rhossydd]

But cyclists do have to ride "defensively" for safety's sake, and this is what annoys some drivers.

Riding four abreast is not 'defensive', it's just plain WRONG.
There are bad cyclists in the same way there are bad car drivers, motorcyclist and pedestrians. You do cycling a dis-service by trying to defend the indefensible.

 

[Jacob]

But cyclists do have to ride "defensively" for safety's sake, and this is what annoys some drivers.

Riding four abreast is not 'defensive', it's just plain WRONG.
There are bad cyclists in the same way there are bad car drivers, motorcyclist and pedestrians. You do cycling a dis-service by trying to defend the indefensible.

I'm not defending 4 abreast riding. This would be just about impossible anyway on normal roads and hence extremely rare.
I am defending the rights of cyclists to use the roads - which may include "defensive" or "assertive" riding, which some drivers object to.

 

[NazNomad]

There is no such thing as road tax.

Do you wear those same blinkers when you're cycling 4 abreast? :-D :-D

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_tax

 

[LancsRick]

]
You din't detect a note of sarcasm there, then?

Ah. No. Well played, you got me.

(Git)

 

[DiscoStu]

Cyclist shouldn't be riding 4 a breast and hogging the road, drivers shouldn't be cutting them up and not giving them space. I see plenty of decent cycling on a daily basis and plenty of decent driving however like all things it's the odd cyclist that gives them a bad name and the same with drivers.

Oddly a friend of mine posted a video on Facebook yesterday. It was entitled "another ***** on the road". Knowing he is a keen cyclist I was expecting to see a video from his helmet camera of a car cutting him up etc. Actually what it showed was a car sat at red lights. He pulled up to the red lights and stopped. The lights must have been red for 20 seconds or so (a decent long time) when another cyclist came between him and the car and straight through the lights that they were both waiting at. He didn't even cross with caution just flew through! What an *****!


Oh and two things that do wind me up - cyclists with no lights at night and some who seem to have bought some new super powered lights that seem a lot brighter than a cars headlight on full beam.


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[bugbear]

http://bostonwheelerscc.org.uk/club-runs.htm

BugBear

 

[Jacob]

http://bostonwheelerscc.org.uk/club-runs.htm

BugBear

Nice empty wide road plenty of room - but narrow lanes.
NB they are doing the proper thing with respect to the lanes. They are obviously not taking the slip road so they are hogging the lane and moveing clear of the slip. This is assertive riding. Worst thing would be to ride along the line markings and risk being overtaken on both sides simultaneously. Next worst would be to keep to the inside of the slip and then try to move out of it at the last minute. No doubt some drivers would find this all annoying.

Just been for my morning belt. Had to thread (safely and legitimately) through a gap between traffic jams (lotsa bin men about). Surprised not to hear a toot, shout, fist through open window, beer can lobbed out, spit, etc. These are all quite common hazards.

We've got nothing against drivers - most of us are drivers, but some of them are tedious berks.

I agree about cyclists with no lights. They don't realise how invisible they are. Ditto pedestrians on dark nights with no pavements. We always wear bright yellow if viz is an issue.

 

[Wuffles]

http://bostonwheelerscc.org.uk/club-runs.htm

BugBear

Nice empty wide road plenty of room.
NB they are doing the proper thing with respect to the lanes. They are obviously not taking the slip road so they are hogging the lane and keeping clear of the slip. This is assertive riding. Worst thing would be to ride along the line markings and risk being overtaken on both sides simultaneously. Next worst would be to keep to the inside of the slip and then try to move out of it at the last minute. No doubt some drivers would find this all annoying.

Just been for my morning belt. Had to thread (safely and legitimately) through a gap between traffic jams (lotsa bin men about). Surprised not to hear a toot, shout, fist through open window, beer can lobbed out, spit, etc. These are all quite common hazards.

We've got nothing against drivers - most of us are drivers, but some of them are tedious berks.

Just going to cherry pick your post like you did mine, sure you won't mind.

"obviously" "annoying" "tedious berk"

 

[Jacob]

...
....
"obviously" "annoying" "tedious berk"

I'm sure you are not - don't be so self deprecating!

What cherry picking? I quoted all your post I thought? Maybe I missed the point.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

"I agree about cyclists with no lights. They don't realise how invisible they are. Ditto pedestrians on dark nights with no pavements. We always wear bright yellow if viz is an issue."
I agree on that one. My 1900cc Yamaha, 8'5" long, loads of chrome, reflectors, headlight and me in reflective jacket and reflectors on the helmet together weighing over half a tonne was invisible to many car drivers and cyclists.

 

[RogerS]

I've been cycling all my life and I've never seen anyone cycling four abreast (except in the tour de france etc). Just somebody having a moan about cyclists as usual. If you don't like sharing the road with cyclists then you should use public transport and/or motorways only.

I don't like the arrogance that some have when they don't make any contribution to road upkeep. They demand rights but don't appear to have any responsibilities!

I've been cycling all my life and I've never seen anyone cycling four abreast (except in the tour de france etc). Just somebody having a moan about cyclists as usual. If you don't like sharing the road with cyclists then you should use public transport and/or motorways only.

And so, just because you have never seen this happen, anyone else who has seen them is a liar in your book, Jacob. Getting to be a bit of a habit this, Jacob. Your arrogance is breathtaking.

 

[RogerS]

I always give cyclists room, unless they are taking up more room than I deem necessary; two abreast plus and I don't give them any extra room. They like that, probably, they're always waving at me.

Sometimes they won't get any room at all, when they appear from nowhere around a single track lane, don't stop in time and are forced into a ditch - true story.

Do you get angry at other wide slow moving vehicles like tractors or have you just got a weird thing about cyclists?

A tractor cannot make itself thinner with a twitch of the bars or simple manoeuvre and free up the road to allow the ever longer queue of other road users to be on their way. :roll: simple politeness really.

As an example I have just come back from a short motorbike ride with the missus as pillion. This was her first time on a bike so i had to go slow so as not to frighten her :shock: anyway, along the way seeing vehicles approaching in my mirrors, me doing 50mph them doing 60, single carriageway, I indicated and moved to the left, waving them past. Everyone happy. I could have of course just made myself as wide as possible sat in the middle or outside of the lane and caused a tailback, after all I have every right to be there :roll:

=D> Well said, Nev.

And as others have said, tractors are generally very courteous and will move out of the way to let traffic past whenever they can. That's what 'sharing' the road is all about. Something that many cyclists are oblivious to.

 

[Mark A]

While working outside my house yesterday I saw two cyclists ride past extra slowly and chatting. Behind them were four cars, two vans and a 7.5 tonner.

Chatting!






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[RogerS]

Picking up on the discussion regarding vehicle excise duty. As has been correctly stated, the money raised from VED goes into a common pot. Of course, it's not just VED that motorists stump up. Fuel excise duty and VAT on fuel is yet another charge and these too go into the common pot. As does many taxes. Some of the money from this pot goes towards roads and infrastructure.

From which cyclists benefit. Therefore it is only reasonable that, since cyclists benefit, that they too should make some contribution into the common pot.