Cyclists against the world!

[Annpan]

don't think anyone is the 'king of the road', cyclist and car/van/lorry, should all following the Highway Code, i.e if it is not safe to overtake a cyclist then I wait until it is rather than 'cut up' the cyclist. However I expect the same respect in return.

I absolutely agree - everyone should follow the rules.

That said - cyclists are just soooo much more vulnerable.

Too many drivers (cars, vans, lorries, buses, etc) forget that they are in charge of a lethal weapon.

I haven't had any bad experiences as a cyclist (yet) but as a pedestrian, and often a pedestrian pushing a buggy I have had a few close calls.

[The Prehistorian]

Re the original post: it isn't illegal for a car to have stopped in the Advanced Stop Line area- if he'd entered it and the lights changed to red before he got out then he is perfectly entitled to be there. This is something that a number of cyclists don't appear to realise and so they get annoyed at car drivers who are behaving correctly.

- not that I'm saying this is what happened in the incident reported - just something to take note of next time you see a car already stopped in the ASL.

Also, be aware that technically the cyclist entering the ASL while the lights are red may be at fault. If there is a solid line at the entry to the ASL, rather than a feeder, you aren't actually allowed to enter it! Of course no one takes any notice of this silly rule.

But, what I would say about the opriginal incident is that it's not worth putting yourself in danger just because you have right on your side. In such a situation I'd just wait behind the car, rather than filter past and put myself in a situation where he has to then over take me. Sure, bad dring is annoying but is it really worth putting yourself at risk just to somehow get back at the bad driver? After all, waiting one car length further back is not really going to delay your journey that much. I only ever tend to filter when the queue is of such length that I won't make it through the lights on the current cycle.

[mamos]

When cycling in traffic you have to take control.

If you are cycling in an area where there isn't enough room for a motorist to overtake or it would be risky for a motorist to overtake then you need to position yourself further out into the road to prevent the motorist from passing. If you tuck yourself in you are asking for trouble as cars will try to squeeze past. If a driver beeps at you because he thinks you are taking up too much space at least it means he has seen you.

I also treat every motorist as if he is actually out to kill me. Sometimes -like mentioned above- you need to take stock and put yourself in the safest and most visible position. Make eye contact with motorists at junctions etc so you know they have seen you and always thank motorists for good driving.

Remember Cyclists have a right to be on the road as do Pedestrians and horses, Cars on the other hand have to be granted a special license to use the roads.

mamos

[Big Al]

I am very cross and upset today, as I was comming up to traffic lights at a cross roads, the car at the front of the que had parked in the cycle bit, so I moved my bike so I was infront of him, then when the lights went green, I quite rightly cycled in the middle of the road (because if I cycle to the left of a car, and the car wantes to turn left I could get knocked off) and the car behind me beeped, then undertook!! Yeah thats right, undertook me as I got to the other side of the cross road. Fortunately I hadnt started to move to the left of the road or I would have been knocked off. Was he really in such a rush that he couldnt wait for me to pull over?!?
I am so sick of the way I am treated as a cyclist in this countrt. Just a few weeks ago I was stopped by the police who said I hannt indicated properly at a roundabout, and told me to cycle on the pavement...which is against the law?!?!?!?!?

I was once branded as a cyclo terrorist back in the mid 90'2 so if you want some tips to get your own back on car drivers let me know. Not all are legal but then how legal are car drivers?

[mamos]

Now I'm intrigued

mamos

[Big Al]

Now I'm intrigued

mamos

For example you know those very sticky notes parking attendants use to stick on the side windows of cars telling the drivers that they have parked wrong?? Well there was a time when some of these with the words " by the time you remove this you will be late for work. Don't park on cycle lanes" where printed and stuck on front windscreens at 4 in the morning right in the view of the driver.

If they didn't stop parking on the cycle lanes their mirrors might have got smashed, tyres let down, old bike frames chained to bumpers, bumpers chained to lamposts etc. If they cut some of up or behaved dangerously to a cyclist then they would get their lights or door panels kicked in and as we were super fit and knew of all the short cuts they couldn't catch us.

some of us used to race drivers in towns and over taking them at speeds of up to 30mph and this would annoy them so they wouldn't let us back in on the inside but we knew we could stop for traffic lights later than the cars so we'd win eventually.

As someone who used to do 4-600 miles a week on a pedal bike I would come across a lot more "problems " than a cyclist who might only do 30 miles a week purely by virtue of the amount of riding I / we did but in the end I gave up after three spells in hospital due to 2 bad drivers and one spill at 58mph on a downhill MB course which split my helmet open broke my R arm, L leg ( despite having body armour on ) and cruciate ligaments in my right knee. I missed being impailled through the chest on a tree branch by 3cm as I hit the tree coming off one of the jumps...... well i was only in my 20's and still invincible......lol.

[mamos]

I have had some close shaves and road rage incidents with motorists

One pursued me for months and every time he saw me on the road he would try and cut me up. He even started pulling over in front of me and getting out of the car trying to get me.

I had the advantage of knowing who he was but he didn't know me It culminated in him crashing into an on coming vehicle whilst trying to run me off the road

I bet he was really good at making pancakes

mamos

[timhippy]

OOOOOOOH i do love a cyclist against the car rant lol i once got knocked off my bike while standing astride my bike standing on a pavement ...luckily i was unhurt bar a few nasty bruises ...this is a the good part the driver who looks extrememly panic stricken and quiet rightly so lol immediatly offerd to frive me to a local halfords and but me a new bike lol did i accept????



methinks the guy didnt have insurance or summit and he was almost crying lol ohh ok i felt sorry for him damn my good natured self i got him to buy me a pretty decent claude butler lol not bad for the sake of a few bruises i might consider headbutting his car again if i see him lol....
just kidding cycle safe you lot!!!!
love life live life from the happy hippy TIM

[Big Al]

I have had some close shaves and road rage incidents with motorists

One pursued me for months and every time he saw me on the road he would try and cut me up. He even started pulling over in front of me and getting out of the car trying to get me.

I had the advantage of knowing who he was but he didn't know me It culminated in him crashing into an on coming vehicle whilst trying to run me off the road

I bet he was really good at making pancakes

mamos

The thing was that as a cyclist it was ME that was GIVING OUT the road rage.....

[Big Al]

OOOOOOOH i do love a cyclist against the car rant lol i once got knocked off my bike while standing astride my bike standing on a pavement ...luckily i was unhurt bar a few nasty bruises ...this is a the good part the driver who looks extrememly panic stricken and quiet rightly so lol immediatly offerd to frive me to a local halfords and but me a new bike lol did i accept????



methinks the guy didnt have insurance or summit and he was almost crying lol ohh ok i felt sorry for him damn my good natured self i got him to buy me a pretty decent claude butler lol not bad for the sake of a few bruises i might consider headbutting his car again if i see him lol....
just kidding cycle safe you lot!!!!
love life live life from the happy hippy TIM

Take what you can get and get what you can take in these gawd forsaken times.

[mamos]

Also, What are your views on Cycle paths?

Most of the cycle paths on my commute are badly designed and in some cases downright dangerous however motorist seem to be under the impression that if a cycle path is provided then it is the duty of the cyclist to use them.

I always thought that it was a matter of choice whether or not to use a path but but it narrowly avoided becoming law and being added the the latest Highway Code last year. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... lanes.html

And in 2006 a cyclist Daniel Cadden was prosecuted for cycling on the road when there was a nearby -albeit on the other side of a busy road- cycle path http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -lane.html

What are your views

mamos

[Big Al]

Also, What are your views on Cycle paths?

Most of the cycle paths on my commute are badly designed and in some cases downright dangerous however motorist seem to be under the impression that if a cycle path is provided then it is the duty of the cyclist to use them.

I always thought that it was a matter of choice whether or not to use a path but but it narrowly avoided becoming law and being added the the latest Highway Code last year. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... lanes.html

And in 2006 a cyclist Daniel Cadden was prosecuted for cycling on the road when there was a nearby -albeit on the other side of a busy road- cycle path http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... -lane.html

What are your views

mamos

Cycle paths and road engineers just don't mix !! We had a head of engineering who was a devoute anti cyclist and proved as much in meetings. Being 28 stone he could never use a bike until he retired on health grounds no the bugger runs marathons.... still hates cycles thought. He was replaced with a pro cycle head of engineering and we thought we were in the land of milk and honey.... wrong... the subordanates of the previous head were indoctrinated into the good old ways.

In the end I gave up the post of cycle rep for the CTC as I couldn't do anything constructive and believe me my head was well bruised froom banging on a brick wall. As for the law all cycle lanes are advisory unless they have a solid white line when they become mandatory as cars are not allowed to enter them. If there is a broken white line then they are advisory and also cars can encroach into them.

HTH

Alan

[DebbieP]

I live in Reading and although there are some cycle paths around, there is nothing like a complete network, and they stop and start randomly - it doesn't work! I cycle to and from work, I stop at traffic lights and obey the rules of the road (it infuriates me when other cyclists just cycle straight through a red and i'm sat there like a muppet!), and am regularly put in danger by motorists. If I wasn't paying attention I would be knocked off at least 10 times each journey. There is no respect for cyclists and most motorists want them off the road. I can understand in a way, if you're in a car and in a hurry it must be frustrating to be stuck behind a cyclists. But it's no excuse.

[mamos]

One of the problems- especially with younger drivers is they didn't benefit from the amount and type of cycling older drivers have.

For one thing, a lot of us oldies took the cycling proficiency test whilst at school and we would go off in the morning on our bikes and not come back until it was time for tea.

We learned most of our road craft in those early days and when it came to driving a car, we already knew the rules of the road and how to act properly.

Today's younger people were denied the chance to take cycling tests at school and due to the nanny state and wrapping the little darlings up in cotton wool for most of the formative years they do not have the experience of cycling on the road. In the park, the garden or the skate park but not on the roads.

I -of course- have no scientific basis for this theory it is just my opinion

mamos

[hippy chick]

I rode my bike to work for the first time on Wednesday. I have to say, I am one of those people who never took the cycling proficiency test at school and I found the experience ... difficult. There are no decent cycle routes in Coventry and the roads I had to use are busy. Not being very used to a bike I was probably most infuriating to drivers as I slowed down at each bump in the road (it took me 40 minutes to do a 20 minute journey). I have to be honest though and say that drivers seemed to be really ok and only once did I think one hadn't quite given me enough room... although that may have just been me wobbling.

I'm usually the car driver... Even though I hadn't understood the plight of cyclists before now I have always been really mindful of them. If I overtake I do it with plenty of space and slowly (as you would a horse) and if I can't do that for them then I just drive (slowly and patiently) behind them until I can. I have seen them treated pretty severely by other motorists though, I would be livid that I might injure or worse, Kill another road user be it a driver, a cyclist or a pedestrian and I think it is infuriating that some people feel that their 'urgency' to get to work or wherever they are going is more important than another humans life.

I fully intend to go to work on the bike again, I'm going to try and work up my stamina and ability slowly though. BTW can anyone tell me why after cycling my legs didn't hurt a jot but my upper body was in agony? My mum reckons it was because I was gripping the handlebars for dear life and that as I get more relaxed that will get better!