The joys of cycling

[Guinness]

So….

The sun is shining and this morning on my way in to work I’m behind Bradley Wiggins.

There he is in his fluorescent pink and green lycra, spanking new shiny racing helmet riding down the road.

Being a reasonable guy, I slow up behind him for a few minutes giving him ample room so he doesn’t feel threatened, wait for my moment and overtake giving him a wide berth.

Come to a junction and he undercuts me, bumps onto the pavement, swerves across the road through some standing traffic and gets in front of me again.

Patient to the end, I suck in my breath, cross the junction and end up behind him once again, slowed to a crawl as he pumps up the hill, finally a gap in oncoming traffic I get past him.

Temporary traffic lights on red so being an adherent of the highway code and the laws of the land I stop.

While I’m waiting I clock Bradley snaking through the cars behind me, he passes me on the inside, bumps onto the pavement once again, ignores the lights and crosses the junction via the pedestrian crossing point and island.
Once again I’m behind him, slowed to a crawl, where I remained until we parted company a couple of junctions later.

Now I’m ok with cyclists having the right to use the road, I’m fine with people who want to be healthy and fit, I’m fine with people who can’t afford the bus and use a cycle….In fact I’m fine with cyclists who follow the highway code

What I’m not fine with is cyclists who think that the rules don’t apply to them, with cyclists who don’t keep their position in standing traffic preferring to wend and weave through vehicles waiting at lights, cyclists who undertake, use the pavement and pedestrian crossing points and who cause tailbacks during rush hour because of their selfishness, stupidity and ignorance!

[AccyMad]

Know exactly where you're coming from Guinness, I don't even drive but my travels this week in my job as a school escort have taken me out & about on country roads - the sun's been out & so have the cyclists, some of them were an absolute nightmare to be behind

[Stevie R]

I regulary have one cyclist on the downhill bit of Manchester Road just passed the Alma,who could if he wanted to because he travels so close to my car, open the boot or the back door of my car at 30 miles an hour.Seemingly oblivious to keeping any sort of safe distance,immune to danger,intent on keeping up.
This guy will call himself a cyclist but he aint spreading any joy..

[accyman]

theres a few posts on facebook that come with a picture of a truck explaining to car drivers in essence that a truck is bigger than you and can cause you serious damage so watch out and be careful..

i have a friend who is a long distance truck driver who posted one of these pictures who is also a biker who likes to post pictures telling me a car driver to think bike

oh the irony

cyclists can get a rough time on the roads i was hit twice when i was cycling but just like bikers some are destined to be organ donors through their own ignorance

one passenger opened the car door on me and one car jumped a give way and sent me over the roof of their car

[Margaret Pilkington]

My take on cyclists is unless they are 4 years old, riding a trike they should be on the road, not the pavement.(I always thought it was illegal for cyclists to use the pavement)
They cycle stealthily up behind you making not a peep of sound, (don't bikes come with a bell these days) then make you jump out of your skin by hurtling past you when you least expect it.
As for those who hurtle along Broadway (usually spotty I'll kempt youths - you never see ladies young or old doing this)in a zigzag fashion.....well, I dare not tell you what I would like to do to them

[cashman]

There should really be a season fer hunting em down.

[Gremlin]

My pet hate regarding cyclist is the ones who hold up traffic on a busy road when it would be unsafe to overtake them. You finally get past and then the next set of traffic lights they just cross regardless of red or green and hold you up all over again.
Even the responsible ones who do stop at red ride all the way to the front and sit in front of you over again.
The red paint on the road with a picture of a bike at the traffic lights only serves to encourage them. That should say "no cyclists".
I've done my share of cycling even having a week touring and got as far as Aberystwyth.
Once I found out feet were for Clutch, brake and accelerator I gave it up and made life easier. Even easier in about 1975 when I decided I had enough of gear changing and have had automatic gear changing cars ever since.
Tax and insurance plus registration should be a legal requirement for cyclist.

Rant over, jam butty and pop time.

[Studio25]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

My take on cyclists is unless they are 4 years old, riding a trike they should be on the road, not the pavement.(I always thought it was illegal for cyclists to use the pavement)

Rule 64
https://www.gov.uk/rules-for-cyclist...rview-59-to-71

You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.
Laws HA 1835 sect 72 & R(S)A 1984, sect 129

It's the only problem I have with cyclists. As a driver you have a responsibility to drive defensively, so you should plan for as many hazards as you can think of, including a cyclist weaving around potholes, undercutting in traffic etc.

These days, defensive driving is seen as "weakness" and anyone who is doing so is "dawdling".

The highway code says that undercutting is permissible of traffic to the right is held up and moving more slowly. Accyman, why do you think that does that not apply to cyclists?

[accyman]

gonna need you to be more clear with your question and what part of my post you are referring to because i dont see where i have put that rules of the road dont apply to cyclists

not been snarky i simply dont have a clue lol

edit:

if your referring to the passenger opening their door on my they were stopped at a red light prepping to turn right and the passenger decided to jump out.I was approaching the lights in the lane to go straight on or turn left with intention to go straight on when the door suddenly opened.Not a big deal and although cyclists can be annoying it wouldnt hurt if folk checked mirrors before flinging car doors open

it was drummed into me repeatedly to check my left mirror for bikes and cyclists but some folk dontthink when they become the passenger and not the driver

[Gremlin]

Undercutting may be allowed when traffic on the right is moving slowly or turning right but! You must be in a marked lane and not squeezing up the gutter or scraping the near side of cars.
Having driven long articulated HGVs for many years I found cyclist a nightmare when I was turning left and would always treble check all mirrors if any cyclist were in the vicinity.
The reason side guards were fitted to trailers was to knock silly cyclist out of the way rather than squash them under the trailer wheels.
I've passed defensive driving and advanced HGV driving tests and last week a speed awareness course and cyclist were always on the agenda but never on a course which would give them some idea of what a HGV driver has to put up with in heavy traffic with cyclist weaving in and out.

[accyman]

Originally Posted by Gremlin

Undercutting may be allowed when traffic on the right is moving slowly or turning right but! You must be in a marked lane and not squeezing up the gutter or scraping the near side of cars.

reminds me of a story where a chineese visitor spent a week wobbling around london on his bike trying to stay between the gap in double yellow lines because he thought it was our cycle lane system

[Gremlin]

As an addition to the above post.
I've nothing against cyclist in general as long as they behave responsible and obey traffic lights and rules of the road.
They don't take spaces up in car parks or use up our valuable oil supplies, they also contribute to our economy by spending money on expensive cycles and sexy licra shorts, well ladies anyway.
Right I'm off in my gas guzzler now for a two hundred yard drive to the chippy.

[Studio25]

Originally Posted by accyman

gonna need you to be more clear with your question and what part of my post you are referring to...

Really sorry, Accyman - I thought it was your thread. I should have referred to Guinness (the OP), not you. My sincere apologies.

[Lucysgirl]

The law used to be that a child's cycle was allowed on the pavement. As relayed to me by Hy Gregson in the 1970s:- a child's cycle is rated by the diameter of its wheels with the tyres inflated. Measured from the ground to the top of the inflated tyre, the largest child's bike has a 24" diameter wheel.

[Hill Walker]

Originally Posted by Lucysgirl

The law used to be that a child's cycle was allowed on the pavement. As relayed to me by Hy Gregson in the 1970s:- a child's cycle is rated by the diameter of its wheels with the tyres inflated. Measured from the ground to the top of the inflated tyre, the largest child's bike has a 24" diameter wheel.

The Moulton (correct spelling?) would make a mess of that definition. I haven't seen one for ages, I guess they just went out of fashion.

Like Gremlin I've nothing against cyclists in general BUT you do come across the occasional one that makes your blood boil and gives cyclists in general a bad name. Only a couple of weeks ago I found one of these on a quiet narrow country lane. There was absolutely no possibility of passing him without his co-operation which was not forth-coming. I was stuck behind him in 1st gear for about 2 miles and the problem was only resolved because that point was my destination. Had I been going all the way to the main road I have no doubt he would have kept me behind all the way. What was really galling was his jumper which advocated cycling as eco-friendly - and me stuck in 1st gear!