Cyclist awareness

[Gary Taylor]

Wasn’t sure how to head this so apologies to those responsible cyclists among us

 

We had our first organised run and as we traveled to the meeting point I became increasingly concerned for all of us heading out on our runs.

 

With the increased take up in recreational cycling there are many “covid” cyclists that have taken to the roads with out any consideration to rules and safety . There were numbers of them wobbling along in dark clothing and 2 or 3 abreast chatting to each other ,some groups having children as well.
This coupled with the current tv and police campaign on giving them extra room when passing means we need to be vigilant.

I know there are many responsible cyclists and I’m not having a punt at anyone or group just raising a safety awareness issue as we enjoy ourselves 
 

Take care and stay safe

[CosKev]

I'm finding more cyclists are now looking for confrontations with motorists, they hear a car behind them,look over shoulder then take up more room on the road than they were🙄

They then proceed to eye ball you as you pass hoping for a response from the car driver.🤬

This is not just in my kit car,finding it on my commute in the daily too👎 

[DMc]

Ah The old enemy of the motorist  😄

 

Its bl**** scary meeting one as you go round a blind bend thats for sure.

 

the 2/3 abreast thing should be banned and punishable as its incredibly dangerous for every one....i certainly dont want a face full of bike and A***!

 

I feel like a lot of them are looking for a reaction as they're most likely recording, and cant wait to 'motorist shame' you on social media.

 

Some of them are decent though and wave a thank you as you go by.

 

until cyclists have to gain some sort of competency certificate AND  liability insurance to use the road then they will be a pest to the motorist

but then, how would you enforce any of it  

[Terry Everall]

This is an important issue and as a driver and cyclist my comments are as follows. Cyclists should try to wear bright and distinctive clothing, section 66 of the Highway Code permits riding 2 abreast and I believe that motorists are supposed to leave 1.5metres between them and the cyclist. There are some idiot cyclists and motorists with no patience or consideration for each other which is not good. Just remember that if there is contact the cyclist will not come out best and some drivers do not give sufficient clearance and are impatient to pass even on narrow lanes with blind bends. Lets hope we all put our brains in gear when on the road.

[Captain Colonial]

Much like bad drivers, one tends to only remember bad cyclists.  Good cyclists in my experience far outnumber the bad ones.  I give all cyclists a wide berth and treat them with respect and caution, not to mention believing they are actively trying to kill themselves sometimes with occasional unbelievable and sudden manoeuvres and stunts on the roads and pavements.

 

A cyclist nearly tookme and my two dogs out on Saturday on the pavement.  He came steaming around a blind corner at speed on the pavement and skidded to a halt less than a metre from us, scaring the dogs badly.  He had full Lycra, a helmet, earphones, sunglasses and a fag on the go... while looking down at his phone.
 

To say I gave him a mouthful about it would be understatement.  He didn’t say a single thing, just cycled past us again, still on the pavement, still looking at his phone.  If you’d done that in a car, you’d get prosecuted.

In the past 5 years, my local police have prosecuted exactly zero cyclists for riding on the pavement.  None.  Despite an elderly woman pedestrian being knocked down and killed by a cyclist just down the street.

 

There are lots more people out cycling with their families now and overall that’s a good thing.  I don’t mind them being on the pavement if they cycle at greatly reduced speed.  Let’s just hope they teach their kids about responsible cycling.

 

As far as I’m concerned, the problem of poor discipline on the roads by bad operators of cars and cycles will not be reduced unless bicycles ridden on the streets are forced to be registered and a number plate displayed.  If cyclists want to share the roads responsibly and have the power to report vehicle registration numbers, it’s only fair that the reverse must apply.

[SXRORY]

I was out on Sunday early, and with the weather it definitely had an impact with the numbers out. We tend to like the same roads👍😐

It's not too much trouble, fast as you can see and adjust pace accordingly if it seems a busy one. 

 

The older gent that decided that it was a good time to cross the road with his dog as was approaching (at Speed limit) was the eye opener on sunday. Must remember to turn on lights. Bit of a lock up and a hop skip and a jump from him and we were all on our merry way...... Phew

[Davemk1]

As a young man I was a professional cyclist and I've earned my living all my adult life in the bike business. I ride nearly everyday. The number of serious incidents I've personally experienced over the decades is shocking....some are due to people just not paying attention (the advent of the cell phone has made my life notably more dangerous) and some are due to outright aggression on the part of the driver.

 

At the same time I've seen absolutely awful behavior from cyclists....riding with complete indifference to others around them. Riding 3-4 abreast around blind corners just inviting issues from drivers coming up from behind. Purposely being in the way to exert their 'rights' to use the road. There are plenty of a-holes on bikes just as there are in cars.
 

And that's my point - a certain number of people are just jerks and some of them drive and some of them ride bikes and some do both. In the end it's the speed differential between the two that highlights the issues. If I'm out for a blat and there's a jerk in front of me in a car I'll almost never notice it as he's moving at about the same speed....but a jerk cyclist will be easy to spot as you come up on him. What's interesting to me is that I know some cyclists who are road hogging jerks while on bikes and then they get in a car and crowd and scream at riders who they feel are in their way. What's the common denominator here?

 

In the end it all boils down to being respectful of other road users regardless of the machine they are using. As the years have gone by I've seen this respect deteriorate in a big way. We just don't give a damn about other people the way we used to to the point where we resent others merely existing and being on the same road. It's as if we feel something is being taken from us personally if others are allowed to enjoy the same space. It's not a zero-sum game where if others enjoy the road that I'm going to lose my enjoyment.

 

It's also not a matter of skill or education. All drivers go through real training (unless you are in the USA where all you need to do to get a driver's license is fog a mirror) and there are plenty of bad drivers out there. It's a matter or respect and courtesy toward others from both drivers and riders. I would ask that drivers look at the rider as their kid or spouse and you'll find that giving them a bit or room will come easy....and I ask that cyclist think of every driver as a person on their way to the hospital with a medical emergency. Cut each other some slack....give others some consideration and space. No one 'owns' the road and has more right to use it. It's a public resource. Be nice to other people. Treat others as you'd like to be treated and don't be 'that guy'.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

dave

[BigSkyBrad]

46 minutes ago, Davemk1 said:

fog a mirror

haha, I must be living under a rock, had to google that! Duh

[AdamR]

Couldn't have put it better, Dave! Also a very keen cyclist and agree it's more about the "people" than the type and quantity of wheels we are rolling on.

[Terry Everall]

We are singing from the same hymn sheet!

[Dibby]

Agree very much there Dave.

 

I love both cycling and kit carring, been riding way longer than I can drive and until lockdown I commuted 20 miles each way every day, rain or shine by bike. I'm not a roadie and stay off the roads as much as possible because it's just too dangerous out there, especially if you do it every day at rush hour when everyone's priority is to get to work/ home as quickly as possible. With road riding, there's too much reliance on other people for your safety on the roads, if I fall off in the woods I've got nobody to blame but myself. I'm lucky the commute is 90% cycle track but then you still have to share the space with kids, dogs off leads, dogs on long invisible leads, tourists, drunk students, spice heads and hard of hearing pensioners with slow reactions.

 

The same goes for the Westfield, it's got all the crash protection of a crisp bag so you have to drive defensively when you're the smallest, most fragile car out there with no airbags or auto-braking radar system to sort things out for you if it goes tits-up. Barrelling into blind bends and expecting the road to be clear? You've got to give yourself space to stop in case there's a broken down car or a lump of concrete has fallen off the back of a truck.

 

Like you say Dave, we've all got to share public roads, nobody owns them or has any more right to be on them than anybody else, we're all sharing the same space and getting worked up about other people only increases your own blood pressure. You can only control your own actions.

[Gary Taylor]

I certainly didn’t mean any offence to anyone, and yes there are good and bad in every walk of life.

I personally stopped road biking after a van scraped by me on a 2 lane clear road. So can comment from both sides of the coin.

This post was meant as an awareness, as we are ( in Scotland) only just Recently allowed beyond 5 miles for recreational purposes and god forbid any of us has an incident where cyclists or driver was to get hurt.

I reasoned it was better to create an awareness rather than say , I thought about that, after something happened.

Sorry if it has offended anyone 

[Terry Everall]

It a perfectly acceptable post gary and reminds us all to be careful and considerate when on the road.

[AdamR]

17 minutes ago, Gary Taylor - Scotland AO said:

Sorry if it has offended anyone 

 

Very much doubt it has! We're all grown ups here (well, we sometimes have to pretend to be 😄 ), you've started a good healthy thread IMO.

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

21 minutes ago, Gary Taylor - Scotland AO said:

I certainly didn’t mean any offence to anyone, and yes there are good and bad in every walk of life.

I personally stopped road biking after a van scraped by me on a 2 lane clear road. So can comment from both sides of the coin.

This post was meant as an awareness, as we are ( in Scotland) only just Recently allowed beyond 5 miles for recreational purposes and god forbid any of us has an incident where cyclists or driver was to get hurt.

I reasoned it was better to create an awareness rather than say , I thought about that, after something happened.

Sorry if it has offended anyone 

 

Don't be silly @Gary Taylor - Scotland AO you've not said anything offensive. I'm a cyclist and a road runner.  A lot of my running is on national speed limit country roads with no pavements, street lights and blind bends- hence I don't listen to music as I often hear vehicles much earlier than I see them.

 

I have 3 sets of hand signals for motorists, used more so when running. I generally run on the 'wrong side' of the road, apart from crossing over on some bends to improve my view/visibility of me to others.

 

1. A slow hand up in the air from a distance if the car moves out for me nice and early, so they know I've seen them and am less likely to jump out on them etc. Followed by a thumbs up when they're close. My thoughts are they are more likely to do this again if I'm courteous.
2.  A slow hand in the air, if they don't move out until much closer and I'm ready to jump in the undergrowth if they don't move out.
3.  The vehicle makes no attempt to move out and sod's-law usually dictates they'll meet me just as they meet an oncoming vehicle they'd not seen until very late, meaning I'm jumping into the greenery with an appropriate hand gesture to show my appreciation! 

I also put my hand up when I hear a vehicle approaching from the rear, so they know I've heard them. 

 

Most drivers reciprocate with a hearty wave back, though you do get some who peep and even scream at you to get off the road.

 

We regularly meet lots, of cyclists, walkers and horse riders in the Peak District. However we always give them lots of room, as we can easily squirt back on once passed them etc. We don't own the roads and are happy to share them with others. Having driven to the top of the Stelvio pass, I've got full admiration for the nutters who cycle up it! It's hard work in a Westie with all the bends/braking and gear changing!