The daily "I cycled to work" thread
Discussion
MC Bodge said:
JustWondering:
How visible are you? Do you ride quite slowly or close to the kerb?
Doesn't matter what you wear, how many lights you have or where you ride in the road as some drivers either just ignore you or don't care. I had a girl last week pull out from a side road straight in front of me, sending me over the car's bonnet. Despite wearing a fluro-yellow jacket and absolutely nothing blocking her view of me while I was in primary position. What else can we do? Maybe the fact she has to tick a box on her insurance quote for the next five years and pay the increased premium will remind her to look more carefully in future, but I doubt it.How visible are you? Do you ride quite slowly or close to the kerb?
Fugazi said:
Doesn't matter what you wear, how many lights you have or where you ride in the road as some drivers either just ignore you or don't care. I had a girl last week pull out from a side road straight in front of me, sending me over the car's bonnet. Despite wearing a fluro-yellow jacket and absolutely nothing blocking her view of me while I was in primary position. What else can we do? Maybe the fact she has to tick a box on her insurance quote for the next five years and pay the increased premium will remind her to look more carefully in future, but I doubt it.
This must be the time of year for it! I had a an experience with a Focus driver appearing to my right with his left hand indicator on on tuesday. He stopped when he realised he wouldn't make the corner. I was actually taking the same left hand turn but not indicating at the time as I had a feeling this was going to happen and was covering both brakes. I did get ahead of him and tapped the side of my helmet suggesting he might want to use his head in future. Next thing I know he's next to me blasting his horn and gesturing for me to pull over! He was driving in the middle of the road and did evetually drive off after I pointed out the bus heading straight for him...... Fugazi said:
Doesn't matter what you wear, how many lights you have or where you ride in the road as some drivers either just ignore you or don't care. I had a girl last week pull out from a side road straight in front of me, sending me over the car's bonnet. Despite wearing a fluro-yellow jacket and absolutely nothing blocking her view of me while I was in primary position. What else can we do? Maybe the fact she has to tick a box on her insurance quote for the next five years and pay the increased premium will remind her to look more carefully in future, but I doubt it.
I know this, but I was just wondering in case the chap *was* riding in the gutter, wearing a black boiler suit and not using lights! He wasn't.As per my earlier post, some idiot buzzed me and cut me up at speed for no reason the other day -and I toowas well lit up and reflector equipped.
Hopefully he will think twice about such dangerous driving next time, having realised that a "cyclist" is actually a vulnerable person on the road and/or that the person on a bike might be a psycho, rather than just looking like one, to which the guilty driver could be very vulnerable.
G321 said:
I did get ahead of him and tapped the side of my helmet suggesting he might want to use his head in future. Next thing I know he's next to me blasting his horn and gesturing for me to pull over! He was driving in the middle of the road and did evetually drive off after I pointed out the bus heading straight for him......
"Hard men" in cars, with fragile egos, are very easily slighted it would seem.They seem to quickly forget that it was they who initiated the problem, though.
Best to tut, roll your eyes and ignore them, really, though.... In theory
MC Bodge said:
"Hard men" in cars, with fragile egos, are very easily slighted it would seem.
They seem to quickly forget that it was they who initiated the problem, though.
Best to tut, roll your eyes and ignore them, really, though.... In theory
I totally agree, the best course of action would be just to have ignored him and got on with my ride. Its just hard to do! will bite my tongue next time thoughThey seem to quickly forget that it was they who initiated the problem, though.
Best to tut, roll your eyes and ignore them, really, though.... In theory
Fortunately I had a 1250 bag sack of tea to deliver to the office from a CostCo shop yesterday, so I took the car. Only ever do it once a month to take in 4 lots of badminton kit, and bring 4 dirty lots home, and swap towels. (I play once a week on a lunchtime) but I really don't miss driving. Even with the kids on half term it was a torturous drive in, squeezed into the last space in the good park n ride, then the 
of a bus driver drove off 2 mins early, despite seeing me getting my ticket out of the machine and hotfooting it back to the car. Had to wait 17 mins for the next one. The trains are more regular!
TBH I don't mind riding in the rain, just make sure I'm wearing enough layers. It's the wind I hate.
of a bus driver drove off 2 mins early, despite seeing me getting my ticket out of the machine and hotfooting it back to the car. Had to wait 17 mins for the next one. The trains are more regular!TBH I don't mind riding in the rain, just make sure I'm wearing enough layers. It's the wind I hate.
Silly season in London. It's half term, so lots of people have come up to the South Bank to entertain the kids. Or, in the case of one lady, to try to get them killed, through the unsubtle method of wheeling her pushchair out into the road in front of me whilst looking the wrong way.
I pulled actually quite an impressive endo and stopped pretty much dead whilst shouting "MAUHFHGHGHUHHH", it was supposed to be "Watch out!" but it got a bit lost in translation.
As she continued her crossing of the road with a vacant smile on her face, I pulled myself together enough to shout "Use your fking eyes"... and she had the audacity to tut at me, presumably for swearing in front of her little darlings.
Seriously, if I hit her kid at 18-20mph, that kid is going to take some damage, pushchair or not. Don't people give a fk?!
I pulled actually quite an impressive endo and stopped pretty much dead whilst shouting "MAUHFHGHGHUHHH", it was supposed to be "Watch out!" but it got a bit lost in translation.
As she continued her crossing of the road with a vacant smile on her face, I pulled myself together enough to shout "Use your f
king eyes"... and she had the audacity to tut at me, presumably for swearing in front of her little darlings.Seriously, if I hit her kid at 18-20mph, that kid is going to take some damage, pushchair or not. Don't people give a f
k?!Usget said:
Silly season in London. It's half term, so lots of people have come up to the South Bank to entertain the kids. Or, in the case of one lady, to try to get them killed, through the unsubtle method of wheeling her pushchair out into the road in front of me whilst looking the wrong way.
I pulled actually quite an impressive endo and stopped pretty much dead whilst shouting "MAUHFHGHGHUHHH", it was supposed to be "Watch out!" but it got a bit lost in translation.
As she continued her crossing of the road with a vacant smile on her face, I pulled myself together enough to shout "Use your fking eyes"... and she had the audacity to tut at me, presumably for swearing in front of her little darlings.
Seriously, if I hit her kid at 18-20mph, that kid is going to take some damage, pushchair or not. Don't people give a fk?!
It's all 'me, me, me' now. It's a rarity to come across someone who at least apologizes. I pulled actually quite an impressive endo and stopped pretty much dead whilst shouting "MAUHFHGHGHUHHH", it was supposed to be "Watch out!" but it got a bit lost in translation.
As she continued her crossing of the road with a vacant smile on her face, I pulled myself together enough to shout "Use your f
king eyes"... and she had the audacity to tut at me, presumably for swearing in front of her little darlings.Seriously, if I hit her kid at 18-20mph, that kid is going to take some damage, pushchair or not. Don't people give a f
k?!
Todays commute to work was in two sections, with 'spreadeagled all over the road' occupying the middle bit.
With it being dry the main roads being OK it never occured to me the minor roads would still be covered in ice, until I took a corner at full speed.
I have a smashed front light and a few patches of road rash as a reward but nothing more serious thankfully. Doh...
With it being dry the main roads being OK it never occured to me the minor roads would still be covered in ice, until I took a corner at full speed.
I have a smashed front light and a few patches of road rash as a reward but nothing more serious thankfully. Doh...
I'm mow seriously fed up with my commute. I chose my bike to allow me to go 'off road' and avoid traffic. In this instance 'off-road' means a compacted gravel path. There was no trouble doing 30kph along it if it happened to be dog walker free. That was until the council contractors ran heavy plant machinery through half of it several weeks ago. Now it's really really rough. In the last three weeks my cx bike had broken two spokes (both snapped at the nipple) and a puncture. I may just take the road bike and dice with traffic on the way home
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