Why you shouldn't give cyclist a wide berth when passing

[spookly]

Conscript said:

But the fundamental basis of our road system is that it can be used by vehicles of all abilities for whatever purpose - the only expectation (in this regard) is that if you are significantly slower than others that you make a respectable allowance for them to pass you (note, a respectable allowance...this doesn't mean immediately getting out of your way the moment a faster vehicle approaches),

Agreed.
Everyone can use the roads in a considerate manner. Cycling on a road at which you cannot get anywhere near the speed limit for your own enjoyment is not considerate.

Conscript said:

and most cyclists do this.

I call BS on that one. I've never seen it. I have seen cyclists in town pull onto pavements to allow traffic past, but I have never seen a hobby cyclist on a country road pull over.

Conscript said:

You seem to have this bee in your bonnet that most cyclists aren't living up to this allowance, purely by their existence on the road, which shows a level of intolerance which is really not becoming of anyone who holds a driving licence.

I never drive aggressively near them, and don't endanger them.
But I have every right to my opinion that they are holding me up solely for the purpose of enjoying their hobby.

That isn't intolerance, that is fact.
Their 'hobby' is cycling and is the reason for their presence on the road.
They are holding me up.
You fill in the rest Einstein........

Conscript said:

Some road users are inconsiderate dheads, yes...like the ones on bikes in the OP. But please stop making these blanket statements about how cyclists are just "getting in the way" or are somehow an affront to your perceived vision that no one on the road should ever encounter a vehicle which prevents them from maintaining the speed limit at all times.

You did ask politely, but no.
If you look at my comments on this I have been quite clear I don't apply this to cyclists in towns (where they can approximate the speed limit or not cause undue delays) or where they are using it as a form of transport. If they hold me up for their 'hobby' then they are getting in the way for their hobby. I'd be too embarrassed to do it myself, but each to his own.

Conscript said:

Motorways/DCs aside, it is not in line with how our road system works. Most people know this and are mature enough to act accordingly without getting so annoyed about it; the fact that you can't is frankly making you look very self entitled and ignorant.

Wow, on to the name calling already.

So, I'm immature, self entitled and ignorant. Hmmmm.

Or maybe you are butthurt because I'm right. Cycling for hobby reasons on a road where you will almost certainly delay traffic is quite inconsiderate, and not really in keeping with sharing the road network with consideration for others. The being a considerate road user goes in both directions.

If I took a moped, limited to 29mph, on a jaunt up a NSL road I would consider myself a selfish twunt and would be embarrassed. The only way I could justify that to myself is if that was the only reasonable route to travel that way, and I was doing it for a reason other than for the sake of it. Hobby cyclists can only dream of getting to 29mph average, so must either have thick skins or be quite inconsiderate of their effect on other road users.

[anonymous-user]

Meanwhile I'm out of hospital and the fractured pelvis is slowly healing but I'll be on crutches for a fortnight yet. Thumb surgery went well too and I should have full use of my left hand in about six months. I really hope the text message the driver was responding to was important, if he was just adding "lol" to a video of a cat falling from a chair on facebook I'll be really pissed off....

We all need to be conscious of other road users irrespective of the mode of transport, so you may get held up by a cyclist for a few minutes, big deal, I'd your journey really that crucial... so please just shrug your shoulders and let it go, you'll pass soon enough. I'd really hate anyone have to go through what my wife and I have been through in the last ten days. Remember if you go for that close pass and it goes wrong, that's on your conscience irrespective of who was right or wrong.

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 30th August 15:45

[spookly]

WinstonWolf said:

Shouldn't we be directing our anger at food production vehicles then?

A combine harvester != a bicycle.

Another false equivalence.

Lycra clad pack of cyclists - on the road for fun and to see each other in lycra

Combine harvester - does an important job which sometimes requires limited road use so the world does not starve.

These are not even remotely comparable.

[WinstonWolf]

spookly said:

I never drive aggressively near them, and don't endanger them.
But I have every right to my opinion that they are holding me up solely for the purpose of enjoying their hobby.

I commute 18 miles to work by bicycle. It is not a hobby ride, it is going to work just the same as you...

Edited by WinstonWolf on Tuesday 30th August 15:47

[spookly]

pablo said:

Meanwhile I'm out of hospital and the fractured pelvis is slowly healing but I'll be on crutches for a fortnight yet. Thumb surgery went well too and I should have full use of my left hand in about six months. I really hope the text message the driver was responding to was important, if he was just adding "lol" to a video of a cat falling from a chair on facebook I'll be really pissed off....

We all need to be conscious of other road users irrespective of the mode of transport, so you may get held up by a cyclist for a few minutes, big deal, I'd your journey [I]really[/] that crucial... I'd really hate anyone have to go through what my wife and I have been through in the last ten days.

Edited by pablo on Tuesday 30th August 15:42

Hope you are well on the mend.

Still has no relevance to this though. I think we'd all agree that any road user not paying attention for any reason should be dealt with harshly. Phone usage while driving is pretty inexcusable. I hope you got his license plate and he/she is being dealt with.

[TheGreatSoprendo]

I'm a bit late to this one but I think I may have established why the OP spent such a needlessly long time behind said cyclists....

Warning : NSFW

[walm]

spookly said:

Cycling on a road at which you cannot get anywhere near the speed limit for your own enjoyment is not considerate.

Quoted to remind me of the unrealistic expectations of the cretinous morons who share our roads.

Learn how to overtake you utter spoon.

[Finlandia]

heebeegeetee said:

Finlandia said:

It usually is,

No problem then.

Unless the cyclists are taking up most of the road so it becomes unsafe to overtake.

[spookly]

WinstonWolf said:

I commute 18 miles to work by bicycle. It is not a hobby ride, it is going to work just the same as you...

Well done.

And as I've said multiple times, I don't have any problem with that.

You aren't part of the increasing levels of hobby cyclists that gum up the roads on weekends.... unless you do that too? In which case you have my full support for your commute, but not for adding to the weekend congestion if you don some lycra and join some mates on a nice rural NSL road.

[anonymous-user]

It is relevant, the fact is the OP pushed the usual pistonheads diatribe about arrogant cyclists which stoked the "all road cyclists are selfish buggers" mentality. The guy who hit me was either not looking or couldn't care whether he hit me or not, the fact he drove off implies the latter. It's about recognising all road users as an equal and applying some common courtesy. You can deny it's relevance all you like but I'm suffering because this anti cycling mentality really does stick with some folk and it's a dangerous precedence when people are left injured in the road with the offending driver leaving the scene because it's only a cyclist...

It would appear the driver has not been traced, motorists eh?

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 30th August 15:56

[WinstonWolf]

spookly said:

WinstonWolf said:

I commute 18 miles to work by bicycle. It is not a hobby ride, it is going to work just the same as you...

Well done.

And as I've said multiple times, I don't have any problem with that.

You aren't part of the increasing levels of hobby cyclists that gum up the roads on weekends.... unless you do that too? In which case you have my full support for your commute, but not for adding to the weekend congestion if you don some lycra and join some mates on a nice rural NSL road.

I wear full Lycra for commuting, it's a necessity, not a luxury.

You seem to be a bit fixated on the clothing worn by some men. Are you, you know, a little confused?

[spookly]

walm said:

spookly said:

Cycling on a road at which you cannot get anywhere near the speed limit for your own enjoyment is not considerate.

Quoted to remind me of the unrealistic expectations of the cretinous morons who share our roads.

Learn how to overtake you utter spoon.

Either you haven't read the whole thread or are a bit dim.

It isn't uncommon on smaller A roads to be stuck behind a cyclists with no *safe* overtaking opportunities.

Cyclists want it both ways - overtake dangerously and they complain, don't overtake out of consideration for their safety and you should 'learn to overtake you utter spoon'.

Hmmmm. Ok. Well fk you cyclists, you can have what you wish for. I will now overtake at 50 leptons faster than you are going with a gnats whisker of space between us..... that's what you want isn't it? Oh, no... you just want me to sit behind you but make a lame excuse for why you getting in the way is acceptable.... well, nope, doesn't compute.

[anonymous-user]

spookly said:

Well done.

And as I've said multiple times, I don't have any problem with that.

You aren't part of the increasing levels of hobby cyclists that gum up the roads on weekends.... unless you do that too? In which case you have my full support for your commute, but not for adding to the weekend congestion if you don some lycra and join some mates on a nice rural NSL road.

But where do you have to be that's so time sensitive at the weekend that a few minutes delay here and there becomes an issue? The road network simply cannot cope with the volume of traffic be it cars, trucks, cyclists, whatever.

[spookly]

WinstonWolf said:

I wear full Lycra for commuting, it's a necessity, not a luxury.

You seem to be a bit fixated on the clothing worn by some men. Are you, you know, a little confused?

Yes. I am very confused as to why anyone would wear that.
I'm quite sure ladies wear that too.

[WinstonWolf]

spookly said:

walm said:

spookly said:

Cycling on a road at which you cannot get anywhere near the speed limit for your own enjoyment is not considerate.

Quoted to remind me of the unrealistic expectations of the cretinous morons who share our roads.

Learn how to overtake you utter spoon.

Either you haven't read the whole thread or are a bit dim.

It isn't uncommon on smaller A roads to be stuck behind a cyclists with no *safe* overtaking opportunities.

Cyclists want it both ways - overtake dangerously and they complain, don't overtake out of consideration for their safety and you should 'learn to overtake you utter spoon'.

Hmmmm. Ok. Well fk you cyclists, you can have what you wish for. I will now overtake at 50 leptons faster than you are going with a gnats whisker of space between us..... that's what you want isn't it? Oh, no... you just want me to sit behind you but make a lame excuse for why you getting in the way is acceptable.... well, nope, doesn't compute.

You're coming across a bit like the driver in this now...

https://www.facebook.com/1691455784407633/videos/1...

[heebeegeetee]

Finlandia said:

Unless the cyclists are taking up most of the road so it becomes unsafe to overtake.

But you infer that's unusual, by stating the roads are usually clear, so there isn't a problem. It's one or the other, you can't have it both ways.

Lets just clear up something about the UK though - it is not possible to state that congestion caused by us motorists is not a problem. It is a problem, pretty much everywhere. Indeed anyone putting a car on the road during daylight or working hours is part of a massive, massive problem, and we all do this for our own selfish ends. We cause massive delays, and we don't care (about our own actions).

As usual, the sense of hypocrisy and entitlement from these threads is breathtaking.

[anonymous-user]

spookly said:

Yes. I am very confused as to why anyone would wear that.
I'm quite sure ladies wear that too.

You're confused about a lot of things it seems? Not being able to work these things out is quite baffling.

[nickfrog]

spookly said:

WinstonWolf said:

I commute 18 miles to work by bicycle. It is not a hobby ride, it is going to work just the same as you...

Well done.

And as I've said multiple times, I don't have any problem with that.

You aren't part of the increasing levels of hobby cyclists that gum up the roads on weekends.... unless you do that too? In which case you have my full support for your commute, but not for adding to the weekend congestion if you don some lycra and join some mates on a nice rural NSL road.

I think you'll find the public road is not designed for a particular purpose, whether hobby or commute. It's not particularly inconsiderate to cycle for leisure. It only becomes inconsiderate if the highway code is not complied with. And on that basis, the huge majority of road users are inconsiderate, irrespective of vehicle or clothing (you may consider stopping using the word Lycra btw, it make you sound a little narrow minded). You're going to have to live with the presence of leisure cyclists for the rest of your life so you might as well get used to it. The same way as I am sure you have got used to leisure motorists, which are often more difficult to overtake yet have an equal right to yours to be on the road.
Alternately, try cycling for leisure : really good for fitness and long term health.

[walm]

spookly said:

It isn't uncommon on smaller A roads to be stuck behind a cyclists with no *safe* overtaking opportunities.

Yes it is.
It is very rare.
Posters who keep claiming the opposite are simply lying as gets pointed out every time.

And if some anonymous individual pointing out your lies and idiocy on the internet makes you decide to endanger an entire class of vulnerable road user then quite clearly you shouldn't be allowed on the road.

[C70R]

heebeegeetee said:

Lets just clear up something about the UK though - it is not possible to state that congestion caused by us motorists is not a problem. It is a problem, pretty much everywhere. Indeed anyone putting a car on the road during daylight or working hours is part of a massive, massive problem, and we all do this for our own selfish ends. We cause massive delays, and we don't care (about our own actions).

As usual, the sense of hypocrisy and entitlement from these threads is breathtaking.

Christ. I have been reading this on-and-off for a couple of days, and the blinkered view of the anti-cycling crowd is an embarrassment to the average, level-headed motorist.

The MAJOR problem causing congestion and longer journeys on UK roads is the car. The personal/private vehicle. Yet the rare occasion that you spend a minute or so (worst case, and atypical scenario) behind a cyclist IN YOUR CAR is suddenly the equivalent of someone slapping your mother.

How do you ranters survive on a daily basis without bursting into a ball of stress-induced flame?
Get some perspective.