I think I'm done with road...

[trails]

AndyF2020 said:

trails said:

I wonder how many would survive the 15min bike ride prior to the test

I see a similar issue with motorway driving and the endless threads on people hogging the middle lane - include motorway driving in the test too.

If you ever look over at someone doing 60mph in the middle lane with miles of empty inside lane in front of them they often look oblivious or unaware they should be anywhere else (they don't look like they're doing it deliberately to wind up PH)

Common sense has no place on this thread

[bmwmike]

Points should be a VED multiplier IMO.

3 points = 30% more road tax.

Points for opsnap reports are probably rare though, unfortunately, but may make drivers think twice.

[Daveyraveygravey]

lrdisco said:

... whereas a MTB rider is going 30MPH down hill with limited control of their bicycle.

What, all the time, every time?

lrdisco said:

Pumped up hooligans.

What, all of them?

[Daveyraveygravey]

lrdisco said:

You see self awareness is missing there. Your hobby not mine causes delays to me and many others. My hobbies cause no upheaval or delay to anyone.
You cast a wide net calling people fat lazy wkers & tossers. Why are you so judgmental? Don’t judge others lest they judge you.
This says more about you than anyone else.
You seem angry. You possibly need to talk to a professional about your anger issues.
Why can you not accept others views are as valid as yours? Your response backs up my initial point.

Hobby? Is it my hobby when I commute to work on my bike? And it causes nobody any delays. That's just a cliche trotted out by idiots like you.
Judge me all you like, I'm not the sad little prick getting upset with drivers getting an earful. Just remind yourself which group of road users causes almost all the carnage and injury on the road.
I am angry. Angry at having to defend a means of travel from stupid bds like yourself. Your views aren't valid they are just exaggerated stereotypes.
When did you last ride a bike on the roads? If you did, you might have some idea of this subject. Not your lazy blinkered views.

[Tim Cognito]

I don't know why anyone bothers engaging with him on this topic, it's like arguing about Brexit or religion.

[Downward]

Correvor said:

Time of day is a huge factor.

I tend to go out at weekends around 08:30 and largely on my tod. Occasionally, I'll head out after lunch at a weekend or mid-week during the working day and always find it a rude awakening.

I try to plan routes in advance, I seek out quiet roads (no A or B roads) but wide enough for at least a car and bike. Single track roads near me are worse than A roads, covered in mud / crap and hard to get visibility too far ahead.

I think 99% of car drivers are respectful of cyclists, and 99% of cyclists are respectful to car drivers. The problem is the small minority and if one of those people are in a metal box travelling at 60mph, that's an issue. Drivers I struggle with the most though are the elderly members of the population. I went past a church at 10am yesterday, that was fun.

Saturday morning is good.
Saturday evening just 8pm ish is also good in the countryside.

But as quiet as it is it just takes someone not to pay attention and your squashed

[Downward]

Actually someone posted a video yesterday on the local FB group.
She was riding a horse a bus was coming the other way. A van overtook her very very close at maybe 50mph on a 30 road.

[irc]

AndyF2020 said:

I see a similar issue with motorway driving and the endless threads on people hogging the middle lane - include motorway driving in the test too.

If you ever look over at someone doing 60mph in the middle lane with miles of empty inside lane in front of them they often look oblivious or unaware they should be anywhere else (they don't look like they're doing it deliberately to wind up PH)

My pet hate is driving along at 70. Nearside lane. Empty motorway. Car enter from slip road up ahead and goes straight to the middle lane and cruises at 60. Why? Going from lane 1 to 3 to pass then back to 1 isn't hard but why always the middle. Sometimes there is method in the madness.

A friend who was a traffic cop in Glasgow on nightshift stopped a car on the M8 eastbound. There was another reason but among the questions he asked the driver was "why are you driving in the middle lane when the inside is clear?"

The answer was "because this lane goes to Edinburgh". Which was correct. Due to the various merges and offside slip roads the middle lane is the only lane you can go from the west, around Ibrox, right through Glasgow City centre on east towards Edinburgh without a lane change. Or you could then. The upgrades around Bailliestion may have changed it there.

[Julian Scott]

Downward said:

Correvor said:

Time of day is a huge factor.

I tend to go out at weekends around 08:30 and largely on my tod. Occasionally, I'll head out after lunch at a weekend or mid-week during the working day and always find it a rude awakening.

I try to plan routes in advance, I seek out quiet roads (no A or B roads) but wide enough for at least a car and bike. Single track roads near me are worse than A roads, covered in mud / crap and hard to get visibility too far ahead.

I think 99% of car drivers are respectful of cyclists, and 99% of cyclists are respectful to car drivers. The problem is the small minority and if one of those people are in a metal box travelling at 60mph, that's an issue. Drivers I struggle with the most though are the elderly members of the population. I went past a church at 10am yesterday, that was fun.

Saturday morning is good.
Saturday evening just 8pm ish is also good in the countryside.

But as quiet as it is it just takes someone not to pay attention and your squashed

I'll see your Saturday and raise you Sunday morning. Don't even have to get out that early, our group rides start around 9am and see less cars in 2-4 hours than other cyclists.

[trails]

Downward said:

Actually someone posted a video yesterday on the local FB group.
She was riding a horse a bus was coming the other way. A van overtook her very very close at maybe 50mph on a 30 road.

Hopefully it's enough for Old Bill to take some sort of action.

[emicen]

Consider yourselves lucky to have opsnap available. Police Scotland, sorry, “Poileas Alba” only have the money from pointless Gaelic etc, no monies left over to join their English counterparts using snap.

Making it more of a ballache to report incidents will definitely act as a deterrent to drivers.

[g3org3y]

Sat or Sunday morning first thing (on the bike by 7am for example) typically for me.

Occasionally I ride back from work on a Saturday afternoon, fortunately the route I take is not especially busy.

[duff]

I’ve also been road riding since 2011 and MTB long before that. I used to do quite a lot back then but been off the bike for the last few years (1k miles in 3 years) due to other commitments.

Did a steady 30 miles Saturday without issue. I went out today and had a few uncomfortable moments. Within 10 mins I had a close call with a truck trying to pass me approaching a bend, just as another truck came the other way. Luckily he scrubbed enough speed off the stop behind me but it was quite scary hearing this thing bearing down on you.

5 mins later a car accelerated harshly past me right into the path of an oncoming car, which braked hard and sounded the horn. It wasn’t close to me but really forced the oncoming car to stop, just a totally unnecessary manoeuvre.

Towards the end of the ride, had a couple of close passes on the local A road which I was forced to use due to the lane I would normally use being closed.

Standards of driving or people’s awareness/tolerance of cyclists seems to be worse than I remember from riding previously but perhaps today was just a bad day.

[Evanivitch]

lrdisco said:

You see self awareness is missing there. Your hobby not mine causes delays to me and many others. My hobbies cause no upheaval or delay to anyone.

If your hobby involves a car in any way, then yeah, the number one cause of traffic delays is simply cars

[heebeegeetee]

Evanivitch said:

lrdisco said:

You see self awareness is missing there. Your hobby not mine causes delays to me and many others. My hobbies cause no upheaval or delay to anyone.

If your hobby involves a car in any way, then yeah, the number one cause of traffic delays is simply cars

Yep. See all that enormous traffic congestion caused daily as over 30 million motor vehicles take to the road daily and cause chaos? That's all done by somebody else that is, not me.

Edited by heebeegeetee on Wednesday 3rd April 13:36

[Daveyraveygravey]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Agree with everything you said, and I suspect anybody that has ridden a bike on UK roads for more than 5 minutes would know exactly what you are talking about it. Drivers think we make this stuff up, or exaggerate it.
I still ride on the road, but react less explosively to idiots than I used to, and am very aware of how vulnerable I am.
I always challenge people like that idiot. If you say nothing, they just carry on spouting the bullst. I know I am unlikely to change their mind, but they might at least think about the other side of the coin.

[Bombend]

Just seeing what my post ratio/month is.

[thepritch]

lrdisco said:

When people show no empathy or understanding that says a lot about them.

lrdisco said:

Now I find cyclists to be ultra dull. No way would I squeeze myself into Lycra and clog the roads on a Sunday morning and then clatter around the local cafe in my strange shoes.
Just why?

lrdisco said:

So much abuse towards drivers here. Have you never thought that we live on a small over crowded island and that people have high pressured time sensitive lives and your recreation/ hobby can cause delays to people.
People don’t see why you have to ride in groups 4 abreast on roads designed for a horse drawn carriage or at best a Morris Minor.
Yes you have the right to ride 4 abreast but your rights won’t get you far on a busy A road when 2.5 tons of SUV spreads you across the tarmac.
Try blaming the politicians who haven’t built cycle lanes.

Now as far as gravel path rides keep off routes where pedestrians are as cyclists seem to be the hooligans there. Are we seeing a bit of a pattern here that cyclists can’t seem to get on with anyone? Maybe cyclists are the problem and are the self absorbed ones?
Do

Can't argue with the first quote.

[lizardbrain]

Is there any data on this?

Often with this kind of thing the data shows things getting better, but our sensitivity to the issue increases.

I'm not at all certain that's the case here, but curious to the answer

[NaePasaran]

lizardbrain said:

Is there any data on this?

Often with this kind of thing the data shows things getting better, but our sensitivity to the issue increases.

I'm not at all certain that's the case here, but curious to the answer

I think the data shows cycling is getting safer, yeah, was briefly discussed on a cycling podcast recently.

However, and it might just be getting older and it's always been this way, but I do think we are becoming even more self-entitled on the road. Probably fueled by ahole politicians and their idiot friends in the media who want to use culture war tactics with regards to cycling. "We're a nation of car drivers" (no st Sherlock, seen the state of public transport and other infrastructure), "cyclists should have licence plates" etc etc.

And don't get me started on the attention seeking tts on social media. The weirdos filming a van driver changing Google Maps postcode while stationary at a red light 25 cars deep. Can't be helping the cause.

Don't care for party politics but I'm sure we'll see some changes to cycling attitudes and infrastructure after the next UK election, I hope!

PS any expats or Europeans share their experiences? Can't surely just be a British thing? I studied with a Dutch lad briefly from Eindhoven. Bike lanes all over the city, parking garages, showers etc, great infrastructure in the city, people used to bikes and pedestrians getting priority. Outside the city though on longer weekend runs to the country, he found Dutch drivers to be alot lot worse than across here with attitudes towards bikes.

Edited by NaePasaran on Wednesday 3rd April 13:52