I think I'm done with road...

[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

[GuigiaroBertone]

I gave up the road about 5 years ago for the same reasons as the OP. I'd been knocked off twice by a car and had a near miss at least once a week.

I took up skydiving instead, which I feel much safer doing. It's a far more controlled environment.

I don't subscribe to the car vs cyclist thing. Some people are just tts, regardless of the mode of transport. If someone is a tt in a car, they're also likely to be a pavement riding red light jumper on a bike, a premature seatbelt undoer on a plane or a seat hogging loud ringtone tt on a train.

[bobbo89]

GuigiaroBertone said:

I don't subscribe to the car vs cyclist thing. Some people are just tts, regardless of the mode of transport. If someone is a tt in a car, they're also likely to be a pavement riding red light jumper on a bike, a premature seatbelt undoer on a plane or a seat hogging loud ringtone tt on a train.

I love this and fully agree with it. Selfish inconsiderate tts exist everywhere sadly and have done for years.

Those people immediately standing up on the plane and getting their overhead are absolutely going to be the same ones stood with their shins up to the baggage carousel and no doubt later on parking in a parent and child because their 15 year old is with them, maybe even brushing a cyclists elbow on the way....

[Trif]

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.

Have you thought about that is exactly what is wrong with the world today? Anything can add a minor delay or inconvenience to your journey and it is most likely other cars, it is certainly for me. Last week it took over an hour to drive 10 miles and I didn't encounter a single cyclist. Our experiences on the road would receive a significant improvement if cycling was normalised for all trips where it was appropriate. Instead the morning office chatter is how terrible the 2 mile commute is. And lets not get started on peoples inactivity and associated obesity and diabetes problems the country faces.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

It'll never be normalised until schools actively encourage, have weekly lessons on bikes etc and councils completely block off both ends of roads to and from schools.

There's a boy in my sons class (14yrs) who gets driven to and from school approx 400ms each way.


Many cultures including our own see cycling for poor people who can't afford to drive.

Same as catching a bus.

You'll never shake that view point.

[TGCOTF-dewey]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

Many cultures including our own see cycling for poor people who can't afford to drive.

Thank goodness this is the case... My wife would kill me if she knew the truth.

What's that adage... My biggest fear in life is that, when I die, my wife sells my bikes for what I told her they cost me.

[trails]

bobbo89 said:

Those people immediately standing up on the plane and getting their overhead are absolutely going to be the same ones stood with their shins up to the baggage carousel and no doubt later on parking in a parent and child because their 15 year old is with them, maybe even brushing a cyclists elbow on the way....

That is spot on

[Hugo Stiglitz]

TGCOTF-dewey said:

Thank goodness this is the case... My wife would kill me if she knew the truth.

What's that adage... My biggest fear in life is that, when I die, my wife sells my bikes for what I told her they cost me.

I'm more worried that she won't renounce all sex and enter the nunnery as directed

[Mont Blanc]

highway said:

I used to road ride for fun with some pals around Box Hill. We were mostly single file. Drivers could pass, never had bother with anyone. Latterly the roads in same area are full of cyclists on group rides. They typically ride two or three abreast. If single file, on those roads, drivers can filter past without being totally in the opposing carriageway.
Many drivers lack confidence and overtaking 9/12 bikes cycling at 20mph, 2/3 abreast, means positioning yourself entirely in the opposing carriageway, which clearly lots of drivers won’t do.
As said, cycling in this way is legal and legitimate. But it’s sad so many seem unable to recognise how enjoying a hobby can impact others.
In the summer some tailbacks in this area can be significant. Cue the abuse. Sigh.

I love posts like this. They are so hilariously ignorant, and they usually all feature the same utter nonsense about overtaking cyclists.

The simple fact is this:

On an ordinary single carriageway road, such as the one up Box Hill, you cannot legally or safely pass a cyclist without being in the opposing carriageway, because you have to leave a safe gap of around 1.5 metres between your car and the cyclist.

So it doesn't matter if the cyclist is single file or two-abreast, so still have to move into the opposing carriageway, whatever happens.

[_Hoppers]

GuigiaroBertone said:

I took up skydiving instead, which I feel much safer doing. It's a far more controlled environment.

Are there Strava Segments for skydiving?

[ukbabz]

GuigiaroBertone said:

I took up skydiving instead, which I feel much safer doing. It's a far more controlled environment.

I know quite a few who've gone the other way (also quite a few triathletes). Skydiving in the UK can get quite tedious after a while but is definitely a greater risk (although liver cirrhosis was probably the biggest risk!)

[Julian Scott]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

Many cultures including our own see cycling for poor people who can't afford to drive.

Same as catching a bus.

You'll never shake that view point.

I think you are very wrong when it comes to the kind of road leisure cycling we're talking about, especially nowadays. I've had things shouted at me when riding, none of them have question my wealth nor income.

Even commuters on bikes are not really seen as being paupers.

[dudleybloke]

I've noticed a marked improvement in cars giving me space when I'm on the bike in the last couple of years, could be due to West Mids police doing a very visible campaign to tell drivers to give more room.
You still get the odd dhead taking chances but people seem a lot more aware about cyclists and show a lot more consideration.
I still ride like everyone wants to kill me though!

[Castrol for a knave]

Oddly enough, I get less hassle and fewer close passes when wearing an Army cycling top, than I do wearing my club one.

Not that it means I am hard. I think drivers suddenly link the rider to being an actual real, living breathing person.

[Tim Cognito]

Castrol for a knave said:

Oddly enough, I get less hassle and fewer close passes when wearing an Army cycling top, than I do wearing my club one.

Not that it means I am hard. I think drivers suddenly link the rider to being an actual real, living breathing person.

Could be an overlap between the mouth breathers driving aggressively/incompetently and those with a fetishisation for the armed forces? I expect if you had a full union jack kit they would probably salute you on the way past and invite you back for tea and cake.

[nickfrog]

MTB is where it's a at for me. Sooooo much more fun. No cars

Edited by nickfrog on Thursday 4th April 17:13

[trails]

nickfrog said:

MTB is where it's a at for me. Sooooo much more fun. No cars

Edited by nickfrog on Thursday 4th April 17:13

Just have to avoid those derestricted ebikes instead. Menaces to society

[GuigiaroBertone]

ukbabz said:

GuigiaroBertone said:

I took up skydiving instead, which I feel much safer doing. It's a far more controlled environment.

I know quite a few who've gone the other way (also quite a few triathletes). Skydiving in the UK can get quite tedious after a while but is definitely a greater risk (although liver cirrhosis was probably the biggest risk!)

What's more tedious about the UK vs. Dropzones abroad?

Also I don't think the risk is substantially greater than road cycling, even allowing for the much lower number of participants