The joys of cycling
 

So….

The sun is shining and this morning on my way in to work I’m behind Bradley Wiggins.

There he is in his fluorescent pink and green lycra, spanking new shiny racing helmet riding down the road.

Being a reasonable guy, I slow up behind him for a few minutes giving him ample room so he doesn’t feel threatened, wait for my moment and overtake giving him a wide berth.

Come to a junction and he undercuts me, bumps onto the pavement, swerves across the road through some standing traffic and gets in front of me again.

Patient to the end, I suck in my breath, cross the junction and end up behind him once again, slowed to a crawl as he pumps up the hill, finally a gap in oncoming traffic I get past him.

Temporary traffic lights on red so being an adherent of the highway code and the laws of the land I stop.

While I’m waiting I clock Bradley snaking through the cars behind me, he passes me on the inside, bumps onto the pavement once again, ignores the lights and crosses the junction via the pedestrian crossing point and island.
Once again I’m behind him, slowed to a crawl, where I remained until we parted company a couple of junctions later.

Now I’m ok with cyclists having the right to use the road, I’m fine with people who want to be healthy and fit, I’m fine with people who can’t afford the bus and use a cycle….In fact I’m fine with cyclists who follow the highway code

What I’m not fine with is cyclists who think that the rules don’t apply to them, with cyclists who don’t keep their position in standing traffic preferring to wend and weave through vehicles waiting at lights, cyclists who undertake, use the pavement and pedestrian crossing points and who cause tailbacks during rush hour because of their selfishness, stupidity and ignorance!

Re: The joys of cycling
 

Know exactly where you're coming from Guinness, I don't even drive but my travels this week in my job as a school escort have taken me out & about on country roads - the sun's been out & so have the cyclists, some of them were an absolute nightmare to be behind

Re: The joys of cycling
 

I regulary have one cyclist on the downhill bit of Manchester Road just passed the Alma,who could if he wanted to because he travels so close to my car, open the boot or the back door of my car at 30 miles an hour.Seemingly oblivious to keeping any sort of safe distance,immune to danger,intent on keeping up.
This guy will call himself a cyclist but he aint spreading any joy..

Re: The joys of cycling
 

theres a few posts on facebook that come with a picture of a truck explaining to car drivers in essence that a truck is bigger than you and can cause you serious damage so watch out and be careful..

i have a friend who is a long distance truck driver who posted one of these pictures who is also a biker who likes to post pictures telling me a car driver to think bike

oh the irony

cyclists can get a rough time on the roads i was hit twice when i was cycling but just like bikers some are destined to be organ donors through their own ignorance

one passenger opened the car door on me and one car jumped a give way and sent me over the roof of their car

Re: The joys of cycling
 

My take on cyclists is unless they are 4 years old, riding a trike they should be on the road, not the pavement.(I always thought it was illegal for cyclists to use the pavement)
They cycle stealthily up behind you making not a peep of sound, (don't bikes come with a bell these days) then make you jump out of your skin by hurtling past you when you least expect it.
As for those who hurtle along Broadway (usually spotty I'll kempt youths - you never see ladies young or old doing this)in a zigzag fashion.....well, I dare not tell you what I would like to do to them

Re: The joys of cycling
 

There should really be a season fer hunting em down.:D

Re: The joys of cycling
 

My pet hate regarding cyclist is the ones who hold up traffic on a busy road when it would be unsafe to overtake them. You finally get past and then the next set of traffic lights they just cross regardless of red or green and hold you up all over again.
Even the responsible ones who do stop at red ride all the way to the front and sit in front of you over again.
The red paint on the road with a picture of a bike at the traffic lights only serves to encourage them. That should say "no cyclists".
I've done my share of cycling even having a week touring and got as far as Aberystwyth.
Once I found out feet were for Clutch, brake and accelerator I gave it up and made life easier. Even easier in about 1975 when I decided I had enough of gear changing and have had automatic gear changing cars ever since.
Tax and insurance plus registration should be a legal requirement for cyclist.

Rant over, jam butty and pop time.

Re: The joys of cycling
 

Rule 64
https://www.gov.uk/rules-for-cyclist...rview-59-to-71
It's the only problem I have with cyclists. As a driver you have a responsibility to drive defensively, so you should plan for as many hazards as you can think of, including a cyclist weaving around potholes, undercutting in traffic etc.

These days, defensive driving is seen as "weakness" and anyone who is doing so is "dawdling".

The highway code says that undercutting is permissible of traffic to the right is held up and moving more slowly. Accyman, why do you think that does that not apply to cyclists?

Re: The joys of cycling
 

gonna need you to be more clear with your question and what part of my post you are referring to because i dont see where i have put that rules of the road dont apply to cyclists

not been snarky i simply dont have a clue lol

edit:

if your referring to the passenger opening their door on my they were stopped at a red light prepping to turn right and the passenger decided to jump out.I was approaching the lights in the lane to go straight on or turn left with intention to go straight on when the door suddenly opened.Not a big deal and although cyclists can be annoying it wouldnt hurt if folk checked mirrors before flinging car doors open

it was drummed into me repeatedly to check my left mirror for bikes and cyclists but some folk dontthink when they become the passenger and not the driver

Re: The joys of cycling
 

Undercutting may be allowed when traffic on the right is moving slowly or turning right but! You must be in a marked lane and not squeezing up the gutter or scraping the near side of cars.
Having driven long articulated HGVs for many years I found cyclist a nightmare when I was turning left and would always treble check all mirrors if any cyclist were in the vicinity.
The reason side guards were fitted to trailers was to knock silly cyclist out of the way rather than squash them under the trailer wheels.
I've passed defensive driving and advanced HGV driving tests and last week a speed awareness course and cyclist were always on the agenda but never on a course which would give them some idea of what a HGV driver has to put up with in heavy traffic with cyclist weaving in and out.

Re: The joys of cycling
 

reminds me of a story where a chineese visitor spent a week wobbling around london on his bike trying to stay between the gap in double yellow lines because he thought it was our cycle lane system

Re: The joys of cycling
 

As an addition to the above post.
I've nothing against cyclist in general as long as they behave responsible and obey traffic lights and rules of the road.
They don't take spaces up in car parks or use up our valuable oil supplies, they also contribute to our economy by spending money on expensive cycles and sexy licra shorts, well ladies anyway.
Right I'm off in my gas guzzler now for a two hundred yard drive to the chippy.

Re: The joys of cycling
 

Really sorry, Accyman - I thought it was your thread. I should have referred to Guinness (the OP), not you. My sincere apologies.

Re: The joys of cycling
 

The law used to be that a child's cycle was allowed on the pavement. As relayed to me by Hy Gregson in the 1970s:- a child's cycle is rated by the diameter of its wheels with the tyres inflated. Measured from the ground to the top of the inflated tyre, the largest child's bike has a 24" diameter wheel.

Re: The joys of cycling
 

The Moulton (correct spelling?) would make a mess of that definition. I haven't seen one for ages, I guess they just went out of fashion.

Like Gremlin I've nothing against cyclists in general BUT you do come across the occasional one that makes your blood boil and gives cyclists in general a bad name. Only a couple of weeks ago I found one of these on a quiet narrow country lane. There was absolutely no possibility of passing him without his co-operation which was not forth-coming. I was stuck behind him in 1st gear for about 2 miles and the problem was only resolved because that point was my destination. Had I been going all the way to the main road I have no doubt he would have kept me behind all the way. What was really galling was his jumper which advocated cycling as eco-friendly - and me stuck in 1st gear!

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lol no problem it happens :D

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How times and attitudes have changed.

I was a keen cyclist towards the end of the last century and when approaching a red traffic light, it never occurred to me to jump on the footpath and bypass the lights.

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Didn't respond because I thought Gremlin had already busted your argument by distinguishing between inside lanes and gutters regarding undertaking……did you read rule 68 in your link about riding in a dangerous, careless or inconsiderate manner?

Had another run in with a Bradley this morning…

Hear a siren, clock that it’s an ambulance coming up behind me. Me and all the other car drivers pull over, most of us with a couple of wheels on the pavement..

Cars on the opposite side do the same….all except Bradley who nonchalantly overtakes them causing the ambulance to slow down to negotiate the gap between him and the cars my side of the road….

No doubt you will now quote me some part of the highway code about how overtaking is legal even for cyclists, whilst ignoring the dangerous, careless and inconsiderate bits.

Oh… and I’d appreciate it if you could point me to the part of my original post that indicated I wasn’t driving defensively.

Far too many cyclists bemoan that a minority of car drivers are inconsiderate whilst ignoring the fact that the majority of cyclists are absolute muppets!

Re: The joys of cycling
 

After the young child was hit by a cyclist and dragged along the pavement - on her face, the police confirmed that it was illegal to ride a cycle on the pavement - OK, Police too busy, well how about a fixed penalty for anyone who does so on a bike that cannot be classed as a child's bike.

Re: The joys of cycling
 

All PCSO's should be issued with a broom handle and should lie in wait for offending, pavement hogging cyclists. As the offender passes, the broom handle should be inserted into the front wheel spokes of the errant cycle, bringing it to an instant and unceremonious halt. The offender should then be issued with a fixed penalty ticket. The fixed penalty should be increased if the offender requires an ambulance and hospital treatment.

Re: The joys of cycling
 

Cyclist, cyclist, don't mention blooming cyclist to me after what I saw yesterday.Well I will mention it anyway.
I'm driving up towards the traffic lights where the Hyndburn road crossed Dill Hall.
There was a queue of traffic in the nearside lane waiting to turn left. Another shorter queue in lane two to go straight ahead.
Three cyclist dressed in proper sports attire were weaving their way up between the two lanes and just as they approached the junction the green light came on.
Two cyclist went straight up Dill Hall but one decided to go left round the cars turning left and tried to filter into the now moving traffic. He went a hundred yards or more with cars either side of him on the dual carriageway before he cut in front of a car which decided not to kill him. There were , by now, other cars on his right hand side who had pulled out to overtake the slower cars.
It was one of the few days my car cam was switched off.
Think bike, think bo*****. When they think about others I might decide to think bike.

Rant over, time for another coffee.
Good day folks. Have a nice bank holiday on our over crowded roads.

Re: The joys of cycling
 

Yep - did you follow up and read the statute that is behind that entry in the highway code? It's so subjective there's no point having it as law. In the example we're discussing, what one driver says is "dangerous riding" a cyclist will see as "making progress". It's borne out by the number of convictions you (don't) see for dangerous cycling or careless/inconsiderate cycling.

You seem to have taken this quite personally. I'm not an apologist for cyclists - they irritate me as well.

Yesterday, I was driving up Accrington Road out of Whalley and met a pair of cyclists alongside each other well out from the kerb. It prevented me from passing (it's a left-hand bend) and by the time I did pass the lights had changed. so their inconsiderate riding cost me time and money (fuel cost having to wait at lights and get moving again when green). I've not mentioned it to anyone, not put the dashcam footage on youtube and didn't get upset with them at the time. I only mention it now to illustrate my point that they get to everyone.

I haven't ridden a bike on the road for 29 years. If the drivers scared me back then, you can imagine how worried I'd be now.

I didn't, it was a general "you" meaning everyone, not specifically at Guinness. I think you're right that proportionally, there are more idiots among cyclists than there are among drivers. One has to remember (did you see what I did there?) that an idiot on a bike is far less likely to kill than an idiot in a car.

I used to think I'm an average driver. Not particularly good, but safe. My wife definitely thinks I'm safe. However, I went on a driving assessment about ten days ago for a job, and was told all the things I'm doing wrong. Turns out I'm an awful driver. I passed the assessment, but only because I adapted what I was doing whenever the examiner said "you need to do this" or "you should consider what that car might do". If I'd carried on with my so called "safe" driving, I would have failed. No driver likes to have their driving criticised, even when they have technically asked for that criticism.


One more thing - I refer you to your point about getting out of the way of the ambulance. Blue light services ask that you do not break the law in order to let them get past. Driving on the pavement is breaking the law.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btRHvQEIkcU
from Gem Motoring Assist

I've always done it (when safe), in the belief that the "extenuating circumstances" will protect the driver from prosecution, but they don't. After reading up on it, even the emergency services driving under blue lights don't get immunity from breaking the law, without a ton of paperwork.

Re: The joys of cycling
 

Good video that, just shows some stupid moves by cars on the opposite side of the road but people do stupid things when they see blue lights

"Turn any music off in your car so you can hear the music better" - Errrm I've heard it why do I want to turn my music off when I've already heard it?

I like at 4 min 8 seconds the organ donor cutting through traffic following the police cars, when a car kills him everyone will blame the poor biker

Re: The joys of cycling
 

I do ride a bike but rarely these days when I do I have all the items required by law and stick to the highway not the pavement, I don't move off unless the lights are green, I try my best to keep out of the way of other road users even by pulling over to allow faster traffic to pass, do I deserve thanks? No absolutely not I am using a road provided at the expense of those that pay road tax, insurance and for their petrol. I should shift my arse out of their way I'll always be slow when on a bike therefore I should consider the poor sod behind me as I grunt and groan zig-zagging up a hill when I'm blocking his/her way.

Re: The joys of cycling
 

Driving into town last week, cyclist ahead, parked car in front of him, roundabout a couple of hundred yards ahead.
Guessing what he might do I held back. Sure enough without looking behind or signalling he swerved out to the crown of the road, passed the car then swerved back towards the kerb.
Stayed wide to pass him before the roundabout and surprise, surprise, having swerved in after the car he swerved straight back out to the crown of the road just a few feet in front of me. No hand signal, no checking behind.
I almost had him so I gave him a quick beep to point out he'd almost become a car mascot- big V sign, no looking round to see how close death was, just carried on on the crown of the road.
If he'd swerved out a couple of seconds later he'd have gone into the side of me(or under me).
Guess who's fault that would have been!

Re: The joys of cycling
 

It is not just cyclists who are dangerous though, there are many car drivers who simply do not have a clue what is going on around them and carry on regardless.

Re: The joys of cycling
 

No-one would disagree wi that at all, But the threads about cyclists.:D

Re: The joys of cycling
 

i see bikers , cyclists and cars swerve in front of articulated wagons so its not the mode of transport thats the issue its the pillock in control of it

the thing with cyclists is that they are the most vulnerable on the road yet do equally stupid things

im quite happy knowing that if i hit one while one is acting like a baffoon im walking away from the accident although not too happy that regardless of said baffoons actions i will be the one getting the blame

Re: The joys of cycling
 

Erm..thats the reason we have judges and lawyers who are supposed to argue common sense over pedantic views
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZTYTk1jkDg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Q5ldUE-u8

Just a couple from todays papers

And precious few convictions for texting, using the rear view mirror for checking lipstick, changing the CD or drinking a coffee…..lack of conviction doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen
Not at all, it’s the pedantry that I have an issue with as in…
Narrow road, rush hour, traffic on both sides, (unlike your nice clinical, sun shining video)….I’ll do my best to safely let emergency services by..and if that means I have to put a couple of tyres on a pavement..sue me!

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Re: The joys of cycling
 

just had a cyclist jump a red light in rishton long after it had changed. no lights on his bike and dressed in dark clothing Hope his undies are ok i only just missed him

better luck next time i guess

Re: The joys of cycling
 

The police seem to be on top of errant cyclists in London (and perhaps the other big cities). Shame the provincial police service seems to let this sort of behaviour slide...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oMEVj3auww

Re: The joys of cycling
 

pitty they cant get points although if i remember correctly you can be handed out points even if you dont have a driving license they just hang around until you get one then they get put on

maybe double the fine a motorist would get instead of points

Re: The joys of cycling
 

6 cyclists in that clip and 5 didn`t break the law, and just look at the police cars shocking lane discipline. :hidewall:

Re: The joys of cycling
 

The police can please themselves, they always have done.:rolleyes:

Re: The joys of cycling
 

Just a reminder that the Tour of Britain comes to our region this year so there'll be lycra all over the place. Plenty of time for the anti cycling brigade to adjust though as its not until September 7. The route starts from Clitheroe and passes through Whalley,Ribchester,Chipping then east to Gisburn and parts of Pendle before returning to Clitheroe. Should be a boost for the area and bring in loads of spectators.... and bikes.......loads of em. Full route here

Tour of Britain: Route guide (From Lancashire Telegraph)