You know who you are!

[Spinney]

Nice! That's the way to do it. I'm sure nobody would expect you to pull over on a steep hill. I too love cycling in France and would echo your observations about the drivers there. You really feel that the roads ar shared.

On the other hand, while cycling up the (shallower) side of the Bealach na Ba, the worst nobbers who passed far too close were in cars with an F sticker on them...

 

[Mugshot]

On the other hand, while cycling up the (shallower) side of the Bealach na Ba, the worst nobbers who passed far too close were in cars with an F sticker on them...

The closest pass I have ever witnessed was in France, I was in a bus travelling between Nice and Monaco, the driver got so close to the cyclist on his way up the hill that I breathed in for him. Had the window been open I could have very easily applied his rear brake, which I'm assuming would have been on the right hand side of his handlebars. I suppose though that in that neck of the woods the French are nearly Italian.

 

[Donger]

Yeah, not bothered by it. Live and let live. Yet felt the need to start a thread about it.

Do you start threads on other forums about things you're really not that bothered about like people who chew loudly or people wearing striped ties with striped shirts?

My gut feeling is you were more annoyed than now you are trying to make out.

No, the entire (consistent) point that I have been making is that I was very annoyed. ... i.e. the effect that crap cycling can have on even good, considerate road users - and which I was bothered about. As for "Live and let live", I meant exactly what I said. Both cyclists and drivers should be prepared to share the road and be considerate to each other. Where's the inconsistency? Should I have indulged in a nice bout of holding up day-tripping Laaaandoners round my local lanes the other day? After all, clearly none of us should ever give way to any nasty car .. ever.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

(nobody wants to read an extra 3 paragraphs time-lining the incident with forensic accuracy)

Have you not been around here long? :-)

 

[MrGrumpy]

This really has decended into a slagging match now, for what its worth. If you are slow moving and holding up traffic, why not move over where safe to do so to allow people to pass ?? I do it all the time when towing, I certainly don`t sit there and say damm you all I have a right to sit here and keep you all back for as long as I wish!! I think the main issue here is that there are two sides to all of this and neither is willing to budge, geezo grow the hell up, I hate this two camp scenario, live and let live we need to earn that respect.

 

[Mugshot]

c) Corrected the false impression I originally gave as to the distance between me and the crap cyclist (nobody wants to read an extra 3 paragraphs time-lining the incident with forensic accuracy). I had made a couple of aborted careful attempts to get past him.... which, if you think about it, actually requires you to get 0 feet behind the person you are overtaking, followed by minus 10 feet, minus 20 feet etc ..!

Not making judgements on the general point of your OP but I have to say I detest this when somebody does it to me, if it's safe to pass you'll get past me if it isn't you probably wont unless you force me over, if you keep trying and failing you're making bad judgement calls and you're really not going to endear yourself to me or make me feel any more inclined to move over for you, in fact I have been know to stop and tell people that are doing similar to get knotted.

 

[jowwy]

i believe the rules of the road state - that you stay behind the slower moving vehicle until it is safe to pass

it doesnt state that slower moving vehicle should move to one side and let the agressive, abnoxious tin box user to pass

 

[Profpointy]

i believe the rules of the road state - that you stay behind the slower moving vehicle until it is safe to pass

it doesnt state that slower moving vehicle should move to one side and let the agressive, abnoxious tin box user to pass

I rather thought it did say that, in different words.

To the OP you have committed the serious sin of daring to criticise a cyclist, who by definition can do no wrong

 

[mjr]

d) That I myself , when cycling down narrow lanes, do pull over for cars when safe to do so. And I would most definitely have done so in these exact circumstances. Because I am a reasonable person. Why on earth would you not? You give the impression that you would never do so....

I do pull over sometimes if there's a space - my usual group rides even pull over sometimes if there's a big enough gap - but if I was on my thin-tyred road bike, I would probably not pull into what you described in the OP as:

a grassy "passing place" or a farm entrance

because farm entrances are typically full of punctureful debris and the grass on the verge conceals drainage channels and rabbit holes which can wreck a wheel, body, or worse.

It is the right and responsibility of the person in front to decide what's a safe place for their vehicle to pull over, not the impatient nobber behind. You may disagree with their decision, but it does not necessarily make them a crap cyclist.

 

[Spinney]

What did the F stand for in that instance?

France

As you would expect from the context of my post.

 

[theclaud]

ASJT

 

[w00hoo_kent]

This is why, wherever possible, I don't ride on anything less than a car and a half wide.

 

[Inertia]

If I can let the driver past I usually will but Im not going to doff my cap and scarper out of the way.

If someone is particularly polite I will make the extra effort but I usually find out they were only waiting because they had almost reached their destination and pull in embarrsingly behind me.

 

[Illaveago]

I tend to pull over and stop in these situations allowing the vehicles to pass, it is common courtesy, he was being a road hog! To use an old phrase.

You get to a point where you feel like drawing along side winding down the window and giving him a gentle nudge into a ditch.

 

[mjr]

I tend to pull over and stop in these situations allowing the vehicles to pass, it is common courtesy, he was being a road hog! To use an old phrase.

That's far from clear from the description. Maybe the OP would like to link to the road concerned so we could see if there was a safe place to stop or not?

You get to a point where you feel like drawing along side winding down the window and giving him a gentle nudge into a ditch.

No, I really don't. You should see someone about that anger problem and not drive until it's resolved.