Abuse from drivers. More on a Saturday?

[lanternerouge]

Hi all

My girlfriend and I went out for a late summer pootle today, 20-odd miles or so around the Cheshire lanes. We are experienced riders and respectful of other road users. In our short ride today we got verbal abuse and/or close passes and/or beeping horns from 5 separate drivers, including some very unpleasant/personal stuff.

When I think about it we have had this before on a Saturday. Am I missing something here? Do others find this is a worse day to go out than other days? By the end of the ride I was almost expecting to get abused.

Fuming that my girlfriend gets picked on too, usually when they haven't seen she's riding with a bloke

 

[Milzy]

Did the same today for 41 miles in the sun. No abuse. Cycling is more popular & tolerated in Yorkshire though.
Get cameras filming.

 

[DCLane]

The irony is that it was 'Car Free Day' today as well.

Some abuse, not much though today.

 

[Smokin Joe]

One thing I've noticed over the years is that people riding bikes get little or no abuse. It is being perceived as a member of a tribe that gets up the noses of some drivers, they have a them and us mentality. So if you are out in all the gear (Especially wearing a helmet which I don't) you are part of a different firm and fair game in the same manner that football fans regard supporters of other clubs.

Ride a flat bar bike in trainers and normal clothes and you are ignored.

 

[Globalti]

It's because all the idiots are out and about in their wankpanzers on a Saturday. Weekdays they are safely stuck in traffic jams then in their poxy places of work.

 

[Ian H]

I get almost no aggro from drivers... although... riding with one particular friend, she gets annoyed at incidents that I don't even notice. Which makes me wonder.

 

[Sharky]

Used to be a bit anxious commuting the week before christmas.

 

[HLaB]

The irony is that it was 'Car Free Day' today as well.

Some abuse, not much though today.

Lol, the only abuse we got was we came through Stamford and had to filter passed 100's of cars, none of them got the car free message :-D

 

[Lee_M]

Only problem we had today round Cheshire/Shropshire was an incredibly close pass from a BMW (I could have wiped the driver's nose he was that close), other than that everyone was very polite.

I tend to see more problems mid Sunday morning, probably because they've just got out of church and having confessed they want to rack some sins up for the following week

 

[Rusty Nails]

It's because all the idiots are out and about in their wankpanzers on a Saturday. Weekdays they are safely stuck in traffic jams then in their poxy places of work.

Or because they see a huge increase in lycra fetishists, often prowling in gangs, on a Saturday, freed from their sober work clothes at their poxy weekday places of work.

So many clichés in these threads, may as well join in.

 

[lane]

Maybe it was yesterday's climate protests winding some BMW and 4x4 drivers.

 

[Slick]

Abuse for me is pretty rare but it does happen. I do prefer the back roads I ride on a Sunday, as other road users seem to accept that they will see bikes out and about on the road of any description but the working week is another matter and if I was going to get some abuse, it would be when we're all trying to get home and another road user finally notices I'm making better progress than them.

 

[kynikos]

18 miles and no abuse. Can't recall the last time I had any... One close pass which is a rarity.

I wear street clothes and a flat cap. Does this help?

 

[steveindenmark]

Why does this never happen to me?

I though it did a couple of weeks ago. Someone beeped as they went past. A pointless act as I would have liked to know what I had done wrong.

A few days later a mate said he had seen me and beeped.

I told him I wanted to drag the driver out and beat them to death at the side of the road. He said he will just wave next time.

 

[lanternerouge]

One thing I've noticed over the years is that people riding bikes get little or no abuse. It is being perceived as a member of a tribe that gets up the noses of some drivers, they have a them and us mentality. So if you are out in all the gear (Especially wearing a helmet which I don't) you are part of a different firm and fair game in the same manner that football fans regard supporters of other clubs.

Ride a flat bar bike in trainers and normal clothes and you are ignored.

Think there's probably something in that Smokin Joe