Abuse

[Pat "5mph"]

Except women drivers don't hurl aggressive highly unpleasant verbal insults at female cyclists when stationary,

I have a different experience: at least twice that I can remember women drivers have been aggressive to me, a woman on a bike.
Once it was while I was riding the road along a cycle path, which I would normally use but on that day the paths were iced up, another instance was when I was riding the road for safety because the "facilities" would have put me in danger of left hooks.
Both times the women put their window down to shout at me "why are you not on the cycle path".
Another time, it had snowed, I was keeping to the gritted road, when a driver tried to beep me off it.
This driver was, again, a woman.

 

[vickster]

I have a different experience: at least twice that I can remember women drivers have been aggressive to me, a woman on a bike.
Once it was while I was riding the road along a cycle path, which I would normally use but on that day the paths were iced up, another instance was when I was riding the road for safety because the "facilities" would have put me in danger of left hooks.
Both times the women put their window down to shout at me "why are you not on the cycle path".
Another time, it had snowed, I was keeping to the gritted road, when a driver tried to beep me off it.
This driver was, again, a woman.

I get personal insults. The get on the bike path nonsense happens to all cyclists but its not directly personal and so not upsetting, frankly just an annoyance!

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I get personal insults. The get on the bike path nonsense happens to all cyclists but its not directly personal and so not upsetting, frankly just an annoyance!

Truly, I don't know what the WV Men shout at me, when they do.
I can never make it out, too windy here.
The shouting gibberish doesn't really bother me, the revving of engines, the beeping, the close passes do.
Fortunately, I can ride the commute to work on segregated paths.

 

[DaveReading]

I found it great to hear this week’s revelation that cyclists are better drivers was backed up by sturdy stats from insurance claims.

Really? How do they know?

I don't recall ever being asked whether or not I was a cyclist on a car insurance proposal form, or when making a claim.

 

[classic33]

Hmm, the distance thing is such a personal choice based on the number of sunken drains, debris and dead things. I like to go for 3ft-4ft on the busier roads (when possible) and then when I hear something that sounds big or close about to pass me, I will 'gently' ease in 1ft-2ft as that puts them even further away from me. The one thing I can never understand though is why a cyclist will opt to use the main carriageway of a busy A road full of buses and lorries when there is a seperate purpose build shared path running alongside (A5117 springs to mind). I don't think anybody in the morgue will be interested in your Strava PB's

Myself, it's down to speed in most cases. Above 18mph you're expected to use the road. At times I'm travelling just as quick as most of the other traffic on the roads.

I'm not a fan of the suicide lanes that seemed to be installed with little, if any thought as to how they are actually used by cyclists.

I'm not on strava, and I used five "A"roads to get to & from work for nearly three years, twice a day in each direction. The minor roads proved a bigger problem than the "A" roads. Used as short cuts by people following their satnavs.

 

[Slow But Determined]

I was out cycling the other week when the occupants of a passing car threw at me strawberries, jelly, cold custard and some Dream Topping.
I reported it to police but they said they would take no further action as it was a trifling matter.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

I think my dinosaur pulled a hamstring the last time I heard that

 

[ozboz]

I posted earlier in the thread about my GF being on the recieving end , she will tell you that percentage wise the most of the abusers were in fact Women drving large cars and 4x4's, and they vent their anger on her to deter and shift blame due to their bad driving ,

 

[Andy in Germany]

I found that it varies according to country.

In the UK I mainly had trouble with younger men and flash cars, White van man et c. Here that isn't the case: if you are under 21 or have been driving less than two years it is very easy to lose your licence for a slight misdemeanour, and speed cameras are painted green and hidden so young lads tend not to muck about as much. Trade vans likewise rarely cause trouble.

The main groups here are older men in expensive cars -many here worked for a certain car company for life and believe they have the right to do anything they like- and younger women. The former are more likely to wind their window down and swear, and the latter are the worst for close passes, using phones, SMIDSY, no lights in fog (!) Illegal parking, and brake 'checks' having passed you. The women gesticulate too, but from behind closed windows.

It's like the older guys assume the law is on their side under any circumstances, and the women think they've got a protective weapon and can get away with anything because they can accelerate off.

My general response is to smile and wave. I get the impression a lot of drivers don't object to how I'm riding, but simply to my presence on the road, and there's not a lot I can do about this.

 

[Vantage]

and the women think they've got a protective weapon and can get away with anything because they can accelerate off.

Where I live in the NW of England I rarely get abuse from drivers. Even if I confront someone about bad driving it's usually a case of them failing to understand what they did or they apologise. However, the few times I have had abuse hurled at me, it's been from female drivers. They're safe in their little tin boxes.

 

[stuarttunstall]

I must say since I started riding again after 40 years I stick to quiet country roads around the village, single track roads with very little traffic, but the vehicles I have met, cars, vans and agricultural vehicles have all be very good, in fact one or two have actually pulled over and waited for me to pass when I would have been happy to wait myself..

Only had one little "boy racer" in a Golf GTI who thought he was on a race track and had no intention of slowing down....

 

[Julia9054]

I get very little abuse tbh. Have been gesticulated at by women but can't remember being yelled at by one.
On the rare occasions men yell at me, the abuse is because i am on a bike but the words chosen are because I'm female

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

I get hardly any abuse. Maybe its because most of the time I'm riding a bike I'm dressed more like a workman and less like a stereotypical cyclist? Lycra really seems to get other road users backs up. Maybe they associate a solo lycra wearer with a lycra-clad club group who have taken up half the road and held them up? There is definitely something linked to how you dress and what sort of bike you ride as to whether you are regarded as fair game for abuse or not.

 

[vickster]

Nice bit of victim blaming there

 

[Jimidh]

I hardly ever get abuse and most drivers are decent and try to give you room.

However I was involved in a weird situation a few months back Egan our riding with a three other mates.

We were harassed by a middle aged woman who drove up behind us peeping her horn as we were riding two abreast despite it being a wide open road with ample opportunity to pass.

We stopped at traffic lights and one of our group road up beside her and pretty calmly, I wouldn’t have been so nice, asked why she was peeping her horn and explained how her aggressive behaviour made home feel as a vulnerable road user.

Any joe we all road off and she followed us for a bit before we cut off.

Later in the ride we got a message from a club mate telling us to look at Facebook. The silly mare had put a post on, including a photo of us riding saying that my mate had verbally abused her and punched her wing mirror off!!