Sheffield_Tiger
Legendary Member
dondare said:
Many don't go to Tesco and hurtle along the road leading into the car park then cut across the entrance and up onto the footpath where the road becomes a one-way street. I personally don't, as my back is not woolen and I wouldn't taste all that nice with mint sauce.
It's a fair point that when in a car park, manouvres that would normally be unusual are the norm, and that car parks aren't the places for undertaking/overtaking (tell that to the motorists who use the Tesco near my work as a rat run and speed through ignoring the 5mph signage) - EVERYONE should be looking out in all directions and driving/riding slower.
My issue is with the "what were you doing cycling in a CAR PARK?" attitude as if bicycles shouldn't be there when they have just as much equal right to be there as any car. Don't we get enough of the "you should be in the the pavement/only ride in cycle paths/in a car/off the road/" sort of attitude from non-cyclists without it appearing here??
And yes there's designated cycle stands/parking areas same as there's an area for motorcycles. Car parks are quite hazardous, drivers in car parks are often not pay attention to others and on a bike we're less likely to be noticed than a big Chelsea tractor so take care in them, obviously don't whizz about in full busy car parks and be ready to stop. You need to be careful on foot too. You should cycle in car parks assuming there's likely to be someone parking/reversing out that hasn't seen you because they're concentrating more on what they're doing than what everyone else is. I get to see all sorts of crap driving so I have the advantage in knowing what to look out for I guess, dopey old duffers and women bashing into other cars/each other when reversing usually, they just don't look where they're going. That's not an ageist/sexist remark btw just my observations. Only recently one woman somehow drove into one of the trolley bays (has a metal bar around it) and bashed up the front of her car, broken glass everywhere from the smashed headlights, it's not that first time that has happened. And then there's the boy racer chav scumbags driving too fast in the car park with their boomy musak blaring out, they tend to be the ones that just come up to use the cash machine rather than to shop. They drive around like that even when it's the weekend and there's small kids around with their parents. Crazy 
And yes there's designated cycle stands/parking areas same as there's an area for motorcycles. Car parks are quite hazardous, drivers in car parks are often not pay attention to others and on a bike we're less likely to be noticed than a big Chelsea tractor so take care in them, obviously don't whizz about in full busy car parks and be ready to stop. You need to be careful on foot too. You should cycle in car parks assuming there's likely to be someone parking/reversing out that hasn't seen you because they're concentrating more on what they're doing than what everyone else is. I get to see all sorts of crap driving so I have the advantage in knowing what to look out for I guess, dopey old duffers and women bashing into other cars/each other when reversing usually, they just don't look where they're going. That's not an ageist/sexist remark btw just my observations. Only recently one woman somehow drove into one of the trolley bays (has a metal bar around it) and bashed up the front of her car, broken glass everywhere from the smashed headlights, it's not that first time that has happened. And then there's the boy racer chav scumbags driving too fast in the car park with their boomy musak blaring out, they tend to be the ones that just come up to use the cash machine rather than to shop. They drive around like that even when it's the weekend and there's small kids around with their parents. Crazy 
