Am I over-reacting?

[the reluctant cyclist]

i agree with others above that you weren't overreacting and that the fact that you "held them up" was why they did it.

I too don't like those sorts of lanes. There is one on my route that I just cannot avoid and its a two lane junction - left hand lane is for left turn ONLY and right hand lane is for straight on. I go straight on so get into the right hand lane.

Its a really tiny little lane and there is no room for two cars really - the cars in the left hand lane usually pull out as they are turning left so I always get right into the middle/right of my lane.

Time and time again I've had people blaring the horn at me or squeezing past me overtaking me too close whether there is oncoming traffic or not and a good few times I've had people undertake me on the left to pull in front of me.

The other day I had two girls in a beetle give me a round of applause when I moved back to the left after passing the junction.

I was desperate to catch up wtih them to ask them why but on this occasion didn't meet them in the next queue of traffic.

I find this sort of thing terribly frustrating and I try to avoid those sorts of junctions and find myself turning into a more and more rubbish cyclist by using walkways and canal towpaths to get away from numptys like this.

Very sad really! I've gestured like you did and had the driver turn on me too and try to chase me off the road in the past!

Sometimes I just don't know what the world is coming to!

 

[Amack]

Interesting stuff on this thread, also quite depressing too. I had a white van punishment pass this week on a narrow A road. Most cars hang back to pass you if there is oncoming traffic, not so van man. He had to race past me(similar distance to original poster) to get to the petrol station a few hundred yards up the road.

I made the mistake of stopping and calling into the petrol station to call into the (very small rural petrol stop) shop who was driving the van. A big round man came to shop door and said he was the driver,so I told him he'd just missed me overtaking a little bit up the road. His reply was "AANNND?" I looked at him and then studied his van like I was memorising his number plate. So he launches into a "go ahead take the number and call the police etc "
I couldn't think of anything smart/witty to say (fat retard seemed a bit childish ) so just cycled off, photographed the van and emailed his company.

Anyway lesson learned, let it go(I'd rather not, it would be better if his dangerous driving was dealt with by the police, but there's no evidence etc). If I was driving my car and was nearly struck by another driver I certainly wouldn't stop to confront the driver.