Being yelled at and perceptions of cyclists....

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

thomas

the tank engine
Location
Woking/Norwich
brokenbetty said:
Since I started wearing girly clothes on my bike I have noticed a lot less aggression from other drivers. It's not a babe thing - my babe days are long past. It seems to be a courtesy-to-ladies thing.

A flowery pannier, a firm hand signal and a cheery thank-you wave seem to go a very long way even in London :biggrin:


Should my next cycling jacket be in Pink then? Would that save me problems....or maybe I should wear that blonde wig I found.

I once commented to a driver who had tooted me for holding primary on a section of road with two lanes (he could pass without any hold up) how it was pretty impressive that my legs could do 25mph, just a fraction below the speed limit....he wasn't so impressed :blush:...not really sure how that's relevant to anything but it seemed so in my mind.
 

GrumpyGregry

Here for rides.
Thinking about it my favourite shout out of all time was from a fat woman in a Vectra in Crawley, near Maidenbower, right arm out of window, gesticulating with tab in hand bellowing "Why weren't we told? Did you tell the council?" at me whilst I was waymarking a roundabout for the CTC Ride to Pride last year. Possibly we had delayed her by 30 seconds or so. I smiled and shrugged and waved in a friendly non-threatening way and she told me to "eff off, you anchor!" or some such, at which point I creased up laughing and she went purple and sped off whilst I explained myself to Dellzeqq.

Now I'm not a hardcore 365 cyclist by any means, in winter I drive, and trust me car drivers shout just as much as each other over perceived infringements of their rights as they do at cyclists. Try driving at 30 mph in a 30 zone and then have a ranting driver pull alongside you at the lights.

Just after Christmas I was nearly taken out whilst in my tiny car by a, as it happens 4WD, which RLJ'd at a set of lights. He basically jumped his straight on' filter by mistake when the light for the lane next to him 'right turn only' changed. His horn blasting he followed me bumper to bumper flash headlight and leaning and fliiping the bird out of the window. He then roared past me, cut in front and slammed the anchors on. I stopped didn't have a lot of choice. Out he jumped slamming his door so hard his Mitsubishi rocked. I locked my door. He rocked my car pummelled the roof with his fists and kicked the wing and then gobbed on the windscreen. All from his mistake.

A small voice cried 'enough' I unlocked the door and unfolded my not inconsiderable bulk from my tiny Cinquecento. 6 2 & 15 stone squared up this numpty shaking with adrenaline and tbh fear and the little pissant legged it.
 

HobbesChoice

New Member
Location
Essex
My experiences are the same as Broken Betty. I ride in a nice pink hi viz (get yourself one Thomas - you'll never look back) and have long hair showing out the back of my crash hat. At lights I'll often get chavs making inappropriate comments, but in general I think I get treated a little better than the men on the bikes. Having said that though, I'm not in a race to get home so it gives me the luxury of being very courteous and I'm more than happy to wait behind a bus rather than play a constant game of leapfrog etc, so I think that does me well in how the buses treat me.
 

ttcycle

Cycling Excusiast
I would say that it doesn't really make much of a difference - you get some idiots and some making lewd comments but I don't think the abuse is different - you get some intimidating drivers but not noticed less of it due to being female.
 
I was just thinking this after my last corsa passenger 'shout out' when it was icy. They have been mostly when I've been in my winter gear, all covered up. It rarely happens in the summer in normal clothes.
I think there is a definite advantage to wearing 'civilian clothes' and looking female!

My last one I got the reg plate but wondered about going to the police, is this section 59?, but the driver overtook me nice and wide, it seemed to just be the young male in the front passenger seat that was the knob. Unfair on the driver?
 

Jezston

Über Member
Location
London
trsleigh said:
Reading these posts I do sometimes wonder if London in general is less deranged than most of the rest of the country. As a fat, not bald, oldish bloke on a tiny wheeled bike with a silly big bag on the front, I cannot recall any stupid comments in four years of Bromptoneering around West London / West End.

I think it's more of the big city / small town mentality. Riding a bike around a smaller town, particularly where most people live in deep suburbs away from decent public transport and are straight into cars as soon as they hit 17 will see adult cyclists as non-confirmist outsider weirdos or something.

I recall visiting a friend in Canterbury once. Girl had died her hair bright pink - a bit odd you might say but hardly some kind of shocking statement against the core morals of decent society. The kind of thing that wouldn't get a second glance in a major city. Walking around with her she got SO much abuse from dicks driving past in their cars and chavs on the street. They couldn't handle anything out of the ordinary and had to attack it. Weird.
 

brokenbetty

Über Member
Location
London
Jezston said:
I think it's more of the big city / small town mentality....They couldn't handle anything out of the ordinary and had to attack it. Weird.

+1. It's not a bike-specific thing, it's a small town thing.

One of the nicest things about moving from Newcastle to London was finding people didn't have the urge to comment loudly on anyone doing anything out of the ordinary.
 

jimboalee

New Member
Location
Solihull
?

The 'small town' people I know, or knew when I was younger, move around on horseback.
The strange thing however is they rode to the stables on pushbikes.

There's something about a young lady cyclist in Jodhpurs carrying a riding crop.
 

jimboalee

New Member
Location
Solihull
brokenbetty said:
+1. It's not a bike-specific thing, it's a small town thing.

One of the nicest things about moving from Newcastle to London was finding people didn't have the urge to comment loudly on anyone doing anything out of the ordinary.

Only cyclists riding in the middle of the lane.
 

brokenbetty

Über Member
Location
London
jimboalee said:
Only cyclists riding in the middle of the lane.

Actually in two years of London commuting I've only been shouted at once for riding in primary, by someone who had pulled right up to the ASL.

By comparison, I get positive interaction (nods, waves etc) every day.
 

jimboalee

New Member
Location
Solihull
brokenbetty said:
Actually in two years of London commuting I've only been shouted at once for riding in primary, by someone who had pulled right up to the ASL.

By comparison, I get positive interaction (nods, waves etc) every day.

It was in the summer of 2006 when my last incident occurred.

That's my 0.286 incidents per year versus your 0.500 incidents per year.

Now if I add in a frig factor for the minor incidents I've forgot in 45 years ( let's say 10 ), my incidents per year will be 0.266.

That's 1 incident every 3 years 9 months, or longer than you've been cycling in London.
 

brokenbetty

Über Member
Location
London
jimboalee said:
That's 1 incident every 3 years 9 months, or longer than you've been cycling in London.

So we have to wait 1 year and 10 months to draw any meaningful conclusion

How many happies do you get a day?
 
Top Bottom