Cheers to...

[John the Monkey]

1) The HGV driver on Wilmslow Road yesterday who gave me bags of room coming away from the lights, saw the parked car ahead of me and dropped back to let me overtake it safely, and then did a perfect rule 163 overtake.

2) The driver of the Y reg white Mercedes Sprinter van on Parrs Wood road this morning - almost unbelievably considerate as I passed the miles (seemingly) of parked cars, waiting until it was actually safe to overtake, and then carrying out a perfect example of the manoeuvre.

Boo to;

1) Another RLJ cyclist nearly hitting me - attractive young lady in some sort of baggy cap at the junction of Egerton Road and Wilmslow Road. PLEASE watch where you're going if you're going to ignore traffic signals.

2) The other 4 RLJ cyclists I kept overtaking along Oxford Road. Look ahead of you a little bit, won't you?

 

[wafflycat]

May I make a suggestion? If you know the names of the companies owning the HGV & van drop said company a line with a note of thanks for the courteous driving?

 

[John the Monkey]

May I make a suggestion? If you know the names of the companies owning the HGV & van drop said company a line with a note of thanks for the courteous driving?

I looked waffly, the HGV was an unmarked (as far as I can tell) blue curtain sided vehicle, and the van was plain white. If I knew who they drove for, I'd certainly be penning the letters even now!

It seems worth posting when nice things happen on the commute, as I'm as guilty as anyone of putting moans up when people on the roads aren't considerate.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

My Turn

Cheers to the artic driver who waited at a roundabout for me yesterday; it was my right of way but I was a little way back from the roundabout when he got to it (it's not a mini roundabout but it ain't real big) so he could have justified going I guess as it wouldn't have endangered me though I might have had to slow down a bit - not that I was going all that fast. And I know it's a pest for them to get moving again once they've stopped. He didn't even do that creeping forward thing you often get.

Boo to the lady on the mini roundabout on my way home across one of the estates last night. My right of way, I was obviously going to arrive at the roundabout before her, albeit only just; good visibility: I could see her so I could she was in a hurry in that going-quite-fast-with-loads-of-revs-concentrating-hard-by-staring-intently-at-the-end-of-the-bonnet way that some people have .. she didn't even look in my direction so I could tell she wasn't going to stop. And she didn't, so I ended up giving way to her on the roundabout. Not especially dangerous, but would have been had I assumed she was going to respect my right of way. I guess Little Tarquin (sat in the car with her) was late for tennis or whatever and Young Felicity had taken the Touraeg out for the day leaving mater the Polo so she'd got the hump.

 

[cyclenic]

commuting

BOO! to the bin lorry who nearly cut me up on a major roundabout at the end on a dual carrageway slip.

BOO to the stupid woman who drove infront/overtook me as i was on a mini roundabout. if i hadn't slammed my breaks on i would have been in her rear quarter pannel.

thanks to the massive lorry, who waited behing a parked car in the road, to let me, breathing very heavily, tiredly pass on the other side.

and thanks to all the walkers who moved to the side of the paths for me, oh and the school kids on their walk who let me through while pointing, screaming with excitement, and calling, wow look at her, she's super fast!

 

[cyclenic]

cars

on that note. Apart from swaering at someone when they cut you up.

how do you guys deal with the numpties on the roads?

apart from trying to be visable, or cycling in middle of the road, what methods do you use?

does anyone have a whistle or bell?

 

[Mr Pig]

If you know the names of the companies owning the HGV & van drop said company a line with a note of thanks for the courteous driving?

Top idea.

 

[John the Monkey]

cyclenic, if you want a motor vehicle to hear you, you need something like an Arizound - a bell isn't going to cut through the noise at all.

Whilst not wanting to discourage you from asserting your right to be on the road, do try to remember that the motorist has some 3 tonnes of metal at their disposal, and (assuming you're cycling in Britain) drives in a culture where road rage is, broadly speaking, socially acceptable, the police largely uninterested in the travails of cyclists and likely punishments for the effects of their behaviour is tragically lenient.

Be visible, be considerate (let people past if it's safe, for example) leave yourself room to escape if you do get overtaken too closely etc ride predictably and legally and signal your intentions in good time where you can. It doesn't hurt to give a wave of thanks when people are considerate too - assuming you ride the same route each day, people may get to know you as "that nice cyclist" rather than "that irritating obstruction in between me and the next red light".

 

[HF2300]

... do try to remember that the motorist has some 3 tonnes of metal at their disposal...

f.. me, my car weighs 803 kg. Are they all driving Rollers? I need a wage rise...

 

[goo_mason]

Top idea.

It is. I got a lovely email of thanks from ADM Milling after I emailed them asking them to pass on my thanks to their Leith flour-tanker drivers. I share Ferry Road / Telford Road with them every morning and they're patient and highly considerate to cyclists.

And that reminds me - I think Lothian Buses need an email too as, barring one example in two and a half years, their buses on my route are driven by very considerate drivers.

 

[BentMikey]

Just back from dropping another set of quality street packets and a letter at Catford bus garage. They were also very chuffed.