Cyclecraft

[Origamist]

OK, I admit it. I was riding along a quiet country lane north of Warwick when I saw the slow cyclist ahead.

Just as I was approaching him, a pair of bunny rabbits looked up to see what the commotion was, so I stood on the pedals and waggled my ass to impress Flopsy and Mopsy.

Caught red handed.

Does anyone want to see the cartoon version?

Yes, they're always entertaining and Fozy Turnip's interpretations are priceless...

 

[jimboalee]

 

[PhunkPilot]

I interpret that as 'trying to split hares!'


Thanks for the welcome Origamist. Mighty impressed with your riding on Gaz's youtube vid! Fast and safe...........................

 

[the snail]

This is not argumental.

great word that, I like it; argumentative + mental, sort of describes your posts perfectly

The 'waggling of handlebars' and standing up on the pedals are visual clues to other roadusers of my intentions.

maybe you should thump your chest and yodel like Tarzan for full effect.
wtf are you smoking???

... Then, standing up and making it look like I am sprinting for world glory is icing-on-the-cake to give the motorist an undisputed idea of what is going to happen next.

can I buy some???

the mere sight of me standing up is enough to get the message across that I'm going to accelerate.

or you could look behind you, indicate, then cycle past.... works on any type of bike

 

[jimboalee]

great word that, I like it; argumentative + mental, sort of describes your posts perfectly

maybe you should thump your chest and yodel like Tarzan for full effect.
wtf are you smoking???

can I buy some???

or you could look behind you, indicate, then cycle past.... works on any type of bike

Do I know you?

 

[jimboalee]

Jim, I was saying the same thing a couple of years ago:

The Bible, as we all know, is a collection of myths and here-say stories no one can substantiate.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Jimbo's lost it.

Although when I overtake another truck from now on, I'm going to waggle the steering wheel about and get the trailer shimmying over two lanes of motorway. This sends an unequivocal message as to what my intentions are, far more so than simply switching the indicator on, pulling out and getting on with overtaking like normal people do.

 

[jimboalee]

Jimbo's lost it.

Although when I overtake another truck from now on, I'm going to waggle the steering wheel about and get the trailer shimmying over two lanes of motorway. This sends an unequivocal message as to what my intentions are, far more so than simply switching the indicator on, pulling out and getting on with overtaking like normal people do.

I don't give toss what you think ( as I see the sentiment is reciprocated ). It works for me in crowded Birmingham. I shall continue to use my own strategies when riding in three lane traffic round Birmingham's central area.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

I don't give toss what you think ( as I see the sentiment is reciprocated ). It works for me in crowded Birmingham. I shall continue to use my own strategies when riding in three lane traffic round Birmingham's central area.

I don't believe anyone has a problem with that. Personally, I say that if it works for you, then you carry on. But it's probably going a bit too far to advise new cyclists to overtake in such a way. Much more sensible to say something like, before starting to overtake, have a look over your shoulder, then signal and pull out. That seems to me to cover everything.

 

[jimboalee]

great word that, I like it; argumentative + mental, sort of describes your posts perfectly

maybe you should thump your chest and yodel like Tarzan for full effect.
wtf are you smoking???

can I buy some???

or you could look behind you, indicate, then cycle past.... works on any type of bike

[ This is not argumental.

The 'waggling of handlebars' and standing up on the pedals are visual clues to other roadusers of my intentions. Signaling with a straight arm out sideways lessens the amount of acceleration one can effect.
A short signal to following traffic is the first sign after the rearward eye-check. Then, standing up and making it look like I am sprinting for world glory is icing-on-the-cake to give the motorist an undisputed idea of what is going to happen next.

This works very effectively when I'm on a dropped handlebar sports or race bike. On a straight bar bike, the mere sight of me standing up is enough to get the message across that I'm going to accelerate. Trouble is, with such low gears on my Sturmeys, its difficult to overtake in a hurry. If I stand up and dump my weight on the pedal of my BSA, I 'spin out' after 3 seconds ]

If you read this through again with a bit more care, you will comprehend it is an explanation of why I imitate raceboys in heavy traffic.
You will also notice I refer to the rider as MYSELF in the first person singular.

Nowhere do I suggest anyone else 'should do' what I describe.

Before you publish a 'piss take' post, maybe you should learn to read, assess and evaluate what you are reading first.

 

[jimboalee]

I don't believe anyone has a problem with that. Personally, I say that if it works for you, then you carry on. But it's probably going a bit too far to advise new cyclists to overtake in such a way. Much more sensible to say something like, before starting to overtake, have a look over your shoulder, then signal and pull out. That seems to me to cover everything.

Please see my latest post.

You assumed I had written an Instructional. I had written a description of how one experienced city cyclist deals with traffic while overtaking a slower vehicle.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

We all know humans make mistakes. The truck driver, in his anguish of having a 15 mph cyclist in front of him, unintentionally treads on the accellerator instead of the brake.

I'm genuinely amused by this, it's a little light relief from what appears to be Jimbo actively trolling a thread. Most truck drivers (yes, yes I know you don't consider us to be professional drivers because all we do is drive the things rather than design and build them) know which one is the brake and which the accelerator (one "l"). It takes a bit more than a cyclist in the road ahead to make us get them mixed up.

 

[Rhythm Thief]

Oh I give up. The Cyclecraft police are out.

If any more Cyclecraft threads start, mark me down as a "Doesn't float my boat".

In fairness, this thread started as someone asking what Cyclecraft is. No one asked you to start posting cartoons clearly designed to get a rise out of people.

 

[Origamist]

The Bible, as we all know, is a collection of myths and here-say stories no one can substantiate.

Almost - Cyclecraft is a distillation of the current received wisdom on how best to ride a bike on the UK's roads, but it is not a "myth" that the most common form of collision involving cyclists and HGVs happens when the HGV turns left - would you disagree with the advice not to undertake a lorry that is signalling left a junction? Do you recommend cycling 1 foot from car doors at 08.30 etc etc?

What is considered best practice has changed over the years and will continue to evolve. It appears that your views on cycling are set in stone as they are based solely on your own experience.

 

[jimboalee]

Almost - Cyclecraft is a distillation of the current received wisdom on how best to ride a bike on the UK's roads, but it is not a "myth" that the most common form of collision involving cyclists and HGVs happens when the HGV turns left - would you disagree with the advice not to undertake a lorry that is signalling left a junction? Do you recommend cycling 1 foot from car doors at 08.30 etc etc?

What is considered best practice has changed over the years and will continue to evolve. It appears that your views on cycling are set in stone as they are based solely on your own experience.

So you'd better change you description to "CycleCraft is the cyclist's Origin of Species".

The ones who ride up the inside of trucks eventually become extinct due to failed trial and error, while the ones who hang back and let the truck go ahead ( or even get out of its way completely ) survive.