Didn't loose my cool!

[thomas]

Was on the way back to UNI yesterday on a new club ride. I'd shot ahead at some lights as I filtered through the middle of the cars to get past a learner who had stalled about 10 times at the previous set of lights and I didn't fancy being stuck there again.

I carried on up the road, doing a reasonable speed of about 20 or so mph. The road then starts to go up hill, so naturally I start to slow down a bit.

Before the hill the road starts to narrows and there is a van behind me, over revving his engine in a threatening way. After he'd been doing this for a few hundred yards I put my right hand down in a kind of 'calm down'/'wait' sort of way.

I wasn't in a primary position or anything like that. A few moments later he found a 'gap' and overtook staring at me and then honked.

After him, the car behind also came past honking with the driver, leaning over the passenger giving me a load of finger gestures.

Neither overtook with much room, but for once, I just sort of looked at them and ignored them. My blood pressure didn't even rise a degree. Didn't swear back, yell back or make any gestures back.

I have no idea what there problem was...other than I was a cyclist, I was in front of them and there wasn't enough room to get their car/van around me.

When we got back to where we started at UNI I made a joke to someone about how I obviously had annoyed the two drivers - somehow. He said I hadn't done anything wrong - but they had past very close.

I was expecting to hear that I did do something wrong for the response I got from the two drivers.

Oh well...I'll let them die from rage

 

[wafflycat]

Was it going up the Earlham Road, towards the UEA, from the Spire (BUPA) hospital on the left, where the road narrows & kicks up, The Village on the left & University Drive on the right at the top? If so, that short stretch where the road narrows from two lanes to one after the hospital lights, up to the ped crossing lights at the top just be the entrance to the UEA is guaranteed to bring out the worst in the terminally impatient motorist, no matter what mode of transport is being used by the unfortunate one 'causing' the 'hold-up.

 

[thomas]

Was it going up the Earlham Road, towards the UEA, from the Spire (BUPA) hospital on the left, where the road narrows & kicks up, The Village on the left & University Drive on the right at the top? If so, that short stretch where the road narrows from two lanes to one after the hospital lights, up to the ped crossing lights at the top just be the entrance to the UEA is guaranteed to bring out the worst in the terminally impatient motorist, no matter what mode of transport is being used by the unfortunate one 'causing' the 'hold-up.

haha. Spot on!!

 

[swee'pea99]

Funnily enough I had this twice yesterday, once on the way to work, once on the way back. Not the full monty like you, just tosspots bipping me. This the first time since I really can't remember when - a year perhaps? The first one I spun round and gave him both obscenity barrels at full volume. The second, I just rolled my eyes and carried on. Strange though...I did wonder whether it might have something to do with my having just started wearing the Sam Browne I use over the autumn/winter months. Do they see it and think: 'Oh, here's a soft tart, let's bully the twat!'? Dunno. Either way, morons.

 

[wafflycat]

Thought I'd be correct. Fear not, Thomas, the twunts weren't having a go at you for being a cyclist, they do it to folk they think are holding them up no matter what type of transport they are using. I've been hooted at when driving up there, example: I'll be hanging back not overtaking the cyclist/ vehicle in front due to oncoming traffic, hence not safe to overtake.. but the moronic motons behind me seem to think that does not matter.

 

[jonny jeez]

I was expecting to hear that I did do something wrong for the response I got from the two drivers.

Oh well...I'll let them die from rage

I think what you "Did Wrong" (apart from daring to ride your bike, which is obviously the work of a mentalist)

Was to make a gesture to the other road sharers.

I'm not up on my "international sign language" but I'm pretty sure your arm movement could well have been mi-interpreted. (I don’t know what the sign for calm down is…does anyone else?)

Best, IMO to just keep going at your own pace and let the world overtake you when its safe (or they think it is)

Acknowledging that you are frustrating them or signing to them something that they can misinterpret…is probably going to enflame the situation.


As far as riding is concerned, can't see you did anything wrong

 

[thomas]

I think what you "Did Wrong" (apart from daring to ride your bike, which is obviously the work of a mentalist)

Was to make a gesture to the other road sharers.

It was only to the first guy, the second driver wouldn't have seen. It was just a palm out and he'd already been driving like a muppet.

 

[addictfreak]

Only one thing wrong as I see it. The driver was a dickhead simple!

 

[bad boy]

LOL +1 good on you for not boiling over....... I would have lost it !!.

I did have a really funny incident the other week when some twat in a banged up Toyota squeezed passed me at a junction and then positioned himself without indicating just to my right. I was hesitant to pull out as due to the cars position and lack of any indicator didn't know if he would pull out at the same time as me going the opposite way and crunch into me. I banged on his window which more than startled him haha and asked him to wind it down he did so and started saying what you doing get off the road... I said look mate shut your trap before I get me warrant card out. He said what so I repeated it and said I'm a police man put your f**king indicator on hahaha he craped himself put it on and waited for me to pull out, he was so scared for the next 1.5 miles he didn't dare overtake me LOL ........ and no im not a copper !!.

 

[Lazy-Commuter]

It seemed especially impatient out there this morning, even by the impatient standards of the impatient South East. As an example, a moton seemed in a real hurry to get past me (holding primary) by trying to squeeze up the inside of me so he could join the queue three car lengths ahead.

 

[Dayvo]

Was it going up the Earlham Road, towards the UEA, from the Spire (BUPA) hospital on the left, where the road narrows & kicks up, The Village on the left & University Drive on the right at the top?

I used to live just near there when I was at UEA.

I didn't cycle then, but a few of my mates did, and they were always saying how dangerous the roads were and how appalling the drivers' attitudes were. This was from 1995 -1999!

I fear their attitudes have deteriorated even further!

 

[jonny jeez]

It was only to the first guy, the second driver wouldn't have seen. It was just a palm out and he'd already been driving like a muppet.

I know, I did put the words "did wrong" in inverted commas, as they were written with a little pith. That said, some nutters are just looking for a row.

Ask yourself, "If I was in a pub an some knuckle dragger was staring the back of my head out , would I";

A) Make a gesture to him?

or

Ignore it?

Answer A will always end in a row….. Just depends on whether you fancy a row too I guess.

Personally I wouldn't have done anything to encourage a confrontation…(but I would have been ready to finish it pretty quick if it had all kicked off ).

 

[wafflycat]

I used to live just near there when I was at UEA.

I didn't cycle then, but a few of my mates did, and they were always saying how dangerous the roads were and how appalling the drivers' attitudes were. This was from 1995 -1999!

I fear their attitudes have deteriorated even further!

That particular short stretch of road is bad. It's a main route into/out of the city and in a matter of very few yards it goes from wide, modern road to narrow, badly maintained old road filled with pedestrians, cyclists and motor traffic of all kinds, with mulitple traffic lights that seem to work in conflict with each other: result gridlock, impatience and short tempers. All it needs is for those of us using it, particularly those of us in motors, to chill... have a bit more patience.. That tends not to happen though. Norwich itself is actually not too bad for cycling, despite the amount of crap farcilities.

 

[garrilla]

I put my right hand down in a kind of 'calm down'/'wait' sort of way.

In what language did you do this?