Do you find that...

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

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
...a few weeks of largely uneventful cycling lures you into a false sense of security?

I was riding with the helmet cam all the time, but as Spring has come and no one seems desperately homicidal on the roads I've let that slip. Today, cycling along towards a traffic constriction (traffic island, theres a cycle lane but you'd be mad to use it, you should claim the centre of the lane because there ain't room to safely overtake), a bike was already through it and in secondary, I was in primary. Looked over shoulder, van well behind me, continued in primary, through the constriction, about to overtake the bike in front when the van behind sounded his horn. He'd been going rather fast, but I wasn't going to give up primary for his impatience. Over the crest of the 'hill' (its a slight rise really, this is Cambridge) he had room to overtake and accelerate at the red light at the junction ahead.

Theres a cycle lane at the end there, it reappears just before the junction, when the van driver saw it, he swerved into it, out of it, into it again, and then out of it; I could see the thought process, he wanted to yell at me and he wanted to inconvenience me, but he couldn't choose which. Another cyclist was already at the junction, I waited behind the other cyclist in the cycle lane (I was turning left, it was a safe place to be). He had his yell at me for being in the middle of the road, I responded about primary position and suggested he gets a highway code, he said something about using the cycle lane, etc. Dull, dull, dull.

Never let your guard down because no one has been an arse recently. Its only a matter of time before they start up again.
 

Tetedelacourse

New Member
Location
Rosyth
I suppose you could argue that any sense of security is false because all it takes is one person in a car (or upwards) to have a lapse or homicidal fit to prove your feeling of security wrong.

The easter break has been a pain for me; less cars so higher speeds so more danger. Bring back the congestion I say.
 
I must admit, although the majority of my commutes are relatively incident free, incidents happen often enough that I don't let my guard down. Just today I have had my closest pass ever where I had to lift my right arm to let the car pass. Had I not been reasonably experienced on my bike I could have been off. I will post it soon....:evil:
 

Plax

Guru
Location
Wales
Funnily enough, today a work colleague jokily (sp?) asked me if I was pissed this morning as I was cycling in the middle of the road. He probably wished he hadn't as I then had a whinge.
 

Maz

Guru
Better put that helmet cam back on again, hadn't you?

I don't think cycling in Cambridge is that bad, to be honest (I've been there more times than I care to recall). If anything, drivers tend to be more aware of them than in most other cities I'd say. True you get more than your fair share of pavement/rljer, though.
 
OP
OP
Cab

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
Maz said:
Better put that helmet cam back on again, hadn't you?

I don't think cycling in Cambridge is that bad, to be honest (I've been there more times than I care to recall). If anything, drivers tend to be more aware of them than in most other cities I'd say. True you get more than your fair share of pavement/rljer, though.

There are few close overtakes here, if you stay in primary most of the time. For the most part that aspect of riding here is good. But I know of no place where the motorists are usually as angry as they are here.
 
Cab said:
There are few close overtakes here, if you stay in primary most of the time. For the most part that aspect of riding here is good. But I know of no place where the motorists are usually as angry as they are here.


Eeeerrrrrmmmmm, Glasgow?
 
OP
OP
Cab

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
magnatom said:
Eeeerrrrrmmmmm, Glasgow?

Naah, although you're right that Glasgow (and sometimes London) are pretty angry places to ride. The thing about Cambridge is that you've got a medieval road system with far more motorised traffic than could possibly get through the place, and those vehicles are outnumbered by cyclists who, for the most part, show neither courtesy nor good observation of the law. Its a bizarre city to ride in, there are enough of us such that we could command respect on the roads, and that makes a certain subset of motorists intensely angry.
 

John the Monkey

Frivolous Cyclist
Location
Crewe
Cab said:
But I know of no place where the motorists are usually as angry as they are here.

A rant about cyclists was pretty much the first thing our cab driver said to us (after asking for our destination) last time I visited Cambridge. Did you know that they don't have lights, go the wrong way on one way streets and jump red lights?
 
OP
OP
Cab

Cab

New Member
Location
Cambridge
Maz said:
Yup, sounds like Cab alright.

:biggrin:

Thing is, there are a lot of us here, and I'd say that the proportion of bad cyclists to good cyclists (classing no lights, RLJing etc, as bad cyclists) isn't so much worse than in other cities. Trouble is, there are so many cyclists, and the British motorist is such an easily swayed fellow, that we're all viewed more negatively here than anywhere else I know. Hence the angry few tend to be very angry, and the slightly narked majority all veer towards being a bit angry.
 

flycatcher

New Member
Location
Manchester
magnatom said:
I must admit, although the majority of my commutes are relatively incident free, incidents happen often enough that I don't let my guard down. Just today I have had my closest pass ever where I had to lift my right arm to let the car pass. Had I not been reasonably experienced on my bike I could have been off. I will post it soon....:biggrin:

So did I but since I've seen yours on the other topic I'm not sure mine was as bad. I had a cement mixer truck within inches of me and the sad thing was there was plenty of room to do a proper overtake. Caught up and challenged him and got SMDSY. No chance! I've never been as scared as I was tonight.

Then this morning at 35mph on the last downhill secion a car pulls out from a row of parked cars stright into my path. Overtook him not 20 yards later as I had the drop and just ignored him.

So I understand exactly where the OP is coming from as most of mine are a breeze! Today was poor.
 
Top Bottom