Do You Get Scared At Times

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Pat "5mph"

Pat "5mph"

A kilogrammicaly challenged woman
Moderator
vickster said:
I need to read Cyclecraft and how to handle big roundabouts other than via the pavement. Despite being visible, confuident, in primary in the correct lane, indicating...?!
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I went a step further than reading the book: actually went on the course, failed it because of the big roundabout.
Could not get myself to ride over it!
It's not that I don't do roundabouts at all, just that particular one at that particular time of day was far too busy, I froze with fear.
I believe we need to asses the risks of the road each and every time: taking the first exit of the same roundabout is completely different than taking the third exit, imo.
For example, I will ride roads with fast traffic when they are wide enough, or will avoid normally quiet local roads during the school run.
@vickster :hugs:don't give up your commute!
Edit: the dark park is the option I take :smile:
 
buggi

buggi

Bird Saviour
pm me your address and I'll send you something on road positioning which will help
 
Justiffa

Justiffa

Senior Member
What scares me more than bz roads (where i actually feel safer bcos i know i always try my best to be highly visible & stay predictable to other road users), are the lonely sometimes dark lanes tht can become part of my training route. just about anyone can suddenly jump on me from out of the blue, and even though i do carry a pepper spray & a whistle with me, i cant stop the sudden heart thumping fear tht i usually get when i come across such situations.

So i try my best to stay away from such lanes and even if i do come across them, thts the time when u'll be seeing me pedalling away like a madwoman :wahhey:
 
BSRU

BSRU

A Human Being
Scared myself to death this morning, whizzing down a dark unlit country lane decent, no problem with my "like a car main beam" light on but noticed an oncoming car so as always turned it off.
But then I realised my normal light was not turned on, so a few seconds of riding in complete darkness until I found the button to turn it on:eek:.
 
Amanda P

Amanda P

Legendary Member
I live some miles away from a very busy trunk road.

Unfortunately, my office is on the other side of it. There's no way to get to work without crossing or riding some distance along this road; either is equally scary, but crossing is probably the more dangerous manoeuvre, even on foot (as then you have to cross two streams of traffic in one go, not just one).

Yes, I do get scared. Most days I'm not really conscious of it, but when I stop and think about it I realise that I do sweat and my heart speeds up and yes, I'm frightened of that road. Any reasonable person would be.

And that makes me really, really angry. It's a public place - why should I have to put up with being in fear of my life, every single day, just to get to work?

And it's not just me - many of my colleagues who drive to work are scared of turning across this road. Those who travel by bus are scared to cross the road to catch it. Communities are cut off from each other effectively by fear of crossing this road - it might as well be barbed wire with a minefield and machine-gun nests to many folk.

This can't be right.
 
n3rdy

n3rdy

Active Member
BSRU said:
Scared myself to death this morning, whizzing down a dark unlit country lane decent, no problem with my "like a car main beam" light on but noticed an oncoming car so as always turned it off.
But then I realised my normal light was not turned on, so a few seconds of riding in complete darkness until I found the button to turn it on:eek:.
Click to expand...
Bet he pooped himself and is now telling everyone he saw an alien on his drive home!
 
OP
OP
Doc333

Doc333

Knight Of The Realm & All Around Good Guy
Uncle Phil said:
I live some miles away from a very busy trunk road.

Unfortunately, my office is on the other side of it. There's no way to get to work without crossing or riding some distance along this road; either is equally scary, but crossing is probably the more dangerous manoeuvre, even on foot (as then you have to cross two streams of traffic in one go, not just one).

Yes, I do get scared. Most days I'm not really conscious of it, but when I stop and think about it I realise that I do sweat and my heart speeds up and yes, I'm frightened of that road. Any reasonable person would be.

And that makes me really, really angry. It's a public place - why should I have to put up with being in fear of my life, every single day, just to get to work?

And it's not just me - many of my colleagues who drive to work are scared of turning across this road. Those who travel by bus are scared to cross the road to catch it. Communities are cut off from each other effectively by fear of crossing this road - it might as well be barbed wire with a minefield and machine-gun nests to many folk.

This can't be right.
Click to expand...

Phil I know York quite well as I'm a Leeds boy from years ago, and still spend most weekends through the year over near Pickering. Are you talking about the A64, the A59 or the ring road in town?
 
Davidc

Davidc

Guru
Cyclecraft is good, some real training is better (there are links above) and hours of experience are then the key to confidence.

That said I've been riding on the roads for the past 52 years and there are still some roads I won't ride on, and some junctions where I get off and walk. In this area I won't ride on most of the A303, some bits of the A38, A358, and a few more. Around London I get off and walk for the Elephant and Castle roundabout among other junctions, and won't ride on a number of roads including the A3. Those aren't because of a lack or experience, just that I view the risks as excessively high, and/or riding them too unpleasant.

I agree with what's been said already that essential elements of road riding are - being assertive, but never aggressive, always trying to let other road users know exactly what you're going to do and where you're going, and being seen with 24/7 bright lighting, and bright clothing.

One compensation is that riding now is a lot less scary and dangerous than it was in the late '80s and the '90s. There were times then when I thought about abandoning cycling.
 
snorri

snorri

Legendary Member
Uncle Phil said:
And it's not just me - many of my colleagues who drive to work are scared of turning across this road. Those who travel by bus are scared to cross the road to catch it. Communities are cut off from each other effectively by fear of crossing this road - it might as well be barbed wire with a minefield and machine-gun nests to many folk.This can't be right.
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Sadly, there are so many examples of this lack of adequate infrastructure.
IME Trunk roads engineers seem to consider people who want to travel along roads as customers to be cared for, and people who need to cross these same roads as a PIA, a different species altogether.:sad:
 
Frood42

Frood42

I know where my towel is
Be assertive, but not aggressive
Make yourself seen (positioning, clothing, lighting)
Ride in a predictable manner
Try to plan ahead when coming to potential conflict areas (junctions, roundabouts, pinch points)
Communicate (shoulder check, arm/hand signals, eye contact) with other road users so that they know where you are going and what you are going to do (look, signal, look, move)
.
 
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