andytheflyer
Guru
- Location
- South Cheshire
I bought a SWB bent in November and have since covered about 300 miles.(A 2006 TW Bents Amigo - looks like a Nazca Fuego).
Initially I was worried about close passes from trucks and cars on the country lanes in South Cheshire and North Shropshire that I ride regularly. However, I was reassured by others on this forum who believe that the uncommon appearance of a 'bent in a car or truck windscreen encourages those drivers to slow down more than they would for a DF bike, and give the 'bent a wider berth. To date I've not felt threatened by a motor vehicle on the local lanes, despite some very narrow roads around here. In fact I wish some of them would pass more quickly as keeping a 'bent on a straight path with a truck slowly creeping alongside is far more difficult than on my Defy.
But not so the horses.
We may have as many horses in this area as people - so I encounter a horse or 2 on most rides - and maybe 50% of them seem to be spooked by a 'bent. Once they appear around a hawthorn hedge-hidden corner I switch off my flashing front light, slow right down and call out to the rider if it's OK to proceed. Sometimes I stop to wait for them to pass, sometimes I carry on slowly, but talking to the rider so that the horse knows that whatever it is on the road ahead has a human being associated with it, and the rider knows what my intentions as a fellow road user are.
But, sometimes, no matter how much care I approach with, some horses are spooked - and that is way more scary than being passed by a horse box on a narrow road. You have no idea if the spooked horse, with ears pricked or laid back, whites of the eyes showing, and a clearly nervous rider, is about to launch itself into a frenzy and challenge you for occupancy of your seat. A car is only marginally higher than me on the road, a horse is way taller, dangerous at both ends, and much less predictable.
Not sure there's much more I or the riders can do, and invariably they thank me for my consideration - but I approach every horse I meet on our narrow lanes as an incident waiting to happen. I rarely have the same problem with my DF bike - horses seem far more used to them.
Does anyone else have the same problem?
Initially I was worried about close passes from trucks and cars on the country lanes in South Cheshire and North Shropshire that I ride regularly. However, I was reassured by others on this forum who believe that the uncommon appearance of a 'bent in a car or truck windscreen encourages those drivers to slow down more than they would for a DF bike, and give the 'bent a wider berth. To date I've not felt threatened by a motor vehicle on the local lanes, despite some very narrow roads around here. In fact I wish some of them would pass more quickly as keeping a 'bent on a straight path with a truck slowly creeping alongside is far more difficult than on my Defy.
But not so the horses.
We may have as many horses in this area as people - so I encounter a horse or 2 on most rides - and maybe 50% of them seem to be spooked by a 'bent. Once they appear around a hawthorn hedge-hidden corner I switch off my flashing front light, slow right down and call out to the rider if it's OK to proceed. Sometimes I stop to wait for them to pass, sometimes I carry on slowly, but talking to the rider so that the horse knows that whatever it is on the road ahead has a human being associated with it, and the rider knows what my intentions as a fellow road user are.
But, sometimes, no matter how much care I approach with, some horses are spooked - and that is way more scary than being passed by a horse box on a narrow road. You have no idea if the spooked horse, with ears pricked or laid back, whites of the eyes showing, and a clearly nervous rider, is about to launch itself into a frenzy and challenge you for occupancy of your seat. A car is only marginally higher than me on the road, a horse is way taller, dangerous at both ends, and much less predictable.
Not sure there's much more I or the riders can do, and invariably they thank me for my consideration - but I approach every horse I meet on our narrow lanes as an incident waiting to happen. I rarely have the same problem with my DF bike - horses seem far more used to them.
Does anyone else have the same problem?
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