Moped rider nearly took me out

[glasgowcyclist]

On the outside, usually.

Ah, so that's why the scooterist had to get so close!

GC

 

[Hip Priest]

Close, yep. Why you're not dressed over to the left in that traffic is beyond me.

It looks an odd position at first glance, but you need to consider that there are three lanes, and he is in the middle one. If your ride adjacent to the white line you're going to have cars overtaking you closely on both sides. I have a similar bit of road on my commute - thankfully short and downhill - but I too ride centrally in the lane.

 

[benb]

It looks an odd position at first glance, but you need to consider that there are three lanes, and he is in the middle one. If your ride adjacent to the white line you're going to have cars overtaking you closely on both sides. I have a similar bit of road on my commute - thankfully short and downhill - but I too ride centrally in the lane.

I'm in the left one. But immediately after the junction, lanes 1 and 2 merge, so in order to prevent in-lane squeezes, I need to position myself to be in the middle of the new lane 1, so I need to be more than half way over in the existing lane 1, if that makes sense.

It's normally fine, as car drivers can see they can't get past, and I've never had an issue with a 2-wheeler before.

 

[Drago]

Close, yep. Why you're not dressed over to the left in that traffic is beyond me.

Because he'd be in the gutter with the worst of the road surface, litter, drains etc, and it increases his chances of parting company with his bike and ending up laying in the live lane. Take a primary, or a strong primary (or secondary, depending on which training bodies terminology you're using), and take the lane to the degree required by the environment, but never get close than that magic metre to the kerb, although in this case Ben's presence in the middle lane was dictated by his route in anyway.

I don't think there was much wrong with my positioning.

No, I don't either. It's a damned if you do, or damned if you don't scenario. Stay tight into the nearside and you'd have had 2 streams of traffic trying to squeeze you instead of just the one.

 

[Crandoggler]

It's hard to gauge exactly. Personally, I would have been over to the left. But then again, as stated, I don't know the roads and wasn't there. It's a close pass for sure, he/she looked quite impatient judging by the rear footage.

 

[benb]

[QUOTE 4062100, member: 45"]Looks like he caught you off guard. Did you know he was approaching?[/QUOTE]

I'd seen him try and overtake me on the left, but then I was concentrating on the traffic in front, so wasn't aware until he was already nearly level with me.

 

[benb]

Maye some daytime images would help.
Here is the junction with the lights. Three lanes, so I'll always be in either the left one or the middle one, depending on the queues. There clearly isn't room for an overtake within the lane, so primary is required.

Shortly after the junction, lanes 1 and 2 merge. As that happens I need to get over a bit towards the dividing line of the existing lane 1 and lane 2, so that I am already in primary of the new lane 1. If I don't, I often get squeezed by cars who were in lane 2, and think they can get past me safely in the new lane 1.

And then, I stay in primary of lane 1 up to the roundabout, where it then goes to three lanes again, but I need to go straight on there, so stay in primary of lane 2.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[StuartG]

Wow the planners must have sweated a gut giving you such impressive cycling provision along that stretch of road - if only it wasn't so well hidden!

 

[vickster]

Wow the planners must have sweated a gut giving you such impressive cycling provision along that stretch of road - if only it wasn't so well hidden!

There's a shared use path there, know that road well depends if you can be arsed wth it. I would personally never use the middle lane at the lights on a bike whatever the traffic. Indeed that junction often gets blocked in the evening rush hour with traffic turning right from the other direction as seen, I'd be using the shared path and join the road later.

Although the moped rider was evidently a nobber

 

[steveindenmark]

The back view was a lot clearer. I think the moped rider knew he could get through the gap and you was not in any danger.

 

[benb]

The back view was a lot clearer. I think the moped rider knew he could get through the gap and you was not in any danger.

BS, he was 20cm away from me!

 

[benb]

There's a shared use path there, know that road well depends if you can be arsed wth it. I would personally never use the middle lane at the lights on a bike whatever the traffic. Indeed that junction often gets blocked in the evening rush hour with traffic turning right from the other direction as seen, I'd be using the shared path and join the road later.

Although the moped rider was evidently a nobber

The shared path is pretty crap (too narrow), and hard to join if you're already on the road before the lights - the pavement before the lights is not shared use.
I sometimes get into the middle lane precisely because traffic turning right often blocks the straight on traffic when the lights change.

 

[vickster]

The path that comes from castle hill/nonsuch, yes it is. If it's rammed, I use the toucan crossing, deal with any brief hold up

That said, I'd be going in the opposite direction in the evening peak

 

[400bhp]

Surely there must be a better route to take than that nightmare?

If you can keep up with the traffic it shouldn't matter which lane are you in.

The scotterist was a nob. Ignore Steve, he hasn't a clue and is a CC Clickbaiter.

 

[hatler]

There is one of the more ridiculous cycle routes I discovered in that area recently, but it takes about three times as long as the road route, despite being about the same distance.