Myths and Rebuttals

[Wolf04]

Myth: You should be in the cycle lane
Rebuttal: Like you should only be on the motorway?

Although the downside is that it suggests that cycle lanes are faster than the road when they aren't.

Alternative Rebuttal: You should be on public transport!

 

[dondare]

Myth: You should be in the cycle lane
Rebuttal: Like you should only be on the motorway?

Although the downside is that it suggests that cycle lanes are faster than the road when they aren't.

The correct answer is "You should be in the cycle lane, they're intended for people too scared to cycle on the real road."

 

[hackbike 6]

Whatever.

 

[hackbike 6]

An alternative is;

"I can get slimmer, you will be ugly for the rest of your life"

I dont see where being ugly and slimmer are connected.btw im ugly.

 

[Arch]

I dont see where being ugly and slimmer are connected.btw im ugly.

no, I think it's a twist on a remark made by George Bernard Shaw? to a Lady Something or other. When she said "Mr Shaw, you're drunk!" , he replied, "yes, madam, and you are stupid, but I will be sober in the morning..." or something like that...

Ugly and slimmer aren't connected, it's just that if one is fat, one can do something about it, whereas if one is the sort of person who shouts random nonsense at people, one is probably doomed for good...

I'd rather call someone in the situation thick, I think, than ugly, as i'm not sure I've got much to crow about in the looks department, but I do know I'm fairly bright...

 

[mickle]

Winston Churchill methinks.

 

[Arch]

Winston Churchill methinks.

I wondered as I wrote it. Oh, damn, yes. I'm thinking of:

Lady wotsit: "Mr Shaw, we should have children, if they had my looks and your brains they would be brillant..."

GBS: "But madam, imagine if it were the other way about..."

Churchill it was, for the other quote.

 

[hackbike 6]

I try not to do it as i dont like it myself i guess.normally its a f.o. Or something,im never personal but i do get where ur coming from.i can see what you mean if it was a fat car driver hurling assaults.

 

[marinyork]

So it seems there are only 4 myths:

1. tax
2. cycle lanes
3. flashing lights
4. cycling two abreast

One rebuttal suits all: "wrong". Increase in volume and repeat until you deem the situation to be resolved.

Not really worthy of a sticky is it?

There are a lot more than that. Apart from the Helmet one there are plenty of small ones I think.

1. Contraflow cycle lanes or cycle lanes to the left of a no entry sign. Cyclists are allowed to use these.
2. Blue signs with cycle marked in it means some sort of cycle path whether shared use or whatever. There are quite a few peds and dog walkers that think unless the thing is painted in bright red it's not for cycling on. Many quieter shared use paths just have signs up every few hundred yards to sensibly save money.
3. No motor vehicles road sign. This does not apply to cyclists. Red circle with white inside, no vehicles, this does include bicycles. These may apply in town centers but also extreme urban roads and de facto motorways.
4. Gutter cycling, should probably add something in there in general about how rough the surface is, how detritous will give you punctures etc.
5. Filtering/overtaking to the right. Perfectly legal if sensibly done. Just because drivers get irked about it (usually after having just done it to me or other cars).
6. Bus lane mislabelled tarmac reinforcer messages. A fair few bus lanes exist where they have written in white tarmac Buses Only. These are errors/to save space and quite often mean buses, taxis, bicycles & access but they don't have the space to write them on the tarmac. Signs further up the road confirm you are allowed to cycle in them.
7. Many A roads are bad roads to cycle. This is a myth. In urban sections speeds could be as low as 20 or 30 miles per hour, add to that that many have double or single yellows in operation much of the day and the roads can be physically wider by a very large margin allowing primary or strong secondary to be taken with easy passes by other vehicles.

 

[dodgy]

Myth: "you should use the cycle lane"

rebuttal: The DFT disagree if you're doing 18mph or more - http://www.dft.gov.uk/consultations/archive/2004/ltnwc/annexdcodeofconductnoticefor1688

Dave.

 

[Carwash]

There are a lot more than that. Apart from the Helmet one there are plenty of small ones I think....

I would also add 'tarring with the same brush' to that - namely things like this:

"I saw a cyclist the other day riding on the pavement and jumping a red light on the wrong side of the road with no helmet(!!) and no lights chatting on his mobile with no hands on the handlebars going the wrong way down a one-way street without looking or signalling, entering a box-junction without a clear exit while insulting the Queen (gawdbless'er!), impersonating a policeman, eating rustly sweets in the theatre and plotting to invade Poland...

...so yer ALL a bunch of lawless dangerous ne'er-do-wells who should banned from the roads! It was definitely representative of all cyclists' behaviour and certainly not a one-off."

</clarkson>

etc.

 

[tdr1nka]

Winston Churchill methinks.

Said to Nancy Astor.

The duo also giving us the equally wonderful;

Astor; 'If you were my husband, I'd poison your Tea.'

Churchill; 'If you were my Wife, I'd drink it!'

 

[hackbike 6]

 

[bonj2]

"You should be in the cycle lane!"

"So should you."

"But i'm in a car!"

"So, get out of it and get on a bike you lazy git."

 

[Twenty Inch]

Comment: "But I ride a bike"

Rebuttal: any ideas?

So you're a liar as well as an idiot.