Not Perfect

[sidevalve]

OK, to answer. I did not in any way defend stupid dangerous driving. When I said we need to clean our act up as well it meant just that, cyclists as well as car drivers sometimes ride badly and sometimes make mistakes.
If you are supposed to be able to stop in the distance you can SEE to be clear [yes I agree] you must also have lights after dark to the rear.
Actually I do ride a motorcycle and the problems are much the same.
Bongman clarifies the point on pavements very well, in that it may be pemissable in some circumstances but is still illegal. My only point here is that it should be done with care.A lot don't.
Yes there are people without car insurance or lights but I wasn't talking about criminals.
I am not on a horse , overly high or otherwise,what I am trying to get across is simply as in the title cyclists are not perfect and as a minority group we need to be "better than them".
As a motorcyclist I [and maybe others here] have seen the result of being a minority, compulsory helmets, leg protectors [just missed but still out there],horse power limits etc. DON'T give the 'em any ammo to throw back in our faces.
PS, if here isn't the place for a good rant then where is ?

 

[HovR]

You're preaching to the choir. We don't like this stuff as much as you, as it gives cyclists a bad name.

Take a chance to actually read through the threads in this forum, and I guarantee you will find multiple threads from regular users ranting about the exact things you have stated (with the exception of not riding doubled up in group rides, which is both legal and safer.)

Please don't tar all cyclists with the same brush.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

 

[gbb]

Sadly I must say that the attitude of many cyclists seems to me to be one of "I'm better than you" and "it's always the other blokes fault". What I'm about to say will upset a lot of people and if I get thrown off the forum, well maybe the truth hurts.
First cyclists are NOT all perfect and car drivers always in the wrong. Second I suspect no more than 50% of cyclists have insurance so guess what if a car brakes hard [say for a child] and gets rammed by mr fixi with no brakes, who can easily do £200-300 damage or more who payes ?
No, the highway code is not law and you don't have to use cycleways BUT you do NOT have the right to use the pavement. You are classed as a vehicle and must obay traffic signals, now I have no problem with hopping off the bike and WALKING with the pedestrians but to simply dive off the road and peddle across as one dingbat did because he "didn't have time" or "didn't want to break his stride" nearly knocking my wife [who is disabled] over in the process, is just not on. Had I been closer I'm afraid he WOULD have stopped because I'd have punched him off his bike.
Lights. Sorry but the number of bikes with no form of lighting at all is amazing. One guy is lucky I missed him on a dark country lane with no street lighting, no lights on his bike [not even a reflector] wearing cammo gear ! No this doesn't affect pedestrians, guess what, they're on the PAVEMENT ! It's ok saying "it's the responsibility of the overtaker" but 1- if you'd rode into the back of a blacked out skip who's fault would that be ? and 2- we are big boys and girls, take some resposibility for your OWN safety.
Signals, ha, who needs 'em. Not most cyclists obviously. I followed one old boy in Lincoln once and his signals were brilliant, you knew EXACTLY what he was going to do but many highway hero's just don't bother.
Riding in a bunch and thus blocking a lane, why, ride in single file, is it SO hard ?
If I were to overtake a group of bikes then slow down to ten mph and delay them I'm quite sure I'd get a load of verbal abuse and gestures, so why is it not ok the other way aroud ?
The end is this, two wrongs will never make a right. Sure you can film the big bad car driver making a mistake BUT are you prepared to be filmed next time you just bob onto the pavement " only for a few yards, honest " or nip past a red light , or will you rely on the fact that with no registration it's easy to "get away with it " ?
This is not a perfect world, driving standards are poor. When I ride or drive I TRY to see the other guys point of view [sometimes I even manage it]. yes there are numptys out there and some who just shouldn't be on the road at all, but it isn't confined to one group only.
I DON'T defend stupid drivers but perhaps we need to clean up our own act AS WELL.
Sorry and no offence intended to anyone but that's how it seems to me.

No offence taken sidevalve, but i suspect your mistake here is you're telling the wrong people. Most people here are commited cyclists, enthusiasts, serious commuters, racers etc etc...most of us here already know what you're talking about, we all see it, we all know it...very occasionally some of us may even break the rules ourselves.
Most of the people you're talking about above (i suspect) are people who don't give a fcuk. 99% of them probably dont even know CC exists, if they did, they probably wouldnt give a monkeys. Most people in here (CC) DO give a fcuk. We're not perfect, but i don't really think we're the people you're talking about.

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

Wow - in the immortal words of Harry Hill "theres only one way to sort this" and this looks like way just happened.

Personally though, I agree with some of the points as most of the responders and other cc members do.
Yes, we should lead by example and be good cyclists and not LCL's as I was referred - allegedly in jest- to as the other day "Lycra Clad Louts" - but we do make Mistakes, are at times unable to properly signal but that's ( in my case) where the road conditions or proximity of vehicles mean that taking one hand off th bars would make us too unstable.
Fortunately most of us members are of the SME mind.
The only advice I would give is, don't rant AT us, rant WITH us.
Anyhow, that just my opinions.
Tony
Tony

 

[lulubel]

I agree with most of your points, and I'm sure pretty much everyone else here does to. The problem is a relatively small number of idiots giving all cyclists a bad name. It's the same with drivers. They're not all idiots, not even the ones driving white vans.

Riding in a bunch and thus blocking a lane, why, ride in single file, is it SO hard ?

This point, I would argue with, however. I was chatting with a local policeman a while back (the police here generally have a lot of respect for and understanding of the needs of cyclists) and he pointed out that it's safer to ride 2 abreast if you can because drivers have to treat you like another car and perform a proper overtake, rather than seeing you as an obstruction that they can just skirt round.

I've actually noticed this myself when I'm in the car. It's frustrating to get behind people cycling 2 abreast because you do have to wait for a safe place to overtake. Yes, there are a few drivers who will still go screaming past on a blind bend, but there are a few who will do that if you're driving a car too. There are a lot more people, and most of them are otherwise fairly decent drivers, who will think nothing of overtaking a single cyclist when they can't see if anything's coming the other way.