OM freaking G
- Thread starter mickle
- Start date
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fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
The sun's out. Cheer up !
When I started in London ~ 1972/3 there were very few cycling commuters. The LCC was not formed until 5 years later. Then cars were the problem. Now I find other strava type cyclists at least as troublesome. However the fact I am still comparatively fit at 65 is probably down to the 20 miles a day I started doing forty years ago. This year I'm hoping to Brompton to the Med. Life just gets better ...
Maybe there is hope for Liverpool yet or move down here?
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GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
Drivers drive on auto-pilot the vast majority of the time under the 'illusion of attention'. And it all works fine so long as nothing unexpected happens.
As a cyclist you are the unexpected.
As a cyclist you are the unexpected.
glenn forger
Guest
Sorry if OT, you know the recent load of old trousers excuses drivers have come out with after hitting a cyclist?
"I sneezed/there was a wasp/spider/sunshine/distracting lorry/kids were mucking about/I had a fit!"
This one's a doozy:
http://road.cc/content/news/110772-california-driver-blames-new-car-smell’-crash-killed-cyclist
"I sneezed/there was a wasp/spider/sunshine/distracting lorry/kids were mucking about/I had a fit!"
This one's a doozy:
http://road.cc/content/news/110772-california-driver-blames-new-car-smell’-crash-killed-cyclist
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
Thanks. V interesting.
The authors of The Invisible Gorilla would suggest than many more aren't concentrating to start with, let alone lose it, whilst more still lose concentration without being aware they've done so.
We tend to concentrate on the expected to the extent we may look and yet still not see the unexpected.
Hip Priest
Veteran
The drivers I encounter on my ride to work are nowhere near as annoying as the people I have to spend time with when I arrive.
classic33
Leg End Member
GONE AGAIN!
Hitchington
Lovely stuff
- Location
- That London
I have. Actually he was driving a BMX X5 so he fully deserved it. The git.
jonny jeez
Legendary Member
- Location
- Chislehurst, Kent, UK
Sorry Mickle...I'm gonna put my hand up and tell you that I'm one of those that you'll hate...or as someone else put it ...an obvious troll...or something like that. Getting on for 7 years with a 40 mile commute right through the centre of London and the only...ONLY... time I ever came close to a bust up, was partially my fault.
Sorry, I know this doesn't help.
What will help less is my advice, you will most likely ignore it as its easier to just get angry and continue to get more angry.
but since you asked...here goes....
People make mistakes, they do daft...often incredibly stupid...things. But I choose to believe that none of them do so to deliberately try and harm me. Like me, they are human and like me they are prone to stuff things up, like me they also dont like being pulled up for their mistakes and often cover this up with aggression and more daft mistakes... and like me they just want to get to work without bother. My advice is to use the most valuable and effective tool in your tool-kit for riding in town.
Stay calm.
I know, you are probably screaming reading this, its patronising right?...insulting, like I'm telling you your some sort of neurotic nutter. But trust me, when you typed this thread, you weren't calm, when others replied to fuel your anger, you likely got a little worse and the next time you get on a bike you'll carry all that with you and get EVEN more "un-calm". Every thing that happens will anger you, frustrate you and make you want to scream...even the good stuff
Then, before you know it, you'll be shopping for an Air Zound.
...sigh.
let it go, stay calm, rise above it all and use your right thumb as much as you possibly can.
Ducks
PS, this reply is more for those reading the thread than for you, TBH
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
sound advice. difficult to implement when you are sprawled in the road or on the verge/pavement I'm sure you'll agree.
I, for one, don't give a stuff about others' intent, or their tendency to make mere mistakes that might kill or maim me or the people I care about. I care about outcomes. Neither nor Mickle should have to deploy spidey-senses or other super-powers, or a transcendant zen-like calm just so we can get to work unharmed.
Feel free to scream.
Nigeyy
Legendary Member
- Location
- Massachusetts, USA
This makes sense -it takes at least 2 for a bust up. The only time I think I ever came close to one myself was after a driver pulling a caterpillar bulldozer almost killed me with an incredibly reckless move. I confronted him afterwards -not something I'd recommend btw -but based on his lack of care for my life, I was a tad on the enraged side. Still, it was my choice to do this, and again, not something all said and done that was -or was going to be -productive nor safe, especially based on the language I used.
I don't mind admitting I've had a couple of incidents in 30-40 years where if I had caught a driver... well, I'm glad I didn't because it probably wouldn't have worked out for me. The point is that we usually all have a choice to confront or not and hence get into altercations. Overwhelmingly, I can say I've chosen to not confront; the inconvenience, the remote possibility of changing someone's behaviour, the potential danger involved, etc just doesn't make it worth it (let alone if I'm fast enough to catch them!).
However, and obviously from above, I have had drivers doing dangerous stuff to me, and I think that's where the OP is coming from. I also think that if you are a good rider, you probably avoid all this stuff almost everyday -maybe to the point where you are immune and don't even classify it as a dangerous move or a "run in" after a while. I guess it's how you define what a "run in" is, or what you consider to be dangerous and inconsiderate driving. Maybe many of us have just been conditioned to expect bad driving
I don't mind admitting I've had a couple of incidents in 30-40 years where if I had caught a driver... well, I'm glad I didn't because it probably wouldn't have worked out for me. The point is that we usually all have a choice to confront or not and hence get into altercations. Overwhelmingly, I can say I've chosen to not confront; the inconvenience, the remote possibility of changing someone's behaviour, the potential danger involved, etc just doesn't make it worth it (let alone if I'm fast enough to catch them!).
However, and obviously from above, I have had drivers doing dangerous stuff to me, and I think that's where the OP is coming from. I also think that if you are a good rider, you probably avoid all this stuff almost everyday -maybe to the point where you are immune and don't even classify it as a dangerous move or a "run in" after a while. I guess it's how you define what a "run in" is, or what you consider to be dangerous and inconsiderate driving. Maybe many of us have just been conditioned to expect bad driving
glenn forger
Guest
sound advice. difficult to implement when you are sprawled in the road or on the verge/pavement I'm sure you'll agree.
I, for one, don't give a stuff about others' intent, or their tendency to make mere mistakes that might kill or maim me or the people I care about. I care about outcomes. Neither nor Mickle should have to deploy spidey-senses or other super-powers, or a transcendant zen-like calm just so we can get to work unharmed.
i
Feel free to scream.
I'm reasonably confident a lot of close passes are because the driver's never ridden a bike and has never been taught how to overtake a cyclist.
I'm also pretty sure a large number are quite deliberate punishment passes, but you're right, the outcome's the same either way.
Yes, but happily this is only happens, at most, with a tiny, tiny percentage of bad encounters with lunatic dodo drivers. Your last time didn't even involve one (ouch!)
The issue here is how to deal with the 99.999% who cross you but don't actually collide with you.
