Pinch points

[ianrauk]

Except I've watched you riding in the same position.

It's the drivers' fault for pushing through here, not yours, not veloevol's, that is all. Confidence and practice are not going to help the vast majority of people who simply choose not to cycle when presented with these sorts of road design.

May be so, but only if no traffic.
If there is traffic then it's a different matter.

 

[bianchi1]

I have an amount of sympathy for drivers when faced with situations such as this (the pinch point by me)

I live down the road on the right after the pinch point so generally indicate and ride in the middle of the road.

The white lines do seem to filter traffic toward cyclists, and for that matter the pavement, it's a busy road with a lot going on (junctions, pedestrians, brow of a hill and on a sweeping bend).

The main problem I have is motorists not being aggressive, but not noticing that the pinch point exists until they are committed to the overtake.

It's a poor road design.

 

[BentMikey]

May be so, but only if no traffic.
If there is traffic then it's a different matter.

This was with following traffic.

 

[GrasB]

But cyclists must be more forceful with their riding and positioning in these situations.

^^ This I completely agree with. It's easy to forget but when you take primary due to problem with the road ahead. If you hear a car horn you are in the right road position.

 

[ianrauk]

This was with following traffic.

If it was needed I would have gone into primary.
Where was this anyway?

 

[HLaB]

I think my scariest pinch point encounter was going down Broughton St (here IIRC); the driver was coming through regardless of my position. I wasn't expecting it, which is probably why it seemed so bad , as I was usually faster than cars down there and its easy to hold a primary. I rapidly became aware however, when despite another car being only two car lengths in front of me (stopped at the lights), the car behind (no longer an accurate description) bonnet went under my bars (it was a low profile sports car).

OT, I was in Flanders at the weekend and witnessed the other extreme, cyclist were darting out in front of/ undertaking; was that because they are too protected by law 'strict liability' or just folk wrapped up in the 'sportive atmosphere' or just thats the culture
Having said that they did seem to have their fair share of cycle haters; you get get the usual dodgy skim by's on a wide road and on the Paterberg I think, a steep cobbled climb on a narrow road, a WVM decided to push through 16,000 cyclist (not all would be there at that time ) I had my elbow clipped forcing me off but fortunately it was slow enough that I could unclip; there were a few angry reponses at him for that (insert Dutch/Belgium/French/German swearword)

 

[BentMikey]

FWIW I'm not hating on you, I think you're a very good rider. Taking primary by the logic of your response to veloevol was definitely required when I saw you riding in secondary. I'd like to think I'd have taken primary in both your and veloevol's situations, but I also realise that I don't always do it either.

I'm simply pointing out that for even the most assertive of riders it's not always easy to take primary through pinch points. Sometimes we don't do it, for many possible reasons. It's not our fault if a driver makes an error and tries to overtake us there, despite the obvious lack of common sense and judgement on the driver's part for choosing that option, and despite the highway code expressly advising against overtakes at road narrowings.

 

[ianrauk]

I'm not looking at it as you hating on me Mikey. I know you well enough don't I?
If you saw me riding in secondary through a pinch point then imo it was safe to do so, simple as that.

And as I touched on in my post above. You need to learn confidence on the road in these situations. Of course It's hard not to be allowed to be bullied when you have a ton and a half of metal revving up your arse.

 

[BentMikey]

Were you riding to best practice, you'd have been in primary when I saw you, the situation wasn't significantly different to veloevol's video. You were just lucky to have one of the many decent drivers behind you, just as veloevol was unlucky to encounter a shitty driver in the video linked.

 

[GrasB]

Were you riding to best practice, you'd have been in primary when I saw you, the situation wasn't significantly different to veloevol's video. You were just lucky to have one of the many decent drivers behind you, just as veloevol was unlucky to encounter a s***ty driver in the video linked.

It's always good to keep primary where it's needed if there's traffic. Even if a vehicle isn't behind you it helps you as you get used to being there Also, I often find that if a driver sees you in the middle of the road a long way off & then you move to secondary before coming up behind you it gives them the idea that you're doing it for a reason not to p*** them off.

 

[veloevol]

Fair enough.
But cyclists must be more forceful with their riding and positioning in these situations.
If I was that cyclist in that video I would have made my intentions known and moved out far earlier.
At the end of the day some car drivers are bullies, they will always try to force a pass, but you can make it harder for them to do so.
Ok it's not easy to do, sometimes you do need balls of steel and a lot of confidence. But confidence comes with practice and with practice comes confidence.

I admit I could have attacked that pinch point with better positioning but keep in mind it is uphill.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

It's always good to keep primary where it's needed if there's traffic. Even if a vehicle isn't behind you it helps you as you get used to being there Also, I often find that if a driver sees you in the middle of the road a long way off & then you move to secondary before coming up behind you it gives them the idea that you're doing it for a reason not to p*** them off.

If I've been in primary I'll wave the driver past, if it looks safe to do, once I've returned to secondary.

 

[Kies]

I make a point of saying thanks when a vehicle waits for me to go through the pinch point before overtaking me.
The vehicles behind him also see my gesture of thanks