arallsopp
Post of The Year 2009 winner
- Location
- Bromley, Kent
Morning!
Am facing a bit of a quandary here, so thought I'd ask your advice. I have a VERY good friend who is rediscovering fitness and considering a daily rush hour cycle-commute into Greenwich from Bromley.
In preparation, we've ridden the route together one evening a week for the last fortnight. Although a few summers back he was good for 60 odd (leisurely) miles in a day, these are the first rides he's really done in the last year. His weight and fitness are against him, but he's got more than enough determination to make it work.
So far, so good. The problems are:
All in, this tells me I'm about to lose a good friend. Given the speed at which he gets himself into trouble on local traffic free routes (assume 3 bikes trying to use same road) I worry he may well be killed if he tries the commute in rush hour.
I'm on my absolute best behaviour when riding with him, and have pointed out a few of these concerns. I don't want to discourage him from riding, and know that his chances are better than a lot of 'cyclists' I see out there each day (ninjas, pavement hoppers, traffic salmon, etc) but he seriously needs to understand the risks he's taking (and the impression he's leaving) each time he goes out.
Any thoughts?
Ps. He'll be on the A21, so it can only be a while before he makes it onto youtube via Mikeycam.
Am facing a bit of a quandary here, so thought I'd ask your advice. I have a VERY good friend who is rediscovering fitness and considering a daily rush hour cycle-commute into Greenwich from Bromley.
In preparation, we've ridden the route together one evening a week for the last fortnight. Although a few summers back he was good for 60 odd (leisurely) miles in a day, these are the first rides he's really done in the last year. His weight and fitness are against him, but he's got more than enough determination to make it work.
So far, so good. The problems are:
- His bicycle control skills are not great. Imagine arriving too fast at every junction, braking too late, pulling up (over the line) between two shades of wrong gear, then pulling away to loud complaints from the drive train.
- His road positioning / awareness is awful. Generally within 2 ft of the gutter, filtering up inside of cars turning left, buses, trucks, irrespective of whether lights are red/amber/green etc... On each ride he's managed to claim a toot / beep / curse from at least one other road user (sometimes me) which he generally considers to be their fault. He'll pop up on your inside when you're a metre out, or filter through when you've decided its not safe and hung back, or ride in front of you then swerve, wobble, decelerate rapidly without rhyme or reason. I can't ride behind him without feeling unsafe, and if I ride ahead, I'm very much aware of the toots sounding behind me every few miles. I don't think I've ever seen him indicate, or allow his road position to give any guidance as to which way he's going.
- He RLJs. Every time. Pedestrian crossing. Contraflow traffic. Roadworks.. you name it. If I'm stopped at the lights, with another cyclist alongside, he'll think nothing of passing between me and the kerb, or between the two bikes at speed. 80cm gap will invite this.
All in, this tells me I'm about to lose a good friend. Given the speed at which he gets himself into trouble on local traffic free routes (assume 3 bikes trying to use same road) I worry he may well be killed if he tries the commute in rush hour.
I'm on my absolute best behaviour when riding with him, and have pointed out a few of these concerns. I don't want to discourage him from riding, and know that his chances are better than a lot of 'cyclists' I see out there each day (ninjas, pavement hoppers, traffic salmon, etc) but he seriously needs to understand the risks he's taking (and the impression he's leaving) each time he goes out.
Any thoughts?
Ps. He'll be on the A21, so it can only be a while before he makes it onto youtube via Mikeycam.