Salmon cyclists

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downfader

extimus uero philosophus
Location
'ampsheeeer



Bit of a bug bear of mine lately. In the video you can see (although probably not hear) one of the guys walking over the bridge turn around and agree with me about how silly it is. It forces other riders out in a game of chicken. As the weather gets warmer all the fair weather riders like this seem to come out of hibernation.

Makes me wonder what can be done to deter such riders?
 

snorri

Legendary Member
I wouldn't be swinging out to pass them left to left, that seems a bit risky.
Seeing the thread title I was expecting to see cyclists stopping to look over the parapet for salmon in the river below.:rolleyes:
 
OP
OP
downfader

downfader

extimus uero philosophus
Location
'ampsheeeer
Those cables in the frame are really annoying.
I'm limited as to where I can mount the camera. It can only fit under the bars at an angle

I would have stopped right next to the kerb, and let the 'salmon' veer into motor traffic to get around me. If he can't be bothered riding in the correct direction, let him bear the consequences.

I did that before and the guy mounted the pavement and rode at the pedestrians. :angry: I feel like clothes-lining some of them.
 

J1888

Über Member
Never seen that kinda thing before - sheer lunacy and needs a talking to by the police
 

theclaud

Openly Marxist
Location
Swansea
I'm limited as to where I can mount the camera. It can only fit under the bars at an angle

I did that before and the guy mounted the pavement and rode at the pedestrians. :angry: I feel like clothes-lining some of them.

I understand that - it's just very annoying to watch, and this is compounded by the video being a bit of a non-event. Yes, it's annoying, the riding upstream thing, and should certainly be discouraged, but not significantly more dangerous than a pedestrian walking in the same position. There's a spot on my way to work where it occurs frequently enough to be noticeable. There was a slightly xenophobic hoo-hah in the local press about pavement riding by foreign students, which ignored the fact that from a particular student/residential area to the university the (very wide) pavement in question was pretty much the only option for a timid rider not willing to cross a busy dual carriageway twice within the space of less than half a mile. Or indeed a rider who wasn't sure about where s/he was allowed to ride. I imagine that after the pavement-riding crackdown this kind of rider simply didn't know where s/he was supposed to be, and being close to the pavement but not on it seemed to be simply where they were expected to be. It's not, in my view, significantly more barmy that many local authority, media or public perceptions of the 'correct' place for cyclists to ride.
 
OP
OP
downfader

downfader

extimus uero philosophus
Location
'ampsheeeer
I understand that - it's just very annoying to watch, and this is compounded by the video being a bit of a non-event. Yes, it's annoying, the riding upstream thing, and should certainly be discouraged, but not significantly more dangerous than a pedestrian walking in the same position. There's a spot on my way to work where it occurs frequently enough to be noticeable. There was a slightly xenophobic hoo-hah in the local press about pavement riding by foreign students, which ignored the fact that from a particular student/residential area to the university the (very wide) pavement in question was pretty much the only option for a timid rider not willing to cross a busy dual carriageway twice within the space of less than half a mile. Or indeed a rider who wasn't sure about where s/he was allowed to ride. I imagine that after the pavement-riding crackdown this kind of rider simply didn't know where s/he was supposed to be, and being close to the pavement but not on it seemed to be simply where they were expected to be. It's not, in my view, significantly more barmy that many local authority, media or public perceptions of the 'correct' place for cyclists to ride.

He'd just crossed over from the cycle lane on the other side. So I am pretty sure he knew where he was legally entitled to ride. Its a little more than annoying during peak times when the motor traffic is built up and there is no where to go. You end upstopping and getting a mouthful from them.
 

clf

Senior Member
Saw my first on of these today, in Trafford Park (enormous industrial estate for the non mancs) of all places, lorries everywhere, not one of them expecting a cyclist going in that direction on that side of the road.
 

Dommo

Veteran
Location
Greenwich
I've never actually seen a cyclist do that in my years riding in London. I see plenty of contraflow joggers who think it's clever to play chicken with me though...
 

w00hoo_kent

One of the 64K
I've never actually seen a cyclist do that in my years riding in London. I see plenty of contraflow joggers who think it's clever to play chicken with me though...
Had a guy doing it the wrong way round the Greenwich one way system on a BSO when I popped out for lunch. Not as common as other law flouting, but do see it.

The one in the video is in a bike lane so only inconveniencing other bicycles, out in the lanes with the motor traffic they end up head on to oncoming traffic not expecting a bicycle coming towards them at 10+ mph and then who knows where the car goes next in their panic?

I had a coming together with a couple of guys doing it on singlespeeds near Aldwych 5+ years ago in the car. Busy London traffic and they are filtering against it without a care in the world and quite pissed off that anyone should suggest what they were doing (weaving in and out of multiple lanes of traffic coming at them head on) was anything but perfectly acceptable.

It can be very dangerous and only exists to save small bits of time, exactly what we happily whinge at other road users for doing when they endanger us.

Also, the wiggly cable had me accessing my inner cat there...
 

buggi

Bird Saviour
Location
Solihull
Hang on a minute, it's not a contraflow is it? And its a cycle lane, not a cycle path So therefore that's illegal. I would stop them dead in their tracks and point it out or complain to the police is putting other cyclists in danger and they need to start doing spot checks
 
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