sort of left hooked...

[Arch]

by another cyclist...

Pulled up at the lights, in the ASL box, a metre out from the kerb, wanting to go left. The vast majority of traffic at this junction goes left - straight on is a dead end except for bikes, and right is mainly delivery vans to the shops. Anyway, I'm stood there and this woman on an MTBish bike (knobbly tyres, but didn't look like a Tesco special, looked better than that) pulled up alongside me, on my right. She could have been going straight on, but my spidey senses told me otherwise. She made no attempt to look at me or anything and when the lights went green, sure enough she wanted to go left! So she's swinging out wide to get round me, and her chain's graunching away as she tries to change gear with maximum pressure on the pedals...

So I took advantage of having the lighter bike and kept my speed up and made her wait and fall in behind me Hopefully while looking effortless

Why would you go to the right of someone, to go left? I wasn't indicating as she came up behind, I could have been going straight on, and then I'd have had to jam the brakes on to avoid a crash when we set off. I can only assume she felt the need to get right to the front, and to the right of me was the only space she could see. This being York, there were probably half a dozen or so more bikes behing me, in the ASL filter lane. And I don't think she came from the outside of the cars (overtaking down the right), she came up the filter lane and then to my right.

I wish I'd said something now. Like I wish I'd said something to the woman on Saturday who rode away through a red before it changed and then drifted down a slight incline without pedalling, in the gutter, so slowly I thought she was pulling up (but she wasn't, she was just really, really slow). Once the lights changed, I was past her in seconds. What was the point?

<rant over>

 

[GrahamG]

The joys of cycling in York, I can't say I miss it, just like I don't miss the tourists

 

[Tim Bennet.]

and this woman on an MTBish bike (knobbly tyres, but didn't look like a Tesco special, looked better than that) pulled up alongside me

It was Bonj's Mum out to get you as you have been rather direct in your 'feedback' to her little boy.

She doesn't realise you've only said it because you want to 'see him grow and develop more of his obvious potential'.

Or is that just 'see him go' ?

 

[Maz]

So I took advantage of having the lighter bike and kept my speed up and made her wait and fall in behind me Hopefully while looking effortless

You were clearly the victor in this commuter race.

 

[Arch]

You were clearly the victor in this commuter race.

And I have no doubt I could have kept in front - as it happened I needed to turn off shortly after. I did look very carefully over both shoulders when I did so, as I half expected her to undertake me or something...

Tim, I have been a bit sharp I guess - just when I think he's doing alright, he says something so utterly stupid, I have to bang my head on the desk...

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

he says something so utterly stupid, I have to bang my head on the desk...

Shouldn't you be banging *his* head on a desk then? Much more fun.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

And I have no doubt I could have kept in front -

Are we right to infer a possible endorcement of the recently revealed Vicky Pendleton race training secrets?

 

[fossyant]

Probably a student on a bike !!!

 

[John the Monkey]

So I took advantage of having the lighter bike and kept my speed up and made her wait and fall in behind me Hopefully while looking effortless

Why would you go to the right of someone, to go left?

Guessing, but maybe didn't want to be stuck on the inside of you (made her way to the ASL by going to the right, and then couldn't think how to get over to the left again?)

I wish I'd said something now. Like I wish I'd said something to the woman on Saturday who rode away through a red before it changed and then drifted down a slight incline without pedalling, in the gutter, so slowly I thought she was pulling up (but she wasn't, she was just really, really slow). Once the lights changed, I was past her in seconds. What was the point?

Happens quite a lot on my commute. If you're going to jump the lights, at least get a f*cking move on, is what I've occasionally said. Maybe there's some kind of national record for the fastest 8mph commute that they're all trying for?

 

[John the Monkey]

I really don't think that other useless cyclists on roads wind up other more experienced cyclists out of sheer malevolence. It is just ignorance. For them, I guess, it's get on a bike, pedal, try not to get killed.

I don't think it's malevolent either, but not going through red lights (and what sort of person doesn't know that these apply to bikes as well, ffs) would help with the "not getting killed" side of things. And why go through red to just sit in front of the people you passed at a bare pootling speed, ferchrissakes.

It's a bit like having someone shove past you in a queue at the shops, and then pay for a large item by carefully counting out one and two pence coins, when you have the exact money for your item to hand...

 

[Tynan]

the pootler wastes your time but saves their own time, not stopping for anything saves anyone time

 

[Arch]

the pootler wastes your time but saves their own time, not stopping for anything saves anyone time

But in the case of the really slow lady and the red light, I was really perplexed. I think the thing is, she went so slowly, the one or two seconds she 'saved' by jumping the light (and it was only a couple of seconds) constituted only a tiny, tiny, tiny, proportion of the length of her total journey. It was like leaving five minutes earlier to walk LEJoG - really, it's not worth it!

Crock, I guess the left hooker (oo er!) didn't do it to wind me up, that's true, but it was a daft thing to do - if I HAD been going straight on (and I hadn't thought to myself "hello, do I trust this one?" and been ultra alert), we might well have collided. Still better that she's on a bike I agree, especially if that's her level of road sense...

 

[CotterPin]

But in the case of the really slow lady and the red light, I was really perplexed. I think the thing is, she went so slowly, the one or two seconds she 'saved' by jumping the light (and it was only a couple of seconds) constituted only a tiny, tiny, tiny, proportion of the length of her total journey. It was like leaving five minutes earlier to walk LEJoG - really, it's not worth it!

...

Maybe it's less to do with saving time and more to do with if they stop they will never start again?

I now have an image of all these cyclists grinding to a halt and becoming frozen at the side of the road, never to move again.

 

[Arch]

Maybe it's less to do with saving time and more to do with if they stop they will never start again?

I now have an image of all these cyclists grinding to a halt and becoming frozen at the side of the road, never to move again.

That might have been it, she was soooooooooo slow. I mean barely above stalling speed.

Actually it can't have been. She was stopped, then she started off early (she used the pedestrian signal going red as a guide that the red was about to change). Seems even more pointless - she wasn't even saving momentum (of which she had so little anyway!)