Stuck in no man's land waiting to turn right

[mjr]

NEVER allow a motorist to flash you

Or rather, disregard it as ambiguous and make your own decision.

by association [or else there is no point in flashing] 'I have seen you'

It can mean "I've hit the wrong control"!

 

[User16625]

Every junction is a little different, but it does strengthen your position if you can force a queue of vehicles to build up behind you. One cyclist standng in the middle of the road, ...nobody cares. One cyclist standing with a lengthy queue of motor traffic behind does attract the attention of drivers who could assist your progress!
Try to think of it as not your fault that you are holding up "the traffic", it's the fault of those who approved the design of the junction.
Of course your safety is paramount, so just do what you feel is safest for you.

There is something fundamentally wrong here.

 

[kiriyama]

There is a similar junction on my commute home. Not as fast traffic by the sound of it. But just as unfriendly! Just takes a bit of confidence and a lot of hope!

 

[outlash]

There i was in heavy traffic on the main road from Blackburn to Preston waiting to turn right . I'd decided to chance it and move into the centre of the road. Vehicles were passing me from behind at 50mph on my left and approaching me at the same speed. I must've been there a nervous minute or so and not one approaching git slowed down to let me reach safety. To make matters worse, vehicles were waiting to turn onto the road i was on, without indicating to let me know if they were turning left or turning right. That's it. In future i'll pull into the kerb,dismount and walk across the road before i reach the junction,and even then i'll have to run. If i'd been waiting in a safe metal box they'd have flashed me to let me go but they don't give a toss for someone on a bike who could be hit and dies.
Would you have taken the chance and sat there with your life in their hands. Or would you have dismounted and walked across the busy road?

OK, so it's a busy road with heavy traffic. Probably not the best route to ride unless have to ride it. But...

No crossing at all. I'm not after an alternative route, i just fancied climbing Church Lane(It's what i call a 4 mph hill as that's as fast as i can climb it), something i haven't done for a few years. The next time i fancy it i'll approach it from the other direction so that i can just turn left.

If it was me, I wouldn't bother. It's not an essential road to ride. There's a stretch of the A14 near here that runs through a valley and some decent (for round here) climbs either side, but there's only 3 proper crossings over the A14. Therefore, I don't ride the other roads. I don't see the point of risking your life just because you 'fancy' riding a particular road.

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I don't see the point of risking your life just because you 'fancy' riding a particular road.

Maybe the OP could fancy riding this road at 5am on a Sunday morning?
Much safer!

 

[Accy cyclist]

Maybe the OP could fancy riding this road at 5am on a Sunday morning?
Much safer!

No way! With a wide open road and no other traffic to slow them down at that time, they'll be doing 70 to 80 mph!

 

[Dave7]

NEVER allow a motorist to flash you. Flashing headlights means only one thing: "I'm coming on." Unfortunately it is so widely misused as an invitation to proceed that many divers won't move unless somebody flashes them, meaning you can sometimes waste seconds sitting like an idiot waiting for someone to make their mind up.

Yes.........I do realise that. I should have added that he slowed right down so I could go.