Tales from today's commute....

[ianrauk]

What a lovely mild morning. 18°.. yep you read that right.. 18°. That is early summer morning temperatures. Mid October and still in shorts and short sleeve shorts.

Pretty uneventful commute. Met up with a regular cycle commuter en route so we had a bit of chat.
A good start to the working week.

 

[mjr]

Can anyone help me to find the wording in the highway code that says a cyclist can (or even should) take a lane if they feel it is safest, and that they don't have to use shared use paths? Also anything about all vehicles (including cycles) having equal right to use the roads. Maybe @mjr has this to hand?? I'd like to put it in an envelope and put it on the driver's windscreen before the end of our shift today.

Not having to use facilities is in http://highwaycode.info/rule/61 but it's another rule based on prejudice more than evidence AFAICT so it ain't great: "61. Cycle Routes and Other Facilities. Use cycle routes, advanced stop lines, cycle boxes and toucan crossings unless at the time it is unsafe to do so. Use of these facilities is not compulsory and will depend on your experience and skills, but they can make your journey safer."

I'm not sure there's anything saying about all vehicles (including cycles) having equal right to use the roads. I think it may have been thought too obvious that cyclists, walkers and horse riders may use the road, especially as the code has sections for them. Also, it's often said that cyclists, walkers and horse riders have rights to use the roads, whereas motorists are only permitted there on licence.

I think the should take a lane advice is from DfT's Cyclecraft, which the great @winjim excerpted at https://www.cyclechat.net/posts/4063791 but that's not going to be great in an envelope. You might prefer the THINK! road safety advert originally by TfL:

You may also like http://highwaycode.info/rule/112 "112. The horn. Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence. Never sound your horn aggressively. ..."

I doubt it'll do any good. It sounds like that driver needs at least a theory retest but we don't have them in this country yet

 

[BurningLegs]

Thanks @mjr - I have now taped this to the driver's window:

Hello XX,

After you beeped your horn at me aggressively this morning, it was good to be able to have a chat about it in the car park. Thanks for taking the time to have a quick conversation with me.

I was struck by some of the points you raised – specifically that you felt a cyclist “shouldn’t be in the road” because a shared use path is available, and that I was “slowing you down”.

I have taken the time to share a few points from the highway code (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code) which are relevant to our interaction on XXX Road this morning:

Rule 61
Cycle Routes and Other Facilities. Use cycle routes, advanced stop lines, cycle boxes and toucan crossings unless at the time it is unsafe to do so. Use of these facilities is not compulsory and will depend on your experience and skills, but they can make your journey safer.


Rule 163
Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. You should

· …

· give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car (see Rules 211 to 215).


Rule 112
The horn. Use only while your vehicle is moving and you need to warn other road users of your presence. Never sound your horn aggressively.​

I trust that we can share the road peacefully in the future. I will continue to cycle on the road wherever I feel it is the safest option, and do not expect you to sound your horn at me aggressively as you overtake.

Thank you for passing me safely, you did give me enough space and did not pass with excessive speed so that is really appreciated.

I am more than happy to discuss my cycling in more detail if you would you like – you can find my contact details at the bottom of this note, or my office is in the XXX area.

I doubt anything will come of it (I have a much more senior position in the company than the driver so wouldn't expect them to challenge me but I am genuinely open to a civil discussion). I have clocked the car though so I am almost looking forward to our next interaction on the roads!

 

[rivers]

I left a bit earlier than normal this morning as I had to start teaching at 9am (I normally get in for 9). I'll be leaving at the same time from now on, as there was quite a bit less traffic on the B2B, and I was back up to my normal speeds again.

 

[winjim]

the great @winjim

Steady on now.

I have to say, I've only just come across those THINK! cards and I quite like them. I like the way that for a given situation there are equivalent cards for both cyclists and motorists.

 

[dhd.evans]

Thanks @mjr - I have now taped this to the driver's window:



I doubt anything will come of it (I have a much more senior position in the company than the driver so wouldn't expect them to challenge me but I am genuinely open to a civil discussion). I have clocked the car though so I am almost looking forward to our next interaction on the roads!

Personally i find that kind of behaviour repugnant: "You were slowing me down and were in my way so i beeped at you". I'd be keen to ask them whether they would do the same to horseriders and I bet you they'd give a different account of their behaviour then.

 

[si_c]

First commute back in this morning after a week off for holidays . Pleasant through-dawn commute in, warmer than I had been expecting (long sleeve jersey was a mistake), although the headwind was a disappointment, the return journey should be a little, well, faster.

 

[J1888]

Farkin hell. Half day at work so cycled from town to SW London...holy cow, that is some wind. Absolutely soul destroying. In the door about 3 mins an still not cooled down.

 

[Arjimlad]

Anyone local to me knows that the bends on Perrinpit Road are no place to safely overtake. But there's often someone who knows better... Reported to the Police, uploaded the footage & will see what happens next !

 

[Fonze]

I can honestly say every single ride I go on a car comes within inches of me, maybe just one car sometimes a few , but today as I went down a single lane road an old guy pulled out on my then tried his best to clip me
I'm a chilled type of person so no over reaction as I noticed he must have been in his 80's , but it does give the old ticker a flutter ..

 

[Randombiker9]

The thing is some roads aren't big enough or there's not enough room (e.g too many parked cars) for cars to overtake. If you cycle long enough you get used to close passes and shouldn't have any problems.
My commute to college and back were fine today.

 

[ManiaMuse]

Monster headwind with loads of leaves flying around on the way back, glad I was wearing sunglasses. But wasn't too bad actually, much prefer gusting headwinds to scary crosswinds as all you have to focus on really is staying low and keeping a rhythm rather than trying to hang on to your bike and avoid being blown into the path of cars.

 

[rivers]

I decided against riding home today, and got a lift in with a coworker. It means I have to ride home tomorrow though. Weather looks nice.

 

[lazybloke]

Felt like a fast/easy ride home tonight thanks to the Ophelia tailwind.
I was deluded. Nothing makes my mountain bike fast.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

a tad breezy tonight