The biggest dangers on the urban commute

[mjr]

Motorists on the cycleways, either as a spot of casual pavement driving to get around another motorist waiting to turn right, or incompetent parking.

Motorists failing to anticipate I'm about to make a turn that is forbidden for motorists is occasionally problematic/hazardous, too.

 

[palinurus]

My commute is between two towns. The urban part of the commute mostly isn't bad, although at one end this involves negotiating a roundabout with a dual-carriageway running through it which means there's a small amount of very bad conditions.

The inter-urban bit is pretty poor in parts.

1. Large urban roundabouts / gyratories without traffic signals or infrastructure for cyclists.

2. 40+mph limit semi-rural single-carriageway B-roads or main unclassified roads without streetlighting or cycling infrastructure (the latter being most of them)

Accept 2 is stretching the urban bit though.

2. Daffidils in White Audis

 

[bonker]

In no particular order:

• Impatient drivers
• Distracted pedestrians
• Poorly designed crossings between bike paths and motor vehicle roads
• Poor road surface

Poor road surface, that's one I'm so used to I forgot to mention it.

 

[Rooster1]

Cheeses.

 

[Bazzer]

Both urban and rural roads; drivers not indicating and considering they have priority over any other road user, whatever the road signs or markings say.
Where they are around, pedestrians looking at 'phones or relying on hearing to cross a road, when they are seemingly not visually impaired.

 

[Welsh wheels]

Close passes, drivers not looking probably at junctions and potholes.

 

[boydj]

School run mums.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Aliens

 

[Supersuperleeds]

Me.

 

[swansonj]

Me.

Damn. I hoped I could be the first to say that. I have had more offs through my own stupidity, misjudgment, or inattention than from motorists, pedestrians, and road quality put together.

 

[Drago]

Yokels with pitchforks.

 

[Slick]

For me it's trying to turn right on a dual carriageway. It's around 6am, so usually quiet but you have to be prepared to claim the lane early when it's busy. There's also another roundabout where drivers are either joining or leaving the M8, and for some reason they think it's okay to run at motorway speeds way before they actually get there. On the way home, I try and avoid the first roundabout I mentioned which does mean a 400 yard stretch on the pavement. Rejoining the carriageway takes a bit of leap of faith as the drivers can see you joining from a fair distance away, and there are a few want to punish pass you for daring to get back on the road before they got passed. I have often felt, if anything was ever to go wrong, it would be here.

 

[mustang1]

Just people crossing the road. I generally don't have a problem with traffic. Get the occasional cyclist cycling the wrong way down a narrow cycle path.

 

[Brandane]

"Urban" Ayrshire:
Wind, rain, seagulls, discarded pizzas, seagulls fighting over discarded pizzas, broken Buckfast bottles, dogs on extended leads, dog sh!te, crumbling road surfaces, slates blowing off roofs, drivers being taken by surprise at the sight of a cyclist, pedestrians crossing roads without looking, waves breaking over the prom, rocks being deposited by said breakers, tourists, midges in "summer"........

 

[ozboz]

"Urban" Ayrshire:
Wind, rain, seagulls, discarded pizzas, seagulls fighting over discarded pizzas, broken Buckfast bottles, dogs on extended leads, dog sh!te, crumbling road surfaces, slates blowing off roofs, drivers being taken by surprise at the sight of a cyclist, pedestrians crossing roads without looking, waves breaking over the prom, rocks being deposited by said breakers, tourists, midges in "summer"........

Wow !!
You got it easy up there then !