Tosspots on my Travels

[Cyclopathic]

What part of Leicester do we have avoid?

All of it. Nothing to do with the sniper mind you.

 

[akb]

Too the tosspot on the commute this morning; give way to your right on a RAB, and have a look to see if there is anything coming. You are lucky that I was on the MTB with disc brakes, otherwise you would have had a nice big dent in the side of your prized Saxo VTR and a hefty bill for the repair to my front wheel. Im pretty sure the rain makes people drive like nobs.

 

[G2EWS]

Some horror stories there.

I have to report that so far all is well with my new found hobby of commuting and riding my bike at weekends. But I await the arrival of some of these situations!

Regards

Chris

 

[hoski]

The taxi driver that pulled out on me without looking/seeing and when I had a word with him at the traffic lights (informing him what had happened and (v. politely for me) asking him to be careful in future) insisted that "he can see everything". Tit.

 

[thefollen]

Anyone that ruins an otherwise speedy Strava segment

Not a tosspot per se, more dozy; but a lady walked straight out in front of me on a crossing yesterday morning. I was 100% on a green- she didn't even bother looking to her right before marching across. Cue 1 x emergency stop from me (ended up about 1ft from her)- she was lucky I was on the hybrid with its v good braking. Think the fright she received may persuade her to look next time...

 

[Browser]

Reading this makes me really glad most of my commute is on quiet(ish) A roads.

 

[gambatte]

reading this reminds me to refill the airzond!

 

[Cyclopathic]

reading this reminds me to refill the airzond!

Roughly how long does a full airzound last. Obviously it depends on how often you use it but say for instance how long a continual blast could you get from it? Roughly? Ish?

 

[kedab]

reading this makes me smile - they are all potentially dangerous if not downright life threatening incidents and yet it's something that happens every day, which is not a good advert for pedestrians or car drivers, or the odd cyclist. i'll add to it:

to all of the cycle commuters who blat down the bridge on hills road, cambridge...get on your brakes and stop at the frikin red lights you nearly all blow through at the bottom without a second thought - one of you is going to end up very dead, very soon and it will be your own fault. instead, try achieving a decent speed up the slope, that would be far more impressive.

 

[gavintc]

I have learnt that making the masturbatory hand signal to builder's white van who cuts me up is not such a good idea when the van pulls over an 2 burly builders get out in a threatening manner. Thank goodness for heavy traffic to put some distance between us.

 

[jdtate101]

I hate the people creeping over the white line at T junctions when you pass. They have seen you but can't wait behind the line, gives me heart palpitations thinking they are about to pull out.

People doing that on Roundabouts is my personal pet hate. Even if there's no traffic they NEED to slot in 3inch from my back wheel. Scares the shoot out of me every time. Some people are such asshats.

 

[The Horse's Mouth]

I must admit at the moment its other cyclists that are winding me up. Yesterday Crown & Dolphin lights on CS3. Second in queue waiting for lights. Man who i just passed over takes and then tries to go across road even though they are against him. Beeped by van driver and nearly gets killed.

Once light goes green i soon catch him up. Asked if he had a death wish. He laughs. Call him a C you next Tuesday etc.

I'm sure that people like him will only learn their lesson when they are in a wheelchair.

 

[gambatte]

Yep, other cyclists are a wind up. Especially when you're in the car with none cyclists, discussing the pros and cons of cyclists, drivers, traffic infrastructure etc.
Last weekend, going downhill past Sheffield childrens hospital. I'm stopped at a red. Tandem pulls up alongside in the cycle lane. The 2 roadies sail straight past and through. Even in the cage, driving steadily in city centre traffic I was still with them about a mile further on, going past Decathlon.
But
Another wind up, drivers who slow down when they see you. They then decide to overtake, too close, with a 5mph speed differential, even though there's oncoming traffic. Jeebus, wait 10 secs and overtake faster and wider!

 

[thnurg]

The idiot pedestrian on his mobile phone who has not heard any cars and so just steps out. Where's David Prowse when you need him. My response - "Stop, look and listen, mate."

 

[Matthew_T]

• Driver overtaking whilst overtaking parked cars, meets car on other side of road, immediately brakes. I stop myself from hitting his rear bumper by using my hands on his car. Too. Close.
• Driver overtakes on a right hand blind bend, meets car on other side of road, nips back in. I end up bracing myself for impact on the kerb. Too. Damn. Close.
• The left hook. Driver overtakes me then immediately brakes and turns left across me into parking space. Once stopped i remonstrate with him, he advises me that 'according to the highway code, cyclists must obey car users'. How stupid of me! I had forgotten this!
• The Chip-on-the-shoulder cyclist. Late home from work one night I start to gun it down my usual route. Need to catch up time. See a succession of cyclists (spaced out on the road) down the way. They are travelling slower than me, so i give them berth and overtake. Last one bellows something unintelligible at me. I continue on. 5 minutes later I sense a bike behind me. Yep. That guy who just shouted. "I could do this all day!" he shouts. "I'm 45 years old and on a mountain bike, you're aero bars on your bike can't help against pure fitness!" he adds. Awesome. I've an arse on my rear wheel with a chip on his shoulder. Now, I slowed down to avoid a confrontation and we chatted. He turns out to be an alright guy, but getting burned made him assume i was on for a race. I was not. I was simply trying to get home quickly. We chatted for most of the way home. Kept pace. I got home faster than i normally would have.
• The pinch-point bandits. It's a pinch point, i move to primary. You drive up the inside of me and slow down. Because slowing down makes it ok to be so close my fingertips touch your wing mirrors.
• The poor judge of speed. I am travelling on the road at 25mph+ you are at a junction. Yes, I am a cyclist. No, that does not mean pull out of the junction into my path. Too. Damn. Close.
• The shared-use path Nazi. Part of my route is on a shared use path. That's fine, i give peds distance and berth and always ring my bell coming up behind them. With thanks to the 70 year old lady who insisted not only was i travelling too fast but the best way to slow me down was to deliberately step into my path to tell me so. We both almost died. Congratulations.

I have had most of them in some way or another. However, I havent had a cyclist who could keep up with me and be smug about it.

A short list that I would like to make from my experiences on the road:

• An overtake so close that the car actually brushes your leg.
• A cut in so sharp that you have to come to a stop (bonus point if it is a bus and the overtake starts well).
• A SMIDSY where they stop in the middle of the road and expect everyone to appreciate it.
• The blind bridge or brow of a hill pass, usually the offending car meets another coming the other way and has to do an emergency manouvre.
• Classic must pass cyclist on approach to either a junction or traffic lights.
• The ASL creeper (a polite discussion and education is optional and will add points if the person apologises or understands your lesson).
• The beeping overtake, usually with a "Get on the path" comment or vigourous pointing to the left.
• A slow SMIDSY. Usually at a junction with good visibility, this person misjudges your speed and you end up either overtaking or right on the bumper of the car.

That is my list, feel free to tick them off.