What a difference a bike makes

[jimboalee]

What's it all about?

I ride home from work on my slicked up MTB wearing lycra shorts and full zip L/S jersey and cars cut me up, close pass and follow close.
I change bikes to my BSA 20 to go to Tesco, change clothes to a pair of fleece running shorts and Army surplus Tee Shirt and the motorists make a deliberate effort to get out of my way and let me get going down the road before passing with a wide berth.

 

[johnr]

There was some research done a couple of years ago which suggsted that drivers are less considerate of 'lycra-clad urban warriors'. It seems the warrior-clad urban cyclists evince a different reaction.

 

[fossyant]

Life...........

The wobbly female students on sit-up and beg bikes get away with it......

 

[jimboalee]

Shall I say it? Hmmm..... Oh, go on then....

On the shopper, I don't wear a helmet.

There. Said it.

 

[fossyant]

Change of kit as well...civvies....................?

 

[downfader]

I've worn the full on lycra for about 3 years now. Wouldnt call myself a roadie by any means but I think the image of the roadie seems to conjure up all kinds of crappola in peoples minds, specifically noncyclists.

Some of the scumbags around here wear, or used to wear cammo gear. If they were on a bike I guess people would give them a wide berth rather than invite the "risk" of violence when they're stopped at the lights. Theres also the element of empathy, perhaps dare we say it - the selfish gene - we see familiarity in someone dressed like us and because we wouldnt like anything bad to happen to ourselves subconciously we think the same of them.

 

[Norm]

I was going to start a new thread for this, but it seems appropriate here, even if the subject was another cyclist.

If you were that roadie who was heading out of Maidenhead towards Windsor just after 5pm today, I apologise for the confusion I may have caused.

After all, you must have seen the overweight chap in jeans doing about 10mph on the shared-use cycle path in front of you and decided he was worth a scalp. When you got closer, you might have noticed the trainers, the hooded fleece, the jeans tucked into the socks, the BSO being ridden, with rack and mudguards, that must have looked an easy target.

The confusion may have come from seeing that what you thought were trainers were Specialized SPDs, you may have seen the Specialized gel gloves, the Exposure lights, you may have wondered also about the cadence, after all, most POBs run at around 30 per minute, this one was doing closer to 90.

You may have noticed these things as you passed the POB on the bridge under the M4, but, whether you did or you didn't, your face was a picture of confusion when that very same POB passed you about 50 yards later.

And, despite what you said**, I can and I did, although I did only pull off the reverse scalp because I knew that my house was less than a mile away and I can maintain a pretty good speed in primary along that road before collapsing in my drive.

**At least, I think he said "You can't"

 

[potsy]

Excellent norm,now go have a lie down

 

[Norm]

I just made it into the garage before collapsing. Luckily, I had about 30 mins to recover before the wife and Smalls got home.

 

[downfader]

LOL Norm! Excellant stuff!

Had similar experiences on my father's giant hybrid the other week. I looked around behind me and saw I had a couple of "hangers on", even though it only has two usable gears I still dropped them... they seemed a little confused.

Its not the gear its the legs. How many people have we seen over the summer with the full roadie kit and zero fitness or skill? I know I've seen a couple.

 

[fossyant]

Norm...the exposures gave you away...he saw them as you re-scalped him !

 

[HaloJ]

Coming through Euston a few weeks ago there was an idiot who after passing a cyclist punched the air and shouted woohoo. He'd just passed a girl on a situp and beg and an old bloke on something that needed desperately oiling. I grinned and repaid his abuse by passing him at a low cadence before winding it up and leaving him for dead after looking over my shoulder at him, punching the air and shouting woohoo. All I heard as he disappeared behind me was a long drawn out "Noooooooooooooooo!"

 

[davefb]

Coming through Euston a few weeks ago there was an idiot who after passing a cyclist punched the air and shouted woohoo. He'd just passed a girl on a situp and beg and an old bloke on something that needed desperately oiling. I grinned and repaid his abuse by passing him at a low cadence before winding it up and leaving him for dead after looking over my shoulder at him, punching the air and shouting woohoo. All I heard as he disappeared behind me was a long drawn out "Noooooooooooooooo!"

think i went 'woohoo' after i passed my first cyclist ... it was a change over point for me!!!


i'm now in the middle ground , quicker than old grannies on sit up and begs or scallies ringing round for the next deal,, but slower than 60yr old college lecturer on 1970's steely

 

[RedBike]

I found that wearing hi-viz and riding a MTB not only enourages drivers to cut you up but other cyclists too.

 

[shippers]

I was passed by a cyclist going up the hill towards Leeds uni a couple of weeks back. I was lycra'd up. He was in jeans, 10 yrs older, on a tourer, with a child seat complete with child on the back.

I nearly cried.