When to call it a day?

[Pblakeney]

So in other words you haven't a clue which vehicles will close pass and which won't so saying I should have pulled over is basically victim blaming. I did nothing wrong, the driver did. Seeing as I actually experienced what happened and you didn't then by all means keep guessing about what other cyclists should or shouldn't do.

I'll add I've had an email from Operation Snap and they are taking action against the driver so it seems they agree about the close pass.

That is a one-off which has been caught. Great!
You have to accept that life is dangerous or don't do anything. I was nearly side swiped yesterday. I was in my car at the time.
Back to the original question...
Anyone fancy quitting and hitting the weights room at a gym instead?
No.

 

[Katana]

Another local accident, this time a lady knocked off her Liv by a lorry. The Lorry didn’t even stop. Air ambulance came. I think she’s stable with a leg injury.
We are just pigeons of the road, I know you can’t live wrapped up in cotton wool but it seems like it’s a matter of time until it’s your turn.
Anyone fancy quitting and hitting the weights room at a gym instead?

That’s why after one bad road accident I just ride on the canal tow path. Also given the state of the roads in Edinburgh wasn’t keen anyway. As other cities have pot holes whereas we have craters. Having said that it’s not as if riding along the canal path is completely safe. You have keep your wits about especially when it comes to people running with music blasting through their earplugs cause no matter how many times you ping a bell they are completely oblivious. I think in the end it boils down to fate as if it was destined to be then no matter how much precaution you take it will still get you!

 

[Donger]

I used to ride just about anywhere .... London, Birmingham, Bristol, through French and Belgian towns, in the Alps etc without ever worrying about traffic, but as I'm getting older and slower and my wife's health issues require me to remain healthy and uninjured, my attitudes are changing. Large parts of England seem to be becoming built over with dual carriageways, large roundabouts and fast slip roads that put me off even thinking of riding my bike there.

I find myself being a lot more selective in where I ride these days. I mostly ride the quiet country lanes of Severnside, avoiding the school run and other busy times, and I have stopped doing some of my other local rides altogether due to the traffic. I'm lucky enough to have a car .... allowing me to head slightly further afield for my rides and I am able to afford regular mini breaks in different parts of the UK, so I know I am fortunate in that respect.

For anyone on this forum who is able to travel around the country (or abroad) and take their bike with them, I can highly recommend some places with great cycling to be had and very little traffic. Some that spring to mind are, (in no particular order), The Llyn Peninsular in N.Wales, Moray in the North of Scotland, The Rhins of Galloway, The Isle of Wight, The Yorkshire Dales (out of the holiday season), and some lovely rural traffic-free trails such as the Mawddach Trail and The Tarka Trail. I am about to try out some of the trails in the Peak District this week as I've heard good things about them.

In the past I have always found the roads of rural France to be extremely quiet, and the local drivers very courteous to cyclists. The RAVel network of cycle trails in Eastern Belgium is absolutely magnificent, allowing you to pootle safely from town to town away from the traffic, but with every facility you could want all close at hand. I appreciate that not everyone has the option to try it out though.

 

[SteveH80]

Both incidents were on roads over 4metres wide and on the worst one there was a wide section just ahead clearly in view. No excuses for the drivers, they were in the wrong not me. Who said anything about holding them up at all let alone for 3 or 4 miles?

You've got hold of the wrong end of the stick.
I was referring to the backroads I often ride where 3 or 4 miles (and more) of narrow single track is the norm. It would be legal to hold people up, but who wants go behave like that?

 

[Webbo2]

What irritates me is how often you get overtaken by a car which has to cross solid white lines to do so and you are clearly travelling at well over 10 mph and the road doesn’t have a clear view a head.

 

[Chief Broom]

You've got hold of the wrong end of the stick.
I was referring to the backroads I often ride where 3 or 4 miles (and more) of narrow single track is the norm. It would be legal to hold people up, but who wants go behave like that?

Many do who dont have a mirror. I live in Brora in the Highlands, in summer touring cyclists swan along the single tracks often two abreast oblivious to whats behind. I use these roads a lot and have a good relations with local traffic. i see them coming, pause in a passing place and let them by, usually i dont even need to take my feet out the clips. This consideration is returned to me in equal measure, eg drivers patiently waiting while i clear a hill.
Is it a surprise that drivers become inconsiderate when no consideration is shown to them....

 

[Binky]

You've got hold of the wrong end of the stick.
I was referring to the backroads I often ride where 3 or 4 miles (and more) of narrow single track is the norm. It would be legal to hold people up, but who wants go behave like that?

In circumstances such as that I always look for a safe spot and let any vehicles behind go past. In fact given I ride in a rural area I encounter farm traffic regularly so I will whenever possible give way but in incident I'm referring to there shouldn't have been any need. The road was wide enough to safely pass me but aside from that if the driver was in any doubt he shouldn't have overtaken.
From how you describe it though unless those roads are one way what happens when two vehicles meet? Is one reversing for miles on end. There must surely be passing places.

 

[Bristolian]

Yeah he rode motorbikes and drove rally cars - but died fetching fish and chips in his family saloon.

Ha Ha! understatement of the century. "He rode motorbikes" is a bit like saying Eddy Merckx was a cyclist

 

[Bristolian]

Mike Hailwood wasn't a rally driver. He raced motorcycles then F1 cars.

He also raced in the British saloon car championships for one season and the Le Mans 24hr race on four occasions.

 

[classic33]

What irritates me is how often you get overtaken by a car which has to cross solid white lines to do so and you are clearly travelling at well over 10 mph and the road doesn’t have a clear view a head.

The last time I had that happen, the driver had decided to try and pass me and the lorry in front of me. He was forced to stop trying by oncoming traffic, with no-one willing or able to let him back in.

 

[yello]

He was forced to stop trying by oncoming traffic, with no-one willing or able to let him back in.

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode.....

 

[classic33]

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode.....

Well I'd no room to let him in, I was following a royal mail lorry and as soon as he went, the space he was in was filled quick enough.

 

[Milzy]

What were the circumstances?

Looks like car clipped her going around her. Close pass. Weird as she was in a bunch so the driver would have seen them all from a good distance first before deciding their manoeuvre.

 

[katiewlx]

A few stats.

1,300,000 bicycle journeys made in 2024 in the UK. Edit: incorrect

Edit to correct: 3,500,000,000 miles ridden.

111 deaths and 4000 reported injuries.

If you take a hard look at your own cycling style, experience, health benefits, attitude to risk, and environment it's not too difficult to draw a reasonable conclusion about whether to continue or not.

In my case the scales are firmly on the 'continue' side. If I started having near misses, or feeling scared that might change

humans are notoriously bad at risk assessment stats though, its the classic youre more likely to die driving to the airport than in a plane crash, which is fine and everyone still drives without a care in the world, but when you know someone who was killed in a completely random aircrash, there isnt a moment you dont step on the next plane you take and think about that or them. the stats become meaningless because you had a connection with it.

same with cycling,just over the past couple of years, Ive known 2 people who cycled, who got killed out riding, on roads Ive cycled on, which really affected me in ways I hadnt expected,not just from the loss of people I knew,but even though again Im sure the stats say driving is still riskier, I was finding myself every time I rode and hearing a vehicle approaching me from behind, wondering is this the moment I become another stat, because Ive no control over whether the next driver behind me is on their phone, distracted, off their head or what, I have to implicitly trust every driver doesnt want to hit me, and I definitely lost that belief for a while.

and the past month or so Ive actually had moments where I was in physical contact with a vehicle close passing me they were that close to me they brushed my hand or my elbow as they passed.

I refuse to be bullied off the road, but there are lots of moments I question my choices on the road sometimes

 

[katiewlx]

There were 3.5 billion miles cycled in 2024. Risk of death once in every 31.5 million miles.

which is no comfort if you are the one that gets it...