mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
Who's carrying a long pole???
Runners near you must be better-behaved than near me. There's loads of them here now, preparing for GEAR in May or maybe the marathon in April. Absolutely no farking road sense, most of them: abrupt changes in directions, U-turns, sudden complete stops, ... It's testament to how safe our cycleways are and the skill of local cyclists that the town isn't littered with crash victims yet.I find it quite difficult to assess speed from wide-lens bike cameras. I'd suggest that slowing down below 6mph would be unsafe because most people would wobble, and that dismounting would only make the conflict worse because a pushed bike also requires more width. Maybe he should have stopped, but with hindsight, the parent's reaction means that he might have been attacked if he'd stopped within reach.
After passing, it's not so good: he was totally wrong to go back to make the confrontation worse, even if the walker who shouted abuse was also wrong. But I suspect the main reason he's turned comments down is the sheer volume of nonsense replies denying that it was a cycleway (even if it was a CRAP one) or suggesting he should have ridden into oncoming traffic.
But looking at the point he was trying to make: I do share his view that people are being more abusive towards people riding bikes this week, probably due to coverage of the Grey case. Today, I had a few motorists who kindly reversed back into their turnings (after questionably pulling out across the cycle lane hoping for people in the other lanes to slow and allow them out) but I also had far more motorists shout abuse and fail to give way where they ought than usual. I had two moving motorists with two wheels up onto a kerbed cycleway I was using, too, which is fairly rare in daylight.
After left-hooking me and I made an emergency stop, one lady decided to wind her window down and ask me why I didn't stop sooner. I replied that I had priority because I was going straight on. Apparently, she felt that indicating gave her priority and asked how she was meant to stop with other motorists following her. I suggested she used her brakes and check the latest highway code. She told me to be careful. I said I was careful and that's why I stopped when I saw she was failing to slow... and then we both continued. No swearing or threats either way, but still more aggression than usual, the above coming not long after a BMW had accelerated well over the limit to deter me using a crossing in front of them. Thankfully, after that, a passing passenger called out for me to pull a wheelie (unlikely with shopping on the back!) and a smallholder had free range eggs for sale, so I was happier by the time I reached home.
