you know you are getting on a bit when....

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johnnyh

Veteran
Location
Somerset
You head out on a ride with a group containing a few early 20's types and are appalled at their bike handling skills, road sense and positioning.

Deary me, almost broke off on my own and made my own way. No wonder some drivers think cyclists are idiots the way one of these fellas rode, doesn't he realise him and the bike are maybe 100kg and the car is half a ton or more?

"All the gear and no idea" springs to mind!

rant over... :angry:
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
Yes. And if a car driver happened to hit one of those cyclists, guess who would be blamed?
 
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johnnyh

johnnyh

Veteran
Location
Somerset
Surely as a more experienced rider you would have given him some adivce?
that sounds like a moan but it's light hearted :-)


you'd have thought so, but he was so far up his own arse I decided to keep stum and let Darwinism have its way. :biggrin:
 

swee'pea99

Legendary Member
I know I'm getting on because my hair's all falling out and even my stubble's grey, but I know what you mean. As a commuter into London, I see things every day that make me wonder at how so few cyclists end up dying on the road. 
 

walker

New Member
Location
Bromley, Kent
few[/i] cyclists end up dying on the road.


My old commute used to take me through Jamaica road in SE London, and the things that happen there were totally shocking. and all used to want to race to the fact they would chance their life to go through a red light. and you would see the newbies on their cranky MTB's swearving all over the road, literally using the whole metre plus more fro the side of the road to go forward
 
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johnnyh

johnnyh

Veteran
Location
Somerset
You should offer encouragement, that or drop the nut on him and shove him in the ditch.

he nearly cornered in to a wall, rode aggressively up behind a car that had dared to pull out ahead of us, and was at times riding over the middle of the road with seemingly zero awareness of traffic coming from behind.... no need to shove him into a ditch, life is gonna do that soon enough I'd have thunk :thumbsup:
 

swee'pea99

Legendary Member
My old commute used to take me through Jamaica road in SE London, and the things that happen there were totally shocking. and all used to want to race to the fact they would chance their life to go through a red light. and you would see the newbies on their cranky MTB's swearving all over the road, literally using the whole metre plus more fro the side of the road to go forward
Ok, this morning's classic. Not dramatic, but just so-o-o-o typical...

Stationary traffic in Upper Street, held up by the lights. No way through so I'm waiting at the rear left of the bus that's angled towards the kerb. Just as the lights change, Ms Numpty overtakes me and starts wobbling up the inside. Bus starts to move, Ms Numpty brakes, bus doesn't crush her, by a matter of inches. And there's me shaking my head, just thinking 'could you not see that was going to happen? What did you think would happen to the bus when the lights changed?' And the truly gobsmacking thing was how utterly pointless it was - the front end of the bus was up against the kerb. There was clearly absolutely no way through. And this kind of thing happens every day. D'oh!
 

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
every day[/i]. D'oh!


I don't know whether it's utter unthinkingness, or the same 'must get to the front' mentality as some drivers have.

An example from yesterday - not dangerous, or illegal, but bewildering.

I overtake a lady heading over Lendal Bridge. She's pootling along, maybe 9mph, I'm doing 13ish. Traffic is stopped at the lights, so I pull up - no space to filter, so I sit a few cars back. She gets off, gets the bike on the pavement and walks past me, and does the u-turn down onto the bike route under the bridge (there's a special little bike cut through lane) and remounts. Lights change, and I ride down, take the same u-turn, and am past her again. Why not just stay on the bike, and wait? Yes, if traffic is unusually snarled up, or there's some kind of blockage, the ability to get off and walk is great. but this was just perfectly ordinary morning traffic. More effort to get off, push and remount, than to just sit and wait...
 
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