“This is why cyclists ride in the middle of the road”; ‘You can’t criticise my driving, you’re riding a bike’: Strange things motorists say to cyclists; Amazon’s cargo cycles reaction; Edinburgh cyclists take over North Bridge + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
“Being on bikes makes people smile”: Edinburgh cyclists take over North Bridge
Now, this is very cool:
A cyclist’s reclamation of North Bridge yesterday during @EdCriticalMass.
Being on bikes makes people smile 😊 pic.twitter.com/A38WF2ytsc
— Theo ML (@TheoHML) November 27, 2022
But, as we’ve already established on the live blog this morning, there’s always one…
Just smiling because they know they are holding up all other traffic including buses and emergency services
— kenneth turner (@kenneth14277644) November 28, 2022
EXACTLY! Now if only someone would listen and create proper safe infrastructure to avoid this.
— thomas (@thomfellow) November 28, 2022
Boom.
I saw the future of multinational e-commerce, and its name is, err… cargo cycles?
@AmazonUK‘s new cargo cycles using the CYCLOPs in Salford! pic.twitter.com/YYIrsAE3g4
— Harry Gray (@HarryHamishGray) November 28, 2022
While many cyclists have welcomed Amazon’s move to micromobility – covered in detail last week on road.cc’s sister site ebiketips – others weren’t quite as impressed:
I have a problem. [Yes … it *IS* brilliant to see. BUT … there’s a downer.]
That’s Amazon (and others 😉) taking the p!$$. Basically – “we can’t use vans, cos of cars and (our!) vans clogging the road lanes. So we’ll clog the cycle infrastructure instead.”
Not impressed
— gavincooks (@aLeedscyclist) November 28, 2022
How very Amazon of them… pay absolutely zero tax and then take up all of the available public infrastructure.
— Ross Finnie (@twentyhertz) November 29, 2022
Uncomfortably close to those vertical kerbs at times! Wouldn’t like to be riding it if it clips it. (Which will happen to someone eventually.) pic.twitter.com/7jTvXM9Y0D
— Adam Aitkenhead (@AdamAitkenhead) November 28, 2022
These endanger cyclists, it’s not a good thing at all.
— Katherine Hardy🌹 (@kardyology) November 29, 2022
Christ, that’s like a lorry doing 50mph on a one lane motorway 😛
— Kai (@4catsnomore) November 28, 2022
Is the future just traffic jams of these all over Manchester’s cycle lanes?
— Harry Gray (@HarryHamishGray) November 28, 2022
This tweet is Hillarious, so now a cyclist is complaining about a cargo bike being on the cycle lane, what next ban those of us who don’t wear Lycra & don’t use road bikes. 😂🤣😂🤣W⚓️
— Mike (@Michaelsmither4) November 29, 2022
Announcing the expansion of their e-cargo bike delivery scheme in Manchester and London last week, Amazon’s UK Country Manager John Boumphrey said: “These new hubs will not only bring our customers more electric-powered deliveries, but also support local authorities looking for ways to reduce congestion and find alternative transportation methods.
“We look forward to expanding our e-cargo bike fleet further in the coming months.”
Tracklife
360 view of winding up and slinging my partner Ryan Schilt in for the flying lap at Geneva 4day. Sub 9 seconds on a 166m tight track was petty impressive. pic.twitter.com/N5xt7G07yN
— AlecBriggs/ Pedaler (@Alec_Pedaler) November 28, 2022
“A blight on the community”: Prolific bike thief jailed for 12 months
A prolific bike thief in Worthing, branded a “blight on the community” by local police, has been jailed for 12 months.
48-year-old Dean Haggerty, captured in the below CCTV footage using bolt cutters to brazenly nick a locked bike in broad daylight outside a local leisure centre, was convicted of stealing six bikes, worth between £300 and £1,200, as well as damaging another bike and stealing alcohol, bank cards, DVDs, tobacco, bedding, and toiletries from June to September this year.
Following Haggerty’s sentencing at Lewes Crown Court earlier this month, Sussex Police’s Sharon Sawyer, of the Adur and Worthing Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), said: “Haggerty has been a blight on the community for many, many months, and this is evidenced by his persistent offending.
“We work with the public, local authorities and the business community to prevent and detect incidents of theft, and I’d like to personally thank everyone who has assisted in our investigation to bring Haggerty to justice.
“It was imperative that we gathered as much evidence as possible – including statements from victims and witnesses, and clear CCTV footage – to present a case to the Crown Prosecution Service.”
She continued: “Bike thefts have been a particular issue in Worthing this past year, and this case provides some reassurance that one of those thieves has been locked up.
“We are mindful of the emotional and financial impact of these offences on victims, and I would encourage any victims or witnesses of crimes to continue to report it to us.
“Our officers regularly patrol the town, including the areas identified as theft ‘hot spots’, and the more intelligence we can build up, the more likely we are to catch criminals and hopefully return the stolen bikes to their rightful owners – especially if they are logged with Bike Register.”
Female ultra-cyclist forced to abandon Cairo to Cape Town attempt after suffering seizure two days into ride
South African ultra-cyclist Tegan Phillips has been forced to abandon her attempt to become the first woman to ride solo between Cairo and Cape Town after she suffered a seizure and was hospitalised two days into her epic trip.
30-year-old Phillips, whose cycling-related comic strips you may recognise, had been planning her ground-breaking cross-continent trek – the overall record for which was set by Scottish round-the-world cyclist Mark Beaumont in 2015 – for over two years, but was forced to pull the plug after experiencing a health scare after riding just over 300km.
“This was *not* the plan,” she wrote on Instagram after returning home to South Africa earlier this month.
“Last week Tuesday morning, I finally left Cairo by bike. Two years of obsessive planning and training and research and saving up and fundraising had culminated in that moment, and I couldn’t have been more excited and proud.
“Last week Wednesday night, I was rushed to ICU after losing my speech and had a seizure at the hospital doors. The next 24 hours do not exist in my memory and were a super scary time for the team, who were unwaveringly practical and wonderful and brave.”
Phillips says that her collapse was apparently caused by a sudden fall in her salt levels, though the reasons behind such a drop remain unclear.
“Naturally, I feel like a complete idiot,” she continued. “Everybody has been so kind, but it would be weird if I wasn’t racking my brain trying to figure out how this didn’t come up in any of my training rides, including the long hot unsupported rides in the Arizona desert, as such a *big* red flag.
“It’s possible that I had a low-grade infection, or hadn’t eaten enough, or or or — obviously I wish I could go back and change whatever it was.”
In another Instagram post from earlier this week, the South African ultra-cyclist said that she has already started to plan, by undergoing health tests as well as exploring the budget and logistical concerns, a fresh attempt at the record in 2023 or, as Phillips herself put it, “finding a responsible way to not give up”.
She continued: “With the blessings of the Adventure Gods and medical professionals, we will be back in February to start again, and to face whatever more obstacles might be on our path, with big smiles.”
To bell or not to bell, that is the question…
There have been some other cracking submissions over on Facebook to our ‘Weird utterances directed at cyclists’ competition, where the lucky winner will get to spend a day being blissfully ignored by carefully passing motorists (if only, eh?).
“‘Why don’t you pull into the gaps between the parked cars to allow motorists to pass?’ must rank as one of the stupidest comments,” says Martin Pearce. Of course, as we saw on the blog this morning, a line of parked cars always represents a safe haven for cyclists…
Meanwhile, Colin Davis wrote: “A van driver pulled up and stopped in front of our Sunday club run (about eight people riding two abreast) and said, ‘You made it really difficult for me to overtake on that blind bend’”.
And yes, apparently he really did say “blind bend”…
“I will not accept that it’s a highly dangerous road”: Statements that precede unfortunate events
An absolute classic from the ITN archives here:
“I will not accept that it’s a highly dangerous road”
From ITN archives. pic.twitter.com/snILgnwvPi— Stephen R Jones 🇺🇦 (@Meliden) November 28, 2022
Trek-Segafredo tease kit launch – and Mr Bean’s involved, apparently
It’s the most wonderful time of the year… No, not Christmas – it’s almost new kit reveal season!
On Thursday Trek-Segafredo will be the first WorldTour team to pull the trigger on their 2023 threads (so, according to that timescale, EF-EasyPost will unveil their new look sometime in 2037), with Mr Bean, oddly enough, making a cameo appearance alongside Giulio Ciccone in the team’s teaser clip:
Save the date!
Our 2023 kit launch is coming on December 1st 👀 pic.twitter.com/HQQjJVkJ0J
— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) November 28, 2022
“Cycling is part of who I am,” says Emily Bridges
Emily Bridges, the cyclist at the centre of a media storm earlier this year concerning the participation of trans women in sport, says it is still her dream to represent Wales in international competition.
Bridges, the subject of tonight’s ITV Cymru Wales documentary ‘Race To Be Me’ (which will air at 9.30pm, shortly after the final whistle of Wales’ World Cup tie with England), told ITV News that it would be “a dream” to race for her country at the Commonwealth Games.
The 21-year-old, who came out as trans in 2020, was barred from making her competitive debut in women’s racing at the National Omnium Championships in March of this year by the UCI, which meant she was unable to meet the criteria to be eligible for a spot on the Welsh squad at this summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
📺🚴🏻♀️🏳️⚧️ On Tuesday 29 November, elite trans cyclist Emily Bridges’ documentary ‘Race To Be Mẹ’ will be aired on @ITVWales .
It details her battle to represent Wales at the #CommonwealthGames, which found herself at the centre of an international storm. pic.twitter.com/SqenBgAbfT
— PRiDE OUT (@PrideOutUK) November 24, 2022
“I’m so incredibly proud to be Welsh,” Bridges told ITV. “This is who I am. I am a Welsh trans woman.
“Yma O Hyd is a song that means so much to me and I know it means a lot to so many Welsh people about still being here throughout everything.
“I love Wales and it’s a dream to be in that Welsh jersey in the Commonwealth Games.”
Reflecting on the very public reaction to her aborted attempt to compete at the National Omnium Championships – which even led British Cycling to suspend its transgender and non-binary participation policy, with the deadline for a new policy set for spring 2023 – Bridges said: “I’m aware I have other traits and attributes to other female riders, but they aren’t so widely different that it makes competition unfair.
“What you are trying to root out is such an overwhelming difference and a reduction of testosterone creates a fair playing field.
“I’ve had all the opportunities to leave cycling, but I’ve never wanted to. It’s just part of who I am.”
She continued: “This journey has been a very wild ride. I’ve had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. Realistically, I wouldn’t change anything for the world.
“I love my body now. For the first time ever, I feel comfortable with who I am. I’m still here.”
‘Race To Be Me’ will be broadcast tonight on ITV Cymru Wales at 9.30pm.
Danny MacAskill’s Postcard from San Francisco
Everyone’s favourite Skye-born two wheeled trickster Danny MacAskill is back, almost two years on from his last edit, with another tea break’s worth of jaw-dropping stunts, this time around San Francisco.
While the film features all the big San Fran hitters – the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Chinatown – my favourite stunt has to be one on the tennis net, just because it feels like something a fourth year would try (and fail) to do before Double Maths on a Friday afternoon…
“Postcards from San Francisco is a true passion project of mine, it reflects pure hard riding that no practice prepares you for,” the Red Bull-sponsored trials rider, who broke his kneecap while filming five years ago, said in a statement announcing the film.
“Some of these stunts have taken over 300 tries to land perfectly, but I’m stronger than ever and will always thrive to push the boundaries of the sport to create progression.”
Set your alarms for Sunday afternoon
🙌 For the first time this #CXWorldCup season, @WoutvanAert, @mathieuvdpoel and @tompidcock are facing each other! 😍 Who’s in for some CX fun in Antwerp on Sunday? 💪 🏆 pic.twitter.com/LuAw4lKb8N
— UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup (@UCIcyclocrossWC) November 29, 2022
The World Cup clash everyone’s really been waiting for this month…
Ouch…
I know your day can’t possibly be as bad as this man’s 🙀🙀 pic.twitter.com/Rhzc3LzsNL
— José Been (@JoseBeenTV) November 29, 2022
And on that note… Have a great evening everyone!
Irrational Drivers: Greatest Hits
Judging by the response in the comments and on social media, it seems that most of us have been on the end of some, shall we say, interesting remarks from motorists down the years.
Here’s a selection of some of the best (and most illogical) ones from the comments section and Twitter:
This dilbert told me “If the road is too narrow for me to overtake you, you shouldn’t be riding on it.” pic.twitter.com/FbptA6tvGY
— Dan M ⚒ 🚲 (@SirArthurIndeed) November 29, 2022
IanMSpencer: BMW turned right from a side turning across my path and then ABS’d hard to a stop to avoid hitting a bus which had been at the stop and I took a tumble (partly self-inflicted due to not anticipating the rather obvious need to stop being fixated on avoiding his rear door and bumper). His response: “Didn’t you see me pull out?”
Steve K: I turned right at a roundabout and a car coming from the left almost drove into me. He then close passed me at a pinch point and shouted “give way to the right on a roundabout”, which was exactly what he’d just failed to do.
As a group of us were riding, a vehicle approached us from behind. We waved the vehicle around as it was clear to do so. The driver passed us and then aggressively pulled over, jumped out of his car and begins yelling at us “you made me brake the law!!!”. It was a double yellow🤣
— The Blind Cyclist (@Blind_Cyclist) November 29, 2022
JustTryingToGet: I think the weirdest thing a motorist has said [screamed] to me was an old boy going ballistic because I didn’t have mirrors on my bike. He was puce, clearly he genuinely thought this was a legal requirement.
Funniest was a bloke who shouted at me that cyclists never stop at red lights… whilst I was stopped at a red light.
Rendel Harris: Had very similar from a police officer two weeks ago: I was riding down the Mall just as they were reopening it for traffic after the changing of the guard, I came to the lights by Saint James’s Palace and stopped as they were on red.
A cycle policeman who was riding down the road telling pedestrians to get back on the pavement called out, “Cyclist, the road’s still closed, you can go through that red light.” I shouted back, “Thank you!”
Then as I got moving again he said, “Cyclists never bloody stop normally, why start now?”
I was overtaking cars on the same lane (interrupted lines on the floor) and a lorry driver on the opposite direction stopped to shout: YOU SHOULDN’T BE HERE!
And where should I be?— massimo amodeo (@MassimoAmodeo74) November 29, 2022
FrankH: “You’re riding in the middle of the road!”
This was said to me by a man in a small, Fiesta sized van, while he was driving on the other side of the road and I was riding about a metre from the verge.
avoided injury/death by a lorry driver on phone his excuse:“my uncle has just died” i pointed out that was very sad but doesn’t allow you to use the phone while driving and nearly kill somebody else. then a threat to ‘punch your lights out you c**t’
— Gary Smith (@garysmithphoto) November 29, 2022
Awavey: Guy in a small builders’ truck driving towards me on my side of the road, I was prime in my lane, so we stopped and he said to me “you need to be on your side of the road, I just saved your life by not hitting you”. Ok buddy whatever you think.
‘You can’t criticise my driving, you’re riding a bike’, and other strange things motorists say to cyclists
A driver drove the whole way down the bus lane this morning. I caught him at Beechmount and did the was an R driver so only passed his test. I told him off and he said to me that I wasn’t even driving a car and had no right to put him straight.
— Cyclegranny 🚴♀️ (@anneramsey740) November 29, 2022
Ah, that old classic! Be interesting to see it extended to other areas of life, you can’t stop me robbing your house because you’re not a burglar, if you’re not carrying a concealed weapon what right do you have to tell me not to….
— Rendel Harris (@Rendel_Harris) November 29, 2022
This morning’s startling piece of ‘logic’ from a young Belfast driver got me thinking: What’s the oddest, most irrational thing a motorist has said to you while on your bike?
Let us know in the comments!
“This is why cyclists ride in the middle of the road”: Cyclist points out dangers of riding too close to parked cars – but drivers say it’s “your responsibility to anticipate hazards”
We can debate the use of ‘road’ and ‘lane’ until the cows come home, but the below video – flagged in the comments section of yesterday’s live blog by road.cc reader IanMSpencer – neatly illustrates why, despite the views of armchair experts on Twitter (and even some police officers), it’s often best to avoid the left-hand side of the lane as a cyclist… especially when the road in question is lined with parked cars:
This is why cyclists ride IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. This happens so often here where drivers just don’t look before they pull out.#cycling in #Sheffield pic.twitter.com/GEOGg8u2I4
— CyclingInASkirt (@CyclingInASkirt) November 25, 2022
Inevitably, CyclingInASkirt’s post was almost immediately derailed by Twitter users leaping to the defence of the motorist – and, unsurprisingly, completely missing the point about anticipating hazards by riding in the middle of the lane that the cyclist, you know, was obviously making (or maybe it was just obvious to people who have actually ridden bikes on the road?):
Save your excessive use of punctuation.
That’s precisely the point. This is why those of us riding bikes do so in this position. Get it yet?
— CyclingInASkirt (@CyclingInASkirt) November 26, 2022
Precisely. Which is why cyclists ride in this position. Which was the point.
— CyclingInASkirt (@CyclingInASkirt) November 26, 2022
The point is to show why cyclists sometimes ride towards the middle. Not that this driver did anything wrong, although they could have perhaps parked the other way round.
— The4Goals (@The4Goals) November 26, 2022
If they had parked in the right side of the road they would have been able to see in their wing mirror.
— Lars Fischer (@lpfischer) November 25, 2022
One Twitter user, missing the mark as spectacularly as Cristiano Ronaldo failing to connect with an incoming cross (and with the same misplaced confidence), also wrote: “Car is well lit. Sees cyclist and stops. She still whines about it. These people are radicalised anti-car extremists.”
> Monday moaning: Why don’t cyclists stick to the left of the lane?
Another particularly savvy motorist – as part of some desperate attempt to excuse a stranger’s driving as ideal – even tweeted that it is the cyclist’s “responsibility to anticipate hazards”:
Nah it’s really difficult to see oncoming traffic from that parked position when parked. You have to pull out to get good view. Your responsibility to anticipate hazards.
— Jack Mason 💙 (@LegendMase) November 25, 2022
Which is what CyclingInASkirt was doing of course (I’m getting dizzy)…
It was great road positioning but it appears you are wasting your breath on those who have not ridden a bike since their school days ?
— Darren S (@Badger8882) November 26, 2022
While road.cc reader Ian and a few others astutely pointed out that, maybe, just maybe, drivers should try to avoid creating hazards – while also adhering to the Highway Code:
The driver has a responsibility not to create a hazard. For example, parking against the flow of traffic is poor driving and inevitably leads to a problem when exiting a space. HWC 239:
“do not park facing against the traffic flow”Whose problem is it now?
— Ian Spencer (@IanMSpencer) November 27, 2022
Maybe read the Highway Code pic.twitter.com/n6vW5j90kB
— Cyclegranny 🚴♀️ (@anneramsey740) November 26, 2022
Ian added that it was interesting “that a commenter could think that it is reasonable for drivers to drive hazardously, and a that cyclist is responsible for dealing with it.”
Same time tomorrow, folks?
29 November 2022, 09:41
I’m not sure shocking quite covers this…
Shocking footage shows cyclist deliberately knocked off bike by laughing driver
Police in Ireland confirmed the cyclist was treated in hospital for "non-life threatening injuries"
29 November 2022, 09:41
29 November 2022, 09:41
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Latest Comments
And to show the sleeves with the dummy in the riding position.
The people who would listen to them aren't much of the problem. What're needed are for [insert high profile sportsball people of your choice] to do this.
Get some help you tedious fool.
No, now everybody can see the space after your opening bracket!
What he means is there's nowhere to park all day for free! Morrisons has a 2 hour limit and the shopping centre is pay and display.
villages not villagers. Am I not allowed to edit my crap spelling and grammar anymore?
Daffodils were out before the end of January in some Cambs villagers. I heard a yellowhammer singing a week ago ( not usually heard before mid March to early April) and saw a very large bumblebee at a garden centre today - it was buying some gardening gloves.
I wouldn't mind watching live coverage of construction of the artificial hill. As long as it isn't on a TNT subscription channel. (And I hope the event organisers don't employ the pillock in the earlier article from Notts who flattened a cycle path embankment to create a flat area for caravans).
Hope: “here’s our latest frame that shows our amazing craftsmanship in an incredible eye catching finish” Hope: “no you can’t buy it apart from in Black - even at additional cost for the finish” 🤷♂️
Agree with that. But it doesn't look that packable from the pictures.
57 thoughts on ““This is why cyclists ride in the middle of the road”; ‘You can’t criticise my driving, you’re riding a bike’: Strange things motorists say to cyclists; Amazon’s cargo cycles reaction; Edinburgh cyclists take over North Bridge + more on the live blog”
As usual the ‘concerns’ of
As usual the ‘concerns’ of locals comes before the safety of road users, despite half of residents being in favour:
https://westbridgfordwire.com/cycle-scheme-in-beeston-scrapped-because-of-residents-concerns/
Fairly crazy decision.
Fairly crazy decision.
Users of a rat run triumph over the people who live on the rat run.
(I worked in that immediate area for a decade.)
I’d say the problem was in too wide consultation. That road is crying out to be subject to modal filter.
https://www.change.org/p/nottinghamshire-county-council-keep-dovecote-lane-open-for-residents-access/c
DOOR MIRROR
DOOR MIRROR
It might be just me, but I
It might be just me, but I wasnt sure what the takeaway from CyclingInASkirts tweet was supposed to be other than drivers on twitter are really stupid.
In isolation from its twitterness it’s like yeah another day on the roads, if I had a dollar everytime that happened etc etc. Its why good road positioning alongside parked cars helps, but it all seemed to be manageable, no harm done, whilst annoying it’s not the end of the world, if that’s the worst you experienced probably been a good day.
I thought they intended to
I thought they intended to show why cyclists cycle in the middle of the “road”.
I guess I just dont find it
I guess I just dont find it as shocking a thing as the twitter audience
I wasn’t shocked either, just
I wasn’t shocked either, just disappointed with the level of knowledge and understanding.
Why we cater to the lower common denominator instead of bring people up to the highest common factor is…disappointing (can’t think of a different word).
Awavey wrote:
That’s what she was saying, it was more “Drivers, this is why we ride in the middle of the lane” than “look at this shit driver.”
Awavey wrote:
perhaps the intent was to educate those really stupid drivers on twitter that cyclists riding in this manner are not doing it to be awkward, or to hold them up, but because it is necesary.
seems to work, because most drivers are responding “plenty of time to see what he did and you avoided an incident, no problems here” Maybe they might remember that the next time they are following a cyclist past parked cars.
Great news – car driving
Great news – car driving strike !
https://twitter.com/Osprey0/status/1596959978555772928
Drivers are being scammed & treated with contempt. A driver strike is required.
The thread didnt quite go the way they wanted !
“You should also consider a drivers ‘work to rule’. Stick it to the man!”
Is North Bridge a one way or
Is North Bridge a one way or a two way cycle path?
Not a cycle path. One way
Not a cycle path. One way lane, due to long-term refurbishments [news] [project]. You can see that because the car and bus following at the end of the video.
Yes – the cyclists were in the way. For 2 hours per month, we were the traffic. As sometimes happens much earlier on the ride an ambulance needed to pass. Everyone pulled in to the side / on the footway, they passed with less inconvenience than moving round cars. How it should be.
I was there on that ride – not on the recumbent that day although you can see someone on the sibling version of mine. This was an “around the town centre, really making a statement” route.
From what I saw about the usual level of reactions – lots of smiles (including some drivers). A handful of angry people (in my limited experience it tends to be men, often older ones). Think there was one driver trying to push through the mass of cyclists. A couple of people shouting “you’re breaking the law!” – which was true or “you should pay road tax” which of course everyone except the children their does. Some non-plussed folks.
I was there, too (red jacket,
I was there, too (red jacket, green hat about 20s in). For a good bit of the route the (motor) traffic was so congested that it held US up!
Yep – particularly George
Yep – particularly George Street / Picardy Place as I recall (I must be stalking, just checked the photos and it seems I was right behind you at those points).
TBH I bet you could have taken *all* the cyclists in Edinburgh that day off the roads and between the tram works, the broadband digging, the bridge repairs, the resurfacing and the other vehicles you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference in “traffic”.
So Twitter is still working,
So Twitter is still working, then? 😉
You’re Elon Musk and ICMFP!
You’re Elon Musk and ICMFP!
Not the biggest fan of doxing
Not the biggest fan of doxing but surely there is something to be said for insurers collecting the shit people say on social media and below the line and risk rating policies accordingly.
When dickheads proclaim parking against the traffic as perfect, they need to be priced off the road. Obvs coupled with some proper enforcement on uninsured drivers.
It would all pay for itself given the reduction in road repairs, car repairs, people repairs and death payouts coming about from people actually understanding the rules of the fecking road.
The oddest, most irrational
The oddest, most irrational thing a motorist has said to me?
A few months ago: “You’re riding in the middle of the road!”
This was said to me by a man in a small, Fiesta sized van, while he was driving on the other side of the road and I was riding about a meter from the verge. He’d sounded his horn behind a few times prior to this. Then we’d both been overtaken by the BMW driver who obviously got impatient with his antics, before he berated me for “riding in the middle of the road” when I wasn’t even in the middle of the lane. I think he wanted me to ride through all the detritus right up against the verge and keep myself out of the way of the important people (drivers).
I’ve had drivers or passengers shout at me as they overtake but that’s the only time somebody’s driven alongside me to tell me off.
Similar to mine guy in a
Similar to mine guy in a small builders truck driving towards me on my side of the road, I was prime in my lane, so we stopped and he said to me “you need to be on your side of the road, I just saved your life by not hitting you”. Ok buddy whatever you think.
Same road, different day car behind me tried to overtake in a gap of parked cars, I think I shouted dont be stupid, of course when I stop to let them by when it’s safe he has time for a conversation despite being in a hurry moments earlier, and he claimed Id been too aggressive towards him, and then argued I’d been riding too fast, his conversation dried up when I told him to get off his damn phone whilst driving.
I think the weirdest thing a
I think the weirdest thing a motorist has said* to me was an old boy going ballistic because I didn’t have mirrors on my bike. He was puce, clearly he genuinely thought this was a legal requirement.
Funniest was a bloke who shouted at me that cyclists never stop at red lights… whilst I was stopped at a red light.
*screamed
JustTryingToGetFromAtoB wrote
Had very similar from a police officer two weeks ago: I was riding down the Mall just as they were reopening it for traffic after the changing of the guard, I came to the lights by Saint James’s Palace and stopped as they were on red. A cycle policeman who was riding down the road telling pedestrians to get back on the pavement called out, “Cyclist, the road’s still closed, you can go through that red light.” I shouted back, “Thank you!” then as I got moving again he said, “Cyclists never bloody stop normally, why start now?”
Those Amazon cargo bikes in
Those Amazon cargo bikes in Manchester.
Once again showing up woefully inadequate cycling infrastructure. I agree that they aren’t much of a better solution than an electric van, but surely the biggest concern is that someone at the council has passed that off as adequate provision when a single cargo bike takes up all the room provided. Those EAV bikes are 1 metre wide. Hardly enough space for single bicycles moving in the same direction. How on earth are cyclists expected to travel in opposite directions on such puny infrastructure?
I wish people would stop
I wish people would stop referring to those Amazon things as cargo bikes.
They fall into the rules of
They fall into the rules of Pedelecs.
What should they be called if not cargo bikes?
Owd Big ‘Ead wrote:
Only just. I’m feeling a bit cynical, and they just seem to fall under Amazon tries to cut costs, again… (cf. Tragedy of the Commons) (sorry, Amazon, how much corporation tax did you say you paid?).
I agree the cycling
I agree the cycling infrastructure is very narrow (I’m not even convinced it meets the “absolute minimum” of 1.5m from LTN 1/20).
But as far as I can tell, all the bits shown in that video are one-way, so bikes aren’t expected to be travelling in the opposite direction.
Re irrational things
Re irrational things motorists say (although this is just plain alarming if not uncommon). It happened on Saturday.
A BMW driver close passed me in Cobham – 3-4 inches close pass at about 30mph. The driver pulled into a car park nearby (traffic held him up so I was almost behind him when he did. Being in a bad mood already (non cycling related) I confronted him (no swearing).
Me: Why did you just close pass me?
Reply: You were in the middle of the road.
Me: No I wasn’t. So, why did you just close pass me?
Reply: You were weaving around in the road.
Me: No I wasn’t. You couldn’t pass if I was.
Reply: Effing and jeffing this and that.
Me: Don’t close pass me or anyone else in future.
Reply: More effing and jeffing.
Me: Turn round and ride off thinking he is not fit to be behind the wheel of any vehicle.
What he meant was I was riding a bike on the road and that wasn’t going to get in the way of his journey in any way shape or form, whether he put my life in danger or not.
Ref the amazon delivery truck
Ref the amazon delivery truck – That is a 2 way cycle lane. If a rider is coming the opposite direction who has to yeild? Why should a rider have to move out the way of a vehicle taking up the whole cycle lane? Totally inappropraite use of the cycle paths
What if it’s a trike or a
What if it’s a trike or a hand cycle ? Not all bicycles fit one width. Blame whoever designed a two way cycle lane to be that narrow in the first place. Amazon have taken a van off the road here, ultimately that’s a good thing.
Awavey wrote:
If there is a human atop of it, I would like to think a bit of manners and common sense would allow a safe pass, how do you do that with an autonomous vehicle?
Its definitely not autonomous
Its definitely not autonomous, I found a video all about them 🙂
https://youtu.be/AOmH2kfN2Gc
Awavey wrote:
and onto the cycle lane, not sure whether or not that is a good thing.
wycombewheeler wrote:
I know the initial reaction is “what’s a four wheeled commercial vehicle doing in OUR cycle lane”, but it means one less dangerous vehicle on the road. If the cycle lane gets over-used by vehicles like that, then it’s always possible to use the road instead (especially for overtaking them) and it might even lead to development of better segregated infrastructure. As annoying as it may be, we need to welcome e-scooters, cargo bikes and strange electric four-wheelers onto the roads and cycle lanes.
(Obviously Amazon are not really a model of a benign corporation, but I think they’re more a product of capitalism than anything else)
As above really – this sounds
As above really – this sounds like inadequate infra if this is meant to be two way. Fails to be inclusive.
Pretty sure thats a small
When is an e-cargo bike a van?
When it stops having a human
When it stops having a human to pedal it
Well… “massive corporation
Well… “massive corporation that takes the piss with taxes, takes the piss with workers’ rights, takes the piss with delivery vans* is now taking piss with minature cargo vehicles” is not news.
Per others, I’m going to take this as “harm minimization runs up against good-for-the-UK but still a bit inadequate cycle infra” for the moment.
* They seem to be better than some and I can’t recall any issues with actual driving – although of course “but loading” means that vans will be parked anywhere and everywhere…
No, it’s not.
No, it’s not.
The same cycle infrastructure
The same cycle infrastructure has been done round various parts of Manchester 2 way lane both sides of the road (where possible) and Amazon riders soon to be blocking the way these dinky thing not carrying anywhere near as much! Can you imagine your new games console being delivered in that!… Can’t wait to see the Amazon cycle version two cargo bikes one path ➡️⬅️ ?
A prolific bike thief in
A prolific bike thief in Worthing, branded a “blight on the community” by local police, has been jailed for 12 months…..
May I check….does this thief have both his hands still? If so, why?
More importantly what is
More importantly what is going to be done during his stay at our expense in prison to stop him reoffending? The fact that he stole lots of other random things makes me wonder if he has some sort of addiction. Locking somebody up for a while with other criminals and addicts seems unlikely to resolve the underlying issue.
Sorry if I come across as a bleeding heart lefty (I am a bit) but my attitude is pretty utilitarian really – prevent crime by working out why people are doing it and it saves us money in the medium to long term.
Re ludicrous driver comments.
Re ludicrous driver comments. On a dual C/W entering a roundabout going straight ahead. A car pulled alongside and turned left across me. I braked and swung left to avoid a collision, caught the car which was unsurprisingly stuck in traffic. Asked the driver what he was doing he told me he indicated. I explained that doesn’t make it OK as I was going straight ahead. He then asked if I was indicating.
Five years on I’m still trying to figure out how I should do that.
Most idiotic thing a driver
Most idiotic thing a driver has said to me?
I turned right at a roundabout and a car coming from the left almost drove into me. He then close passed me at a pinch point and shouted “give way to the right on a roundabout” which was exactly what he’d just failed to do.
Treks new kit…its been done
Treks new kit…its been done 😉
“I will not accept that it’s
To be fair, the road isn’t
To be fair, the road isn’t dangerous… the people driving on it are dangerous.
Love “You made it really
Love “You made it really difficult for me to overtake on that blind bend”, reminiscent of a Twitter comment a while back, “It’s a really dangerous road for overtaking anyway and the number of cyclists there now is making it worse.”
BMW turned right from a side
BMW turned right from a side turning across my path and then ABS’d hard to a stop to avoid hitting a bus which had been at the stop and I took a tumble (partly self-inflicted due to not anticipating the rather obvious need to stop being fixated on avoiding his rear door and bumper). His response: “Didn’t you see me pull out?”
I still remember the driver
I still remember the driver of B3 WBA in Lapworth who close passed me and a few other riders who then got a bit stuck, who when I politely asked him to leave a bit more room in future said “I’ll run you off the f***ing road if I want to.”
I still see the driver on occasion and I keep meaning to check which bit of the HWC he was referring to – but this was ten years ago: perhaps it’s changed since.
This old clip made me chuckle
This old clip made me chuckle: https://imgur.com/gallery/a841gyT
(Taken from https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/23156738.watch-cars-crash-hilarious-north-east-a19-archive-footage/)
That @CyclingInASkirt thread
That @CyclingInASkirt thread was strangely defensice, starting with “drivers just don’t look”, when clearly the driver in the road *did* look. Because he stopped for the person on the bike.
On the CyclingGranny tweet, the car was in a marked parking bay where it should be, rather than “stopped at the roadside”, so it seems in accordance HWC 139 to me. Ambiguous wording?
mattw wrote:
Her whole sentence was “drivers just don’t look before they pull out“, which is clearly true, s/he’s pulled out to a point where the whole front end is in the carriageway. Yes they looked, but not before they’d pulled out. Obviously due to the fact that the car has been left, incorrectly (yes the HC is ambiguous but common sense should say park with the traffic flow, parking bay or not), facing the traffic they have to pull out a little way to look but by leaning across the passenger space, or asking the passenger to check if they had one, they could have pulled a lot less far into the road than they did.
It’s almost like folks didn’t
It’s almost like folks didn’t read it. And like the people replying to her didn’t read the parts where she explains the point. Dunno why I feel the need to restate this – as clearly folks’ motor-centric focus has switched away from cycling to concentrate on the driver – but “in the middle of the road” (the lane) is just fine and you often need to be there as a cyclist because then lots of issues don’t become collisions.
I think it’s just a compelling illustration of people viewing this from their windscreen perspective. Which I think we’d all agree is common – nay pervasive. That doesn’t make it right, or the only meaningful perspective though.
As you point out as the driver starts to move out they literally cannot see what they may be driving into the path of. (Which is presumably why they’re going slow!) Many people – including here on this thread – just accept that as “reality” and even deprecate some suggestions for avoiding the problem in the first place. Clearly for many “looking” only applies at certain points / if it doesn’t involve extra effort.
I guess that’s why “blind spot” is accepted (of course you could move your head / not buy / drive design a vehicle with massive A-pillars etc.) And the acceptance of “didn’t see them” even when they were physically right in front of you.
They weren’t pulling out that
They weren’t pulling out that slowly, watch the bounce as they panic to a stop. If the cyclist had been a couple of metres further up the driver would still have pulled out in the same way because they couldn’t see.
Perhaps they should have followed the example of the driver who parked on the pavement and double yellows.
My daughter cycles in Sheffield and has some nightmare tales to tell.
Rendel Harris wrote:
They’ve
Regardless of the minutia of
Regardless of the minutiae of HWC wording, it is obvious that parking in a way to forces you to emerge unsighted is poor driving.
This seems a case where people are claiming that ! explicitly illegal == OK. A non-cycling example would be using the wrong lane at a junction to queue jump. That is not specifically illegal, but is used as an example by the CPS of driving without due consideration. Plenty of drivers demonstrate they think it is acceptable.
“What’s the oddest, most
“What’s the oddest, most irrational thing a motorist has said to you while on your bike?”
Anyone who’s been riding for any length of time will have a fund of these. My two favourites are:
Riding in Belfast and overtaking a parked vehicle when a driver decides to overtake me and hit my mirror. We both stopped, he got out and far from apologising said that it was my fault as he had sounded his horn, which apparently meant that I was supposed to stop and let him past.
The other was the driver of a camper van, who overtook me dangerously close as we left a traffic light (I was there first) and I patted the side of his vehicle. Again we both stopped, and he said it was my fault he’d passed me so closely as I had accelerated too quickly from the lights. Anyone who knows me will attest that I have trouble out-accelerating slugs, on a good day.