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Is it a brave new world?

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  • August 8, 2014 at 6:09 pm #22103
    Cyclist

    I am life long obsessive cyclist, and I believe I have in general always been a polite and courteous rider, I wave at the rider across the road, ask if people are alright if they look like they are crashing and offer the gel if needed, stop if someone has a mechanical and offer assistance. I welcomed the on slaught of mamils & mawils with their erratic riding styles. It benefited cycling as a whole. However today I am over it. If you have ridden for along time you sense and know who are new to the game, and today during an 88 mile ride I experienced 3 episodes that now make me realise why the non cycling driver is bad mouthing us as a whole. (even though 50% of the drivers will be shite at driving)

    Number 1: approaching rider from behind on a single carriage way, I shout on your right mate a number of times, louder and louder, until I pull out giving him a good 5ft, he did not hear me, s##ts himself when I shout as loud as I can, are you Fcuking deaf? Swerves towards me forcing me onto the other side of the road!!!!! Then I notice the earphones. A complete oblivious dullard who frankly deserves to be knocked off.

    Number 2: riding along the lanes with a good view of the road ahead, I see in the distance six riders, 3 abreast! All in their sky / BMC ebay kit. Of course they will move…. Oh, no they didn’t, they just looked at me and carried on riding towards me three abreast! I just sped up and forced them on to the grass verge, followed by a couple of expletives.

    Number 3: (Nearly home) rider coming towards me, I am cooling down so sitting up spinning and we start to pass I look at him raise a hand and say hello, he looks at me then looks at road with no response. That tipped me over the edge, I chased him down and asked him if my politeness offended him? He hadn’t seen me, even though we were only 15ft apart bright sunshine and I was in a bright red kit.

    I embraced the raised profile that British cycling has gotten from all the good stuff that has happened, but out on the road I am not so sure if it’s been a good thing?

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  • August 13, 2014 at 1:50 pm #808501
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    bamilton wackademical

    Re. Tjuice’s post: a similar
    Re. Tjuice’s post: a similar thing happened to me in Vancouver. Some guy gave me about 5 seconds warning, spooked me and missed me by centimetres before speeding off screaming obscenities. Some London club riders (who shall remain nameless) have a reputation for this kind of behaviour in places where all kinds of people take their bike out – not just TT riders.

    As a pedestrian or someone out for a leisurely ride, it can be pretty unnerving when somebody almost clips you when they bomb past – even with warning. Then you quite often get the statutory rolling of eyes or ‘fuck sake’ from the rider, as if to say ‘this is my road – play by my rules’.

    People cycle for different reasons and not everyone is out there to get PBs every time they leave the house. If there’s limited space to pass, slow down and find a safe way to pass them without ruining their day out as well as potentially ruining your own. Granted, a lot of people could do with learning a bit more etiquette (and stop wearing headphones on the open road), but you live a longer happier life if you don’t see red at every thing that gets in your path on a daily basis.

    August 13, 2014 at 1:31 pm #808499
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    Matt eaton

    Crosshouses wrote:A few weeks

    Crosshouses wrote:
    A few weeks ago I was left hooked by a chain gang from a local club, no warning of their approach, no acknowledgement of my presence, no indication they intended to turn left and no apology for making me do an emergency stop. I was invisible to them.

    Later that week I caught another rider and stayed with him for a chat. It turned out that he was a club official and urged me to join a club. I described my recent experience and told him that I was unimpressed by the behaviour of club groups. His reply was that clubs were being spoiled by the influx of new cyclists who were not interested in learning the etiquette of the sport and “only joined for the jersey”.

    To be fair, we can’t have it all. I’d draw a paralel with the BMX freestyle world where increased popularity, partly of BMX but more significantly of micro-scooters, has resulted in a lack of good skatepark etiquette. Trying to get a run in can be almost impossible at times for kids standing in stupid places or dropping in without looking. Everyone whinges about the scooter kids and how they are ruining skateparks but it’s also true that the increase in participation in ramp-sports has resulted in more skateparks being built and the scooter kids (or rather their parents) play no small part in enuring that our indoor parks stay open.

    Increased interest in road cycling will have many positive benefits. Increased club memberships mean more money for clubs to run events or improve facilities and with more bikes on the road our local authorities might even start to maintain the roads better (OK, I can dream can’t I?). There are negative aspects of a sport becoming more mainstream but lets look to the positives as much as possible.

    August 13, 2014 at 12:55 pm #808497
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    Kapelmuur

    A few weeks ago I was left
    A few weeks ago I was left hooked by a chain gang from a local club, no warning of their approach, no acknowledgement of my presence, no indication they intended to turn left and no apology for making me do an emergency stop. I was invisible to them.

    Later that week I caught another rider and stayed with him for a chat. It turned out that he was a club official and urged me to join a club. I described my recent experience and told him that I was unimpressed by the behaviour of club groups. His reply was that clubs were being spoiled by the influx of new cyclists who were not interested in learning the etiquette of the sport and “only joined for the jersey”.

    August 11, 2014 at 1:34 pm #808495
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    Matt eaton

    Tjuice wrote:Re: #1
    Some

    Tjuice wrote:
    Re: #1
    Some decades back, when I was young (I’m guessing around 10 yrs old), I was cycling along a fairly narrow shared-use path (was once an old railway track), when a chap on a race bike came barrelling up on a race bike at some speed.
    He shouted “on your right”, or “keep to the left”, or something like that. I was not expecting it and it completely spooked me, so in the heat of the moment, I panicked and ended up going right.

    Race bike chap had to emergency brake and we both ended up still upright, having not collided, on the grass at the right hand side of the path. I apologised of course and he was grumpy but not angry.

    As I reflect on this, I can’t help feel that had he slowed down a little and just carefully worked his way past me (I was a child – I would not have been hard to overtake), rather than yelling at me at speed, the incident would not have happened. And the path was neither a race track, nor the open road.

    Not sure this story really adds anything to this thread, but thought I’d share
    :-)

    Good story, and very relevant today. We still don’t seem to have decided what/who these shared use paths are really for and I’m sure there are loads of examples like this happening all the time.

    August 11, 2014 at 1:11 pm #808493
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    Tjuice

    Re: #1
    Some decades back,
    Re: #1
    Some decades back, when I was young (I’m guessing around 10 yrs old), I was cycling along a fairly narrow shared-use path (was once an old railway track), when a chap on a race bike came barrelling up on a race bike at some speed.
    He shouted “on your right”, or “keep to the left”, or something like that. I was not expecting it and it completely spooked me, so in the heat of the moment, I panicked and ended up going right.

    Race bike chap had to emergency brake and we both ended up still upright, having not collided, on the grass at the right hand side of the path. I apologised of course and he was grumpy but not angry.

    As I reflect on this, I can’t help feel that had he slowed down a little and just carefully worked his way past me (I was a child – I would not have been hard to overtake), rather than yelling at me at speed, the incident would not have happened. And the path was neither a race track, nor the open road.

    Not sure this story really adds anything to this thread, but thought I’d share
    🙂

    August 10, 2014 at 8:01 pm #808491
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    Matt eaton

    When did it become normal to
    When did it become normal to shout ‘on your right’ when overtaking a stranger on the road? These calls are for race situtions, like lapping someone on a ‘cross race, especially in a narrow section. On the road shouldn’t you just overtake like any other vehicle? Next you’ll be telling me you sound your horn when you overtake cyclists in the car; or do you wind the window down and shout at them?

    August 10, 2014 at 7:51 pm #808489
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    S13SFC

    #3. You need to have a long
    #3. You need to have a long hard look at your life mush if you think chasing some fella for not waving back is normal or acceptable behaviour.

    August 10, 2014 at 2:10 pm #808487
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    FluffyKittenofTindalos

    1 & 2 – people, whatever mode
    1 & 2 – people, whatever mode of transport they use, are sometimes quite inconsiderate. If its not endangering your life, just say ‘tsk tsk’ to yourself and move on. Its not a new trend, it has always been that way.

    3 – since when is one obliged to acknowledge everyone who happens to be using the same mode of transport as oneself? Are you one of those oddballs who insist on trying to make conversation with complete strangers on the bus (or, worse, the Tube) or saying hello to unknown pedestrians in the street?

    Stop doing that! It’s very unnerving. Just scowl and ignore everyone else’s existence like what normal people do.

    August 10, 2014 at 1:24 pm #808485
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    freespirit1

    230548 wrote: There are also

    230548 wrote:
    There are also a great many ‘look how expensive my bike is’ types out there who have carried there insular aggressive car habits into the biking world

    I think I encountered one of them this morning, when riding my motorcycle to work.

    Two cycle gear wearing occupants in a Silver Range Rover, the driver just chopped me out of the left hand lane.

    If I had done it when I am driving I would expect to cop an earful of abuse.

    August 10, 2014 at 12:47 pm #808483
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    glynr36

    230548 wrote:I am afraid we

    230548 wrote:
    I am afraid we are from another age i have been in all the similar situations described cycling is no longer the fraternity it was and although there are a great many competent and helpful cyclist out there. there are also a great many ‘look how expensive my bike is’ types out there who have carried there insular aggressive car habits into the biking world

    Oh get over yourself.
    It never was a fraternity, it’s a sport not a secret society..
    The ‘older’ guys are the worst I find for elitism too, passing judgment on many things, the reality is they just can’t handle the fact that they’re getting dropped now.

    August 10, 2014 at 12:00 pm #808481
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    Leeroy_Silk

    the_jm wrote:Leeroy_Silk

    the_jm wrote:
    Leeroy_Silk wrote:
    Can anyone tell me the difference between a cyclist in full team kit and a footie fan wearing their teams jersey?
    Well, I don’t know a single person who owns cycling kit that does not take part in their sport/hobby. The same cannot be said of football fans. Your point is?

    It was a question not a point.
    I fail to see the difference between the two (violent football thuggery aside), why be judged showing support towards your favourite team? Or is this purely about stereotyping.
    I don’t particularly like the image certain brands portray but I’m not going to dislike an individual for choosing to wear what the want.

    August 10, 2014 at 11:51 am #808479
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    KirinChris

    “aggressive” habits?
    Nobody
    “aggressive” habits?

    Nobody was shouting at the OP, nobody forced him off the road or chased him down to demand that his presence be acknowledged… and yet you think other people are being aggressive?

    Sounds like someone who is always on the lookout for a teacup where he can brew up a storm.

    August 10, 2014 at 11:42 am #808477
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    230548

    I am afraid we are from
    I am afraid we are from another age i have been in all the similar situations described cycling is no longer the fraternity it was and although there are a great many competent and helpful cyclist out there. there are also a great many ‘look how expensive my bike is’ types out there who have carried there insular aggressive car habits into the biking world

    August 10, 2014 at 10:44 am #808475
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    the_jm

    Leeroy_Silk wrote:Can anyone

    Leeroy_Silk wrote:
    Can anyone tell me the difference between a cyclist in full team kit and a footie fan wearing their teams jersey?
    Well, I don’t know a single person who owns cycling kit that does not take part in their sport/hobby. The same cannot be said of football fans. Your point is?

    August 10, 2014 at 9:14 am #808473
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    Leeroy_Silk

    Jo_ wrote:Also, get over your

    Jo_ wrote:
    Also, get over your judgeypants snobbery about team kit. People enjoy their sport in different ways, and I’d prefer to cycle with a keen rider in team kit than with someone with an angry superiority complex.

    Can anyone tell me the difference between a cyclist in full team kit and a footie fan wearing their teams jersey?

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