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Guys in black, no lights and on the phone…

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  • December 20, 2012 at 10:03 pm #17498
    Stedmonkey

    Riding across Oxford city centre starts and ends each day for me and has done for the past 18 months, day in day out. I normally keep myself to myself and just try and get to where I’m going, sticking to the rules of the road or cycle path.

    This evening on the High Street there’s a guy on a bike, dressed in black, no lights front of rear on his mobile phone one hand on the bars.

    I ride past him, hardly seeing him and for some reason I just felt like I had to say something so I did “get off the phone and put some f’ing lights on” to which he says as we cycle side by side – “I’m busy, I’m on the phone”. Then I say “if you carry on like that you’ll get knocked off or get killed’ to which he say “its my responsibility” and tells me to “f’@k off”.

    Having never said anything to a fellow cyclist before I now feel like a vigilanty and can’t help but feel I should have just kept to my own business. I certainly wish I had not sworn in the first place in hindsight.

    Anyone have any thoughts on this, would you do the same?

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  • December 21, 2012 at 12:35 pm #709379
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    keef66

    The most suicidal cyclist
    The most suicidal cyclist I’ve ever seen was on the A14 north of Cambridge in the rush hour. It was twilight, he was wearing head to toe dark grey, no lights or reflectives, and he was clearly texting as he went. The lack of a helmet would have been academic had he been hit by one of the container lorries.

    December 21, 2012 at 11:44 am #709377
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    OldRidgeback

    arrieredupeleton wrote:In

    arrieredupeleton wrote:
    In answer to the original question: I would have done the same, as most rational but annoyed people would. Whether the guy was a ‘cyclist’ or a person on a bike is irrelevant to most of the non-cycling public and car drivers. My frustration is that the public paint us all with the same brush. Whether you like it or not that guy represents us in a small way and its bloody annoying.

    On a lighter note, I once saw a guy on a MTB peddling down a slip road onto the hard shoulder of the M6. Didn’t even indicate!

    I once saw someone pedalling an MTB up the emergency lane of the M23. I was going in the other direction and this was at the M25 flyover, a pretty busy section of the motorway. The chap had a heavy bag across his back and another slung from his handlebars and was just about to cross the slip road leading onto the M23 from the M25.

    I hope someone called the cops as I was on my own in the car and couldn’t.

    December 21, 2012 at 10:57 am #709375
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    TheHatter

    Quote:Having never said

    Having never said anything to a fellow cyclist before I now feel like a vigilanty

    you should definitely get a cape!

    December 21, 2012 at 9:36 am #709373
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    arrieredupeleton

    In answer to the original
    In answer to the original question: I would have done the same, as most rational but annoyed people would. Whether the guy was a ‘cyclist’ or a person on a bike is irrelevant to most of the non-cycling public and car drivers. My frustration is that the public paint us all with the same brush. Whether you like it or not that guy represents us in a small way and its bloody annoying.

    On a lighter note, I once saw a guy on a MTB peddling down a slip road onto the hard shoulder of the M6. Didn’t even indicate!

    December 21, 2012 at 8:49 am #709371
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    notfastenough

    I don’t cycle commute, so
    I don’t cycle commute, so generally when I see ninja cyclists I’m driving home. It never ceases to amaze me – the last one I saw was not just in black, no lights, on phone, but with hood up, riding on the wrong side of the road, right where an oncoming cyclist would be! In fact I saw two lads, one sat on the handlebars for a lift, do just this (minus phone) and, wobbling along, caused a nicely-lit, high-vis commuter crash into them. Just a low-speed thing that resulted in some bad language, but still bad form.

    I tend to resign myself to the sort of response you got and usually don’t bother saying anything. When I have done, they have earphones in and probably don’t hear me anyway.

    Lol @russyparkin – quick thinking there!

    Last night actually, I had just gone through a junction near home. Lights everywhere causing a bit of glare, lots of rain and water reflections etc, and I suddenly realised that a woman had done that thing of crossing a road a lane at a time and was right by my right front. I could only see her head. Luckily I was only doing about 12mph. Don’t think she realised the danger though.

    December 21, 2012 at 8:48 am #709369
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    Forester

    Oxford is terrifying- have
    Oxford is terrifying- have seen some very irresponsible riding; no-one stops for pedestrian crossing lights and the narrow streets are a nightmare. Abandoned bikes everywhere….but it does have Zappi’s, my all time favourite bike shop cum restaurant.

    December 21, 2012 at 7:58 am #709367
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    PJ McNally

    i’d definitely do the same –
    i’d definitely do the same – and do, regularly, around Oxford.

    December 21, 2012 at 6:46 am #709365
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    Stedmonkey

    Thanks, yep russyparkin’s
    Thanks, yep russyparkin’s comment made me laugh :B

    December 21, 2012 at 6:17 am #709363
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    ilovemytinbred

    just remember a large
    just remember a large proportion of people are cocks, some travel by bike. Along with no lights the two silliest things i see every day are joining a road from the pavement without looking behind them and squeezing down the left of lorries and busses.

    Unfortunately the cocks in cars use this as justification for putting my life in danger. When i ask that drivers give me room and consideration, the common response is that i deserve what i get because ‘cyclists’ all jump lights etc. and should not be on the road.

    December 21, 2012 at 12:53 am #709361
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    CraigS

    Carl wrote:My weirdest

    Carl wrote:
    My weirdest experience was being ticked off for overtaking a fellow cyclist on the left – in a one-way street!!

    Maybe a bit different meeting a stranger on a commute but overtaking on the left is pretty poor ettiquette when group riding, especially without announcing yourself.

    December 21, 2012 at 12:17 am #709359
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    Carl

    He’ll get run over and then
    He’ll get run over and then we can all blame the evil motorist!

    My weirdest experience was being ticked off for overtaking a fellow cyclist on the left – in a one-way street!!

    December 20, 2012 at 11:18 pm #709357
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    akhat93

    the infamous cycle ninjas
    the infamous cycle ninjas đŸ˜•

    December 20, 2012 at 10:30 pm #709355
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    Raleigh

    lol @Russyparkin
    lol @Russyparkin

    December 20, 2012 at 10:25 pm #709353
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    Velo_Alex

    I try to remember (for my own
    I try to remember (for my own sanity) that these people aren’t ‘cyclists’ they’re just people on bikes.

    Unfortunately, that’s not a distinction that does the rest of us any good in the eyes of other road users.

    I try to lead by example rather than by direct confrontation but sometimes you have to do it. Yesterday I confronted the Big Issue vendor that rides up the High Street in the middle of the road – with his dog.For my trouble I got a mouth full of abuse but it needed to be done.

    What we need is the Universities to take responsibility for students being equipped and trained to ride safely, same for the big companies. Perhaps if these people were in the minority they’d be motivated to change their behavior.

    December 20, 2012 at 10:11 pm #709351
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    russyparkin

    yeah sorry about that, i dont
    yeah sorry about that, i dont like getting heckled. it was an important call

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