[road]

I had a disconcerting experience today. I was driving behind a cyclist on a mountain bike on the road. He was cycling slowly but all was ok. I waited to pass then overtook giving him room but then there was crossing furniture ahead and I had to turn in a little before I would have liked but not dangerously as I took account of the speed of the cyclist and the other hazards around. I stopped in a queue and he tapped on my window. He told me I’d cut him up dangerously and had it all on his camera. I said I thought I’d been ok and not cut him up but I apologised if he thought I had. His response was to call me a c**t and I was to apologise ‘to the fine’ when I receive it. I checked my dash cam which was inconclusive so maybe I’ll get to see his version one day. The thing was when I thought about it after I now think he was deliberately encouraging a situation where he had to be overtaken and was looking to be cut up or have someone overtake too closely. I’m all for safety and I cycle a lot and am for ever getting cut up etc (six stitches in hand after car door opened on me late last year) but I think we (cyclists) have to be careful not to fuel the bike v car debate by acting in such a way. Today I was a driver and tomorrow a cyclist – we’re all in this together and both drivers and cyclists must learn that we all make mistakes (I don’t think I did but we shall see) so we mustn’t assume that the other party is a c**t just because we’re in the other transportation category. He certainly didn’t help the cause of the rest of us cyclists by being so abusive. Comments or views?

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Topic

[jh2727]

> when I thought about it

> when I thought about it after I now think he was deliberately encouraging a situation where he had to be overtaken

> I stopped in a queue and he tapped on my window.

I’m a little confused, he had to be overtaken, but then caught up with you in a queue? So why did he *have* to be overtaken?

[jh2727]

It will show the distance you

It will show the distance you were from the cyclist and the refuge at the start of the overtake, the speeds that you were both travelling at and how far you were from the refuge when you pulled in.  We can infer most of the rest – if we assume the cyclist didn’t accellerate whilst you were overtaking.

[John Stevenson]

Not as far as I can tell; the

Not as far as I can tell; the account was far from new.

[Hirsute]

Were they a PBU ?

Were they a PBU ?

[John Stevenson]

AlsoSomniloquism wrote:

Surprised on the banhammer. 

So was I to be honest and I’m usually the most enthusiastic advocate of its use, along with deleting everything the troll’s ever posted.

But the world would be a duller place if everyone agreed with me about everything. I mean, it’d be much better, obviously, but still duller 😉

[AlsoSomniloquism]

Surprised on the banhammer.

Surprised on the banhammer. Other people have done a lot worse then post the above and stayed on multiple times. I genuinely think the person had posted in good faith but from a wrong initial view that they did nothing wrong. 

(especially as the same username is associated to a Twitter account and is probably a triathlete). 

[hawkinspeter]

chrisonatrike wrote:

I don’t see “troll” in your list?

That’s to stop them signing up for an account!

[chrisonabike]

I don’t see “troll” in your

I don’t see “troll” in your list?

[hawkinspeter]

John Stevenson wrote:

No, I repurposed a well-known quote, changing only what was essential to apply to the situation.

That said, what are the odds yonder troll is anything other than male? Microscopic, I’d say. 

Looking at the email address attached to that username, it starts with a male forename, and another member of the site team has already banned him anyway.

You should add a gender selection box to the account sign-up:

[peted76]

@TRIDODDYTRI  –  I get that

@TRIDODDYTRI  –  I get that this encounter has knocked you a bit and I get that being called a tnuc might not have been the most polite of exchanges. 

What you need to understand is that clearly the cyclist was ‘in that position’ regardless of whether it was concious or unconcious (no-one in their right mind would purposfully put themselves in the way of a car). Also regular cyclists are reguarly put into danger, their level of tolerance for being greviously harmed may be lower than other road users (surprisingly).

Regarding the language, 1) some people swear like it’s normal, 2) some don’t 3) the cyclist would have likely had an adrenaline spike so I tend to be a little more forgiving in those circumstances.

 

[hawkinspeter]

brooksby wrote:

Doesn’t matter what the situation or circumstances or subject of conversation, there is always an appropriate Hitchhikers Guide quote available… 😀

Very deep… You should send that in to the Reader’s Digest. They’ve got a page for people like you.

[John Stevenson]

No, I repurposed a well-known

No, I repurposed a well-known quote, changing only what was essential to apply to the situation.

That said, what are the odds yonder troll is anything other than male? Microscopic, I’d say. 

Looking at the email address attached to that username, it starts with a male forename, and another member of the site team has already banned him anyway.

[brooksby]

chrisonatrike wrote:

Would “fam” be better?  (I’m “so unhip it’s a wonder my bottom doesn’t fall off”).

Doesn’t matter what the situation or circumstances or subject of conversation, there is always an appropriate Hitchhikers Guide quote available… 😀

[chrisonabike]

Reminds me of overhearing

Reminds me of overhearing some Americans debating whether “y’all” had become dual purpose plural and singular and if so to clarify should they use “all y’all” or “y’alls”.

[hawkinspeter]

chrisonatrike wrote:

Would “fam” be better?  (I’m “so unhip it’s a wonder my bottom doesn’t fall off”).

“Fam” sounds gender neutral to me. More of a question is if “guys” is a gender neutral term as I’ve often heard it used to address mixed genders (I think that common usage has changed its meaning).

[Author]

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