Bloody cyclists

[curious george]

Lots of good points and stuff was here. See above

I agree there is some shocking cyclists out there that dont do the group image any good at all.
Bottom line is this: a cyclist riding solo, or in annoying bunch crashing red lights, one hit from a car and it's all over. Cyclist is always in the wrong. The only way to be in the right is not to be hit.

I've never seen anybody successfully argue the point from under a car wheel.
Cyclists are subject to all traffic rules, and can be fined etc like any car driver. They have no more rights, just bigger penalties...

It's just harder to catch one...
I hate seeing dopey cyclists piss traffic off without a proper reason, it must be possible to report bad riding like you can bad driving, people just cant be bothered, and not having any rego plates makes it pretty hard.

[Wolf]

I agree there is some shocking cyclists out there that dont do the group image any good at all.

It's not just cyclists - there are a lot of shocking road users that seem to think indicating, checking mirrors, actually slowing down and looking at roundabouts etc are "beneath them" or something. Some of whom are pretty much safe from us because they're encased in a cage while we are not.

Of course, vulnerability is relative and one day they're going to do it in front of an SUV or an 18-wheeler...

[MSTRS:Me]

Of course, vulnerability is relative and one day they're going to do it in front of an SUV or an 18-wheeler...

We can only hope (that it won't be fatal and that the lesson will be learned)

[forkoil]

Cheers, Bell.

I noticed a couple in there acknowledged that some cyclists also act illegally and need to learn some respect - obviously they weren't "all-cyclists-are-saints" Forkoil.

I'm away on holiday Wolf, make the most of it, when I get back home I'll be blowing you out of the water again..... be patient

[Wolf]

I'm away on holiday Wolf, make the most of it, when I get back home I'll be blowing you out of the water again..... be patient

Damn, you've gone and made me cry.

[bell]

Despite the thread looking like it was on its last legs I had a small incident yesterday worthy of sharing.

I cycle to work most days. I live up a hill. I don't ride very quickly up this hill in the afternoons, say, 10-15km/h or so. Big ring at the front, granny or 2nd at the rear. Point is I'm not crawling along, weaving all over the road.

Anyway, the street is narrow, close to 5 metres wide, no shoulder, just a bank on one side and a steep drop on the other. Cars are permitted to park on the RHS as you look up the hill. So, there's a line of perhaps 6 vehicles on my right and I'm approximately 1-2 cars away from the crest of the hill.

Prior to passing the bottom-most parked car I usually glance behind me to see what could be coming up the hill and, usually, trying to squeeze past between me and the parked vehicles on the right. I did this and noticed a single vehicle approaching the bottom of the hill - approx 80 metres away from me at that point.

I maintained my line up the hill. This is usually 30cms or so out from the yellow line painted on the left. 30cms out still means that my hands brush the vegetation that overhangs the street. There's about 10cms of 'shoulder' on the other side of the yellow line. Nelson's traffic engineers squeezed every bit of road they could out of this section.

"Wow! Fuck! There's that maroon car that was at the bottom of the hill 3 seconds ago - it's bonnet is very close to me.....that means that.....their mirror is likely to hit me...." and it did. They clipped my handlebar end and caused their mirror to fold in.

The ever-so-courteous driver of the vehicle thought he should firstly slow down a bit to check if the cyclist was still on the road, secondly, he gave a little wave of "ooh, sorry about that" as he peered into his rear view mirror, and thirdly, came to a stop and wound his window down as he realised that I was now alongside his drivers' window and wanting to have a 'chat'.

Mindful that there was now a vehicle approaching his now stopped vehicle at the top of the crest I kept it brief: "Don't try to squeeze past a cyclist when there's parked cars and you can't give them a bit of room. Ask yourself if you'd drive that close to the bike if it was your wife or child riding it. No? Then slow down for all of the 5 seconds it would have taken for me to be clear of the parked cars and then go past. Oh, thanks for stopping, it makes it easier to get your registration number now when you drive off. Expect the police to pay you a visit and ask you to explain how your vehicle came into contact with another road user". Or words to that effect.

Poor judgement on his part? Perhaps he has a limited spatial awareness of the exterior dimensions of his vehicle? In a hurry to get home? Texting on his phone? Fiddling with the radio/CD player? All are possible. I think the first 3 are more likely though.

I hope he gets a fine. At the least I hope that the next time he passes a bicycle on any road he gives them more room. And I hope anyone who's been reading this thread and hadn't considered how their driving/riding might impact on cyclists, especially when passing, gives it some mature thought.

[MSTRS:Me]

Could have been a different story, ay Bell? Being monstered by anything bigger than you is never fun. Good on you for 'having a word'...
It'd be the rare motorist that did that sort of shit deliberately. Mostly they are just blind to the smaller road users. OISIDSY. That's what I find disturbing in some posts here....that cyclists somehow don't need to take due care and attention, rather that everyone else must do it for them.

[Wolf]

Sounds like you were doing everything right, Bell, glad you didn't get knocked off when he clipped your handlebars.

I, for one, am cautious passing cyclists - which is one of the reasons I get so fucked off with those who behave in a dangerous manner.

[bell]

Yep, so much of it is lack of awareness. Sometimes it takes an occurence like I outlined above to get people to up their awareness levels. Maybe this guy cycles himself and he would not have felt threatened by being overtaken like that?

I've supported too many people with spinal cord injuries to ride in anything but a hyper-defensive manner. I value my mobility very highly. Any opportunity I get to raise someone's awareness of how their driving has endangered me I generally take. The community roadwatch system is there too, but I don't know how effective it is.

Having a significant hearing impairment also dictates that I try and get a visual on what's happening around me as opposed to relying on hearing what's around me. I sometimes use a mirror that clips to my sunglasses. http://www.cycleaware.com/products/heads-up.php
Highly recommend these to anyone that rides in traffic regularly.

[forkoil]

Damn, you've gone and made me cry.

You really DO feel antgonism, I'm surprised. The comment was actually tongue in cheek, I thought you would have sensed that.

[James Deuce]

I'm away on holiday Wolf, make the most of it, when I get back home I'll be blowing you out of the water again..... be patient

I think you've signally failed to do anything except convince a lot of people that some cyclists are convinced of their right to endanger themselves.

I work with a couple of competitive cyclists, am mates with a couple of triathletes, and my boss and his boss are recreational cyclists.

I've run this thread past them from time to time. You haven't endeared yourself to your fellow cyclists chap.

[forkoil]

I think you've signally failed to do anything except convince a lot of people that some cyclists are convinced of their right to endanger themselves.

I work with a couple of competitive cyclists, am mates with a couple of triathletes, and my boss and his boss are recreational cyclists.

I've run this thread past them from time to time. You haven't endeared yourself to your fellow cyclists chap.

What sort of dastardly crime have I committed to be referred to as "chap". That really cuts to the quick, aarrrhh that hurts. But I am of a forgiving disposition so I will ignore it today (I'm in Lower Hutt for a wedding). Unless the cyclists you referred the thread to wear chaps when on training rides, sort of cowboy cyclists, a bit kinky I think.
Could you be a little more prescriptive about the criticism, what did your cycling mates actually say about my comments that they disagreed with, otherwise your comments are just smoke blowing?
This thread has moved from initially just outright all on demonising of cyclists in general (those lycra wearing idiots someone called them), and has metamorphosed into a more reasonable criticism of "some" cycling behaviour by "some" cyclists, and acknowledging bad behaviour by other road users as well. It was only after myself and others pushed back against that initial vitriol that the bigots cleared off (in the main), so most of my comments were in reaction to those early nasties (including the guy who took delight skiting about using his truck to scare the shite out of those lycra wearing idiots). Some people in here are real twerps, some are reasonable. I tried to push the argument away from the twerp end of the spectrum.
I stand by my main point being that the law is at best a blunt instrument, and blandly comparing different vehicle types in relation to the one law applying to them all is unrealistic at best. That the vast majority of road users ignore when the situation is safe, some rules, speaks for itself, you will never get society following all laws to the letter, and pretending you will is a waste of effort (Wolf).

[forkoil]

I think you've signally failed ......

I think you mean singly, or maybe its a sign of things to come...

[MSTRS:Me]

I think you mean singly, or maybe its a sign of things to come...

He means 'signally' - look it up....
If he meant singly, he would have said 'singularly' and that would be wrong, since you've failed multiple times to convince us that it's ok for cyclists to act like cocks

[Wolf]

You really DO feel antgonism, I'm surprised. The comment was actually tongue in cheek,

As was my reply - had I taken your post seriously I would have answered seriously.

I thought you would have sensed that.

I had.