I'm a cyclist myself

[Tim Hall]

"I'm a cyclist myself". The opening to what is nearly always going to be a rubbish conversation with a motorist.

The most recent example was on Saturday morning as we made our way back fom the FNRttC, cycling through Crawley Industrial estate. To our left is a bus lane. Not a bus and cycle and PTW and taxi lane but a bus lane (guided buses use it). A car pulls alongside and a voice utters the telling phrase:
"Hi guys, I'm a cyclist myself"
My heart sinks.
"Why don't you use the bus lane?" asks the driver, looking at us through his nearside window.
"Because it's for buses only"
"But I ride in it often" he says
"I can't help that. You're doing it wrong"
Off he goes, having not been held up at all by a pair of tandem riding cyclists.  It would be handy though if he'd looked forwards and concentrated on driving rather than sideways and engaging us in conversation.   

[Cudzoziemiec]

Yep. The "advice" usage as above is less frequent IME than the "excuse" deployment, as in "But I can't have done anything wrong, because I'm a cyclist myself, therefore even if I drove into you, it must be your fault." (To which the riposte should be, but isn't, "I'm a driver myself.")

On a minuscule side note, I've never seen a bus lane that didn't allow cyclists, but then I've never been to Crawley Industrial Estate.

[Kim]

On a minuscule side note, I've never seen a bus lane that didn't allow cyclists, but then I've never been to Crawley Industrial Estate.

They tend to be ones that were molished from scratch as bus infrastructure, rather than part of a public highway that's been co-opted.  The entrance to the bus stop area of Euston station from Euston Road springs to mind as one that's eminently useful for cyclists.

[bhoot]

Pretty sure there used to be one outside Preston station when I was a reasonably frequent Brompton equipped visitor there for work purposes. I have vague recollections of having received a justified ticking off

[Tim Hall]

On a minuscule side note, I've never seen a bus lane that didn't allow cyclists, but then I've never been to Crawley Industrial Estate.

They tend to be ones that were molished from scratch as bus infrastructure, rather than part of a public highway that's been co-opted.  The entrance to the bus stop area of Euston station from Euston Road springs to mind as one that's eminently useful for cyclists.

Exactly (or nearly exactly) this. Originally there was a Great Plan to install guided bus lanes far and wide across the town at Vast Expense.  These are separated from the rest of the road by kerb stones and concrete.The buses have guidewheels at the front to, umm, guide them down this narrow lane.  However as the Great Plan progressed there wasn't enough money to meet the ever increasing Vast Expense so the Great Plan got cut back.  This resulted in a mish mash of guided bus lanes, normil bus lanes, featuring Coloured Tarmac and no bus lanes at all. 

The bit we were cycling next to is a normil bus lane but has the relevant signage showing it is for buses only. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.1382299,-0.164496,3a,75y,149.22h,69.87t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sCvZUK4gqMG8WsxlNeoDkJA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192 

[ElyDave]

The guided bus way around Cambridge is very definitely not a cycleway, or an anything-else-at-all-way. I have ridden on it though to get past a flooded section of the adjacent psychopath

[Cudzoziemiec]

We have a couple of small sections of guided bus way here; just enough to qualify for a grant on account of it being not-a-normal-bus, no siree. I think it's something 200 metres in total. But they're all totally separate from normal road. I've never ridden on them, on account of things like them not going anywhere terribly useful for me, having "car traps" (like heffalump traps but smaller), not wanting to get squashed by a bus, and of course because YACFers are all good, decent, upstanding, law-abiding citizens, but I have seen people cycling in them.

The bit shown above, however, I would probably have ridden in, even though that would make not a good, decent, upstanding, law-abiding citizen.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Getting back to the topic, I once used this phrase to a motorist who had passed way too close and whom I then caught up with at the traffic lights a few hundred metres further on, as I spotted a bike in the back of his car. He did apologise.

[De Sisti]

There is a guy on the Honest John forum who describes himself as a former cyclist, who has
ridden thousands of miles, but gave up due to age. During the recent thread on changes to
The Highway Code, he was constantly critical of cyclists (despite having being one and ridden
 thousands of miles) and not once did he have anything good to say about people who ride bikes.


As an aside, he wouldn't reveal at what age he gave up cycling and offered no further information
on where he clocked up the thousands of miles. I noticed that whenever anyone mentioned
anything regarding  cyclists, he was always adding his negative comments. In my PM to a moderator, the mod said that this individual (let's call him Sammy1) was always controversial and very rarely, if ever, backed up his comments and appeared to foster a grudge or resentment on anyone enjoying themself on two wheels.

[Kim]

The bit shown above, however, I would probably have ridden in, even though that would make not a good, decent, upstanding, law-abiding citizen.

+1

[Kim]

As an aside, he wouldn't reveal at what age he gave up cycling and offered no further information
on where he clocked up the thousands of miles. I noticed that whenever anyone mentioned [/size]
anything regarding  cyclists, he was always adding his negative comments. In my PM to a moderator, the mod said that this individual (let's call him Sammy1) was always controversial and very rarely, if ever, backed up his comments and appeared to foster a grudge or resentment on anyone enjoying themself on two wheels.

It's good to have a hobby, I suppose.

[Lightning Phil]

Think I’ve found your man’s bike

[Mr Larrington]

I reckon it's this one:

[mrcharly-YHT]

In the grand tradition of thread diversion; guided bus lanes.

Seen them in Leeds, Cambridge; they are always buses-only. The cambridge ones have car traps and I've seen a car stuck in the trap.

[ElyDave]

In the grand tradition of thread diversion; guided bus lanes.

Seen them in Leeds, Cambridge; they are always buses-only. The cambridge ones have car traps and I've seen a car stuck in the trap.

The only place I've seen a car in a trap is at Addenbrookes, where the bus way crosses the road and then the railway line. There is no obvious left turn and the road goes straight on, so how the hell someone ended up there I have no idea

[Adam]

Confession time - I've cycled in the Crawley bus only lane, and I knew I was being naughty.  A bus came up behind, vigorously sounding his horn, and continued to do so, after I hopped across onto the road.

They don't like cyclists in Crawley.

[jiberjaber]

In the grand tradition of thread diversion; guided bus lanes.

Seen them in Leeds, Cambridge; they are always buses-only. The cambridge ones have car traps and I've seen a car stuck in the trap.

Also Luton - Dunstable too...

[Lightning Phil]

Anecdotally I’ve heard a few LEL 2017 cyclists had problems with the St Ives - Cambridge bus lane.   I can see being somewhat fatigued and the multiple points the cycle lane changes sides could cause someone to turn a bit too early.

[Tynan2]

The last time a driver told me they were a cyclist I replied with 'you don't look like one'

I am a pedant but it should be 'I cycle too'.

I always assume they cycle at the weekend in the park for a mile, with their family, maybe just on holiday.

[Solocle]

On a minuscule side note, I've never seen a bus lane that didn't allow cyclists, but then I've never been to Crawley Industrial Estate.

They tend to be ones that were molished from scratch as bus infrastructure, rather than part of a public highway that's been co-opted.  The entrance to the bus stop area of Euston station from Euston Road springs to mind as one that's eminently useful for cyclists.

Exactly (or nearly exactly) this. Originally there was a Great Plan to install guided bus lanes far and wide across the town at Vast Expense.  These are separated from the rest of the road by kerb stones and concrete.The buses have guidewheels at the front to, umm, guide them down this narrow lane.  However as the Great Plan progressed there wasn't enough money to meet the ever increasing Vast Expense so the Great Plan got cut back.  This resulted in a mish mash of guided bus lanes, normil bus lanes, featuring Coloured Tarmac and no bus lanes at all. 

The bit we were cycling next to is a normil bus lane but has the relevant signage showing it is for buses only. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.1382299,-0.164496,3a,75y,149.22h,69.87t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sCvZUK4gqMG8WsxlNeoDkJA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

I often use the bus-only lane here - Poole Town Centre

It makes doing a U-turn for the shops there easier than going up to the roundabout on a one lane dual carriageway.

[hatler]

And I happily use the bus only lane here - view looking east across Kingston Bridge - if I want to go right into Kingston old town once I've got across the bridge.