Letting off steam

[Jacomus]

Is overhanging on your rear wheel mean being really really close to your back wheel then?

Actually overlapping. His front tyre was about level with my rear hub. Totally unacceptable. I couldn't see behind me because all I could see was his sweaty red face, couldn't hear properly either since he kept freewheeling.
Looking down my left side was no good either since I still couldn't see clearly past him.

Since I was on my fixed, getting a good hard tap might cause me to kangaroo. Not much fun!

In that case slow down and force him to pass you (seriously annoying, but safe)

or

Gently move out wider and wider, he will be forced to drop back.

[alexb]

Try this if you get motons hoggin your back wheel through speed humps.

Speed up just as you approach the hump. I can do the ones across Tooting Bec at about 35-28kph without to much harm to myself (I can "post" over them no probs at this speed). Following cars adjust to keep the gap constant or try to overtake.
If you get it right you get a loud satisfying crunch from behind and no more hassles!

Great fun. I award myself points. I get double points for overtaking through the sequence (easy - cars cannot do more than 20kph across the humps, although they have time and room to overtake me between humps), extra points for crunches etc.

[alexb]

Is overhanging on your rear wheel mean being really really close to your back wheel then?

Actually overlapping. His front tyre was about level with my rear hub. Totally unacceptable. I couldn't see behind me because all I could see was his sweaty red face, couldn't hear properly either since he kept freewheeling.
Looking down my left side was no good either since I still couldn't see clearly past him.

Since I was on my fixed, getting a good hard tap might cause me to kangaroo. Not much fun!

read my OP
In that case slow down and force him to pass you (seriously annoying, but safe)

or

Gently move out wider and wider, he will be forced to drop back.

[her_welshness]

'Amusingly, there's another large wankpanzer attempting to turn into the road. So, it's face off time, because this is south-east London and no one can give way. Remember kids, giving way makes you gay. Or straight, depending on your starting preference.'

Hahahahaha - sounds like sarth-east London all the way mate..in Lewisham it is no different.

[Gattopardo]

Unnecessary Overtaking Manoeuvres are so common, I've abbreviated it and frequently mutter to myself 'another UOM'.  Maybe it's hard wired into the cultural conscious that "bicycle is slow vehicle, must overtake".  It becomes, "must not read the road ahead, must overtake" with the attendant last minute braking at traffic queues.  Then of course, you'll filter, they'll fume.  I try and remember 'it's their heart attack'.

Coming down the road the other day, going quite fast, probably noodling above the 20mph speed limit, started to slow for a right turn at the t junction ahead. There's an itchy car close behind. As soon as the road opened up just before the junction, the car just had to go. So it overtakes and ends up at the t junction on the wrong side of the road. Amusingly, there's another large wankpanzer attempting to turn into the road. So, it's face off time, because this is south-east London and no one can give way. Remember kids, giving way makes you gay. Or straight, depending on your starting preference.

Lady in the overtaking car then glares at me as I wait at the junction for a gap in the traffic and plaintively cries "why didn't you slow down?" Hmm, I'm stopped at the junction. I'm pretty sure the mechanism for this involved slowing down. It was nice, warm, smug feeling as I turned and left the two drivers snarling at one another.

But it's not just bikes. Coming back from the supermarket on Sunday, we had a Merc hanging like a limpit on our rear bumper. Did the same thing as soon as the junction came into view. Had to cut the corner severely onto a main road at speed, and only by the graces of any deity was there nothing coming down Elmer's End Road, because it would have been a head-on. Astoundingly, the idiotmobile went into a development about 50 metres further up the road. Evidently well worth risking the life of yourselves and others to get to your destination a few seconds earlier.

The horn on a Ford Ka is, incidentally, pathetic. More of a asthmatic parp. Certainly not enough to put errant overtakers in their place. I think some kind of brown noise targeting device would be good in these situations.

Isn't Se London great, try Hackney for that real heart in you mouth am I going to die moments.

[αdαmsκι]

Hackney ain't that bad.  Or maybe I just cheat by avoiding the main roads.

[her_welshness]

Yes I have heard that Hackney is where the special people are.

I followed one of my colleagues routes home through Lambeth, Peckham and thus onto Denmark Hill..my God that is hairy (and we were doing the Sustrans bit). It's when you have to go through the red light at least 10 seconds before the other traffic because you will get pinged otherwise!

[Gattopardo]

Hackney ain't that bad.  Or maybe I just cheat by avoiding the main roads.

When I lived by broadway market every day was life in your hands.  People driving up the wrong way on way streets, instant parking, ignoring traffic lights etc.

[αdαmsκι]

Hmm, maybe I have spent too much time in hackney and I now consider those actions 'normal'

[Jacomus]

Peckham is bad, but stick to the main road (A20?) and it is pretty plain sailling.

The S.Circular round Tooting area is pure death! Emily and I saw an apartment the other night near Tooting Bec station - our ride home left my nerves so shattered I had to lie down on my own for 20mins when we made it back. I was utterly reliant on just following Emily too, she got me home.