An hour on local roads

[Jacomus]

Today I needed to run an errand, a mere 9miles away in the next town. It is the first time in a long time that I have been out for a decent spin rather than just home -> uni and back. The sun was shining, and a moderate breeze blowing - everything looked good. Alas, all was not to be.

Way out:

Shaved by a Vauxdull Astra, who was "teaching" me to ride in the gutter, reinforced by pointing 

Shaved by a white van, then another, then a third - all driven by Balfour Beatty workers. When I passed them 30meters ahead in the MASSIVE traffic jam I was told to "get a proper bike" the driver was told to "get a proper penis".

Two cars pulled hard over to the right to try and prevent me filtering past them.

Nearly driven through by a schoolbus driver not looking where he was going.

Spat at by some chavs in a shitmobile.

Way back:

Shaved by 2 vans.

Beeped by an angry old man.

Overtake then left hook despite me riding in primary, shouting, then banging on the window so hard my hand is bruised. I realise now, thanks to the idiot woman driving, that I "should have let me [her] go, your on a bike."

Rear wheel nudged by a BMW who wanted me to roll up to the stopped traffic faster than I was.

SMIDSYed by someone pulling out of a side road.



It is days like this that make me wonder if it is really worth it. I was scared for most of the hour I spent on the bike, and the times that I wasn't scared I was angry at having my life jeopordised by twunts. I didn't enjoy that ride one bit. I was so irate that at the end, SMIDSY would have got ripped out of their car and heavily assaulted had they not locked their doors before I could get at the handle. YOU CAN F*CKING SEE ME NOW CAN'T YOU B*TCH!!!!!!!!!!


Bah, rant over. W@nkers.

[Chris S]

 

Do you live in Telford?

[border-rider]

I got loads of vehicular respect on my ride today.  Probably cos I was on lanes, and wobbling all over the road

One cyclist coming the other way shouted "nice, er, machine", and the kids at the local primary were agog

[geoff]

Wow J-r-G, a bad trip! Glad you didn't come to any harm. It's really hard to understand why the standard of driving is so poor in some places: perhaps there's some duff road-design up your way (pinch-points; poor signage etc). Does your local council (or University transport office) have a designated bike person who could help, or lay on some liaison/driver education?

Hope things improve ...and don't let the b*st*rds get you down!

[David Martin]

I spent an hour on local roads tonight. Just as the mists were rising off the fields, clear roads, bats swooping around.

Spinning along on Fred and realising that cycling really is fantastic.

Several cars on the narrow roads (that's several more than usual) all slowed down and gave me loads of room (blindem lights may have something to do with it.).

So for every shitty awful ride there is a fantastic one. The nasty-nice balance has been restored and all I can say is thank you very much.

..d

[Charlotte]

Blemmin'eck, Jacomus - that's a bit shit 

It happens sometimes, doesn't it?  Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.  Not that it's anyone else's fault other than the moron drivers.

I really don't like the thought of doing violence to people.  I suppose you could say that I'm a pacifist.  But when someone behaves like that on the roads, I'm afraid I get very angry indeed.

Recently, I have realised that my pacifism is not incompatible with willfully damaging the vehicle driven by someone who has just endangered my life with their driving.

Whilst this may not always be legal, given that no other censure is likely to befall them, I'm not so sure it's actually wrong.  The thought of this makes me feel a whole fuck of a load better.

[Wendy]

Shame JRG, I'm sorry to hear you had such a bad ride mate.  Sympathy and a virtual hot cuppa from me!

[Regulator]

So it's all David's fault, eh...  He get's all the good rides and we get all the crap, so as to keep the karma in cycle!  Just wait 'til we meet. 





 

[rogerzilla]

I had a Peugeot 306 driver (it's ALWAYS a Peugeot) who insisted on squeezing round a roundabout in the same lane and parallel with me yesterday.  A rough knowledge of Newtonian mechanics helps in these situations, because you need to know how fast a ton of steel can accelerate, brake or turn when you're six inches from its rear wing.  Idiot.

[tiermat]

Damn JRG that sounds like a bad ride.  As others have said tomorrow may be different, don't let it put you off.

For some reason round here the motons seem to think that traffic islands don't apply to them, twice in the last 2 days I have been overtaken between 2 sets of said islands, only for the car to have to go the wrong side of them!  Oh for a helmet cam

[nuttycyclist]

I have found that sometimes a bad day just spirals into a really bad day.  I think some crap from one incident actually sticks to you and so creates the next.


My attitude now is that if I've had a couple of close calls and realise the ride is about to turn into a shitty one such as JRG describes, I purposefully stop.  I'll either change direction completely to go and play in the woods, or will go to a viewpoint, get off the bike and chill for 5 minutes.  After that the ride goes back to pleasure instead of frustration and fear.

[Jacomus]

Thanks all - I feel MUCH better today.

Nutty - thats a good idea, I must remember to do that another time.

I'm cycling home to see my parents tomorrow, so we shall see how it goes  but hopefully all the bad feeling will have gone.

It does surprise me every now and then, just how awful the quality of driving is around here. I would be less surprised if I was riding through the middle of Mosside or some such place, but the depths of Surrey  Guess it highlights the arrogance of my fellow Surreyites.

[mattc]

Ah, I didn't realise you were in Surrey ...

I've found a much lower level of aggresion since retreating from (various bits of) Surrey to South Oxfordshire. The bit of Berkshire in between is nearly as bad (West Berkshire is nicer).

I think it's the london effect, but with just enough space on the roads that motons expect to tear about, thus causing more anger with the slightest delay.

It seems that money CAN buy you anger.

[Jaded]

The closer to London you get, the worse it is, in my experience. That goes for cycling and being in a car.

[nuttycyclist]

...
Nutty - thats a good idea, I must remember to do that another time.

I'm cycling home to see my parents tomorrow, so we shall see how it goes  but hopefully all the bad feeling will have gone.

...

Take a couple of minutes before setting off to purposefully chill and calm your mind.  Set out relaxed, not expecting trouble.

My classic situation was after a really bad day at work.  I stomped out to the bike in a foul mood and expecting an accident from bad drivers mistakes.

I left the car park, then at the first road on the left I got left hooked.  I set off again and on the second road on the left a taxi driver looked me in the eyes and pulled out in front of me.  I T-Boned his front wing.  I recall that something happened at the next junction as well

I then stopped on the beach to chill out before riding home.

[juliet]

The closer to London you get, the worse it is, in my experience. That goes for cycling and being in a car.

I ride through central London daily (er, except when I'm being lazy & working from home ) & I reckon that the vast majority of drivers are perfectly pleasant & competent.  Coming up the Highway yesterday evening, between two queues of nearly-stationary traffic, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of drivers who pulled over left/right a bit to give me a bigger gap to get through. 

Mind you, I had two rims strapped to the rack so maybe they were worried for their paintwork

[border-rider]

(West Berkshire is nicer).

Thatcham is in W Berks

I'll agree that rural West Berks is pretty good, but then Iddu and I have been training 'em over the years

[Greenbank]

Coming up the Highway yesterday evening, between two queues of nearly-stationary traffic, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of drivers who pulled over left/right a bit to give me a bigger gap to get through. 

Except when they don't bother looking in their mirrors before doing this and pull into someone coming up the inside/outside.

(Not that that's your fault at all. It's the dopey dimwits in the cages for not using their mirrors before manoeuvring.)

[Jaded]

I think Central London is different - being urban. I was more meaning the sub-urban/rural areas. Too many cars capable of doing too much driven by people who care about themselves too much.

[mattc]

I think Central London is different - being urban. I was more meaning the sub-urban/rural areas. Too many cars capable of doing too much driven by people who care about themselves too much.

Yes, that's exactly the problem in (outer) Surrey. It's a nasty inbetweeny environment. Lots of roads that are crap for commuting - unlit and narrow, but clogged with too many oversized bling cages.

[Dave]

Yes, that's exactly the problem in (outer) Surrey. It's a nasty inbetweeny environment. Lots of roads that are crap for commuting - unlit and narrow, but clogged with too many oversized bling cages.

Sounds very much like Luton, but you can add in a load of very badly thought out pinch points, which seem to encourage homicidal overtakes. I've had more 'incidents' commuting in Luton than I had in three years in Cambridge.

[Wendy]

I had a whole lot of incidents yesterday, let's see:

Left hooked at Salt Box Hill
Woman driver tailgates me, gets upset when I make pushing back motions and then film her, and she then runs a red light
Bad overtake from "I'm a cyclist" inna volvo.  "Yes mate, pity you don't drive like one"
Watched one muppet onna bike try to kill himself on the left side of a bus, my heart was in my mouth watching him.  Credit to the bus driver for taking care of the cyclist's mistake.  I told the cyclist that being to the left of big vehicles is what kills the most cyclists in London.
Told off some cyclist for jumping reds by telling him that drivers use his behaviour to beat me with a stick, and that being blamed for his transgressions really sucks.  Jaw dropped amazement, and no other response.
Watched another cyclist undertaking a bus on Grosvenor place
On the way home, on HPC, get some old fool in a taxi push me out of primary in my lane at low speed at the lights, and then swear at me after I knocked on his taxi.

Nothing at all serious, but just one of those silly season rides.  To make up for it I also had loads of good drivers who held back, overtook well, moved out of the way at pinch points, and put a smile on my face.

[tiermat]

I had a zen like ride last night, barring one incident.  The sun was out, the wind low and I was averaging 18mph (a first for me).  Coming up to some lights in Fleet there was a queue of cars, with a bike lane on the LHS.  All the cars bar one were outside of the bikelane.  I shot past the cars leading up to this idiot (in a Ka), I footed it around her then, as the traffic was stopped for the red, just as I got past her I waved to attract her attention and shouted "keep out of the bike lane".  A confused look and hand signals to suggest she couldn't hear me were all I got from her.  So hand signals (pointing to the bike lane) and a "Keep out of the F****** BIKE LANE YOU D*** B*****" came from me.  The rest of the ride was unsullied by idiots, thankfully

I'm sorry for lowering the public perception of cyclists.