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Cyclists' rant thread
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Class, like it
the car's wing mirror hit P as the car overtook her and as I had slowed in the middle of the road, the driver had to come to a stop behind me...
the (fat) female driver was given a mouthful by me and P for her stupidity
there was an equally fat female passenger who was staring at me during my rant and I finished by saying to them
"and both of you would get some benefit if you got off your fat arses and did some exercise"
oops - my moral high ground went west at this point so we cycled off............
Big Volvo towing caravan had to pull in sharply after the road we were travelling on narrowed considerably. Fortunately Volvo missed me but Caravan wiped me out. I can still remember the sensation of the wheel bouncing over my head.
Also rode into a door post when a passenger decided to make a quick exit without looking. Sternum collided with the corner of the door. Ouchy, big scar across my chest now. Driver screaming at me (while I'm still poleaxed on the floor) for scratching his paintwork.
I walk to work now
How I wish I hadn't read this thread.
Plenty of near misses for all of us; goes with the territory I think. However, there are some right t1ts out there.
Best one I can recall is an old man who pulled out on me forcing me to a sharp stop was so surprised to see me overtaking him (on the right) shouting at him to watch where he was going (ok, it was a really big hill and he had his foot on the brekes all the way down
).
Now please no-one tell me it's illegal to overtake a car on a bike !
Ride safe all......
Or how about one of these:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2969296/Cycling-vest-shows-how-fast-you-are-pedalling.html
Limited to 70 mph - now there's a challenge.
I had a horrible near miss today involving a woman ( I hate to say that...but it was) who was indicating to turn left at a roundabout, but then obviously had a change of mind and headed straight for me. Nightmare, missed me, but not by much and only because I managed to slow right down. Best part was, she slowed down too, which meant I was almost at a stand still balancing on my pedals until she finally got past me. Anyone who has cycled with me knows that bike gymnastics are not my thing!! Thank God I've been working on my Pilates!!
Grrr
I wonder if it does single digits
Can you imagine the abuse when going up hills? That air zound looks fab....... (goes to check piggy bank).
Is it just me or does wearing more hi-vis clothing make you a better target for lorry drivers? I guess that this is the primitive targeting system that we have as humans; i.e., we tend to go where we look.
As cyclists we can't win though, no hi-vis we get berated by drivers as if they hit/ had a near miss with the cyclists (i guess this is because they have just scared themselves to death and slip in to fight rather than flight mode). If we do wear hi-vis gear then we become an easier target, especially in the rain.
What scares me most is that people don't seem to be able to judge the speed of a cyclist, and the speeds we get to can easily have horrific consequences. I am currently coming to terms with permanently reduced mental function as the result of a major head injury (scooter accident where a van reversed out into a main road without looking and I hit it head first at around 30mph). I believe I was saved from much more serious consequences because I had the best safety gear on and one of the best helmets on the market. I now won't get on a scooter, but I zip along on my bike at somewhere between 30-40mph in full flight but with a bit of polystyrene on my head. It's not my judgement or speed I worry about, it's the drivers (especially those with young Children in the car) who are not concentrating to the level that they should be!
I've been hit 3 times to date!
I'm pretty sure none of them were my fault but were the fault of drivers!
1st Incident - Car pulled out of driveway hit my back wheel whilst I was going at 20mph. I ended up on the floor hit my head, dazed, and back wheel bent out of shape! Good thing here though the guy got out made sure I was ok then gave me a lift home. Only 10mins away thankfully!
2nd - I was on a roundabout on the outside lane, car didn't see me, hit me side on as it tried to get onto the roundabout. Landed on car bonnet, bike on floor, handlebars bent! Car just drove off no 'sorry' or anything from the driver!
3rd - Also on a roundabout! I got squashed into the kerb by a car couldn't move. slapped the car door to try and alert the driver I went down on my side hitting my head and hurting my back. Driver didn't stop/notice anything had happened.
Best thing about all of these my parents had a fit about me not being 'safe' on the roads, whereas as far as i can see there is not alot I could do about any of these!
But I love it and will keep on putting in the miles
I was once told about a study at Bath university when they looked at drivers attitudes towards other road users by putting them in a simulator.
Apparently they found the drivers tested are subconsiously less inclined to give a cyclist wearing a helmet as much room as those who don't.
Apparently.
Agreed.
She is unmarked.
Her helmet, for those that haven't seen it, er, isn't.
Had she not have been wearing her helmet, she would have been somewhere on the spectrum of:
having gravel removed from her face
nerve damage and tenporary or permanent facial paralysis
brain damage
death.
Obviously we'll never, fortunately, know where on that spectrum she would have finished up, but none of the above are as desireable as 'no head injury at all'...
The trauma doc who was first on the scene seemed to think toward the bottom of that list
Can anyone point me in the direction of the picture/thread?
I'll have to take a piccy of her helmet and post it up...
I suspect that the piccy won't do it justice, but it will give people some idea...
I've had a piece of it that I fished out of my knee when I was waiting with her, that was painful
I believe that other studies have shown that motorists will allow you as much space as you take for yourself. So, if you cycle along right in the gutter then motorists will skim past your elbow, whereas if you ride out because you appear to 'need' more room then they'll give you more space as they go past.
Personally, I think if you cycle out from the kerb then motorists have to make a positive movement to go past which is better than a slight movement which they may misjudge.
Thought I'd revive this old thread after what I saw last night.
In the dead-blackness of night, on an ill lit side road I was struggling to adjust my vision to work out what was infront of me.
A cyclist, no helmet, no light, wearing black. Indicating right.
WHY ARE YOU BOTHERING TO INDICATE, NO ONE CAN SEE YOU ANYWAY!!!
Dullard.
I bring this up as my friend recently ploughed down an early morning cyclist who was also not keen on being seen.
You wanna try cycling in Trinidad or Jamaica!
My philosphy that is most effective is to take my space and guard it. In emergency I have a place to go. I ride towards the centre of the road/lane and only move in if I have to. I assume all cars and trucks are out to kill me and have't seen me. I wear bright, loud cycling gear and red gloves. I have a top of the range helmet which I replace if I so much as drop it! When I ride in the dark (more likely very early morning) I use flashing rather than steady back lights. Been wing mirrored 3 times, but never knocked off. Closest call was actually one of the many dogs that we get out in the country, damn thing actually got it's teeth onto my shoe, managed to kick it off after I unclipped.
Happy riding