Cycling

[maddog]

Last week when out for a pedal i was coming back in the road and was within 2 miles of the house when this bit of a incident takes place. A guy is waiting to pull out of a side road in a people carrier, bloke probably in his 60's. As i get to where he is pulling out of and passing his exit point on other side of the road he crosses the first lane and then into my lane and nearly knocked me off but for a very quick swerve at last second that put me within an inch of the kerb. I let a roar out of me and i see him looking in mirror and then he stands on the brakes. So i motion to pull over to discuss the matter and he takes off for another few yards and stands on the brakes again. Then speeds off. So it would seem this guy either didnt see me as he pulled out (which is highly unlikely) or just didnt give a toss.
I've noticed that there is an element almost worse than the boy racers and its a small number of the 60+ who believe their car is the only thing that should be on the road. Have to say i am used to people pulling out and doing stupid things but this one shit me up. The weird thing is that this particular road sees some of the daftest stunts coming out of the entrance to Dickens Heath, so much so that you are always waiting on it. It isn't a particularly dangerous or fast stretch just has some right idiots negotiating it. That said the driving during "lockdown" has been pretty bad. Lots of boy racers using it as an excuse to get the foot down in 30mph zones. 2 roads down had 2 cars racing down it, a parked car was going to block one of them winning the race to the cemetry so he mounts the pavement for 100 yards to get ahead. Any child stepping out of their house would have been cut in two. In Birmingham the law has lost control of the roads, there is no fear of any consequences from those that abuse it.

[Orior]

Last Sunday I saw a car overtake a cyclist by going right of the 'keep left' island in the middle of the road.

Maddog, that was a scarey incident, and you escaped unscathed only by your quick reactions and skill. But what would have been the outcome if the driver had stopped and spoken to you. Did you want an apology? Would holding an arm up out of he window have worked the same?

I'd be a bit cautious of a hothead stopping and getting out of his car especially when he knows that he is in the wrong. 

[maddog]

Last Sunday I saw a car overtake a cyclist by going right of the 'keep left' island in the middle of the road.

Maddog, that was a scarey incident, and you escaped unscathed only by your quick reactions and skill. But what would have been the outcome if the driver had stopped and spoken to you. Did you want an apology? Would holding an arm up out of he window have worked the same?

I'd be a bit cautious of a hothead stopping and getting out of his car especially when he knows that he is in the wrong.

I could forgive the mistake but the standing on the brakes to make me hit him from behind is dangerous driving and attempted assault. He did that because i had the temerity to object to nearly being run over. Happened that quick i hadn't time to work through the scenarios and had lost my temper probably at that stage. Wish i had have had headcam but then i don't really believe in running to cops perpetuating the battle between road users. Might have made exception for that p***k though.

[maddog]

Last Sunday I saw a car overtake a cyclist by going right of the 'keep left' island in the middle of the road.

That is just normal here 

[imtommygunn]

Last Sunday I saw a car overtake a cyclist by going right of the 'keep left' island in the middle of the road.

Maddog, that was a scarey incident, and you escaped unscathed only by your quick reactions and skill. But what would have been the outcome if the driver had stopped and spoken to you. Did you want an apology? Would holding an arm up out of he window have worked the same?

I'd be a bit cautious of a hothead stopping and getting out of his car especially when he knows that he is in the wrong.

There's a boy I'd know pretty well from running is big into the cycling. Him and a few boys were cycling up the outer ring (south belfast) towards the east. They were cycling in a group and a driver came along and basically tried to run them of the road. They'd it on gopro etc. He completely lost the rag and at the next set of lights they caught the driver. He pulled the keys of his ignition and smacked the driver in the mouth. He cycled off with the keys and then saw sense and came back with them. To be fair he isn't generally violent or whatever at all but whatever the other guy was at he just flipped on him. He said the driver was actually trying to put them off the road and only for they had that on camera he'd likely have been done for assault. Some eejits out there. (The fella was remorseful too to be fair to him but when someone tries to harm you like that probably hard not to see red).

[illdecide]

Without this going into a melt down between cyclists and motorists we all know there are motorists who are pure ball bags and clearly there are cyclists that fit that mould too but we all have to share the road and we're going to have to tolerate each other and respect each other. Its funny how we Irish have turned into the rush rush nation and haven't the time for nothing...a few decades ago the Irish were renowned for being laid back and even lackadaisical where we took everything in our stride but we've become the metropolitan city slickers in a rush even in the towns...

Where is this going to end as the population expands and the cyclists increase too it's only going to get worse...I always look at it this way...Imagine having to go to someone's wake and funeral that you knocked off the bike, watching their wife/husband/kids in bits knowing you played a part in it. That would soon put it into perspective.

[illdecide]

Anyway we've exhausted this argument between cyclists and motorists that pops up every now and again...lets discuss bikes and races again as this crap doesn't go anywhere.

[Orior]

During lockdown, how far / how long are you allowed to cycle on the road in free state / UK?

[illdecide]

During lockdown, how far / how long are you allowed to cycle on the road in free state / UK?

5K in Ireland (free state as you put it ). You can cycle as long as you want just don't go beyond 5k
No limit in distance in uk (I think)

[maddog]

Without this going into a melt down between cyclists and motorists we all know there are motorists who are pure ball bags and clearly there are cyclists that fit that mould too but we all have to share the road and we're going to have to tolerate each other and respect each other. Its funny how we Irish have turned into the rush rush nation and haven't the time for nothing...a few decades ago the Irish were renowned for being laid back and even lackadaisical where we took everything in our stride but we've become the metropolitan city slickers in a rush even in the towns...

Where is this going to end as the population expands and the cyclists increase too it's only going to get worse...I always look at it this way...Imagine having to go to someone's wake and funeral that you knocked off the bike, watching their wife/husband/kids in bits knowing you played a part in it. That would soon put it into perspective.

You are dead right of course, but just on the point of cyclists i assume you mean all cyclists not just the lyrca brigade. For example where do you start with a clown riding on the pavement going in the wrong direction down a one way street shouting at pedestrians to get out of his way. Saw that not that long ago in city centre. Also a guy lives on our road here is up and down all day (dont know what the hell he is at) on a mountain bike, seems to be nipping to the shops but all the way down a flippin cul de sac on the pavement. You really need to watch out for him when backing off the driveway instead of looking out for the kids playing on their bikes.
It is generally a symptom of a declining society where there is generally less respect for other people and it manifests itself through incidents on roads, in supermarkets, in pubs etc etc.

[maddog]

During lockdown, how far / how long are you allowed to cycle on the road in free state / UK?

5K in Ireland (free state as you put it ). You can cycle as long as you want just don't go beyond 5k
No limit in distance in uk (I think)

There is a guideline in UK that people took as gospel from Michael Gove of 1hour. General principle is you should be able to get yourself home if you have mechanical problem (anyone that is cycling in anyway seriously would anyway). Saw a piece about it on the legal aspects of it and it more or less said there was no limit. The limit in Ireland of within 2km or whatever it was is a waste of time. Maybe that was the idea. Turbo trainers are supposed to be like hens teeth.

[illdecide]

Maddog to be fair I wouldn't class a clown on a mountain bike riding on a pavement a cyclist, I know what you mean. How do define a cyclist? We all have our own opinions i'm sure but it might be easier to look at someone in jeans riding on the footpath as not a cyclist.

[bigarsedkeeper]

If you were looking to get into cycling in a small way what type of bike would you suggest buying to get started? I'm interested in getting a bit of cardio in to clear the head at the minute, can't run with back problems and can't swim at all - not that that's an option at the minute. I won't be going too far to get started. Have an ok mountain bike for taking the kids on trails etc but I'm sure a few spins out with it would put me off the cycling completely. Not looking to deck out completely in lycra either, the worlds not ready for that! Thanks

[bennydorano]

That's it, is a fella walking down the street with a Tennis racket a Tennis player? The public seem to get wound up by all types of cyclists unfortunately - cyclists and people on bikes I should say.

[thewobbler]

That's it, is a fella walking down the street with a Tennis racket a Tennis player? The public seem to get wound up by all types of cyclists unfortunately - cyclists and people on bikes I should say.

There's a good reason for this.

Anyone who has ever lived in a housing development will from time to time have their journey held up by family/neighbours playing football, tennis, rounders, something else, even pedestrians on the street. This is easy to tolerate given the minimal disruption and the fact that it is a communal space.

But same people do not then vacate that space and also play their game on dual carriageways with a bunch of other housing developments, or on the width of arterial routes, or on the width of country roads, thereby forcing traffic - regardless of how deep it is - to wait while their have their fun.