Mission Accomplished



N

[Not Responding]

Guest
Just got back from my family bike ride.

The good bits first.

It was great fun. The weather held off and we covered about 9km in
total. We did half the outward journey by road but bailed out onto the
off-road route for the remainder and for most of the return trip.

The off road section was interesting. I've never really ridden off
road - or at least not since I did "scrambling" at the age of 9 or so.
It was superbly quiet and scenic but, boy, was it muddy. By the time
we got home both us and our bikes were barely visible under the mud.

The tea room at the nature reserve was open so it was a near perfect
day out. Although the bike racks (5 sheffield stands; 10 bikes) were
full when we arrived - not bad for a grotty October day.

Apart from the bad bits and the reason we left the road, that is.

I have NEVER suffered such inconsiderate and dangerous driving in my
life. Bear in mind this is a road that goes nowhere; whether in a car,
on horseback or on a bike, unless you are farming the only reason for
using it is for leisure. Yet, these Sunday drivers thought their
pleasure to be so vital that they were prepared to overtake with
ridiculous clearances at speeds, I'd guess, of over 50 mph. These were
2 tonne 4x4 pantechnicons passing centimetres from my 6 year old
daughter.

I suppose the fact that I was going slower than usual meant I saw more
of it but there were some classic blind-bend overtakes and two times
when only panic-breaking prevented car-to-car head on collisions. My
daughter learned some new words from me and my wife demonstrated a
hitherto unknown skill of shouting at cars.

I'd have thought the multi-modal nature of the road would have
prevented this sort of driving. From experience (it's our road) and
observation today, there are more people on horseback, bike and foot
than there are cars yet, still, the majority of drivers thought their
behaviour acceptable.

It was a great ride for me and the family but I am still spitting
about the drivers. Apologies for rant; will now go and attempt to
clean my bike in penance.
 
" [Not Responding] " <[email protected]>typed


> Just got back from my family bike ride.


Nice to hear you've been out en famille.

> I'd have thought the multi-modal nature of the road would have
> prevented this sort of driving. From experience (it's our road) and
> observation today, there are more people on horseback, bike and foot
> than there are cars yet, still, the majority of drivers thought their
> behaviour acceptable.


I think much of this problem is because many road users (esp 15-40 yr
olds) have no experience of anything except car use. In my locality, the
driving is abysmal and cyclists are fairly uncommon. They are treated
with dangerous ignorance and hostility.

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email protected]
Edgware.
 
On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 15:08:16 +0100, " [Not Responding] "
<[email protected]> wrote:

>I have NEVER suffered such inconsiderate and dangerous driving in my
>life.


Including being parked on?

>Bear in mind this is a road that goes nowhere; whether in a car,
>on horseback or on a bike, unless you are farming the only reason for
>using it is for leisure. Yet, these Sunday drivers thought their
>pleasure to be so vital that they were prepared to overtake with
>ridiculous clearances at speeds, I'd guess, of over 50 mph. These were
>2 tonne 4x4 pantechnicons passing centimetres from my 6 year old
>daughter.


Situation normal, I'm afraid.

--
Dave...

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live. - Mark Twain
 
On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 18:03:22 GMT, Dave Kahn <[email protected]>
wrote:

>On Sun, 17 Oct 2004 15:08:16 +0100, " [Not Responding] "
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>I have NEVER suffered such inconsiderate and dangerous driving in my
>>life.

>
>Including being parked on?
>


Hmm, I suppose that did beat today by a wide margin.

Probably the only benefit of unconciousness and amnesia being that you
forget the fear prior to the impact.
 
in message <[email protected]>, [Not
Responding] ('[email protected]') wrote:

> I suppose the fact that I was going slower than usual meant I saw more
> of it but there were some classic blind-bend overtakes and two times
> when only panic-breaking prevented car-to-car head on collisions. My
> daughter learned some new words from me and my wife demonstrated a
> hitherto unknown skill of shouting at cars.
>
> I'd have thought the multi-modal nature of the road would have
> prevented this sort of driving. From experience (it's our road) and
> observation today, there are more people on horseback, bike and foot
> than there are cars yet, still, the majority of drivers thought their
> behaviour acceptable.


Around here I will often see as many cycles and horses between home and
the nearest town as motor vehicles. Admittedly few of the cyclists or
horse-riders are utility users; the overwhelming majority of them are
out for enjoyment. The behaviour of motorists is _mostly_ courteous,
but there are enough shocking exceptions to make life interesting.

And you're right - it is remarkable how aggressive and antisocial some
of these drivers are prepared to be, given the number of non-motorised
users of the road.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Morning had broken, and I found when I looked that we had run out
of copper roove nails.
 
[Not Responding] vaguely muttered something like ...
> Just got back from my family bike ride.


Nice one ;)

> It was a great ride for me and the family but I am still spitting
> about the drivers. Apologies for rant; will now go and attempt to
> clean my bike in penance.


It really is a pity that road users spoil other road users enjoyment. I
think there's no 'easy' answer really.

--
Paul ...
(8(|) Homer Rules !!!
"A ****** is a ******, no matter what mode of transport they're using."
 
[Not Responding] wrote:

> It was great fun. The weather held off and we covered about 9km in
> total. We did half the outward journey by road but bailed out onto the
> off-road route for the remainder and for most of the return trip.

Sounds good.
>
> The off road section was interesting. I've never really ridden off
> road - or at least not since I did "scrambling" at the age of 9 or so.
> It was superbly quiet and scenic but, boy, was it muddy. By the time
> we got home both us and our bikes were barely visible under the mud.
>
>
> I have NEVER suffered such inconsiderate and dangerous driving in my
> life. Bear in mind this is a road that goes nowhere; whether in a car,
> on horseback or on a bike, unless you are farming the only reason for
> using it is for leisure. Yet, these Sunday drivers thought their
> pleasure to be so vital that they were prepared to overtake with
> ridiculous clearances at speeds, I'd guess, of over 50 mph. These were
> 2 tonne 4x4 pantechnicons passing centimetres from my 6 year old
> daughter.

Hummm, well we (2 boys and me) took our bikes with us to Bisley
(National Scout Air Rifle Championships) as a means of around camp
transport, recon I did 6 miles over two days pottering they did 20 plus.
Now to transport the bikes, radio gear (jamboree on the air as well!)
and everything else I used SWTSMBOs l/r discovery, with the remains of a
range-rover converted into a trailer (I'm getting to the point), now
with such vehicles comes responsiblity, and land-rover *enthusiasts*
usually know this and drive sensibly (a number also ride bikes and Al
uses his to take his bent about IIRC).
The same however cannot be said of those that choose a flash 4x4 as
transport, usually. On our drive we passed, and were passed by all
types, the worst being merc and volvo 4x4 drivers, too much money? too
much aggresion!
One volvo 4x4 driver was mouthing obsenities because I was going round a
"rind-e-bite" and he had to stop, in a normal car, let alone on a bike
he'd have gone for it and I'd have had to avoid getting splatted....

So I can well understand your anger at their driving, its a shame that
all get branded by the antics of the few, bit like riding through red
lights I suppose ;-)

Niel.
 
On Tue, 19 Oct 2004 14:06:08 +0100, "njf>badger<"
<"njf>badger<"@soton.ac.uk> wrote:

>The same however cannot be said of those that choose a flash 4x4 as
>transport, usually. On our drive we passed, and were passed by all
>types, the worst being merc and volvo 4x4 drivers, too much money? too
>much aggresion!
>One volvo 4x4 driver was mouthing obsenities because I was going round a
>"rind-e-bite" and he had to stop, in a normal car, let alone on a bike
>he'd have gone for it and I'd have had to avoid getting splatted....
>
>So I can well understand your anger at their driving, its a shame that
>all get branded by the antics of the few, bit like riding through red
>lights I suppose ;-)


I hadn't meant to damn all drivers of 4x4s...

If you see a blue Mercedes M Class driven in an exceedingly
considerate and respectful manner to cyclists; that'll be Mrs Not
Responding.
 
>If you see a blue Mercedes M Class driven in an exceedingly
>considerate and respectful manner to cyclists; that'll be Mrs Not
>Responding.


A blue Merc A-class driven in a manner exceedingly courteous to cyclists will
have either self or t'other half at t'wheel ;-)

Cheers, helen s




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