Why do I bother?

You would have thought I'd have learned the lesson by now: arguing with cagers is a waste of time.

This morning I was hooted as I approached a pinch-point on the Reading-Henley road. As lucjk would
have it the offending driver stoped at the lights shortly after (the two in front went through on
red, but other traffic was entering the junction by the time she reached it). I knocked on her
window and asked if she had been hooting at me. She had.

Apparently if I'm "going to do that" (i.e. ride my bike) I should get out of the middle of the road.

Which is odd, because I wasn't even in the primary riding position. It's not necessary at that
point, the pinch point is so narrow that there is less than a car's width to my right even in the
secondary position. So apparently I was actually suposed to be in the gutter, with the slush and
ice, so she could squeeze past. There is a wide bit of road after the pinch point where overtaking
is relatively safe, so waiting reduced her speed by a third for slightly under ten seconds.
Apparently she wants me to ride in the gutter so she can endanger my life for the sake of an extra
three seconds waiting at the lights.

I told her she should try reading the Highway Code and Cyclecraft. She muttered something
unintelligible and drove off.

On the plus side, later in the ride I was overtaken by a Pickfords driver in a biiiiiig truck. His
driving was exemplary, I was not in the least discomfited. Maybe I should stop referring to them as
Rhinestone Removals ;-)

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

 

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> You would have thought I'd have learned the lesson by now: arguing with cagers is a waste of time.
>
> This morning I was hooted as I approached a pinch-point on the Reading-Henley road. As lucjk would
> have it the offending driver stoped
at
> the lights shortly after (the two in front went through on red, but other traffic was entering the
> junction by the time she reached it). I knocked
on
> her window and asked if she had been hooting at me. She had.
>
> Apparently if I'm "going to do that" (i.e. ride my bike) I should get out
of
> the middle of the road.

Get with the world of sound bites.

"So that idiots (*) that can't overtake safely don't kill me"

Were you on your mountain bike then?

(*) If you're feeling a bit Jim Davidson you could replace it with "bloody women" etc.

 

The trouble is that although we all know that as cyclists we have a perfectly legal right to use the
roads and also expect other road users to respect and show consideration to us - they don't.

I keep one thought always in my head:

It's pointless being 'right' if you are dead!

The bald fact is that he/she is in 'control' of tons of metal and you damage so very,
very easily.

 

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]> wrote in news:bvd8et
[email protected]:

> I told her she should try reading the Highway Code

The equivalent of the Highway Code here in Western Australia is free (although not as comprehensive
to my eyes). Once the weather has cooled to a level where I can stand to cycle, I'm highly tempted
to carry a couple of copies to give away to educate such idiots.

Cheers,

Graeme

 

"W K" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> Get with the world of sound bites. "So that idiots (*) that can't overtake safely don't kill me"
> Were you on your mountain bike then?

She didn't ask "why" otherwise I would have told her exactly that. Sadly the clueless rarely admit
of the possibility that there might be an opportunity for education: they normally stick to
statements like "you should not do that" rather than questions.

I was on the 'bent. The roads are mostly clear except at the edges.

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

 

"nobody760" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> The bald fact is that he/she is in 'control' of tons of metal and you damage so very, very
> easily.

Which is why I was riding in a position which ensured that she did not overtake in the
pinch point

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

 

"Graeme" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> The equivalent of the Highway Code here in Western Australia is free (although not as
> comprehensive to my eyes). Once the weather has cooled to a level where I can stand to cycle, I'm
> highly tempted to carry a couple
of
> copies to give away to educate such idiots.

At two quid a throw I'm tempted to do the same at my own expense.

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

 

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
> "W K" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
>> Get with the world of sound bites. "So that idiots (*) that can't overtake safely don't kill me"
>> Were you on your mountain bike then?
>
>
> She didn't ask "why" otherwise I would have told her exactly that. Sadly the clueless rarely admit
> of the possibility that there might be an opportunity for education: they normally stick to
> statements like "you should not do that" rather than questions.
>
> I was on the 'bent. The roads are mostly clear except at the edges.

The insight into why she behaved as she did is here
http://www.trl.co.uk/static/dtlr/cycling/549summary.pdf

Tony

 

"Tony Raven" <[email protected]om> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> The insight into why she behaved as she did is here
> http://www.trl.co.uk/static/dtlr/cycling/549summary.pdf

Yes, it's interesting isn't it? I read it last year when it was referenced by the Scottish Executive
in an analysis of cycle networks in Edinburgh.

The gap between known desirable behaviour and perceived actual behaviour is very much in line with
the research on drivers' estimates of their own driving skills.

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

 

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Graeme" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>
> > The equivalent of the Highway Code here in Western Australia is free (although not as
> > comprehensive to my eyes). Once the weather has cooled
to
> > a level where I can stand to cycle, I'm highly tempted to carry a couple
> of
> > copies to give away to educate such idiots.
>
>
> At two quid a throw I'm tempted to do the same at my own expense.
>

Just photocopy the important parts. Tape them to the back of your bike, they'll probably be able to
read them at the distance they sit behind me.

 

Be it a spouse or a stranger, do we ever understand them?

If you think of the average car driver, they probably haven't ridden a bike since they were 10 years
old and perhaps only safely in the alley or side streets around their home. To comprehend someone
riding a bike on a roadway or in city/highway traffic is beyond their comprehension. Knowing that,
cyclists have to adapt, within reason, to survive.

When I get honked on my daily commute to work, I think of how fortunate I really am to only share a
moment of this person's life (the person who honked) while others may actually live with these
people or be bound by a marriage contract!

Don't be offended when vehicle driver's use the term "middle of the road" when describing where
you were as a cyclist. Remember these are the vehicle drivers that think anybody is in their way
when they can't make the manoeuvre they want no matter how dangerous for other vehicles,
pedestrians and cyclists.

 

I find that a lot of the drivers of those BIIIIIIIG lorries will give cyclists a little honk. I find that reassuring as it means that I have been seen which is my primary concern where HGV's are concerned. My biggest fear is being caught in the drivers blind spot and getting crushed. If he has seen me and taken the time to beep then I am happy that he will be able to manoever safely around me so long as I make sure everything I do is clearly signalled.

 

You bother because you think it's worthwhile to try to educate people, and I will be so bold as to
predict that you will continue to do so despite this latest encounter. I've always admired cyclists
who speak up for themselves and confront their tormentors. On the other hand, I never do it myself:
I've become an expert at ignoring bad behavior from motorists. Keeps my blood pressure down.

 

davebee <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I find that a lot of the drivers of those BIIIIIIIG lorries will give cyclists a little honk. I
> find that reassuring as it means that I have been seen which is my primary concern where HGV's are
> concerned.

There's a world of difference between a courteous warning toot and a Hoey.

--
Dave...

 

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
>Apparently if I'm "going to do that" (i.e. ride my bike) I should get out of the middle of
>the road.
>
>Which is odd, because I wasn't even in the primary riding position. It's not necessary at that
>point, the pinch point is so narrow that there is less than a car's width to my right even in the
>secondary position.

>I told her she should try reading the Highway Code and Cyclecraft. She muttered something
>unintelligible and drove off.

I once had a motorist shout "Read the Highway Code" at me when she was held up for a few seconds at
the pinch point leaving a mini-roundabout. I caught up with her at the queue not far down the road,
and asked her if there was a problem. She just looked at me blankly - totally without clue. The
small child on the passenger seat was looking a bit worried, so I shut the door (I hadn't bothered
knocking on the window) and continued without further discussion.