Bicycle rant

[ss201]

As someone who's been riding bikes for over 60 years - and drives a Mercedes - this blatant propaganda is (almost) unacceptable........

Hitler bicycle rant

Hitler rants about bicycles and reacts to Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu's recent remarks that the registration of bicycles is not feasible.

vimeo.com

 

[Petrol Pete]

This clip has been used for a number of pi$$ takes . This is by far my favourite, reminds me of a mate of mine when you mention cyclist within earshot of him

 

[Dryce]

This clip has been used for a number of pi$$ takes . This is by far my favourite, reminds me of a mate of mine when you mention cyclist within earshot of him

We have some new bicycle lanes.

A lot of cyclists use the adjacent pavement.

Many of the bicycle lanes are empty most of the time. Bit like bus lanes.

Where we have areas of shared pedestrian and cycle usage - the too many cyclists tend to think they have priority.

Some mildly didactic public information films and a few enforcement 'officers' might help.

 

[SmartAmg]

Never seen that, brilliant! Mercedes Coupe got a mention too.

 

[Deleted member 150136]

It's so true around where I live.
They cause chaos and anger everywhere with all the locals.

 

[ChrisHGTV]

I'm a cyclist and Merc driver - i thought it was really funny! It's quite strange how cyclists/cycling seems so polarising. Our local Guildford facebook groups quite often descend into cyclist vs anti-cyclist rants irrespective of the thread topic! My theory is this - it comes down to competition. Competition for resources. Here in the SE there are basically too many people crammed into too small an area, with more developments happening all the time. This means people quickly become defensive of their "space". It doesn't help that the UK is so car biased as well. There is insufficient infrastructure in the SE to support the numbers of people in cars let alone those on bikes as well. Most of the cycle lanes etc are box ticking token gestures that serve no real purpose. eg cycle lanes that cars can park in or cycle lanes 1m or less wide. I find these more dangerous than no cycle lanes as car drivers think they can safely pass at speed but in practical terms there is no distance there for the cyclist. Plus it can give the impression to car drivers that there is infrastructure there, but in reality there isn't. In the rest of Europe the general rule is 1.5m distance between the cyclist and the car- in the UK that's wider than the actual cycle lane! It probably doesn't help that cyclists may be travelling at a speed that's slower than the average car traffic but not that much slower (compared to say a Horse). That undoubtedly makes overtakes more tricky. This competition based aggression/intolerance also shows itself with parking though - in supermarkets etc. Our neighbour was ranting the other day that someone had parked outside his house. No inconvenience, he can fit more cars on his drive than he has, but someone had occupied his "space". I'm not sure what the answer is to be honest but that's why i think there always seems to be this animosity.

 

[Dryce]

I'm a cyclist and Merc driver - i thought it was really funny! It's quite strange how cyclists/cycling seems so polarising. Our local Guildford facebook groups quite often descend into cyclist vs anti-cyclist rants irrespective of the thread topic! My theory is this - it comes down to competition. Competition for resources.

I just put it down to selfish thoughtlessness.

I've had a RR pull out on me and then tell me it was my fault. I watched SWMBO riding ahead being passed by a pickup that immediately turned left across her. On Sunday I was signalling to turn right and had a Kia Sportage overtake. Car drivers can be thick and selfish at times.

OTOH

I've watched cyclist hold back traffic on a busy road - then as the vehicles that struggled to pass stop at the lights they missed because of the cyclist filters through to the front and puts them through it all again on an uphill section - but the real icing on the cake is that the wide empty pavement to their left was marked for cyclists as well as pedestrians. Cyclists can be thick and selfish at times.

And then we have cyclists on pavements and cyclists on the road ignoring traffic lights and regulations.

 

[ss201]

The irony is that I was out on my bike one evening this week on a quiet, traffic-free country lane and what should pull out from a side road - directly into my path ?

A white Mercedes E Class coupe. I know he saw me, as I was close enough to make eye contact with the driver before he pulled out, but he pulled out anyway. Missed me by inches.

 

[SmartAmg]

and what should pull out from a side road - directly into my path ?

A white Mercedes E Class coupe.

Wasn't me.

 

[ss201]

The other irony is, I was riding my bike along a shared pedestrian/cycling path on Thursday and coming toward me was a lad on a bike towing a dog on a lead - actually it was the other way round! The dog was pulling him all over the place and he was wobbling from side to side and in serious danger of falling off - so much so that the only safe thing to do was for me to stop and let them pass before either the cyclist or the dog (or the lead) brought me off.

Now..... about the woman who stepped off the pavement right in front of me without looking. That would have been Wednesday, then. If I hadn't shouted loud enough to make her jump back quickly, we'd both have been in an ambulance.

So it's not motorists, it's not cyclists or even pedestrians - it's just people being stupid and/or inconsiderate.

 

[Darrell]

The other irony is, I was riding my bike along a shared pedestrian/cycling path on Thursday and coming toward me was a lad on a bike towing a dog on a lead - actually it was the other way round! The dog was pulling him all over the place and he was wobbling from side to side and in serious danger of falling off - so much so that the only safe thing to do was for me to stop and let them pass before either the cyclist or the dog (or the lead) brought me off.

Now..... about the woman who stepped off the pavement right in front of me without looking. That would have been Wednesday, then. If I hadn't shouted loud enough to make her jump back quickly, we'd both have been in an ambulance.

So it's not motorists, it's not cyclists or even pedestrians - it's just people being stupid and/or inconsiderate.

I’ve been caught out by the dog on an extendable lead before.

I came around a bend with the owner on one side of the road and the dog on the other with the lead across it!! Of course it was my fault for almost crashing into the dog.

 

[Big Janner]

Right
I've been fighting the urge to get involved, but, I'm not stong enough, so here goes;

1. ss201 is right, people are stupid. Standing up, sitting down, laying down, they are stupid.

2. Bikes
I understand the wish to bicycle
I understand the benifits
What I don't understand is the inability of any gov't to put bicyclists on an even footing with motorists.

I have a good friend who cycles about 100 miles a week
It seems extreme to me, but he says he's a lightweight, so, who knows?
BUT, he has comprehensive insurance
He WANTS to see cyclists registered, NOT bikes, but the riders.
Not a unique idea but, he reckons that each rider should wear a hiviz with a unique regestration number emblazoned on the back.
No hiviz no ridee bikee.

It is also his personal opinion that, as road users, cyclists should contribute
(At today's values, he thinks £15 - £30/yr would be fair. Enough to make the cyclist aware but not so much that it is universally derided)

Yes, the above is anything but perfect, but, it does show that at least some are not stupid all the time and do try to figure out a solution to a growing problem

It's the patent lack of care for others, allied to the lack of insurance, that worries me.

Anyway
Rant over . . . . I'll get my coat

 

[Darrell]

Right
I've been fighting the urge to get involved, but, I'm not stong enough, so here goes;

1. ss201 is right, people are stupid. Standing up, sitting down, laying down, they are stupid.

2. Bikes
I understand the wish to bicycle
I understand the benifits
What I don't understand is the inability of any gov't to put bicyclists on an even footing with motorists.

I have a good friend who cycles about 100 miles a week
It seems extreme to me, but he says he's a lightweight, so, who knows?
BUT, he has comprehensive insurance
He WANTS to see cyclists registered, NOT bikes, but the riders.
Not a uniaue idea but, he reckons that each rider should wear a hiviz with a unique regestration number emblazoned on the back.
No hiviz no ridee bikee.

It is also his personal opinion that, as road users, cyclists should contribute
(At today's values, he thinks £15 - £30/yr would be fair. Enough to make the cyclist aware but not so much that it is universally derided)

It's the patent lack of care for others, allied to the lack of insurance, that worries me.

Anyway
Rant over . . . . I'll get my coat

As a road user, I contribute. I pay a lot of money for VED on my Porsche and I tax my motorbike. My bicycle does more miles than both put together.

I had some abuse recently on Facebook from a motorist telling me that I should pay road tax of some sort. Turned out he drove a Prius!
I jest you not.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

A lot of good points here, the only one I hadn’t considered before being Chris’s reveal of the (now obvious) “my space” attitude. Basically it’s not just one thing, it’s a combination of several factors, the particular ingredients being determined by personal circumstances and opinions. In essence it boils down to me, me, me.

I rarely have any issue with cyclists on the road, they’re just among the many hazards that we motorists need to take into account on every journey. But I do get annoyed with many when I’m walking and forced to share “my space” with them. The worst, for me, are those who ride at speeds above a brisk walking pace on shared surfaces and fail to give any warning of their approach from behind. All pedestrians have a tendency to change direction without prior notice, no checking mirrors, no indicators. The younger the pedestrians are the more likely the speed and occurrence of those changes of direction. So why the **** don’t cyclists give any warning that they’re coming up to overtake? Hit my not inconsiderable bulk at speed and there’s every chance that we both get hurt; hit a young child at speed and the consequences for the child can be disastrous.

I live in an area with a 20mph speed limit as well as wide shared use pavements. Those pavements are great for toddlers to practice riding but I struggle to understand why many competent looking adults use them to cycle on when they’re travelling at speeds often in excess of 20mph. Perhaps they’re concerned about getting hit by a driver who has no consideration for the speed limit so is unlikely to give them sufficient space when charging past?

A couple of years ago a mature cyclist ranted and raved at me for walking “on the wrong side of the path.” There were no markings on the path and no signs to give separation. But he was certain that I was in the wrong. It was a shared use pathway but too narrow for separate use lanes. He was the epitome of all the faults raised in earlier posts.

 

[st13phil]

It is also his personal opinion that, as road users, cyclists should contribute
(At today's values, he thinks £15 - £30/yr would be fair. Enough to make the cyclist aware but not so much that it is universally derided)

Just a thought: If such an annual fee provided insurance cover too, wouldn't that benefit everyone?

 

[m80]

Too many people, not enough space. Not being selfish means you lose out to those that work whatever system to their advantage.

It isn't just the SW,
it isn't just cycling.

I am amaze though at some that leave their car, don the Lycra, and forget how a car works. Suicyclists 2 and 3 abreast on 50mph rural roads with blind bends. They may well be in the right, but they may well still be dead.

 

[Darrell]

Should pedestrians be insured?


John Smith walking to the station with his AirPods in and worrying about his overdraft can do some serious damage to you car when he accidentally appears from between 2 parked vehicles and goes over your bonnet causing you to crash into a oncoming car killing the occupants.

 

[Riva811]

These cyclists are lucky they are not in my home country, someone gets out of the car and beats the crap out of you for blocking the way. In all fairness most cyclists are twats - just like drivers.
I walk with my dog a lot and even though there is a huge road and a cycling highway clearly marked with signs, the cyclists are on the pavement sprinting from behind us. It only takes one step to hit me or the dog.
And then they cycle next to each other in the middle of the road just in case some car wants to pass. Or try to cycle uphill when they cant, to ensure everyone is doing 8mph behind them.
Worse **** is the Mayor of London who wants to spend millions per mile to do cycling lanes when the youth knife each other to olivion

 

[Darrell]

Suicyclists 2 and 3 abreast on 50mph rural roads with blind bends. They may well be in the right, but they may well still be dead.

Something that I certainly don’t do and I don’t understand why cyclists actually do it.
I’m far too unfit to have a chit chat and ride at the same time!!

I personally prefer to sit on another cyclists back wheel.

 

[Riva811]

Should pedestrians be insured?


John Smith walking to the station with his AirPods in and worrying about his overdraft can do some serious damage to you car when he accidentally appears from between 2 parked vehicles and goes over your bonnet causing you to crash into a oncoming car killing the occupants.

Pedestrian doesnt dent your car trying to squeeze between the tree and your car.
A cyclist hitting a pedestrian with a metalic bike at speed is usually lethal