Message Forums

. . .Fell foul of one on the road to Prestatyn, the coast road.  I should say he nearly fell foul of me.  Approaching a sharpish LH bend, this guy was belting along furiously. handlebars and upper body all over the place.  Me, expert that I am lol thoufht it was OK to overtake.  So I gave him loads of room.  Well, what room there was, I should say which I reckoned on being well sufficient.  Anyway, to make a short story long, I heard this almighty shout behind me.  Aware that if the `van had caught him, I might not have felt anything but he would undoubtably have, I checked my mirrors.  He was pedalling so furiously now, I reckon he`d be in line for a Gold medal.  But I`d be in line for a bloody nose at the very least if he caught me . . .   Approaching a roundabout or something , he appeared non the worse.

Now being a cyclist meself, I can fully sympathise; some cars do cut you up a bit.  But most are OK, as long as you keep your wits about you.

There was no blood on the van . . . I suspect he`d seen my car go past, and started to pull out not realising I was towing.

So that`s a lesson learned  . . . .maybe for both of us.  I couldn`t stop since when the opportunity arose,  he`d gone elsewhere. . . . . . To be brutally honest I was glad about that . .  Anybody else had unfunny moments towing?

I`ve been wi cyclists who go whizzing round bends, wrong side o` the road.  That`s the silly age.  Anything under 60 . . .

They all think they`re Migual Indurain.  They hit the ground, don`t feel the pain . . . being held up  riles, get outa my way . . .  got a lotta miles ta cover today!

Sorry,  but I'm with the cyclist on this one.....much as their "holier than though" approach gets up my goat, they have to be treated as irrational and unpredictable so I alway give them a very wide berth and wait until there is a significant margin of safety before I pass.

They rarely show me any thanks, but at least I never get any abuse either.

Mr UM

Quote: Originally posted by TITELINES on 16/9/2012

---

but they need to be agressive to survive and they get killed, not the motorist.


that is possibly one of the silliest things i have ever read

i am a responsible driver 30+ years no accidents never had points ect but am amazed that people can try and defend people who through ignorence and bad attitude to other people on the road can cause death albiet there own, how many times have your read someone has crashed going to fast and said its there own fault they deserve it ect, now its not my fault that somebody thinks he is bradley wiggins on the tour of britain going round with another 15/20 licra clad people on country lanes on the wrong side of the road, if it was motorists there would be hell to play but because these people can die its ok and were in the wrong by driving normal, now dont get me wrong i dont really have anything against cyclists my daughter rides a bike but i am sure when i did my cycle test at school you were supposed to ride in single file but i doubt most of these did anything like this

---

"You say you're a cyclist yourself and yet you decide to overtake on a sharp left hand bend, you got off very lightly as far as I can see"

I have to agree.  The bend was 150 m or so away; I did think there was room, but - and it`s a big but - I underestimated his speed somewhat.  And one or two other things maybe . . . I`m only glad I didn`t learn the hard way.

As a lorrly driver as well as a cyclist I always stay behind a cylist until I know I can get past him allowing him as much room as I possibly can. This tends to annoy some drivers behind me but that's something they have to deal with.

In the lorry or out on my bike I regularly see vehicles driven by people who oviously think I shouldn't be on the road. One inconsiderate idiot overtook me on my bike recently & then turned left right across my path towards our local golf course. I honestly thought I was going to hit his car. A driver comnig the other way stopped & told me he'd seen the whole thing, was on his way to the golf club & intended having a word with his mate who was driving the car which cut me up. I could see little point because, as far as I'm concerned, drivers like him don't like sharing the highway with anyone.

I've worked myself out routes to give me up to 20 miles where I keep my use main roads to a minimum. The problem cyclists have in lanes is drivers who believe no one else is using them & they go round them like the clappers. I often wonder if drivers are aware cyclists can't hear much behind them because, in my experience there's quite a lot of wind noise & cars are sometimes very close befoe I hear them.

I love cycling & I do between 60 & 100 miles a week for exercise, it's a lovely way to see the area in which I live, to get fitter & hopefully healthier. Lots of people would benefit from getting out on a bike, it might even make the roads a safer place for cyclists if more drivers saw things from other road users perspective.

Give a cyclist a little of your time & if possible, room to fall off when you overtake, you can't turn the clock back, once you've hit them off the damage is done & you can't undo it. Other motorists somewhere just might be overtaking a bike being ridden by a member of your family & no doubt you'd like them treated with consideration.

BB