Why do so few people cycle?

tanith

I cycle as long as I can ride on cycle track or quiet back roads... I must admit that I don't if its wet or too cold... a fair weather cycler

themac1977

ScottishSapper wrote: »

I bought a bike, rode it 2 miles on main road, then jumped in car to go to get prozak from GP! A lot needs to be done with roads and the attitude of drivers before it could be anywhere safe

It's not just car drivers, cyclists are generally as much to blame. There are good and both sides!

I had a run in with a (I think) female cyclist in Glasgow several months ago, stopped at trafic lights, she comes barrelling down the inside just as the lights change and pulls out in front of me as I'm pulling away, making me swerve in to oncoming traffic! Then has the nerve to start shouting and bawling at me for sounding my horn!

She then followed me for half a mile in to my wifes works car park (was dropping her off at work) and put her bike down across the exit to stop me from getting out!

Ended up I got out of the car and CAREFULLY placed her bike against the fence, got in my car and drove away.

She then had the cheek to phone the police and put in a complaint against me, claiming that I tried to knock her down, verbally asaulted her and vandalised her bike! Apparently she was that scared she was givin up cycling for life.(She was also that scared, she followed me down a dead end street and in to a private car park and tried to block me from getting out! Hmmmm, sounds as if she was sh*****g herself! lol) Unfortunately for her, she didnt know that there were multiple witnesses and CCTV (well, it was Glasgow city centre!), so I was never charged and police took my side, she ended up with a verbal warning about the way she rides her bike, and about wasting police time!

Having said that, I have got to admit there have been a couple of times where I have technically been in the wrong with cyclists, usually cos I havent seen them (not been wearing hi-vis gear)

PasturesNew

I'll cycle when I live somewhere flat.

The main problem I find with cycling is that when you've arrived, there's nowhere to put a bike. Nowhere to prop it up, lock it up. And if you do manage to get it sorted then other people (kids mostly) are likely to throw their bike against yours.

What's needed is more bike racks.

Also, you can't cycle to work because you'd arrive all hot and sweaty and smelly.

JQ.

themac1977 wrote: »

It's not just car drivers, cyclists are generally as much to blame. There are good and both sides!

I had a run in with a (I think) female cyclist in Glasgow several months ago, stopped at trafic lights, she comes barrelling down the inside just as the lights change and pulls out in front of me as I'm pulling away, making me swerve in to oncoming traffic! Then has the nerve to start shouting and bawling at me for sounding my horn!

She then followed me for half a mile in to my wifes works car park (was dropping her off at work) and put her bike down across the exit to stop me from getting out!

Ended up I got out of the car and CAREFULLY placed her bike against the fence, got in my car and drove away.

She then had the cheek to phone the police and put in a complaint against me, claiming that I tried to knock her down, verbally asaulted her and vandalised her bike! Apparently she was that scared she was givin up cycling for life.(She was also that scared, she followed me down a dead end street and in to a private car park and tried to block me from getting out! Hmmmm, sounds as if she was sh*****g herself! lol) Unfortunately for her, she didnt know that there were multiple witnesses and CCTV (well, it was Glasgow city centre!), so I was never charged and police took my side, she ended up with a verbal warning about the way she rides her bike, and about wasting police time!

Having said that, I have got to admit there have been a couple of times where I have technically been in the wrong with cyclists, usually cos I havent seen them (not been wearing hi-vis gear)

In answer to your question as to why there are not many cyclists on here please see above for your answer. Cyclists and car drivers in the same forum generally don't mix well. I am a regular on both Pistonheads (cars) and Bike Radar (bicycles), as I am a car nut but also cycle to work and do a bit of Mountain Biking. A number of cycling threads I've seen started on here have ended up with a car user interjecting about how all cyclists are idiots. The last one I was involved in, a chap stated that if a cyclist undertook him he would deliberately try to knock them off and once on the ground he'd wrap his wheel wrench round their head to make sure he finished them off. Fortunately these guys are in the minority but there's always one.

With that in mind I only ever really talk about cars in this section now.

plebeian

themac1977 #1 - Sorry, wasn't having a dig. It is possible to carry quite a bit on a normal bike with panniers and a trailer, and even more on a cargo bike, though you have to be fairly fit to be able to heft it back home. And some jobs (like yours) just aren't suited to cycle-commuting (when my revolution comes, I'll make sure you're still allowed a car).
themac1977 #2 - Sometimes cyclists are their own worst enemies. Plenty of cyclists loathe the pavement cyclists, the RLJers (red light jumpers) and the ninja cyclists (dressed in black, no lights, at night) because they give us all a bad name. We just want enough respect to be able to cycle on the roads safely and integrate with traffic, and this isn't going to happen with some riding in a frankly dangerous way.
PasturesNew - one of the problems we have is a chicken and egg scenario. Councils (or employers when it comes to showers/racks at work) won't spend any money on cycling facilities because not very many people cycle, but not very many people will cycle if there aren't proper facilities!
Anyone else think we should ask nicely for a cycling MoneySaving sub-forum? As the OP said it really is very MSE and whilst resources like BikeRadar are helpful we're more likely to recruit people on a place like this.

Rolandtheroadie

Mainly because I stay 1000ft above sea level and work a good bit lower (with a down and up in between), stay 8 miles from work and would have to cycle on a NSL road that has seen many people killed over the years with a car shell around them and is used as a shortcut from the M74 over to the East by HGV's.
Add to that the fact that I'm a bit of a lazy !!!!!!!, full of excuses, overweight and lack motivation, no, I dont cycle.

Mids_Costcutter

The reason why we don't see many posts on cycling on the Motoring, Public Transport & Cycling forum? Well there aren't that many people making regular journeys by bicycle: only 3% of journeys to work in the UK on average, although a lot more certainly own a bike. But to be positive after some of the antipathy on the thread so far, London has seen an 83% increase in cycling since the year 2000. OK they started from a relatively low level, but that's still almost a doubling. If London can do it....

There are many barriers to cycling at present in the UK, but one of the main ones I hear from occasional or non-cyclists is fear of traffic (speed and volume). Plebeian suggests reading Cyclecraft (from the Stationery Office) and I'd thoroughly recommend it. Also adult cycle training (which many local councils now offer at a reasonable cost) can really help to develop skills and confidence, even in my experience if you're a regular cyclist. It's also designed to help avoid conflict situations like the sad one described in Glasgow. Barriers like a lack of cycle parking should be easy to overcome, others like entrenched negative attitudes to cycling are more difficult.

Definitely cycling saves money and in more ways than might be immediately obvious e.g. no need to join a gym. I don't know how I used to afford to run a car in the past. As a country can the UK afford not to increase cycling?

It's important that cycling issues are discussed in a forum with non-cyclists: if it can be done in a rational and non-judgemental way then it might get people thinking about another way to save money.

JQ.

If you're considering cycling to work, some things to think about:

• Arriving at work after a good hard cycle really sets you up for the day - you feel much more lively and can get more work done.
• When cycling home it's a great feeling wizzing past all the cars stuck in traffic.
• I only started a few months ago and already I've lost quite alot of weight and I generally feel much more healthy.
• It's only as dangerous as you make it - it's very easy to see danger on a bike and avoid it.
• Think of all that money you're saving.
• You can get up to 40% off the cost of a new bike through the Gov's Cycle to Work scheme.

The main reason I'd never cycled to work before was fear, I wish I'd started years ago. If you're sensible - hi-viz, lots of lights, a good horn (for pedetrians with ipods!) and don't take risks it's absolutely fine.

goldspanners

scotsman4th wrote: »

Mainly because I stay 1000ft above sea level and work a good bit lower (with a down and up in between), stay 8 miles from work and would have to cycle on a NSL road that has seen many people killed over the years with a car shell around them and is used as a shortcut from the M74 over to the East by HGV's.

hazarding a guess here. lanark ish?

mikey72

JQ. wrote: »

In answer to your question as to why there are not many cyclists on here please see above for your answer. Cyclists and car drivers in the same forum generally don't mix well. I am a regular on both Pistonheads (cars) and Bike Radar (bicycles), as I am a car nut but also cycle to work and do a bit of Mountain Biking. A number of cycling threads I've seen started on here have ended up with a car user interjecting about how all cyclists are idiots. The last one I was involved in, a chap stated that if a cyclist undertook him he would deliberately try to knock them off and once on the ground he'd wrap his wheel wrench round their head to make sure he finished them off. Fortunately these guys are in the minority but there's always one.

With that in mind I only ever really talk about cars in this section now.

Actually what I said was if a cyclist in black tried to undertake me on the left, at night, having come up behind me, while I was turning left, I probably wouldn't see him in my blind spot.
Then I pointed out that if you want to start a fight, I wouldn't run away if you wanted to be a bit aggresive, after some cyclists stated how they had to put motorists right in the past. (Bit like the example above really)
But let's not start again.