Cyclists - what irritates you most about other cyclists?

art_for_arts_sake

I'm still waiting for the Helmet Debate on the new forum section .

I'm not anti-helmet, but choose to wear one only in bad weather, and only recently gave up motorcycling after being cut up once too often, this time by a speeding lorry driver, so I know how some things can dent your confidence, but the sight of a middle-aged man in hi-vis and helmet riding on the pavement made my blood boil.

It was the combination of the three things that particularly got my goat, but it was hard to restrain myself from telling him to man up and cycle on the road or get off and walk.

It's a close call but I have slightly more respect for the Ninja cyclist (no lights, dressed in black) that cut across my path while I was out cycling.

Oh, and motorists, unless you also cycle, go and moan on your own forum, pretty please.

Rant over.

thelawnet

I think people sometimes cycle on the pavement because of the design of the cycle network. E.g., drivers, road designers, etc., encourage people to use off-road cycle paths, but these very often end suddenly and people just keep going on the pavement.

I cycled a short distance on the pavement yesterday, I came out of the bike shop here: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=cambridge+park,+wanstead&hl=en&ll=51.575283,0.02723&spn=0.007561,0.021136&sll=51.504469,-0.101624&sspn=0.484674,1.352692&hnear=Cambridge+Park,+London+Borough+of+Redbridge,+London+E11,+United+Kingdom&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=51.575321,0.027347&panoid=ngng-qdcqTjBgTB8eqXU_A&cbp=12,16.63,,0,-4.29 and I wanted to turn left at the lights, and rather than dropping into the road at the red light I cycled round the corner and entered the road there instead. Slightly naughty I suppose. But, whatever.

I believe they call it the desire line, basically the principle is that people want to cycle certain journeys, and the road/cycle network ideally should reflect that. If it doesn't, you get things like people cycling the wrong way down one way streets, on pavements, etc.

I think it's as relevant to ask WHY people are cycling on the pavement, as to ask them to stop.

art_for_arts_sake

Thanks, thelawnet, for your comment. I always enjoy reading your posts. I don't have a problem with occasional pavement cycling, particularly in the circumstances you describe. If I could I'd have asked him why he felt the need to get togged up like that if he was going to ride on the pavement, he clearly had no intention of using the road as I followed him for some distance on what was a quiet road.

thelawnet

I don't get annoyed by cyclists, generally. The other day I was on the pavement, sorting out my chain, which had come off, and one came past me at what seemed like some speed, which I didn't appreciate much.

But really 99% of my annoyance is with motorists, since they often do things that could kill me, and I've never felt that about cyclists. Pedestrians probably second place, it is annoying when they walk into the road without LOOKING (just because you can't HEAR me, doesn't mean you don't need to LOOK). Other cyclists? No, not really. Some do silly things, like go through a 4-way junction into oncoming traffic, but it doesn't affect me, so I don't care.

When I'm in London you do need to give other cyclists their own space (don't stop in front of them at a red light), but few places outside London have sufficient cyclists to really have significant interactions IME. You might see one passing the other way, or overtake one, or they overtake you, and that's it for 10 minutes.

art_for_arts_sake

Ha, yes, pedestrians walking out, I'd forgotten that one. Happens to me all the time.

My initial rant was more about the way some cyclists have allowed themselves to be be convinced by the helmet and safety lobbyists that the road really isn't a safe place to be, even with an "invincibility cloak" of hi-viz and helmet.

But, yes, "Sorry mate I didn't see you" applies equally to pedestrians.

It wouldn't matter if you were dressed like Mr Blobby, you'd still hear the same excuses.

Time to discard the hi-vis, I think, and make other road users more accountable for their actions.

Kidge004

Parents who insist on making their children wear helmets but not themselves. So annoying!

thelawnet

Yeah I hate that. I insist my children don't wear one, and neither do I. I'm a model of consistency.

(still waiting for the helmet debate.)

rorylando45

What is the argument against wearing a helment and/or hi-vis, out of interest?

kalaika

thelawnet wrote: »

...Some do silly things, like go through a 4-way junction into oncoming traffic, but it doesn't affect me, so I don't care...

As a motorist, my biggest irritations about cyclists is the usual red light jumpers, ninja suicyclists with no lights, not looking, not indicating, riding on/off/on/off pavements, etc.

As a cyclist, my biggest irritations about other cyclists are exactly the same. Whilst it doesn't affect me directly when they act like that (it's not me running the red light), I do think it affects me indirectly as the actions of those knobhead cyclists gives the rest of us a bad name and acts as an excuse for some people to think that all cyclists are knobheads, adding fuel to their opinion that we shouldn't be getting in their way on "their" roads.

Throbbe

Annoying cyclists? The one's that are nearly twice my age that pass me when I'm sweating and panting my way up a local hill with a cheery good morning. I'm almost certain they do it just to prove they aren't out of breath. :mad:

JQ.

rorylando45 wrote: »

What is the argument against wearing a helment and/or hi-vis, out of interest?

If you want that question answered start a new thread, don't start that debate here it will totally ruin this thread. People are mentioning it because they know what happens when the topic gets discussed.

In answer to the OP :

• Slow cyclists whom I've just overtaken at a rate of knotts then pulling in front of me at the next set of red lights and getting in my way again. Absolutely baffles me - I'm not that quick and am regularly overtaken by roadies, I wouldn't dream of pulling in front of them at lights after they've just overtaken me.
• Ninjas - I realise it's their life they're putting in danger but it just gives the rest of us a bad name.
• Adults in full gear cycling on the pavement. To me it undermines our position as road users, the more people that do it the more motorists who take the opinion we don't deserve to use the roads. Plus it's bloody dangerous.
• Weird one, but people using crap cycle lanes. A chap I cycled to work with once has all the gear and a £1,000 bike and cycles on one of those lanes on the pavement that stops at every junction - every 10m he has to slow down and give way at a side road - I could probaby jog faster. That would drive me bonkers and also undermines my position as someone who would use the road on such a route. He uses it because he feels safer - to me it's more dangerous as there are areas of conflict every 10m.
• Controvertial, but cyclists who filter on the right. It totally confuses drivers. Happened this morning, I commute on a route popular with cyclists and the majority of motorists are very acommodating when moving slowly or stationary by moving to the right of the lane. As such there's generally a steady stream of cyclists filtering down the left with plenty of room. This morning I was behind 2 other cyclists doing exactly this, however, there was a chap filtering on the right. He was actually going slower and was facing fast moving oncoming traffic. You could literally see the car drivers getting confused as they wanted to move to the left to accommodate him overtaking them but could see there were also people on the left. Several cars were sort of wobbling along as they veered right and left. There was no need for him to go down the right as there was plenty of room down the left, where nearly every other cyclist cycles. Surprise, surprise when we got stuck at a red light he moved to the front of the queue and held the rest of us up. :mad: