CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
stickyYou are on a narrow residential street with cars parked at both sides. There is a cyclist immediately in front of you going in the same direction. In less than 100 metres the road you are both on joins a much wider road.
You are driving a white van. What do you do?
Car pulled out from side road right in front of me on Blackford Avenue causing much braking, weeping and gnashing of teeth. Apparently I should calm down because I didn't actually hit them. So that's alright then. Is there something in the water at the moment? 'cos this has been a pretty rubbish week cycling wise, despite the lovely weather.
3 examples from last night...
1 is the taxi driver pulling onto the Roundabout at the bottom of Johnstone Terrace when I was on it turning right. After slamming on the brakes I got a gallic shrug from him and he let me ride off.
2 - Red VW (I think) overtaking on the approach to the roundabout at the end of Grassmarket. I was far out into the lane as I was turning right, he pulled out just as I signalled then cut in before the island causing me to take evasive action.
3 - The driver of the white car (didn't recognise the model) who pulled out of Double Hedges Road onto Gilmerton Rd, cutting me up, then immediately turning left into Glenallan Drive almost left hooking me.
Shame, as it was such a nice day!
Silly painter/builder van this morning drifted into the bike lane outside Summerhall. I had to brake to not be taken out. Once he was fully in the bike lane, he indicated left to change lane onto Melville Dr. Got a rap on the window as he squeezed me - he wound down his window and said I must have run a red light. Wally.
I was standing at the corner of south bridge and chambers st. in the cycling gear heading towards where I parked my bike and witnessed what could have been a very nasty accident had it not been anticipated by the cyclist.
Guy in car, coming from south bridge is waiting to turn right into Chambers St. the traffic coming down the hill past Old College had stopped (as there was a queue along south bridge) so the guy just turned right...straight into the path of a cyclist coming down the bus lane. I honestly thought it was going to be a serious accident but well anticipated by the cyclist; he couldn't have seen much of the car but he wasn't going too fast. didn't catch the registration either.
I do see cyclists coming down that hill pretty fast...not a junction I would like to cross anyway.
I saw a similar incident at the other end of Chambers Street yesterday morning, sitting behind a car waiting to turn right into Chambers Street from Forrest Road. A lorry coming along George IV bridge stopped at the box junction as the lights were red. As soon as the driver started her turn, a bike appeared next to the lorry. In this case the car did stop but it seemed to take forever for them to react. I'm not so sure the cyclist would have been able to stop in time otherwise.
I have been experimenting with my SJ1000 action camera and a new Go-pro style handlebar mount from eBay. It's still on the wobbly side due to the tall design of the SJ1000 (and the fact that the knock-off mount isn't as good as it could be), but the footage that I'm getting is relatively usable.
This morning I was subjected to a close pass, despite the presence of an oncoming vehicle on Gilmore Place:
Yesterday morning a Lothian bus blocked the cycle lane just as I was about to get moving along Teviot Place:
Around 6pm, I'm cycling along Henderson Row towards Stockbridge. I'm going to be turning right at Saxe-Coburg St, but I'm staying to the left to let a couple of impatient drivers behind me get past. (There's no point in this, as they're going to end up at the back of a queue of traffic approaching the lights in Stockbridge, but let that pass...) Then I move out into the middle of the lane to make sure no-one else tries to get past before my turning. But I can hear a motor being gunned behind me and out of the corner of my eye I can see a car that's moved right out onto the other side of the road to pass me. I gesticulate and shout and he backs off. But I was still shaking for quite a while afterwards. What utter madness, to try a high-speed pass on an urban street, approaching a junction. I think many drivers just assume that the cyclist is in their way because the cyclist is an inconsiderate idiot - never for a moment imagining that perhaps the cyclist is in that position for a good reason. Didn't get his number or description though. I'm getting worn down by the feeling that my life in danger every day.
Mercedes people carrier type thing KS08 VUJ clearly has no anticipation of what is ahead of them.
Only slightly rubbish driving in Leith.
Was taking family group on tour from Cramond to Portobello.
In Leith I 'have' to use contaflow bike lane onto Queen Charlotte St to join route 10 on Leith Links.
On this one way for cars section a white Fiat thinks about going head to head with the Nazca tandem (which has daytime lights so maybe a bit too assertive on road presence).
Female driver slows and tells me that 'it's a one way street'.
I reply that it's a contraflow for bikes (and the two trikes following me).
I realise that I'm wasting my time though as markings are pretty worn.
Time for repaint. Thankfully she wasn't overtly aggressive and just upholding what she thought was good driving/cycling.
Posting this as a warning to cyclists in the Corstorphine/Drumbrae area.
I was cycling on Thurs night (16th) heading north along Saughton Road North. At Scotmid, there is a traffic island and I took primary and after I passed it I pulled in to left. One car passed leaving plenty space and the next one was inches away from me, blasting it's horn and I had to brake and steer hard into the kerb.
It was a blue Audi A4 saloon(as ever) SJ03RBF and the owner wound the window down to scream abuse at me - 'do you need the whole road ya p***k'. I responded by suggesting he do something which is anatomically (for him anyway) impossible. He then overtook me and got out of the car, threatening me. I got past him and turned into my own street and of course he followed.
Again he got past me and was out of the car, mouthing off. I got off the bike and walked over to the other side of the road, ready to run to be honest. He made a few parting bon mots then sped off.
On Saturday I saw the same car on Drumbrae heading South at the Spice Lounge. He definitely saw me and gave a stupid grin.
Unnerving. Avoid this nutter if you can.
Think that's one for reporting to the police.
Sounds scary. Definitely worth reporting if only because the incident will be logged with that reg so if he does it again and is reported hopefully the police will notice.
@laidback
Pretty sure there are signs on that section warning drivers there is a cycle contraflow. If so, defo rubbish driving
More rubbish driving from Lothian Buses again today. A 26 I was on tailed a cyclist way too close along St John's Road.
I think they need to reinforce their cyclist awareness training.
I think Lothian Buses drivers' driving standards have dropped. A little thing, but I saw one pull away from a stop while still indicating left the other day, and I've had a few instances where I've felt that the driving near me wasn't up to the high standards I've come to expect.
"I think Lothian Buses drivers' driving standards have dropped."
I'm not sure yet.
BUT
The way they are dealing with complaints has deteriorated.
Complainers used to get letters saying 'we've looked at the video and agree with you and will take appropriate action'.
Now people are getting letters saying 'we will look at the video and take action if necessary'.
So no feedback on individual incidents - so complainers will be discouraged from complaining in future.
This may be what someone at LB management wants, but it will reduce the trust (and consequently the number of compliments they have had in recent years) between the company and 'cyclists'.
conversely I got a phone call from them when I wrote to praise some good driving the other day.
Black Ford Fiesta/Focus registration 803 DYE (appropriately), the driver of which decided to overtake me approaching the blind corner of Myreside Road despite my strong primary position due to sporadic parked cars. When a car appeared from the other direction the driver just steered in towards me to avoid it which I had luckily anticipated so avoided any contact whilst gesticulating wildly, all to no avail...
Last night - Two scrambler type motorbikes riding down the cycle path section between Burnshot and Crammond Brig at high speed. Not kids either. Utter headcases!
...was 'Don' the sheepdog, joyriding his tractor on the M74.
(Honorary mention of course goes to the tractor's real owner.)
Yesterday Evening.
Not sure whether the award should go to the driver of the transit van, the number 2 bus, or the coach...
Up Candlemaker Row I was following the number 2 bus which pulled out to pass a coach parked on the left (there were already cars parked on the right as well. A white transit van coming the other direction also decided that they could pass the parked vehicles on their side. This resulted in a deadlock with the van driver refusing to back up far enough for the bus to get round (though this would have been pretty easy...). So instead the bus driver decided to reverse at me instead. I was a decent distance back (maybe 10m) but still he kept coming, causing me to have to jump up onto the pavement.
I guess overall blame has to sit with the parking - without it this would never have been a situation.
I guess overall blame has to sit with the parking
Then the van driver for not ceding way to the vehicle coming up hill (Rule 151).
I think it was one of these really unlucky situations where, for the bus to have been able to get through and round the corner, the van would have needed to reverse back out onto George IV or onto the pavement.
Three loons on a pair of supped-up, slick-tyred quad bikes (one riding pillion) drifting across the Picardy Place roundabout and then loudly, aggressively and generally badly weaving along London Road. The machines had number plates, but I've no idea if riding them without crash helmets and a pillion passenger is legal.
Think they're legal to ride sans helmet as 4 wheeled. Plus passenger if they're big enough. The farmer who works the farm on the way over the granites to Innerleithen drives his with 2 dogs on it and always waves to cyclists. Imagine it wasn't him you saw...
We once cycled (it might have been Arran or Mull) behind a farmer out on his quad with his sheepdog. He was driving a flock of sheep up the road, with dykes on either side. Wherever there was a break in the dyke, a sheep or three would make a break for it, at which point the dog would launch itself from the moving quad and hustle the sheep back onto the road. Job done, the dog would return to its watchtower on the back rack of the quad. Impressive stuff and certainly not what I saw this evening.
Kaputnik - I saw the same loons on quad bikes whizzing along Melville Drive at about 5.45pm this evening. A couple of police on MTBs took a look as they were cycling round the Meadows but didn't do anything.
A cyclist in front of me heading west on London Road had to brake sharply to avoid the oncoming campervan which swerved right into the top bit of Easter Road.
Stenhouse drive just east of Civil Service buildings. I got a flyer through the lights, couple of cars passed, Black Golf LM08 LMS drove me off the road.
Deliberately.
Luckily I was aware and skipped into the bus stop cutout. Caught him at the next lights, you can imagine I was less than calm.
I asked him why he tried to kill me, and he stated, in a well spoken and calm voice "because there is a perfectly good cycle path there".
I have to say, I was so shaken I just gave him more expletives and rode off.
On reflection, if I see him again I might take some direct action.
A dangerous and non contrite idiot.
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