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.
sticky@tk: (and other haymarket users)
That video was very relevant to me as I am a new cyclist who has to cross haymarket on each cycle (and turn into torphichen st). I've always wondered how it 'should' be cycled (i.e. where to position my bike)
so although bad driving from others it was a lesson in tackling that junction for me :)
This morning I had a funny incident on my way to work. Got to the junction at Jock's Lodge just before a taxi, who rolled right past the ASL. I went to the front, and made a show of taking my phone out my pocket, to take a picture/record his number. I had it all on my helmet cam anyway, so just pretended to.
The taxi man then rolls backwards 3m out of the ASZ!
Yesterday evening, heading west along A199 into Macmerry, at a pinch point near the industrial estate just to the east. Large HGV decides to overtake as I'm going through, only for me to see that he's signalling left, and quickly cuts across me to take the junction into the estate. Cue slamming on of my brakes, and much Anglo-Saxon and arm-waving from me. I'm too busy avoiding his back wheels to note the company.
On Queen's Drive today, was passed by two cars too closely for comfort. Looked back to see if there was anything else coming and almost fell off the bike when I realised there was a small grey car maybe a foot away from me. The woman driving was keeping pace and yelling something in my direction.
Sadly, her window was up and she drove away, so I will never know what she wanted to say. Maybe she was trying to compliment my snazzy £10 jersey? Certainly, she couldn't have been trying to express annoyance at my positioning...
Large white Beemer heading west along the eastbound bus lane on Haymarket Terrace.
Large white Beemer heading west along the eastbound bus lane on Haymarket Terrace.
Whats wrong with using the bus lane (so long as its outside controlled times)?
@zesty I think the issue is the car was on the wrong side of the road?
It was almost certainly during the bus lane's hours of operation, too, but I'll check. I might not even have noticed it had I not been in the bus lane going eastwards at the time.
Then again, how can a car going west in an eastbound bus lane possibly be expected to be able to respond to the west-facing bus-lane operational-time notices, which would not even be visible in the mirrors until the vehicle was beyond the region covered by the sign?
"I might not even have noticed it had I not been in the bus lane going eastwards at the time."
In the west-bound bus lane presumably?
Was this outside the tesco? I often see cars parked facing the wrong way there, so it wouldn't surprise me if one was driving the wrong way as well.
Transit van with the back doors tied shut with rope, always a good sign, passed me way too close this morning on Nicolson St. Felt like it was deliberate as I'd been taking the lane past the stopped buses, so I decided to have a chat and caught him at the Chambers St lights. Conversation went along these lines
Me: That was way too close back there, it was really scary
Van Man: I didn't hit you.
Me: Well, obviously not, because if you had I'd be dead. [OK, maybe slight exaggeration...] You were much too close, you're supposed to give cyclists the same space you would give a car, but you were this close to me [holds hands 12" apart] That was one of the closest near misses I've ever had.
Van Man: I would never have hit you.
Me: It's not really about that, it's about how terrifying that was for me.
Van Man: OK, I'm sorry.
Pleased I got to talk to him, stayed calm and got an apology. Big thanks to whoever it was on here who advised saying 'you really scared me'.
I'm glad the 'you scared me' technique worked for you.
The outline of the conversation above really shows the effectiveness of it.
Without it, you can see that the driver would have left not recognising any 'cost' of a close pass as 'he didn't hit you'.
We'd love for them to recognise the potential physical impact of not giving enough space but it's easier to get them to see the actual emotional impact.
Can't make out the bus lane times. I'll check tomorrow.
I forgot to mention the Beemer that had to throw out both anchors at the junction of Dalmeny Main Street and Bankhead Road yesterday. He looked but didn't see. Fortunately I was also looking, seeing and not trusting so had already swerved to go into the road he was exiting by the time my petite, sylph-like presence registered with him. He did a good shamefaced, head down, hand-up contrite silent apology and there was no danger of any damage to anything but his paintwork (and his stupid face).
Late 50's man in silver M-class Merc S006 OBV caught up with me just after we entered the Grassmarket from the Cowgate. With the left lane closed on East Fountainbridge before Lothian Road, the traffic has been going even more slowly than normal along this stretch, although there is rarely an opportunity to safely overtake here during rush hour at the best of times.
I stayed in primary, easily maintaining a safe distance from the car in front. Unfortunately I wasn't afforded the same courtesy from Mr Merc, who I heard coming from a mile away to sit a meter or so from my rear wheel.
I gave him a polite stay back signal which normally helps drivers who are perhaps unaware how dangerously close they are but that didn't work. I turned to eyeball and repeat the signal with a 'Stay back' but that didn't work either. I would normally not engage with such drivers but was annoyed on this occasion as I still had the little ones bike seat on the bike from dropping them off at nursery in the morning. It's not easy to see whether there is a child in my seat or not so presumably he would have been this close to me either way.
On stopping in stationary traffic along the Grassmarket and trying to ask the chap to allow for a safer stopping distance I noticed he was strangely taking photos of me - perhaps he didn't think I should be allowed to be on his road? In any case, I returned the favour later on to which he gave a little wave although just using the one finger - his family must be so proud.
I had meant to try the 'you scared me' approach but this chap was very aggressive and there was a lot of unnecessary revving of his engine which I shouldn't have let get to me.
I see that Focus had a run in with this same chap 3 weeks ago.
Here is another photo of this 'gentleman' and his car so you know who to look out for.
Interestingly the car is coming up as uninsured on askMID (http://ownvehicle.askmid.com/askmid.aspx)
If the numberplate is S006 OBV (first two are zeroes, other is a letter O). Worth reporting to police.
@twq - that's a letter O, then a number 0 and another letter O… it is insured…. clearly a driver to watch out for though - sounds like a nutter with a grudge.
The driver of SL57 LWJ, a smallish white van, seems to pride himself on the brashness of his close passes and mis-use of bus lanes.
The blonde lady driving a mini over the Burnshot flyover this morning and accelerating over the give way line in order to meet me in the chicane leaving me less than an arm's width of room.
Three is a lucky number this morning. RLJing car, man texting and smoking while taking a corner, and a motorbike rolling past ASL for no reason.
Driver who overtook me while I was hoofing it downhill towards the A71 traffic lights at Kirknewton. They gave me enough space, but the driver of the car coming the other way had to stop...
Tube in a red audi (A4 I think) this morning behind myself and another cyclist at the lights where Geo. IV Bridge turns into Bristo Place.
Lights change, myself and other cyclist set off in left hand lane. Tube accelerates around us in the right hand lane and then drifts across the painted cycle lane to pass a car parked on the left (in the other cycle lane), right infront of the other cyclist causing her to have to slow down, drifts back to left lane then switches to right at the end to go around corner into Teviot Place.
Caught him at the lights at top of MMW but I was going left down the hill so didn't get a chance to make disapproving eye contact.
I was admiring the 'Cyclists Stay Back' sticker on a 7.5 tonne flat bed truck this morning as it overtook me and pulled abruptly into the cycle lane I was about to occupy.
They're great those stickers. I could have been hurt if I hadn't stayed back.
@davidsonsdave, regarding your run-in with the Merc. If you have had an incident worthy of reporting to the police it may be a good idea to do so: last time I reported something I was told that whilst they would not pursue the person for the particular incident (as no-one actually got hit due to some extreme braking on my behalf!), they would note that it had been reported and if they had other incidents involving the same person/car, *then* they would pursue it further. I.e. repeat offenders, at least in theory, will get a visit from the plod. This Merc driver sounds like a prime candidate for this ;)
@IWRATS
Keep that quiet, we don't want people thinking that they work as intended. ;)
Driving along the access path to the bowling/cricket clubs which is also a shared-use cycle/pedestrian path? No problem! Just go at normal road-speed!
Almost amazingly, upon closer inspection it turned out to be an Audi, not a Beemer.
I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one. Cruising up Mayfield Road this morning, I adjusted my position so I was safely outside the door zone of a parked blue estate car. However, as I approached, the car unexpectedly pulled out with no prior indication and shot up the road, forcing emergency manoeuvres.
I happened to catch up with them at the lights by the King's Buildings, and with my diplomacy hat on, mentioned they should be more considerate, please check your mirrors, etc. What I didn't expect to see was the driver holding a phone to their left ear, while gripping a cigarette in their right. That'll be the reason they pulled out into my path, then! The driver, who was utterly unrepentant, then had the gall to tell me, "You look after your cycling, and I'll look after my driving”. The mind boggles.
Despite the lovely weather, drivers didn't seem to be very relaxed.
Special mention goes to 'Fair Price' for playing silly and dangerous shenanigans with me today. They were in front of me in a queue - they wove to to stop me undertaking, deliberately slowed, and when I finally undertook when they left 2-3 metres clear on the left in the run up to the right turn into Duddingston village, they 'changed their mind' and roared past me shouting something out to the extent that I was cycling dangerously. They don't realise the link between successful business and their behaviour in a van advertising their business.
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