Today's rubbish cycling « CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum

CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

Today's rubbish cycling

(4520 posts)

Started 12 years ago by Kirst
Latest reply from mcairney

Tags:

« Previous 1…101112…151 Next »

DaveC
Member

Silly cyclist again on Queensferry Street this morning. As I travelled to work on the bus (resting) we came to a halt at the temporary lights at Ryans Bar, by the tram works on Shandwick Pl. Along comes the cyclist, rides inside the bus (which is 8ft from the kerb...) and then undercut the red light, rides straight onto the path and round the corner past Ryan's bar out of sight.... closely followed by another cyclist who rides past the red and then across the road towards Santander Bank and out of sight. The traffic oncoming are at a standstill as a vehicle is blocking the road outside the Backpackers Hostel...

As others have said, we law-abiding cyclists in appropriate cycling attire, are labels RLJ and Pavement cyclists in the same group is these eejits!!

Can we have the resident artist draw up (no pun intended) some guide to Law abiding cyclists vs RLJ... I suspect its not as clear cut though....

Posted 11 years ago #
Greenroofer
Member

This was just a bit rubbish. It was mainly just like the bad driving we see so often: nobody got hurt but a couple of people got a bit of a surprise. I think the perpetrator thought he was a bike courier in London, rather than a commuter on a towpath.

http://www.naden.de/blog/bbvideo-bbpress-video-plugin -->

[+] Embed the video | http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqduwaX3AEM
" target="_blank">Video Download Get the Flash Video

Text-Link:

HTML-Link:

BB-Code:

Embed:

I mainly posted it though because of the interesting recumbent at the start of the clip. Two birds with one stone, that sort of thing. For the avoidance of doubt, the recumbent does not feature as part of the rubbish cycling!

Posted 11 years ago #
Kenny
Member

Today while driving (I apologise) two of my daughters around, I happened to be near Holy Corner, on Abbotsford Park (Colinton Road being closed due to some fire engines), where I came upon a dude, at least 55yo, who was your typical nightmare on a bicycle. The kind of guy who gives us all a bad name. The first I saw him, he's joining Abborsford Park from Albert Terrace but doesn't give way to me as I head towards Morningside Road - he just meanders straight out. Then he cycles on completely the wrong side of the road towards Morningside Road. Then, when he gets close to the end, he suddenly has to come on to the correct side because a car is turning right in towards him, so he moves over, goes to the end beside a car that is turning left, and points his bike directly right. Of course, what he then does is immediately turns left straight over the front of the car, and then proceeds to cycle on the wrong side of the road again, this time on Morningside Road, towards the lights at Church Hill. He then proceeds to jump off his bike and walk round the corner with it, at which point he then jumps on again and cycles off - but on the right side of the road this time. I was quite glad he did jump off and walk round so that I wouldn't have to deal with his complete randomness any more, but alas, I caught him later, at which point he seemed to have recovered common sense a bit.

Mental.

Posted 11 years ago #
paolobr
Member

Yesterday evening, it was me. Restalrig path, near Hawkhill, heading towards Easter Road. Sun dappling through the trees so I'm going from light to dark to light quite quickly. Sudden meeting with cloud of flies and swerved while clearing them off my face, arms and legs. Nearly ran into couple coming other way with dog. Honest, officer, the low sun got in my eyes. Chastened.

Posted 11 years ago #
Two Tired
Member

Me yesterday. Trying out a couple of bikes from EBC, looped round Warrender Park, Marchmont Rd, Links cycle path with each. Swerving about like I was deterring enemy submarines the whole way as my brain failed to coordinate strange pedals, gears, handlebars, breaks and floaty light bike weight all at the same time!

Posted 11 years ago #
fimm
Member

At, yes, you've guessed it, the King's Theatre/Gilmore Place junction. I'm coming out of Tarvit Street and going straight on. There's a car in front of me which whizzes off. I follow slowly and let the (1 or 2 - I can't remember) cars coming out of Glimore Place turn right. I then get two cyclists turning right in front of me. There was plenty of space for us all but I did feel that they weren't expecting me to come straight on...

Posted 11 years ago #
SRD
Moderator

Almost forgot about this in my Lauriston St frustration.

I waiting at lights on Fountainbridge to turn onto Semple St, and was gobsmacked to have two cyclists come up on my right. i think one went through the light and the other went around the island, both carried on up the one-way section - one may have gone onto pavement. Other was just cycling into what would be flow of traffic (but was empty at that moment).

My lights turned and I went. Didn't see what happened to them. Hopefully they lived/worked/were shopping on that stretch and that is why they went that way.

Posted 11 years ago #
allebong
Member

It's not enough to have no lights, you also have to be dressed totally in black, going by the sightings tonight. Saw a few down Holyrood Park and a driving friend tells me he had to negotiate his way past some too.

Posted 11 years ago #
fimm
Member

Coming along Shandwick Place and my frint light fell off and went straight under the wheel of the following taxi (no blame to the driver, they wouldn't have seen what had happened). The nice workmen who were putting the cables up rescued the bits, I got the batteries and the rest went in the skip. I then cycled the rest of the way home with no front light...

(I usually run two lights at the front and two at the rear, but one front light had already died due to water ingress or old age or something. I'll be off to a bike shop at the weekend...)

Posted 11 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

"I waiting at lights on Fountainbridge to turn onto Semple St, and was gobsmacked to have two cyclists come up on my right"

Happens there all the time, and it's utterly bonkers. I think steveo has a grandstand view of it all day from his office.

Posted 11 years ago #
steveo
Member

I think steveo has a grandstand view of it all day from his office.

Yeah its great! The number of people who can't be bothered to walk a few metres is frankly terrifying! Although for balance there is a fair number of drivers who find them selves going the wrong way up both Semple Street and the wee bit of Fountain Bridge.

Posted 11 years ago #
Roibeard
Member

You know the way drivers are warned to watch out for children waving to one another across the road, in case they decide to run across?

Well...

Driving home east along Melville Drive, from a dive outing, 5 divers, plus much heavy kit, in a vast XC90, I spy a bike polo player heading west.

He waves to his pals walking on the Meadows side, then pulls a U turn across Melville Drive to speak to them.

Right in front of me!

I'm surprised just how quick a ~~over~~ fully laden Volvo can stop.

He wasn't quite under my wheels, but I got quite a scare and he did look rather sheepish...

*waves* Just in case it was also a spot!

Robert

Posted 11 years ago #
wingpig
Member

On my way back from the edfoc-CPH gig there was a man bombing north down South Bridge across the end of Chambers Street with two heavily-laden-looking panniers and his thumb in his mouth.

Posted 11 years ago #
allebong
Member

Through in Glasgow today, witnessed two girls on hybrids barreling along the pavement on George street at the overhanging roof bit with the co-op and travel shop etc. They managed to both almost flatten several pedestrians and be almost flattened themselves when they flew across the junction with Montrose street on a red man. Car was trying to turn up and beeped as it had to slam the brakes to avoid knocking them off. Certainly not the drivers fault - one time I'd happily be on the 'stupid b***** cyclists' side of the fence.

Throughout all this, they were absolutely and utterly oblivious, not even flinching at the car incident. For those of you who have read Bike Snob NYCs first book (cleverly titled 'bike snob') they were the perfect embodiment of the beautiful godzilla category.

Posted 11 years ago #
Kenny
Member

To the "large" gentleman on the NEPN, near the Ainslie Park leisure centre, who was so desperate to overtake another cyclist this evening that he gave no care to the fact that he was heading head-first straight at me on his MTB. That wasn't very clever, forcing me to go into the grass verge and stop to avoid you, since I really had no option as you looked to be at least twice my weight and thus I guess I'd have come off far worse. I certainly wasn't going to risk it, that's for sure.

Posted 11 years ago #
Two Tired
Member

Would you have considered his cycling to be less rubbish were he not "large"?

Posted 11 years ago #
Uberuce
Member

Chap who rode into the back of a gentleman walking west the pavement just before the start of the Broomhouse Path, ie the stretch I've argued should be shared use.

Gentleman and wife were unharmed but not impressed, and pointed out that he wasn't yet on the cycleway.

I hope I've misheard, but if not then the cyclist was just unwilling to accept the blame and was quite willing to argue that white is black to accomplish that. I think I heard him say they should have been on the right hand side, which wouldn't even be correct if the segregation line did extend to this point, which it doesn't.

Posted 11 years ago #
allebong
Member

Another afternoon through in Glasgow, another idiotic piece of cycling, as witnessed by me in pedestrian mode. Waiting to cross at the junction of Montrose Street and Cathedral Street. Woman on mtb stops at the red light on Cathedral street. A few seconds later she decides she's had enough of this and begins to edge forward through the crossing. She's doing the infamous 'calculated RLJ process' whereby she swings her head left and right checking for traffic coming from Montrose street and Hanover Crescent as she slides forward into the middle of the crossroads. At this point if any traffic did suddenly appear or the lights changed on the other lanes she'd be in trouble. Thankfully she made it and left all the other idiots obeying the lights behind.

She had a helmet on though so I guess everything would've been fine if she'd been flattened by a double decker.

Posted 11 years ago #
Stickman
Member

Two guys on what looked like expensive MTBs going wrong way up Cockburn Street, pausing at the top to block some cars turning down and then hopping onto the pavement to cycle up the Royal Mile, almost scattering the tables outside the Albannach pub and hitting some peds.

They just oozed attitude.

Posted 11 years ago #
kaputnik
Moderator

Rider in Veloclub Edinburgh* kit who gave me something of a surprise when he passed me at Roseburn and then tucked in about 3 inches infront of me as if coming through on a chain gang! I "let" him gain about 50 feet on me before trying to keep pace. In my defence I had 2 full panniers...

*a.k.a "The Black Train of Death" on club runs

Posted 11 years ago #
wangi
Member

Getting increasingly infuriated with a small number of cyclists going too fast along the east end of Porty Prom (Esplanade Terrace)...

Posted 11 years ago #
Wilmington's Cow
Member

"Getting increasingly infuriated with a small number of cyclists going too fast along the east end of Porty Prom (Esplanade Terrace)..."

Justifiably so. It's like riding along the canal, if you want to go fast use the road.

Last night leaving work, chap at the same time as me, MTB, one lumo yellow sock, one lumo pink, trackie bottoms tucked into them - hopped onto the pavement at the Grassmarket to bypass a bus, through the next red at the bottom of Victoria Street, very early green at the bottom of Pleasance, through the red to turn right outside the Scotsman, very very early green before Jock's Lodge.

Naturally caught and passed a few times, suggesting he'd be better working on his fitness and speed than being an eejit. Sadly I had the chain jump and had to stop to put that back on - he went passed, having obviously gone through the red lights at Jock's Lodge after me (I was well ahead and they turned amber just as I cleared the junction). Was catching him again before I had to turn off onto Northfield Broadway.

Posted 11 years ago #
allebong
Member

So I had to come back along the canal and WoL path this afternoon around 5pm. I usually only do the route when it's quiet but as you can imagine today was quite busy and it's been a while since I've had to cope with that level of ped/bike traffic. As WC notes it is not the place to be going fast and I got on perfectly fine taking it easy and ringing the bell every few seconds - and saying 'thank you' when people moved of course.

The WoL path from Slateford past the back of the ASDA was much more empty. I was heading up the slanted wooden walkway that takes you to the back of the graveyard. I was going fairly quick but not absolutely gunning it - just as well it turns out. Got to the top, and since visibility isn't great over and round that corner I didn't spot the slow moving woman on the middle of the path until the last moment. I was towards the left and kept heading that way while slowing and it would have been fine had she went to her left. But she turned to her right, and right into my path, and there was that target fixation effect where we were both like 'come on...stop....ahh!!!' as we tried to dodge each other. Handful of brake duly grabbed by both of us resulting in much front wheel skidding and sliding on the loose gravel. No actual collision thankfully and we were both doing the sheepish 'sorry!' routine as we both seemed to think it was our own fault - me for going a bit faster than was really needed, and her for moving into my path. Let's call it even.

Posted 11 years ago #
wingpig
Member

Despite having a double-decker #35 two feet behind him as he crested Abbeymount heading south the gutter-hugging chump on a white frame was more interested in perving at the woman crossing Montrose Terrace rather than looking around him or watching out for the craters in front of him.

Posted 11 years ago #
wingpig
Member

Unnecessary weaving on Princes Street this morning: fortunately he decided against trying to squeeze alongside the bus through the narrow bit just east of the Mound...

[+] Embed the video | Video Download Get the Flash Video

Text-Link:

HTML-Link:

BB-Code:

Embed:

Posted 11 years ago #
custard
Member

cyclist pootling down St Mary street(I was driving)
I sat back to give them breathing space and prevent the van behind doing a tight overtake with the cars turning right at the lights ahead
he was going a little too slow IMO
As we got to the bottom he turned across and behind the queue of right turning cars without a shoulder check,signal or anything
had I been driving in the standard 'must get past the cyclist mode',he would have been scrambled

Posted 11 years ago #
Uberuce
Member

Admittedly very apologetic young man who thought he should undertake me when I was at the end of a lazy and smooth drift from primary to secondary. I was laden down by a full bag of farmer's market produce and an unwillingness to break sweat, so I was very much of the pootle and therefore my line on the road must have been plainly visible to him for several seconds before we almost kissed handlebars.
No harm done, but really, son, why on earth did you not just pass on my right?

Posted 11 years ago #
Rosie
Member

Apropos of wingpig's video, I showed it to a Lothian Regional Transport bus driver. He pointed out that the rider had not once turned round to look behind him, and that he's observed that those with cameras on their helmets are the worst at looking round when doing things like changing lanes, or pulling out to pass a parked car. He says that it's one of the things that annoy bus drivers - the lack of defensive cycling, while bus drivers are taught defensive driving.

Posted 11 years ago #
stiltskin
Member

worst at looking round when doing things like changing lanes, or pulling out to pass a parked car

While I can understand the first point, I rather take issue with some of the implications of the last part of the statement. If you are riding along and come up to a parked car, I would look behind, but as a bus driver what do you think a cyclist is going to do when passing a stationary vehicle. Ride into the back of it? The bus driver should be anticipating the bike will be moving out.

Posted 11 years ago #
wingpig
Member

@stiltskin To be fair LRT's recent guide video did mention the whole anticipate-how-the-upcoming-terrain-will-affect-a-cyclist thing.
When I was wearing my camera as a hatcam I noticed my shoulder-checks getting far more frequent and ostentatious.

Posted 11 years ago #