This morning on NMW eastbound, I’m following someone at what I feel is a reasonable distance (about two bikes’ length) when somebody else overtakes me without any warning and inserts themselves between me and the cyclist in front, proceeding to wheelsuck them all the way to the MMW junction.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Today's rubbish cycling
(4520 posts)-
Posted 6 years ago #
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Me on the towpath westbound just past the speedbumps on approach to Harrison Park at home time (about 5:40). I decided it was the best time to faff about with my front light and ended up almost colliding with a cyclist going in the opposite direction. Sorry if it was you.
Posted 6 years ago # -
On the towpath last night by a cyclist who thought that the really dark section east of Harrison Park just as I was negotiating the speed bumps while trying to work out how many unlit and unreflective shadowy pedestrians were ahead of me was an ideal place to overtake without any warning.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Seriously irritated by a couple of selfish tight-wearers this morning heading east on the tow path who seemed to think that other cyclists slowing down to give pedestrians space is a license to barge through. Do. Not. Do. That.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Yesterday morning around 8:45 person cycling downhill against the traffic opposite Majestic Wine at Buckstone. Future organ donor.
Posted 6 years ago # -
“
Apparently the offenders are not just the typical ‘white van man’ or boy racers but bus drivers, taxi drivers, and emergency services, including the police themselves.
“
Posted 6 years ago # -
Muppet launching themselves at a pedestrian who was still crossing the South Bridge led crossing the instant the lights turned to flashing amber. Grr. They also had an extremely blinding flashing red rear light.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Another ignore-the-lights Leith Street user exiting the chicane northbound last night and then subsequently insistently tinging the pedestrians crossing on their green light.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Orange-jacketed yellow-glasses wearing rider of overclocked ebike which honked passed me this morning as I was going around 20mph on the Blackhall Path this morning.
If you choose to overclock your electric bike then that is fine by me but it is then a motorbike. Motorbikes go on roads and need to be registered, taxed and insured. You will need a licence to ride it along with a crash helmet.
Posted 6 years ago # -
If an e bike was unlimited and went at 20 mph would be non- compliant but does that equate to rubbish cycling in itself or may be more a case of rubbish compliance to the rules, if a bike passes with no rear reflector or wheel reflector would this be rubbish cycling-)
Posted 6 years ago # -
@Ed1 Perhaps. I wouldn't comment at all the yellow-glasses orange-jacketed ebiker/motorbiker was on a pedal bike but if his intention was to be a cyclist then I would consider purposely making alterations so that it is is no longer complient as a electrically assisted pedal cycle whilst also not treating it as a motorbike as rubbish cycling*.
The ven diagram, "rubbish compliance to the rules" does have overlap with "rubbish cycling". For me, this sits in the overlap of the two.
I'm not sure that there will be much demand for "Today's rubbish motorbiking along a cycle path" but that isn't so uncommon along the Blackhall Path either!
* subjective - other interpretations are available.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I think the man who slid off sideways as he entered NMW from Buccleuch Street might have avoided sliding off sideways if he'd been going a bit slower. He'd been right up my mudguards along Rankeillor Street and Gifford Park and seemed a bit too eager to get past.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@wingpig although NMW is unpleasantly mucky/slippery at the moment.
Posted 6 years ago # -
The cyclist who joined the towpath directly in front of me just west of Harrison Park, leaving me with the option of braking heavily or ringing my bell and going straight into an overtake. I decided on the latter because there was no traffic immediately ahead. He then followed closely behind as we passed various pedestrians, before overtaking safely at Meggetland and pulling away. Despite not deviating from my typical speed, I then found myself rapidly catching him again just beyond Meggetland, but decided not to overtake again to try to avoid provoking any further interactions.
Posted 6 years ago # -
The woman exiting Heriot-Watt who cycled half-way across the A71 onto the traffic island on which I was waiting, having dismounted my bike to cross half-way from the other direction. The reason that I was waiting at the half-way point was because a large yellow truck was approaching at speed from the east (and indeed a large green truck had just passed). If for any reason the woman's bike had let her down as she cycled across the road, things would not have turned out well for her. I wasn't surprised that the driver leant on his horn as she crossed right in front of him but maybe he should have been braking...
Posted 6 years ago # -
I had a cyclist overtake me on a Raleigh Shopper the other night. This person had perhaps misjudged the strength of the wind and then also rode very defensively in gutter etc. However, at Craiglockart junction beyond the excellent Taste Good restaurant, this person shot through a red light that had been red for a long time. I think this cyclist had noticed the westbound traffic was snarled so this person had a safe zone to aim for. However this cyclist had spectacularly failed to see the eastbound traffic had priotity straight ahead and turning right. Much blaring of horns and almost an ex-cyclist.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@Raleigh Shopper - a bad ass type of bike :-)
(Not to be confused with Raleigh Chopper)I sinned this week. George IV Bridge backed up so weaved around parked traffic. Got SON hub re-furbished so nice lighting on Fuego.
At hotel I went up on the cycle path and noticed that a Lothian bus was leaving just enough space for me to get to ASL.
With high bottom bracket you can go right to kerb and keep pedalling above grounding obstacles. Unfortunately my right hand mirror was just 3cm too wide and brushed the door of a 41 bus and made noise as it bent back. I kept going. Bus was clearly on bike lane but sure a majority would say I was in the wrong.Posted 6 years ago # -
Cyclist on London Road going through a red light at the Easter Road junction, narrowly missing pedestrians crossing the road.
Posted 6 years ago # -
CArrying on a discussion from a couple of days ago:
"The cyclist who joined the towpath directly in front of me just west of Harrison Park"
"The woman exiting Heriot-Watt who cycled half-way across the A71"I'm not attacking, i'm asking. two posts from the same person, at about the same time. why the difference in titles?
i've been reading people's comments more carefully recently, and this sort of difference interests me.Posted 6 years ago # -
Back when, Deborah Tannen theorised that men are "unmarked" and women "marked" - in linguistic terms, but also in "real life" terms. (Women have many less "unmarked" choices - there's no equivalent of a boring uniform business suit, women's clothes are always seen as carrying information.) Default-maleing is so insidious and prevalent (and everyone does it, men and women. I see my niece doing it. She's four.) and subtly reinforces the idea (even if not consciously held) that male is the standard, female a departure from the standard...
Posted 6 years ago # -
personal pet peeve: going into an outdoor clothing shop with clothes labelled "shirt" "women's shirt" "children's shirt." like women/children are non-standard. argh.
/threadjack over.
last night i saw two teens cycling along the pavement around 8pm. part of me was glad that they were being active, the other wished they'd get lights and get on the road, but they didn't look well-off either.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Re threadjack, that's a perfect example though!
Re: thread
Hmm and if you're broke and you have lights but they get nicked you might be unlikely to buy more. (Segregated infrastructure reduces need for lights a bit. I mean, not IDEALLY obviously as outside street lights you might be very stealth. But in an ideal world those kids wouldn't need to be on the pavement or the road?) (in a more ideal world they wouldn't look worse off than the average citizen obviously...)
Posted 6 years ago # -
i can't afford to replace my lights, i take them off every time!
Posted 6 years ago # -
Canuck. We clearly don't need to know the gender of said cyclists but I wonder in light on the gender comments how much relevance their age had to the story? Would you have been less please to see them active if they were older?
Posted 6 years ago # -
Oops. Partial double post somehow.
Posted 6 years ago # -
@thecanuck a reasonable observation. I did identify the gender of the towpath cyclist as well... I think that part of the reason for not using 'cyclist' a second time was as much for variation as it was to more specifically question the choice of that person to cycle across the A71 given the circumstances described. Obviously I could have used the word 'person' then instead of 'woman' though. I'm sure this won't be the last time that I choose words poorly.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I've seen people here (and elsewhere) say that the "normally" dressed women on a bike is a good indicator species, so occasionally I have posted on the Spotted thread and said "woman on a bike..."when I see a good example (usually because I feel a complete twonk when stopped next to them if I'm wearing a helmet/hi-viz)
Posted 6 years ago # -
2 women - 20s / 30s ? on fairly high end mountain bikes on pavements. one on Gilmore place near view forth and the other on valleyfield/Leven st.
I don't normally place much credence in people who say 'i was almost knocked down 5 times last week' because I so rarely see cyclists on pavements. but today makes it twice in the space of 5 mins, and both times riders who look like 'proper' cyclists, albeit on bikes more suited to Pentlands than Polwarth....
Posted 6 years ago # -
Ugh, I am really angry right now. I cycled down to the Sainsbury's at Meadowbank. I have never been there before. On the way down I saw that there was a shared path, inaccessible for now but I could use it on my way back and avoid getting abuse for being on the road.
On my way back I go onto the path and there is a sign with a bike on the left, a ped on the right and a line down the middle. I look down. There is a line of bricks delineating this shared path. Okay cool. I reach the junction. It is not clear what I should do here. Cross the crossing on my left and then stop halfway across and wait for the traffic lights? I want to turn right here and I would rather not do that on a bike.
But never mind, the little line of bricks continues on around the corner. Great, I can go up to the crossing there, cross and continue on my way.
All I found was no crossing and an old biddy yelling at me for riding on the pavement.
I am honestly so sick of this sort of (rule 2).
We get yelled at for not using cycle lanes and yelled at when we suddenly find ourselves stranded on lanes that have apparently finished with no warning and no indication of what you were supposed to do to leave it.
Why do I even bother?
Posted 6 years ago #
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