@threefromleith - I witnessed a man be similarly aggressive to my wife as she was dawdling a bit getting onto her bike after POP at the end of Queen's drive and got in his way. She did get in his way to be fair, but I objected to his aggression and reacted badly which resulted in him chasing me dangerously (while my daughter was in the trailer) to shout and swear at me that it was me who gave cyclists a bad name….. upset me for weeks…
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Today's rubbish cycling
(4503 posts)-
Posted 9 years ago #
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Well, matey wasn't too visible on the footage, sadly. But if it is the same guy as last year, no doubt I'll see him again soon!
Posted 9 years ago # -
Today's cycling hypocrisy was from me. A youngster on a BSO jumped the red at Morningside Cross. I caught him up before he'd done even half of Balcarres Street and subjected him to a bit of light mockery.
Then, at the junction of Myreside Road with Colinton Road I skipped the temporary red lights by freewheelin' up the pavement. Given that my three sworn enemies are supposed to be, like Cyrano's, 'falsehood, hypocrisy and compromise' this was a truly rubbish thing to do. Pure devilment.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Last night whilst walking through Multrees walk towards the bike, there was a twonk on an mtb flying through the walk. As it was busy he was weaving all over the place to dodge peole walking through. I held my ground as he swept past. I was sorely tempted to clip his handlebar....
Posted 9 years ago # -
@IWRATS - do you know about the narrow path beside the railway from Myreside to Colinton Road? It's overgrown and a bit muddy, but perfectly passable to anything other than a full-on road bike. It's bumpy and litter-strewn and I don't normally use it, but given the recent chaos caused by the four-way lights at Gray's Loan it's a more attractive option.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"the narrow path beside the railway from Myreside to Colinton Road"
Has anyone ever tried cycling a route on the south side of the railway line, via the cricket grounds?
Probably a bit dodgy and maybe not very fair on the cricketers but it looks from Google satellite view that it's mainly on tarmac/hard surface with just a short section of grass (complete with desire line).
Posted 9 years ago # -
Spectaculalry bad cycling from a woman wobbling her way along Corstorphine Road/St John's Road, looking at her phone the whole time.
She nearly went into the back of a parked car, then opposite the zoo she almost went into the back of an airport bus. She thought about squeezing between it and another bus which was in the outside lane, but thought better of it and went back to concentrating on her phone.
When she passed me again a few minutes later she was still looking at her phone, and still unable to cycle in a straight line.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Whilst it is incredibly stupid to do so (IMO) it is not an offence to operate a mobile phone when cycling.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Can't say this is rubbish cycling, because I wasn't really sure what happened, even from trying to watch the video back, but this dude was uphappy about something, possibly the dude behind him, and was waving and gesticulating towards me, I think. If it's someone on here, sorry I couldn't respond with anything more than a confused look.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Not witnessed by me, but I've been asked to post it...
My wife and her mum were walking along Brae Park from Cramond Brig about 4.20 today when a squad of about 6 cyclists (ok, MAMILs) came down the hill towards them at very very high speed. Even though they were walking on the left it was extremely intimidating for them both to be passed by cyclists at that speed - faster than any cars would come down that hill.
My wife and her mum both shouted "too fast" but got a dismissive "it's a road" from the last one in the group.
There's been a thread about this spot before on this forum. It may be a road, but pedestrians have to use it and it's not a racetrack - if you want to go at those speeds then go play on Queensferry Road. And if you don't want to mix with the traffic there then think how pedestrians feel about you.
(My wife did say if her mum hadn't been there then she would have responded in an "appropriate" fashion)
Posted 9 years ago # -
[quote]faster than any cars would come down that hill.[/quote]
I wasn't there, but I wouldn't be too certain about that...Posted 9 years ago # -
Fair enough, but that was her perception. And to be honest, I walk down there a lot and I don't see many cars speeding down that hill.
Posted 9 years ago # -
When some cyclist passes me on the left, which scares the hell out of me, I've fantasised about addressing them:- "Listen, I can see you're a foreigner, but in this country we drive on the left so you pass people on the right." However they've usually streak ahead so fast I can't catch them up.
The other day I was cycling along the canal at the Fountainbridge end just after 5 so it was pretty busy and of course cyclists were weaving around the walkers and buggy pushers. A young bloke was approaching me, cycling on the right. I think he thought I'd swerve. I didn't though. I stopped, he stopped and his wheel was just in front of mine, and I said very politely, "You are foreign, aren't you? We do cycle on the left in this country." Now, I was expecting a load of abuse but the young guy - who looked local and sounded local - just said, "I'm very sorry" and went to the left on his way, his mate behind him.
Posted 9 years ago # -
If one should be so foolish as to ask me, at that section of the canal, all bets are off as far as that convention goes. Therefore I don't think he was guilty of rubbish cycling. Undertaking is big smelly bumpants, I agree there.
My rubbish cyclist may or may not have been acting out of character and thus not deserving of the label. I was waiting in primary a couple of cars back from the evil ASZ going right onto Ashley Terrace from Slateford Road when I heard a furious argument approaching.
It turned out to be this cyclist in heated exchange with a van driver, who was sufficiently ranty and of the rave, and lending such little attention to what was in front of him(since he keeping pace with the cyclist instead) that my gut instinct was that it must have been his driving at fault.
Then the cyclist overtook the two cars ahead of me, plonked himself over the stop line of the ASZ and then jumped the red a couple of seconds before it arrived, so I changed my mind and reckoned it was 50/50 on whose rubbish travelling it had been.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"If one should be so foolish as to ask me, at that section of the canal, all bets are off as far as that convention goes. "
I'd rather like German police barking "cyclists to the left, pedestrians to the right" to make the journey smoother and easier for everyone.
However, my alternative is Fountainbridge, which is very unpleasant at peak times, so I just go with the flow - or rather the stop-and-start of shared paths. And the canal is gorgeous, really.
My worst experience of undertaking was in London when a fiery young bloke banged his bicycle against a woman's bicycle, ie assaulted her cycle with his cycle, shouting at her for not going fast enough so he was forced to undertake her. She stopped a police car.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"She stopped a police car."
Part 2 please!
Posted 9 years ago # -
A bloke and I had stopped and were calling out, Are you okay? while she and the bloke shouted at each other and he banged his wheel on hers. Then a police car went past and she waved to it. It stopped. Seeing that I didn't have to hang around, I took off.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Thanks
Posted 9 years ago # -
This morning I was coming from Palmerston Place across to Torphichen St. As I approached Torphichen Place a cyclist came from there, but rather than carrying on towards Palmerston, she cut straight across the oncoming traffic and then went the wrong way round the corner, again facing oncoming traffic, onto Atholl Place - quite a short cut and a pretty risky one!
I'm not sure if it was deliberate or if she didn't know the road layout.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Racing-turnip, trying to sneak up my left then butt in front of me crossing from West Preston to East Preston, then suddenly appearing to my left again to go straight ahead across the Scotsman roundabout, then cropping up a final time two inches behind my mudguard when I checked before turning left down Springwhatever Thingbies.
Posted 9 years ago # -
First experience of one of the mythical NEPN wheelsuckers this morning. 40s-ish, red jersey, black rucksack, Lancastrian accent.
I had slowly caught up to him but decided we were going roughly the same pace, and also there was a guy ahead of us both in (I think) an Audax UK top, a dynamo rear light and a shoulder bag. So I figured I would drop back a bit and let them set the pace from a comfortable distance.
The wheelsucker caught AUK man and then sat right on his tail and slightly off to the point where I think he committed the bunch cycling sin of wheel overlap. This continued for about 5 minutes as AUK man's attempt to break free were stymied when he slowed to pass pedestrians or dogs and the sucker caught him.
I peeled off left onto Wester Coates Terrace and then the Corstorphine Road, only to find some sucking my own wheel just after the Roseburn bus stop. I turned round to find the same guy now right on and overlapping my wheel and trying to cadge a free ride. I sat up, slowed and waved him past, at which point he responded "No, I'm OK, I'm turning left in a bit".
Chump.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Chump with a strategy?
Posted 9 years ago # -
I'm struggling to see the problem with this. He's a chump because he drafted a couple of guys for a while? Or am I misunderstanding the problem here? Sounds like he was polite enough not to overtake and then left hook you at the end.
I draft people when I can and I'm happy for people to tag a ride with me. It's cycling, not theft.
Posted 9 years ago # -
When I draft, I will offer to take a turn at the front, though this can slow things down.
That's why I said he had a strategy. See also the rule about personal insults. Chump is merely a mildly negative adjective.
Could have said typical product of that cher's Britain (.cher has a lot to answer for, was supposed to be thatcher but predictive texting thought otherwise)
Or selfish bar steward
I am guessing wind in Edinburgh is prevailing westerly? In Bedford today blowing from east which is unusual.
Lot of people with high end road bikes now in Bedford that get taken for spins through the park.
Posted 9 years ago # -
@deckard - he's a chump because he crosses over wheels and sits quite so close to someone who does not neccessarily know they are there for no other reason than his own laziness. If the rider ahead is to suddenly swerve around a hole or brake because a dog appears out the undergrowth or they realise they've left their trousers at home or missed their turn, sitting 2 or 3 inches off someone's rear wheel is asking for trouble. It's the exactly the same reason you're told not to tailgate when driving - you don't leave enough distance to compensate for your reaction time in the event of an emergency maneouvre.
Drafting is fine when both parties are OK with it, and understand each others intentions. The lead party has to be willing to ride in a way that accomodates the rider behind and pointing out obstacles ahead as the other rider can't see them. The rider behind has to trust that the rider in front is going to do that.
I get the feeling that this rider wanted to see ahead to carry out his uninvited wheelsucking so sat slightly en echelon with myself and Mr AUK, which is even worse as if I were to swerve suddenly my rear wheel would contact his front and we'd both be on the tarmac.
When I'm on the public road, I'm worried about the surface ahead and cars and other unknowns around me. I don't want to be worrying what the shadow of a cyclist I can see out the corner of my eye is up to, I've no idea who they are and how much attention they are paying and how competent they are at operating their own machine.
This guy made no attempt to pass either of us - sat on the first guy for 5 minutes, was behind me from the lights for about half a mile or so, more than enough distance to either pass or sit back.
He may be fine with drafting - you may be fine with drafting, but if you don't know that the other party is fine with you drafting them my advice would be, don't. Arobcomp of this parish had an expensive bike damaged and a wheel written off when a dozy drafter rear-ended him. I've seen a bike written off and another have it's rear wheel pancaked when one of them had a chain snap and the other guy went right into the back of him - and that's when both were paying attention and drafting as part of a club run.
It's not theft, it's potentially quite dangerous - and it's totally unneccessary.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Totally agree with Mr K. Unauthorised drafting is just plain dangerous.
Posted 9 years ago # -
... "overdrafting" ?
Posted 9 years ago # -
For all Kappers' reasons I hate drafters. Lazy. The only reason to draft someone is if they're a chump and you want to demonstrate that they're not as fast as they think they are. And even then you don't draft, you sit behind and to the right, ostentatiously keeping up without drafting.
Posted 9 years ago # -
If overtaken by someone or couple of people I will normally try to catch up to get benefit of draft if against wind.
Normally know the regulars on my commute and who I can catch or have no chance with (slightly modified by not yet being back at full fitness).
Consensual drafting can be fine.
One of the issues I feel kappers may have is that he is on a new commute so the NEPN wheel sucker is stranger. Also the wheel sucker appears from description to overlap which is not quite as good as staying right behind though of course when not having to expend effort you are at risk of overlapping when wheel sucking.
I was mock complaining to chap the other week who came off path at splash bathroom warehouse old building in juni green that I had been hoping for a tow all the way to the end of the WoL path. This was seen by both of us as banter. Sometimes my attempts at banter fail (see threads passim re false pixelmix mix up)
Posted 9 years ago # -
I'm also struggling to see what the objection to drafting is. Although there are a couple of wise guidelines, namely never overlap or assume they will point out obstructions to you. If you're overlapping that suggests you have the power to go faster so should probably be taking a turn in the wind.
Calling anyone who gets out their car and rides their bike lazy seems a bit counter productive to me. I would rather someone sits on my tail in a bike then passes me to closely in a car particularly if they are the sort of person who can't control a vehicle.
Posted 9 years ago #
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