CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

Today's rubbish cycling

(4503 posts)

  1. kaputnik
    Moderator

    I passed a chap on a black Emelle MTBSO this morning at Forestry Commission on Corstorphine Road. Was surprised to find him spin furiously and very slowly past me about a minute later as he must have decided he didn't like being passed.

    After he had worked slowly past, he pulled back over infront and then went right back to the same speed he had been at previously. Ho-hum I thought. We were then in Corstorphine so no point starting a race. at next 3 sets of lights he mis-placed his cleats on the green so I decided to leave him behind at the 4th lights, kicking the air as he tried to engage shoe on pedal.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  2. dougal
    Member

    Re white lights at the rear - I saw a bike like that this morning on the train. Obviously the light wasn't on so I couldn't be sure. I will have to check next time I see the bike! Some people are mad.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  3. wingpig
    Member

    After a couple of weeks of being able to go in via the NEPN in the mornings, in addition to previously-mentioned anti-clockwise wheelsuckers I have seen a few different regular clockwise people at whom regular frowning is required, including always-on-the-phone woman (usually around the Boswall Drive region) and look-at-me-I-have-blue-hair huge-headphones man, who can usually be seen sprinting to 'make' it through gaps between rapidly-nearing people on his clockwise way around the red metal bridge.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  4. jdanielp
    Member

    I experienced three 'near' misses cycling home into town on the towpath this evening where people heading out of town drifted into the centre of the path as I passed them; one in the middle of a three bike train who I don't think even knew that I was there, one who was moving a bit too slowly from the right of the path to the left and one who wasn't even looking up for a while as he approached. This may in part be down to the low sun in their eyes but still it was a little worrying. However, I also sort of did the same thing to someone else after looking down briefly to try to pinpoint a rattling noise only to look up and find myself further right than planned with oncoming traffic...

    Posted 9 years ago #
  5. deckard112
    Member

    Would be the British Legion charity cyclists this morning riding in the bus lane southbound towards the Forth Road Bridge avoiding the glaringly obvious and much safer cycle path next to them!! Made worse by their support minibus tailing them with hazards on.

    I appreciate there are often reasons why people opt not to use cycle paths (I'm one of them as it happens), but I saw this as very dangerous.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  6. davidsonsdave
    Member

    The lady in the high-vis bib weaving through the pedestrians crossing (at a green man) at Gilmore Place. There were several rubbish pedestrians on the Meadows (maybe a different discussion). One runner wearing headphones got a big fright when he veered sharply into the bike lane just as I was passing (there was plenty of space on the footpath so not sure whether he suddenly decided to run on the grass). I slowed/stopped for a young lady on MMW in the bike lane and said excuse me, but she then involuntarily took a couple of side steps further into the bike lane almost causing a collision with the three cyclists who didn't feel the need to slow down.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  7. wingpig
    Member

    NEPN wheelsucker, who suddenly turned out to be a foot behind me when I turned onto the Hawthornvale Path. he then failed to anticipate that I might slow down round a corner, then appeared similarly surprised when I slowed down to avoid a few cones at the edge of the path and was then amazed when I stopped in order to go back and kick them off the path. Fortunately, I did not encounter him again. Also some overtaking-with-insufficient-clearance twerps going clockwise between Crewe Toll and Craigleith.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  8. jdanielp
    Member

    The guy who overtook a group of parents and school children who were heading along the canal towpath towards Craiglockhart Primary. Admittedly, he overtook them at very low speed, but the fact that I was in the process of passing them in the other direction (and actually had space on my side of the path to do so) meant that I had to come to a complete halt, at which point I raised my arm, a gesture I usually reserve for bad drivers. He said "thank you" rather than "sorry"...

    Posted 9 years ago #
  9. Chug
    Member

    The two MTB's who forced a pedestrian to flatten herself against the wall of the canal bridge at Harrison Park as they went piling through.

    The cyclist behind me let an an involuntary but audible obscenity at their actions - if you are on here, I fully agree. The barged-aside lady in question was remarkably sanguine about the whole thing.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  10. deckard112
    Member

    Practically ambushed on Roseburn path last night heading towards the wee interchange just past Ravelston. About 6 cyclists who didn't appear to be riding together were heading towards me spread out across the entire path, overtaking one another! I had to to shout at them to remind them I was coming their way, nearly forced off the path. The lady who was directly ahead of me shrieked as she had to pull the anchors on to avoid hitting me!

    Posted 9 years ago #
  11. Ed1
    Member

    I take that path often to go between Balerno and Leith, 2 or 3 times a week, I have noticed people riding in 3 aside before. I always wonder why the intersection near bangholm (on map) has no directional distance signage (i.e to Leith or Roseburn etc) as took some trial and error to even find that path.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  12. Kenny
    Member

    I always wonder why the intersection near bangholm (on map) has no directional distance signage

    When you say bangholm, I assume you mean the junction we refer to as Fiveways. There are markings on the path, although tbf they are mostly worn away. The east/west straight has right of way, everyone else gives way. Note that this only applies to cyclists, and certainly does *not* apply to school children @ 08:10am.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  13. Snowy
    Member

    @Chug Were these two MTBs heading west in the morning, and did they appear to be together, and attempting to ride side by side along the path? I've seen a pair matching the above description over the last few weeks and they have a total lack of regard for anyone else. One of them locked his rear wheel to avoid hitting a woman + dog (on a lead).

    Posted 9 years ago #
  14. Chug
    Member

    @Snowy It was around 17:30, so probably not the same two. One of the MTB'ers did lock up just prior to this - when they were on my back wheel and didn't anticipate me slowing to allow two pedestrians to pass each other before I overtook the one travelling in the same direction as me.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  15. wingpig
    Member

    Sunday: pillock in roadiewear on the WoL, steaming acceleratingly out from underneath the Great Unction Street bridge despite there quite clearly being a dark and shadowy bit of WoL walkway up ahead including several large clouds of pedestrians, some of whom were noticeably standing in the middle of the path taking pictures of squirrels.
    Monday: pillock in EXTREMEwear, racing through the tiny wee tunnel under the old railway on the WoL-side bit between St Mark's and the WoL path proper.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  16. lorlane
    Member

    I frequently see a cyclist travelling west along the cycle path in Broomhouse who goes far too fast (shared pedestrian type path) and never warns of his approach! This morning he nearly sent me flying as he approached from behind and he really startled me - he must have given me about 3 inches clearance.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  17. jdanielp
    Member

    Two clearly in-a-rush cyclists this morning who overtook a line of pedestrians who were walking towards me... The first of the two would probably have collided with me if I hadn't braked hard, so the second one most definitely.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  18. wingpig
    Member

    Lots of impatient nerks on the NEPN last night, of whom footage was captured to demonstrate to them, should they chance upon it, that even when I was slowing down for pedestrians I still got to Craigleith at exactly the same time as them.

    NEPN wheelsucker this morning, which might have been the person I passed on Commercial Street, in which case he speeded up significantly after I passed him.
    I was first alerted to him when his bell tinged going beneath Craighall Road; turning round, he was inches from my rear wheel, so was asked to either get past or stay back. He appeared to ignore that and came slightly closer, muttering something about how his bell-ting wasn't deliberate but that it tinged itself on bumps. I askd him again to stay back or get past, then slowed to carefully pass through all the people milling around near Five Ways. I thought he'd turned off there as he wasn't noticeably behind me the next time I checked, but he had either been hiding or had caught up again between the last two bridges before Crewe Toll. Again, he declined to either get past or drop back. He was still inches behind going over Crewe Toll, so I slowed right down, whereupon he came alongside and said something along the lines of "that was a furious pace you were setting there", despite me not 'setting a pace' as I was not doing it for his benefit, merely going at the sort of speed I was going at in order to get myself to work. He turned off down the next slope, but hopefully caught the explanation that if he can speed up sufficiently to catch me up then he can something well get the something else past rather than sit so close behind that he would have no chance of stopping suddenly if it became necessary for me to do so.
    Making a wee sign to stick on the back of my pannier today.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  19. algo
    Member

    @wingpig - it sounds like you need one of these on your pannier:

    I was chastised for overtaking the same person (in order not to be a wheelsucker) several times last night - said person overtaking me by means of pavement hopping, red light jumping and nerve-jangling dangerous left side filtering at queues. Apparently I must have been in a hurry….

    Posted 9 years ago #
  20. kaputnik
    Moderator

    I had a NEPN wheelsucker last night from Roseburn onwards. Neither speeding up nor slowing to pretty much walking speed seemed to get any sort of a reaction other than sticking there, so I turned off at Craigleith to cut through to Inverleith Park past Fettes instead.

    What's wrong with these people? One of these days someone's going to have to slam on the brakes when a dog appears out of the undergrowth and it ain't going to be pretty. And it will be the wheelsucker who probably ends up with their teeth in their lip.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  21. ARobComp
    Member

    Kappers- unfortunately I know from bitter experience that someone hitting you from behind unfortunately means that you'll end up worse off. His front wheel barely scratched, my rear wheel, chain, derailieur all banjaxed.

    So I think that asking them to stay back a bit isn't a bad plan! Education and slogans perhaps?

    "stay back when following my bike - if I brake you'll get a fright"

    "Don't wheel suck - You ignorant f..."

    Posted 9 years ago #
  22. stiltskin
    Member

    ^ that can happen, but by and large is is the person behind who comes off worse. If it reaches the point that people just won't go away, I just stop. Sometimes suddenly....

    Posted 9 years ago #
  23. wingpig
    Member

    On the way home along the NEPN between Roseburn to the West Granton Access turn-off yestereve there were a couple of marked nerks, particularly the blue-clad overtaking-into-my-face person and the two people riding two abreast across the red bridge and around the wigglebends, when they could presumably see a long string of people approaching them through the fence-lattice. If they were paying attention.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  24. CJC
    Member

    This guy who jumped straight onto the roundabout (not a terrible thing to do) and then cycled straight in front of a car on a roundabout, before stopping on the exit.

    [+] Embed the video | Video DownloadGet the Flash Video

    Posted 9 years ago #
  25. ARobComp
    Member

    Mine this evening after a tough old session up and down the WOL path from roseburn to see a possible new bike in Balerno.

    Heading back to flat near the playpark in the corner of roseburn park with the bridge. Saw a group of kids on the bridge and was watching them to figure out what they'd do whehn I hit the bridge, and I hit a huge bump caused by a root under the path. Absolutely binned it and taught the kids on the bridge a naughty word (or at least half of one before I hit the ground).

    Lots of skin gone, knees swollen, shoulder muscle damage. Probably won't be racing cross this weekend...

    Look where you're going!

    Posted 9 years ago #
  26. wingpig
    Member

    Going out of Canning Street onto Dewar Place yesterday I observed someone cycling off the traffic island to head the wrong way along Torphichen Street. This appeared to be the same turnip as then went the wrong way round the keep left island at the turning into Haymarket Yards, went onto the footway at the speed bump rather than the dropped kerb and then turned into the Roseburn to use the cut through in a way which made it look like his brakes weren't working at all well.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  27. steveo
    Member

    Lots of skin gone, knees swollen, shoulder muscle damage. Probably won't be racing cross this weekend...

    Ouch, nasty. Of course when you tell your 'cross buddies that tale will but much more harrowing!

    Posted 9 years ago #
  28. kaputnik
    Moderator

    An otherwise experienced and competent-looking pavementchump cycling down Inverleith Row on the narrow footway to avoid waiting 30s to get his chance at a right turn into Inverleith Terrace.

    Much to narrow for that sort of thing.

    Also last night coming through theHolyrood Park downhill from St Leonards, there was someone on the path weaving around joggers and dog-walkers while doing pretty much the same speed as myself and the carbon-wheeled, black-skinsuited, pro-looking type who were zooming down the road.

    Much to fast for that sort of path.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  29. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    @ARobComp

    Ouch. Don't race injured. Look after yourself.

    Posted 9 years ago #
  30. ARobComp
    Member

    Positive news is that it isn't broken or fractured! Looks like a shoulder sprain.
    Rode to hospital for x-ray. Looks like it's not too bad.
    I have a ceilidh sat night as well! Nightmare.

    Posted 9 years ago #

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