Some roads seem designed to provoke confusion amongst people
Some roads are designed to provoke confusion and uncertainty - see proponents and instances of UK-style "shared space"...
Robert
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Today's rubbish cycling
(4520 posts)-
Posted 8 years ago #
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That's where the "considerately" bit comes in.
Posted 8 years ago # -
I affect a manoeuvre that is good. With bits of bAd. I come up st Mary's street and cut up gullan's close round and out at the white horse. Have to cross pavement then roll down the canon gate (here is the good bit) I stick my left arm out for a good long while to indicate I am turning left down east market st. This lets the cars waiting to get out to do so I even sometimes get a wee wave off a driver for doing so
Posted 8 years ago # -
Due to injury I've been forced to curtail my pace on the bike, especially up hills, which has made me feel significantly less confident on the roads when it comes to positioning - I guess it's the increase in relative speed difference, but I'm finding myself much more inclined to the gutter than the centre of the lane than I would usually be.
I have no power to get up to speed quickly either, which makes me wobblier at lights and the like too, which has made me feel a bit of a rubbish cyclist :) Subsequently, I have found myself shoulder checking much more than I would normally though. It's also made me much more aware that there are plenty of decent drivers who hang back before overtaking safely, as I'm certainly holding them up more than usual.
Posted 8 years ago # -
"I'm certainly holding them up more than usual."
Best not to think of people as being held up: roads don't come with a service-level agreement. Or to quote a man with an actual magic hat:
A driver is never late, nor is he early, he arrives precisely when he means to.
Posted 8 years ago # -
@dougal, that better not be hobbit talk :-)
Geordiefatblokeonabike, you are right, lot of good drivers about lest we forget due to the other ones
Posted 8 years ago # -
Cyclist riding the wrong way along the section of Princes St between Lothian Rd & S Charlotte St (ie eastbound in the middle of the westbound carriageways) this morning. Looked like a 'proper' cyclist - decent bike with fitted mudguards, technical jacket (though not bike specific)
Not sure where he got his confidence from that the Charlotte St lights wouldn't release their traffic - not one I would like to bet on
To complete the manoeuvre, he then cycled across the ped crossing and proceeded along the shop-side Princes St pavement.
Posted 8 years ago # -
What part of the definition of 'proper' cyclist includes the behaviour described?
Posted 8 years ago # -
Mudguards?
Posted 8 years ago # -
Made it 7.96 miles of my 8 mile journey to work this morning before crashing. Since it was very wet, the metal cover on the entrance to the car park at work was difficult to spot. One of my wheels slipped on it (I guess my front), I lost control and in slow motion crashed to the ground, taking my front wheel out the dropouts and twisting my handlebars off-centre. Oops. Wrist a bit sore, I don't think it's sore enough to suggest I've re-broken my scaphoid, but time will tell.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Ouch! Hot bath and a a whisky. Hope it's not too sore in the morning.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Indeed! Turns out it's fine :)
Posted 8 years ago # -
@Kenny - that's a relief.
That sort of event is so difficult to mitigate. With lying water and low light, stuff happens.
Glad it wasn't worse!Posted 8 years ago # -
Indeed. The back wheel has slipped on it a few times in the past but that hasn't yet caused much of a problem. When the front wheel goes, though, I find it tends to end with me on the ground :( I need to memorise where it is for the next time it is hidden by water!
Posted 8 years ago # -
@Kenny - I'd completed an uneventful 80 mile training ride earlier this year, cycled right up to my front door at the end of the ride and promptly keeled over at 1mph as my rear wheel slipped on some moss. No harm but I felt like a complete donkey!
Posted 8 years ago # -
Couple on road bikes in lycra who decided to run the red light on Melville drive and turn into the cycle lane in the island on Argyle place that I was exiting on green.
If they'd just run the light and carried on up Argyle place on the road it would have been fine, but instead they were completely blocking me.
Pointless idiocy.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Don't know the full circumstances of this incident, but it does seem a bit rubbish...
Cyclist rescued from flooded River Teign in DevonI do like how he keeps hold of his bike through the whole process, though.
Posted 8 years ago # -
This morning it was me. While riding away from the puncture fairies on Cramond Brig I was carelessly trying to check I had remembered my valve cap when a rather alarmed cyclist who is friends with some on this forum gave a shout to bring my attention back to where it should be. I hope he wasn't too alarmed by it.
Posted 8 years ago # -
If not rubbish then certainly exceeding strange.
One of the two chaps accompanying a pair of children through Inverkeithing at about 4pm was displaying two lights right enough; one red to the front and one white to the rear.
Research does not reveal the existence of red/white colour blindness but, even if so, surely his companion would point out the situation before a motorist pulled out on him thinking he had seen a stationary bike to his right?
I don't know if it was better or worse than the lady I saw once with no rear light but both red and white on the front.
Posted 8 years ago # -
A cyclist with no front light and a flashing white light on the rear of their bicycle on the towpath this evening.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Posted 8 years ago #
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that is indeed rubbish - but hardly rubbish cycling. Commiserations - are you alright more importantly?
Posted 8 years ago # -
I'm counting it as rubbish cycling on the grounds that I have a pair of perfectly good spiked tyres in the garage, but hadn't got round to putting them on...
Yup, all good. Bike took brunt of the fall, but is built like the proverbial outhouse, so appears to have escaped unscathed.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Numpty on a hire bike bombing it down the pavement of James Watt Street in Glasgow at lunchtime. Had anyone walked round the corner of the BT building as he was passing...
Posted 8 years ago # -
Me, junction in Kings Buildings campus, I did a smidsy to a fellow cyclist and pulled out in front of them, don't know how I didn't see them as I did look, obviously not properly. Only thing I can think of was that their front light was flashing and maybe I glanced on an "off" flash, but I should have looked properly.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Me... shoulder checked to prepare to overtake a slower cyclist and then started the pass just as the pedestrian lights were changing. Going to fast to stop by the time I reaised. I *think* I made it on amber, and was thankfully well away from the kerb due to the overtake, but rubbish nonetheless..... apologies to the waiting pedestrians.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Me descending Leith Walk last night. A pedestrian on the midway island looked about to step out into my path so I wasn't paying attention to the light change just past. I was going a decent pace and ended up fishtailing as I slammed on the brakes. Made it to a halt before I went over the front of the ASZ though: the wonders of disc brakes in wet weather.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Me last night when I clipped the arm of a pedestrian on the canal towpath. Given that he was walking away from me in the middle of one of the wider parts of the path at Wester Hailes I slowed down, moved to the left (the side to which I judged that there was most space) and rang my bell. Unfortunately, he moved to his left just as I was passing. I braked to a halt just after making contact, apologised and asked if he was ok. He reacted in shock but seemed fine. I'll ring earlier next time.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Stopped at the pedestrian lights at the foot of Buccleuch Place, only for the cyclist behind to barge past on the inside, through the red lights. He hit the child seat reasonably hard - I'm quite glad it was empty at the time....
Posted 8 years ago # -
I saw a single bright front light coming towards me in the cycle lane as I was going south up Leith Walk this morning. The seemingly oblivious perpetrator eventually bumped onto the footway somewhere around Dalmeny Street.
Posted 8 years ago #
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