This clipping from the Times sits on my mantelpiece as a reminder.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Today's rubbish cycling
(4503 posts)-
Posted 7 years ago #
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I think we all have that one bizarre clipping we've saved. This is mine, reckon its nearly 20 years old.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/QTvy1S]
Posted 7 years ago # -
Yesterday's rubbish telling off of a poor, innocent motorist...
I am stopped at a red light. I look over my shoulder and the driver of the car behind me is reading a book. I make "put that down" gestures, and then realise that
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yes
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you've guessed it
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they are the front seat passenger in a left-hand-drive car.
Fortunately the driver and passenger understood my gestures of embarrassment and apology. I think they found it funny.Posted 7 years ago # -
Just watched a bicyclist tinging his bell to warn a pedestrian not to cross in front of him on an otherwise traffic-free road. Not good when pedestrians have right of way, pretty appalling when the pedestrian in question has a white stick, dark glasses and a fluorescent dog.
May we hang our collective heads in shame.
Posted 7 years ago # -
No such thing as right of way.
Person who could not see bicycle might have appreciated being informed that there was a bike there.Obviously you were there and I was not. What do you think the cyclist should have done?
Posted 7 years ago # -
I think the gentleman should have obeyed Highway Code rule 170;
Take extra care at junctions. You should watch out for pedestrians crossing a road into which you are turning. If they have started to cross they have priority, so give way.
Posted 7 years ago # -
I think there was a campaign by Guide Dogs for the Blind in London recently asking cyclists to use their bells to let visually impaired people know they were there. I guess it would depend on the context though. If he was turning into the road being crossed then the bell was inappropriate and the cyclist should have stopped
Posted 7 years ago # -
Cycling up Leith Walk at lunch time. Came to one of the crossroads and stopped at the lights. Saw a fella opposite me on the other side of the road slip through the traffic then over the box. Once the pedestrian's green man went away he started creeping forward through our still red light. In my head I'm thinking "stop, you muppet, it's red for a reason."
He looks about, then looks away over at me. Gives me a kind of "why aren't you going?" look. Sure enough after a couple of more looks behind him he picks up his pace and begins to cycle through the junction.
I was about to shout for him to stop, but luckily he noticed the other vehicles now driving across the cross roads just before he almost pedaled right into them. Was a close shave. He sheepishly came to an abrupt halt and waited for our light to go.
Not so much rubbish cycling, just poor situational awareness.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Probably us...
Cycling through Gyle park we came up behind an old lady walking slowly with a stick.
We slowed to a halt behind her and in a quite voice I said, "excuse me, could we get past"
She moved to the side and we cycle on. She then said "use a bell..." at which point my kids both 'gie it laldy' with their bells...
Posted 7 years ago # -
The guy who, on two separate occasions, was cycling so closely behind me I only just caught him in the corner of my eye when shoulder checking. I'm normally not too fussed about folk wheel sucking but this was ridiculously close.
When I asked him not to cycle so closely behind me, he coolly responded with "I'm a trained racing cyclist". Ah, well that makes it all fine then.Posted 7 years ago # -
@Luath: "yeah but I'm not" [brakes on]
Posted 7 years ago # -
Followed a couple of the usual red light ignoring cyclists that are the norm in Edinburgh last night, but also a guy who looked as if he was going to go through a red light, but only want to get a head start, from a track stand, when the light went green. Unfortunately all he did by going from a standing start was hold up everyone else behind him.
And do the usual collection of blinding, flashing lights angled all over the place count as poor cycling?
Posted 7 years ago # -
rubbish or just plain weird cycling...you decide.
heading to Grassmarket going through Haymarket this morning I seemed to get caught at every set of lights but witnessed some bizarre cycling (IMO) from a guy.
I'd passed him on the approach to the lights at haymarket which turned red, so we waited. I was the first cyclist to reach the ASL or white line (I cant remember if there is an ASL or not). A few seconds before the lights turned green he set off and went around me(so got ahead of me). As he was much slower I passed him within literally 10-20m or so. As I said this happened at every set of lights but rather than just sit behind me and wait till the lights went green he's set off and within 5seconds or so I was having to pass him only for him to do it all again a few seconds later. he knew I was there and held a very strong primary to the point where I was nearly so annoyed I thought about passing on the left (but I didn't). the worst one was at the lights for the left turn from Torphichen St onto Morrison street. there isn't a lot of room and I was the first vehicle to reach the lights. again just before green he drove around me slowly and then held primary forcing me to either go much slower than I normally would or go to the white line for a pass.
like I said it was weird...
Posted 7 years ago # -
Beano very weird. I would say that normal etiquette at a junction is to allow the cyclist arriving first at junction to go ahead first on green.
Posted 7 years ago # -
@Beano to me, that sounds like someone trying to avoid cars overtaking in the middle of the junction.
Posted 7 years ago # -
"
Chinese man cycles 500km in wrong direction to get home
"
Posted 7 years ago # -
This was Wednesday evening, but anyway. I'm heading west along London Road, moving out into the centre of the carriageway, signalling to turn right down Alva Place. Tricky enough even when traffic is light, you have to have eyes in the back of your head to spot drivers "just squeezing past" on either side of you.
A gap in the traffic appears, and I start to turn, but become aware of a young chap on an MTB pavement cycling parallel to me, going the same way. He's slower but I calculate he'll reach the junction at the same time as I do. Sure enough, he sails right across the junction, not even checking to see if I'm an HGV bearing down on him. Earbuds in, by the looks of it. So I have to slow in order to let him pass: if I had continued to make the turn I would have collided with him. He carries on westwards, completely oblivious.
Grrrr!
Posted 7 years ago # -
Me and two young men on bikes yesterday. I was pulling a trailer and pulled up at the lights. The two young men pulled up on my right and slightly in front and chatted ostentatiously in such a way as to ensure that I knew they were quicker and superior and my greetings were rudely and poshly ignored. As we set off they attempted to overtake but I am too much of an obstinate old man to allow the assumption that they will be faster than me. This ended up in them chasing me down and eventually when I turned left the sound of intense skidding close behind me.
I get annoyed by the assumption by some people at lights that they will be quicker. I am also a pathetic competitive eejit for not allowing them in front and then overtaking them if needed be....
Posted 7 years ago # -
Blatant RLJ by a chap in a red jacket on a road bike at the Jock's Lodge junction. He survived the crossing and floored it up the road, Edinburgh-wards. A little later he came into view as I was heading up Calton Road and therefore took a childish pleasure in ripping it past him.
Slowing down to stop at Waverley, he pointed out that my rear red light wasn't 100% visible and it wasn't safe as he came past me. Briefly I considered a sarky retort about having blatantly jumped the red at Jock's Lodge but figured life's too short and I had a train to catch (missed it by 30 seconds...sigh...).
Heading into the station, he jumped onto his bike and rode off across the concourse...which is exactly what you're instructed not to do on a frequent basis...
Posted 7 years ago # -
@algo A couple of teenagers forced themselves in front of me at the Craigleith junction heading up the Blackhall Path towards Davidson's Mains as I was heading home little ones in the trailer after a hard day at the playpark.
They both went for it as they clearly wanted to be ahead of some old man but they didn't have the pace for it. I tinged my bell and said excuse me to get past them and they initially moved over but as I was overtaking, the ego of the one at the back kicked in and he tried to overtake his friend making it very tight with the trailer.
I really should have waited for another 30 seconds for the fight to be knocked out of their legs before cruising past.
Posted 7 years ago # -
@davidsondave - ok I have to now confess that I had just dropped the kids off and the trailer was empty, so yours sounds much more impressive. The young men in question in my case were definitely students - the one who really tried to chase me down was riding a geared bike but I noticed there was no cable visible on the downtube to the rear shifter, so in effect he was riding a single speed, and probably on the smallest rear cog. That makes me setting off quicker even less "impressive", but also makes the assumption he will be quickest off from the lights very annoying.
Posted 7 years ago # -
The day someone towing a trailer overtakes me is the day I give up cycling. ;-(
Posted 7 years ago # -
@algo I think one of them was on a bmx so not really so impressive.
@stiltskin You can get quite a momentum going with a trailer, especially if the wind is behind you!
Posted 7 years ago # -
I think the assumption that you *may* be quicker away than someone based on bike, attire, whatever can be fair enough, but if the assumption proves wrong, I have no problem tucking in and settling down to the prevailing pace. Attempting to force the issue is a bit like lorries elephant racing on dual carriageways on their speed limiters over fractions of mph...
Posted 7 years ago # -
@stiltskin - The day someone towing a trailer overtakes me is the day I give up cycling.
Careful on CCE then...
I went on one of the Arthur Seat rides, and was backmarker with another chap towing a trailer.
I assumed I could keep up with him, yet was quickly left for dust.
Turns out he was Dave, and had not long returned from cycling Paris-Brest-Paris!
Robert
Posted 7 years ago # -
In this case, Rubbish Fake Cycling.
My neighbour must have overheard me & another neighbour moaning about the two bikes he & his girlfriend bought three years ago, rode once or twice and then chained to two separate sets of railings half-way up the common stair and abandoned.
The other night as I quietly observed, unnoticed, from my landing, he snuck out, wiped the dust off the bike, attached an orange flashing light to the front and a red to the rear, unchained it, turned it round to face upstairs, then chained it back up again.
It appears to be a ploy to fool us into thinking he's been riding his bike outside & it's no longer just abandoned. Unfortunately, we've all see that it hasn't actually left the spot it's chained to, and the gears and pedals are still in the same position they've been in for the last three years.
He's living up to his half of the name "Dumb and Dumber", given to him & her by another neighbour who's had a number of unpleasant dealings with them.
Posted 7 years ago # -
@threefromleith
I have exactly the same situation - three enormous bikes (riding position akin to a Harley Davidson with extremely wide handlebars - I don't know what make they are) in our common stair never go anywhere, but the guy who owns them occasionally comes down to pump up the tyres, which go flat again within a couple of days. There's only space really for one more, which is where I keep mine if I'm lucky which goes out at least twice a day. I keep all the kids' bikes and trailers etc. in the flat. I'm tempted to ring the fire brigade to have a clearout, but these bikes aren't really causing an obstruction.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Chap in a green coat going to Haymarket -
1) needs to find a different flash pattern for his rear light - the one he had was off far more than it was on
2) should know that bumping onto the pavement, scooting across the side road and bumping back down onto the main road is not stopping at red, neither is it becoming a pedestrian in order to make a manoeuvre you don't fancy cycling.Posted 7 years ago # -
Views may differ on this, but I would say drafting a bus less than two feet from its bumper when it's going at 25mph+ is rubbish. (Witnessed this morning on West Coates)
Posted 7 years ago # -
What was the bike/rider like?
Blue bike & black/yellow top?
Posted 7 years ago #
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