CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

Today's rubbish cycling

(4503 posts)

  1. Frenchy
    Member

    Surely they should have been overtaking on my left?

    Or not overtaking at all since there's a pedestrian waiting to cross.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  2. the canuck
    Member

    agreed. You don't need to be sorry because the people behind you didn't check ahead of you before trying to pass you.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  3. Greenroofer
    Member

    Stopped and offered to help a chap with a puncture on the towpath. His problem was that he didn't have the spanner to get his wheel off so couldn't replace the tube. Unfortunately (because my bike doesn't need spanners anywhere) I didn't have one, so couldn't help. I felt a bit rubbish as I cycled away, leaving him in the rain with his broken bike.

    While it might be a lesson for him, it was also a lesson for me, and I will dig out an adjustable spanner to carry for these eventualities in future.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  4. ejstubbs
    Member

    Puncture repair kit might be lighter, assuming the tube is repairable i.e. not shredded. And yes, it is possible to fit a puncture repair patch without removing the wheel - I know because I've done it. (I'd left the 'key' for my secure wheelnuts at home. D'oh!)

    Posted 1 year ago #
  5. the canuck
    Member

    Google maps is telling me I can cycle westbound on the North side of St Andrews Square--where all the tour busses go. I've never seen any contra-flow signs there.

    Am I missing a trick, or have so many people gone the wrong way that G-Maps is convinced it's legal?

    Posted 1 year ago #
  6. Frenchy
    Member

    Not aware of any contraflow infrastructure there either - and NCN 75 goes round the south side of the square (westbound), so suspect Google's got that one wrong.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  7. the canuck
    Member

    I mean, I almost never rely on G maps for cycling. They seem to miss out a lot of infra.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  8. gembo
    Member

    The cycle route (well a little stub) exits St Andrews Sq at north east corner as a somewhat segregated path down towards Dublin St. but you can’t cycle west. Would be dangerous. Indeed watch if you cycle west along George St. I mean you can but as you leave the first section at the fence and join the roundabout the drivers ain’t too happy.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  9. jonty
    Member

    At some point during some sort of construction I think the NE corner was closed and therefore the N side had to run two way so traffic could u-turn. Lights were put in at the NW corner for exiting traffic to facilitate it. Was quite convenient actually and made nipping up from Dublin Street or York Place much more pleasant. Maybe a hangover from that? Quite a while ago now though.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  10. the canuck
    Member

    I went through there yesterday, and was a wee bit shocked when I realised someone had exited the RBS drive and was cycling towards me on their way to the cycle path on the pavement heading towards Dublin st!

    Coming back at night, the lights at the NW corner are gone. I'd swear they were there last week? I don't mind, but I felt like maybe I'd drunk more artisinal cider than I remembered?

    Posted 1 year ago #
  11. ejstubbs
    Member

    @jonty: "At some point during some sort of construction I think the NE corner was closed and therefore the N side had to run two way so traffic could u-turn."

    I thought I remembered something like that being there at one time - a bit like the turnaround at the NE corner of Charlotte Square. But I couldn't find any record of it on Streetview (although that only goes back to 2010) so I doubted my recollection. Must have been a fair while back, though.

    As you say, it might just never have been corrected on Google Maps, though it's a long time for such a mistake to persist given that in theory users can correct it, or ask Google to do so.

    I've just tried requesting a short cycle route from outside the bus station on North St Andrew St to the George Street/Hanover Street junction (westbound) and its second choice option was to go west along the north side of St Andrew Sq - and then down Rose Street, so they apparently don't know about the east end of George Street being open for cycling westbound either. (First choice option was Queen Street :0)

    Posted 1 year ago #
  12. the canuck
    Member

    Whenever Queen Street is suggested as a route, I know the developers want me to die. I don't even feel safe DRIVING on that road.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  13. jonty
    Member

    The roadworks I'm talking about were definitely after 2010 - here's the lights in action in 2016 (and still present in 2020).

    It had all sorts of layouts pre-trams though - a roundabout W of the NW corner is visisble in the 2009 aerial photography basemap in the council atlas so ejstubbs you are right.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  14. the canuck
    Member

    Me. Successfully lost my summer cycling gloves between a post office and a supermarket. Went back the next evening, but not in lost/found or anywhere on the road.

    This is annoying because
    a) they were nice gloves
    b) I'd FINALLY fixed a hole in the finger
    and mostly
    c) I have to switch to the winter gloves, and can no longer pretend the weather is simply a slightly cool version of summer.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  15. chdot
    Admin

    How about getting autumn gloves??

    Posted 1 year ago #
  16. SRD
    Moderator

    I thought I'd lost one of my autumn gloves after a trip to England. very glad to find it.

    Grip Grab mid season https://www.wiggle.co.uk/gripgrab-ride-windproof-midseason-glove

    <this is the thread I was looking for yesterday btw>

    Posted 1 year ago #
  17. the canuck
    Member

    Well, they are autumn gloves, but I wear them all winter because honestly, Edinburgh doesn't get THAT cold.
    I do have a pair that are designed for a properly rainy day (bought at the end of one such properly rainy day) so I break those out on rare times when winter seems present.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  18. mcairney
    Member

    Had a bit of an entertaining game of hopscotch with a large gentleman on an equally chunky e-MTB (complete with tyres which wouldn't have looked out of place on a scrambler bike) of dubious legality on last night's spin after work.
    From the Commonwealth Pool to the New Royal it was a continual case of me catching up with them, me stopping at the lights, them going through the lights (because as most drivers are keen to point out, cyclists are apparently colour blind).
    At least it had pedals and he did appear to be making a token effort at turning them though perhaps not with sufficient gusto to be pushing 300W+ up the hill of Old Dalkeith Rd (based on my ave of 266W with about 30Kg less mass to carry)!
    At this point a gap was starting to open up so I decided to take a left up past Craigmillar Castle for a more peaceful and scenic climb.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  19. edinburgh87
    Member

    Definitely noticing more and more of these in the last year or so.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  20. nobrakes
    Member

    A whole pack of zombie cyclists taking up the width of the road on a climb on the back road to Innerleithen as I was coming down the hill the other way. 1200 lumen flashing light and shouting was to no avail. Had to skiffle through the gravel at the side of the road to avoid a collision. Not sure they even noticed I was there.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  21. LaidBack
    Member

    Just as well you sold the M5! Chainrings could have been nasty for them though sure they would avoid!. Dropping recliner off road metal is possible but not easy to rejoin unless it's fairly even.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  22. Arellcat
    Moderator

    Yesterday's rubbish cycling might've been me, because I followed another cyclist, figuring, "What's the likelihood of this going wrong, really?" as we turned right from Braid Road into Braid Burn Terrace, at the junction beloved of Herr Professor.

    Thing is, I didn't do what I normally do: use the Edinburgh-style Cycle Facility Maze by gingerly three-point-turning the torpedo to squeeze through the gap in the metal barriers. Instead, he and I simply went the wrong way through the southbound lane out of Braid Burn Terrace, not actually expecting any drivers to be coming that way. After all, I had a cyclist in front of me to act as early warning. I made it through OK but if I'd been two seconds later I'd've met the big SUV head-on going round the blind corner.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  23. the canuck
    Member

    Maybe not rubbish cycling, but wierd?

    Going along the Goldenacre path last night, a cyclist heading towards me shouted, "Keep right" and then blasted past.

    I figured he was warning of glass or something, but he didn't say, and I couldn't spot any sort of hazard.

    Is there some wierd move to get cyclists on the right rather than left? he did seem to be holding a very central position.

    Posted 1 year ago #
  24. gembo
    Member

    Keep left would make more sense?

    Posted 1 year ago #
  25. LaidBack
    Member

    Coming into city on the reclined tandem last Tuesday from East Lothian we had to weave through the assorted blocks at the east end of ramp up onto Electric Bridge.
    It's around 2pm and can see road cyclist heading to meet us but we're already having to cycle slowly uphill to get through. Our 'error' was we couldn't pass him on the right as angle to get out onto bridge just too tight. He kept going on his steed towards us. I thought it was odd he didn't just chill. Generally on a bike you just go round or wait. I mean there was no way he could get through till we cleared and we were there first.
    Plenty of nice interactions though too apart from usual 'she's not pedalling' remarks!

    Posted 11 months ago #
  26. mcairney
    Member

    Those blocks on the Electric bridge are a pain in the backside. I know they're a low-cost temporary solution but they keep moving and I've had a few close shaves. Given it's been about 3 years now they should just make it official and put actual bollards in place.

    Posted 11 months ago #
  27. fimm
    Member

    I've moved those Electric Bridge blocks when I felt they were too close together. Agree that they need to do something permanent.

    On the subject of that bridge, why does the signage say "Cyclists use Electric Bridge"? I mean, the locals know which bridge that is, but not everyone is a local...

    Posted 11 months ago #
  28. Arellcat
    Moderator

    I think that using a blue plate with the name of the bridge is probably incorrect. To the uninitiated armchair civil engineer it suggests it's literally an electric bridge, who knows, maybe a bascule, since there's no room for a swing bridge and no towers for a lifting bridge.

    A tourism brown plate would be appropriate for "Electric Bridge" but diagram 2602 would suffice for pointing cyclists in that direction.

    Posted 11 months ago #
  29. Murun Buchstansangur
    Member

    https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-cyclist-convicted-riding-bike-30234029

    "A Scots cyclist has been convicted of riding his bike dangerously after colliding with a car at a junction.

    Jordan Gardiner went through a red light while on his pedal bike and careered into a woman’s car in Edinburgh.

    ...

    Gardiner appeared at the city’s sheriff court on Wednesday and admitted a charge of riding a cycle dangerously.

    Fiscal depute Klaudia Wasilewska said motorist Jannette Smith had approached a traffic light controlled junction on Slateford Road.

    Ms Wasilewska said the light went green and Jannette intended to drive onto Robertson Avenue from Hermand Crescent.

    The court was told Gardiner went through a red light at speed on Slateford Road and collided with the bumper of the car.

    Gardiner received some injuries after coming off his bike, Ms Wasilewska said, and an ambulance and police attended the incident on June 8 last year.

    Gardiner, who represented himself, said: “I went through on red but I was on the path. I shouldn’t have been on the path though. It’s a quirky one.”

    Unemployed Gardiner said he suffered from anxiety and was on benefits.Sheriff Thomas Welsh QC fined Gardiner, of the city’s Slateford area, £150.

    Last May Gardiner told Edinburgh Live how he was struck by a grey Range Rover on Princes Street."

    Posted 10 months ago #
  30. the canuck
    Member

    Are you're the nicely dressed man on a bright orange road bike who cyles up Scotland street in the mornings?

    If so, do not undertake other cyclists as they are going around the corner.
    It is dangerous and stupid, especially on the cobbles.

    I don't care if you're going faster than me.

    Posted 10 months ago #

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