Cyclist antipathy

That tends to be a trope alongside "hobby" and "recreation".

IMO it's just an attempt to avoid addressing the issue of travel equality, and the need to look in the mirror and ask some self-questions.

Marvin in H2G2:
"If human beings don't keep exercising their lips, he thought, their mouths probably seize up. After a few months' consideration and observation he abandoned this theory in favour of a new one. If they don't keep on exercising their lips, he thought, their brains start working.”

or, if you prefer, Matthew 13:15 !

Two Good Books in one post!

I go for the simple explanations here. I think humans are big chimps (the mimic chimp if you will) with some (very impressive) icing / sprinkles on top - much of which is reuse of existing cognative / emotional abilities.

We definitely have to deal with "we don't like cheaters" and "in-group" (we're better / I aspire to be like x) vs. "disdain for out-group". I think that explains most of it in the UK. Cyclists are in the way, they're not us, they're a weird minority so I'll find reasons to say they're not good (lowering their social status to boost that of me / my group).

Media and politics are just big advertising boards for that - after all most people don't cycle so expect for "media interest" I bet most people only think about cyclists very rarely if at all.

JLasTSR wrote:

Where I am it is very rarely congested traffic, if ever. Equally I never do any filtering. I still get passed at 60mph and less than a metre very occasionally, not too often though thankfully. By and large I cause little hold up and I don't break rules of the road.

I hear people say though how much they dislike cyclists and when I ask why I get told about: how it isn't safe to cycle,  how we hold people up, how we jump red lights, how we are there for no good reason, how entitled we are. Most of these know I cycle a fair bit, they all know I drive cars. They too are seldom in traffic except if they go to a biggish town when you expect it to happen. 

I do see in Cambridge some people driving and cycling that is just frankly dangerous. I will relate one anecdote from when I worked in Cambridge which perhaps illustrates the entitled bit. 

Three cyclists were travelling abreast up a motoring cul de sac which had another road the otherwise of some bollards that you could cycle through to access that road. 

There was a dustcart parked in the middle of the road while the chaps fetched bins and fed the back of it. 

The three cyclists were talking with each other. The two on the outsides split to go round the truck. Their friend in the middle never looked forward he did not deviate nor slow down but sailed straight into the back of the truck. Everyone looked aghast. 

He jumps up looks at his bike hurls it at the ground in fury and then proceeds to berate the driver and the entire dustcart crew for being in the way, blaming them wholly and squarely. The chaps on the receiving end looked at one another and tried to stop laughing. Is that an entitled cyclist, I think perhaps it is. 

Well, if someone doesn't spot a whole dustcart and crew in the road, then maybe even a bike is too much speed for them, though I suppose he probably learnt an important lesson that day.

JLasTSR wrote:

Three cyclists were travelling abreast up a motoring cul de sac which had another road the otherwise of some bollards that you could cycle through to access that road. 

There was a dustcart parked in the middle of the road while the chaps fetched bins and fed the back of it. 

The three cyclists were talking with each other. The two on the outsides split to go round the truck. Their friend in the middle never looked forward he did not deviate nor slow down but sailed straight into the back of the truck. Everyone looked aghast. 

He jumps up looks at his bike hurls it at the ground in fury and then proceeds to berate the driver and the entire dustcart crew for being in the way, blaming them wholly and squarely. The chaps on the receiving end looked at one another and tried to stop laughing. Is that an entitled cyclist, I think perhaps it is. 

 

cartoons would tell me the crashed cyclist would end up in the back of the dustcart following this collision and emerge with a banana skin on his head.

...and a wheel round their neck.

This. Cycling in work clothes, big boots and obviously carrying tools, I'm the 2-wheel equivalent of 'white van (wo)man'. Still get close passed/cut up, even by people in white vans!

That's a good observation.  I'd suggest that motorcyclists are fairly rare (figures I can google suggest around about the cyclists making journeys mark - about 1% or so) so - like cyclists (outside of some culture war / media frenzy) - perhaps most people don't actually think about them much if at all?

Perhaps there is more parity with cars etc. - since "they pay tax" / "they have a licence".  Two other "niggles" with cyclists aren't there - motorbikes don't tend to hold up cars (so not "in the way") and I don't recall motorcyclists filtering on the inside, more overtaking.  Likely this feels safer on a motorbike than a bike.

On "conflict" - while it's true that drivers often fail to look for / see motorbikes ("Think bike!") I suspect they're slightly more visible than cyclists (mostly because lights).  Also they're a bit more chunky - perhaps that cues "leave extra space".  Maybe also less likely to mis-estimate their speed (non-cyclists seem pretty bad at doing so with cyclists)?

Motorbikes also come in different categories (also a bit like bikes).  I think the opinions and media reactions are divided between these.

Full power machines appear to get a pass / respect.  Presumably similar to cars e.g. "but licenced, insured, you paid a lot of money for one so that gives you some status etc." Maybe a certain regard for someone doing something "dangerous" dressed like a riot policeman?

Mopeds - definitely lower status (because seen as cheaper) but probably more acceptable again because "they pay tax" / "they have a licence".  And of course lots of these folks are more obviously working!

Yoof on scrambler bikes (or stolen machines)?  At least here in Edinburgh people have been injured and indeed at least one killed.  Sometimes gets into the local news.  The focus doesn't seem to be on the mode of transport so much though...

Motorcycling has changed a lot from being a cheap form of transport open to anyone into a high technology product mainly sold to middle aged men, excepting the delivery riders. Young people can afford cars so get pushed there by parental angst and conformity.
Electric scooters seem to fill the cheap transport niche of 50cc mopeds of old.