Live blog: Cyclist 'nearly knocked off' in punishment pass by another cyclist; Tim Wellens takes a tumble during Final Breakaway Part 2; Teen given new bike by local bike shop after his was stolen; Mudguard tattoos? + more

crazy-legs wrote:

Oh you SO want that red jacketed rider to go straight into the back of a parked car don't you?! Why is there never an opening door just when you need one?

I'm not a cruel person really but come on, everyone on here is thinking the same!

No, I wouldn't wish harm on the cretin but I'd be relieved if he read all the comments and spent a little time reflecting on what a complete and utter knob he is (as well as how poor his knowledge of regarding road safety, positioning etc is).

srchar wrote:

Oh how I was looking forward to that complete arse being doored off by the parked cars he was inches away from.

Have to say, I'd have found it difficult not to "accidentally" ride into his front wheel after what he did.

I was hoping he might ride into the back of a parked car when he was holding forth... that would have been comedy gold.

brooksby wrote:

Mudguard tattoos?  Is that a real thing or is that a satirical photoshoppy thing??

Maybe they are still saving up for the rest of the bike.

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Maybe it's a hipster who's just ridden an AUDAX and wants to commemorate it.

Mungecrundle wrote:

We don't do victim blaming round here, but Mr Red cyclist isn't going to be a cyclist for long with those road skills.

I dont understand why he'd even choose to ride like that, so close to clipping those wing mirrors on the cars and the building boards, and the last time I saw someone flick their rear wheel across another cyclist like that when they passed closely,in a sportive fwiw though not deliberately in that case,both riders ended up on the deck and in considerable pain

joe9090 wrote:

The close-pass embankment video...
I left London 15 yrs ago before the full velo revolution occurred. Sad to say it didn’t pan out how I had hoped, and it seems to just be a bunfight of shouty male middle class white pricks on carbon, all going too fast - not 'cyclists'.

It's due in part to the overall national psyche - aggressive entitled preachy antagonist mamils (I do wear spandex also!) on a 'stroppy little island' to quote Albarn.

Compare with NL, where the cycling is indeed nirvana, but not beacuse of the 1000's of km's of extensive infrastructure but for the people - chilled, happy, riding around in normal clothes on normal bikes, at 25kmph or so, and having deep respect for each other and for not pissing each other off.

This video is a particularly bad example of current UK cycling. Imagine being a normal cyclist on a granny bike in regular clothes being caught up with those boneheads?
Having said that - the stretch of road in the video would have no parking for cars and a segregated 2-way cycle lane in NL.

 

I wonder if that's true (about the national psyche).  It is tempting to agree, given all the non-cycling-related supporting evidence.  But I think you wildly overestimate this 'full velo revolution' - it's just a couple of semi-decent bits of infrastructure, for the most part nothing has changed, cycle journyes are still a small share of total trips,  and cyclists are still a self-selected, unrepresentative minority group.  Conditions are_nothing_ like the Netherlands, so the demographic and culture is going to be nothing like it.

joe9090 wrote:

 

It's due in part to the overall national psyche - aggressive entitled preachy antagonist mamils (I do wear spandex also!) on a 'stroppy little island' to quote Albarn.

Compare with NL, where the cycling is indeed nirvana, but not beacuse of the 1000's of km's of extensive infrastructure but for the people - chilled, happy, riding around in normal clothes on normal bikes, at 25kmph or so, and having deep respect for each other and for not pissing each other off.

 

Disagree, that national psyche is antagonistic males, it's more widely associated with drivers than lycra. This tool was talking position and highway code from a position of authority whilst demonstrating piss poor cycling skills. Also why he tried to leg it. If he'd been in his car he'd have been window down and squashing the cyclist into the kerb!

joe9090 wrote:

The close-pass embankment video...
I left London 15 yrs ago before the full velo revolution occurred. Sad to say it didn’t pan out how I had hoped, and it seems to just be a bunfight of shouty male middle class white pricks on carbon, all going too fast - not 'cyclists'.

It's due in part to the overall national psyche - aggressive entitled preachy antagonist mamils (I do wear spandex also!) on a 'stroppy little island' to quote Albarn.

Compare with NL, where the cycling is indeed nirvana, but not beacuse of the 1000's of km's of extensive infrastructure but for the people - chilled, happy, riding around in normal clothes on normal bikes, at 25kmph or so, and having deep respect for each other and for not pissing each other off.

This video is a particularly bad example of current UK cycling. Imagine being a normal cyclist on a granny bike in regular clothes being caught up with those boneheads?
Having said that - the stretch of road in the video would have no parking for cars and a segregated 2-way cycle lane in NL.

Using NL to compare is wrong, (and 25km/h is massively out, average speeds are around 10-12mph IME) for one there's a hell of a lot fewer younger males commute cycling in NL for one thing, particularly on the roads, a large % drive cars or get trains (driving has increased in the last  9 years in NL by the same amount that cycling km have in % terms and cycling modal share remains static).

They also don't have to cycle in large shitty cities like London that tend to put people on edge/grumpy, or in fact most other cities in the UK, their conurbations are much smaller generally compared to the UK, that happens when your population is 1/5 and is spread about.

That said there are some riders in the modern era of cycling that seem to have the moton attitude as mentioned above, just MGIF all round, crappy spatial awareness and the language used by the guy in red is just oh so typical of the tin canners, there's a ton of space and yet it's just him that can't manage AND there's a fecking red light ahead to boot!

It's rare but it does happen and whilst it's a bad example it's not that common on the commute thankfully but far more common on sportives/charity rides!

brooksby wrote:

On the traffic lights clip - how long do you wait before deciding that a set of lights aren't working properly?

Example: there're some temporary lights on my way in (building site works), and I was waiting with about four other cyclists at the front.  The lights were red.  The lights stayed red.  Eventually, the motorists behind us started hooting horns - you know, I think they actually wanted us to RLJ!

I reckon two full phases of other changes is enough, assuming only yours stays red.*

On occasions I've been at junctions where lights have failed, its interesting how well everyone gets on and negotiates it fairly.

*edit to add this is not official HC advice!

PRSboy wrote:

brooksby wrote:

On the traffic lights clip - how long do you wait before deciding that a set of lights aren't working properly?

Example: there're some temporary lights on my way in (building site works), and I was waiting with about four other cyclists at the front.  The lights were red.  The lights stayed red.  Eventually, the motorists behind us started hooting horns - you know, I think they actually wanted us to RLJ!

I reckon two full phases of other changes is enough, assuming only yours stays red.*

On occasions I've been at junctions where lights have failed, its interesting how well everyone gets on and negotiates it fairly.

*edit to add this is not official HC advice!

The recent redevelopment of Highbury Corner (that there London) included "advanced traffic signal technology to allow us to better manage traffic depending on differing conditions at any given time". I don't know how 'advanced' or widespread this is, but if we do have systems which adapt in real time to improve traffic flow according to demand, then it's not inconceivable that traffic at a minor arm of a junction might be forced to wait for two or more cycles before moving. At Highbury Corner at some times the segregated cycle traffic can wait up to about 2 mins for a green phase, with little or no conflicting traffic actually passing. It's quite noticeable that over about a minute's wait, people get impatient and proceed on red.

Legin wrote:

That cyclist from Bell End likes riding in the door zone doesn't he? Shame Mr Impey didn't run him in to the back of the parked cars he was avoiding at the last minute.

It would have been tempting. But... some people are full of self-righteous nastiness (almost all of us, occasionally) and they don't cancel each other out. 

Bmblbzzz wrote:

Legin wrote:

That cyclist from Bell End likes riding in the door zone doesn't he? Shame Mr Impey didn't run him in to the back of the parked cars he was avoiding at the last minute.

It would have been tempting. But... some people are full of self-righteous nastiness (almost all of us, occasionally) and they don't cancel each other out. 

You are quite correct; I blame it on too much time at cycle speedway when I was a kid! If in doubt stick em in to the fence was the general rule

Legin wrote:

Bmblbzzz wrote:

Legin wrote:

That cyclist from Bell End likes riding in the door zone doesn't he? Shame Mr Impey didn't run him in to the back of the parked cars he was avoiding at the last minute.

It would have been tempting. But... some people are full of self-righteous nastiness (almost all of us, occasionally) and they don't cancel each other out. 

You are quite correct; I blame it on too much time at cycle speedway when I was a kid! If in doubt stick em in to the fence was the general rule

Ah, that's racing, which is like love and war.

Legin wrote:

Bmblbzzz wrote:

Legin wrote:

That cyclist from Bell End likes riding in the door zone doesn't he? Shame Mr Impey didn't run him in to the back of the parked cars he was avoiding at the last minute.

It would have been tempting. But... some people are full of self-righteous nastiness (almost all of us, occasionally) and they don't cancel each other out. 

You are quite correct; I blame it on too much time at cycle speedway when I was a kid! If in doubt stick em in to the fence was the general rule

As a BMXer I'm used to taking the line, although this can mean someone else has to either back off or go over the berm at times!

OldRidgeback wrote:

Legin wrote:

Bmblbzzz wrote:

Legin wrote:

That cyclist from Bell End likes riding in the door zone doesn't he? Shame Mr Impey didn't run him in to the back of the parked cars he was avoiding at the last minute.

It would have been tempting. But... some people are full of self-righteous nastiness (almost all of us, occasionally) and they don't cancel each other out. 

You are quite correct; I blame it on too much time at cycle speedway when I was a kid! If in doubt stick em in to the fence was the general rule

As a BMXer I'm used to taking the line, although this can mean someone else has to either back off or go over the berm at times!

Seems fair to me; if they didn't like the outcome they shouldn't have been there in the first place

Reminds me of when I rode across tram lines in the Berlin Velothon; downhill, it was wet and I had to turn immediately sharp left on crossing the lines; call me cautious but leaning across tram lines in the wet usually means one result. The two quicker than me bell ends who thought they could get round me on that turn ended up dodging pedestrians on the pavement..... feck em