UKC

This is doing the rounds on the cycling forums.

http://www.motoring.co.uk/car-news/cyclists-why-do-they-ride-in-the-middle-...

In reply to yesbutnobutyesbut:

great for cyclists and not surprisingly, written by one.
I suspect the motorists may have different views...

In reply to yesbutnobutyesbut:

Thanks, I've helped it on it's way.

In reply to Kimono:
I'm a motorist and I don't have a different view!

It's not really about 'views' anyway, it's about the rights cyclists legally have on the road and why they may legally ride how they need to.

In reply to yesbutnobutyesbut:

I put this on my facebook page and lo and behold it took no time at all for some tw@ to start spouting about cyclists being lane hogging, none tax paying, red light running idiots! Read the article numb ass!!

In reply to yesbutnobutyesbut:

Many motorists who should read it are probably in too much of a hurry to do so, and don't give a proverbial toss about cyclists anyway. Therein lies the problem.

In reply to Lord of Starkness:


A slight alteration.

In reply to Bob:
Last week me and the wife had the luxury of 4 days away without the kids. After some debate about what to do we decided to go to the costa blanca and hire road bikes. Over three days we did about 240 km on mainly quiet roads mixed in with busy roads to make the rides circular. Only once did a car do anything vaguely bothersome ( a Dutch plate, gave my wife plenty of room but then cut me up) . I know it's not a new observation ( having heard several people say it over the years) but why do Spanish drivers respect / understand cyclists so much more than British ? My first ride out after coming back felt suicidal by comparison .
The wife thinks it's too many people in too small a space , I tend to agree with your correction above.

In reply to Bob:

In full agreement with your wise observation.

In reply to quirky:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/carltonreid/10739147314/in/photostream/

All you ever need to counter these peoples

In reply to mike123:

It's because the Europeans have a totally different attitude to cycling. In Spain, France and Italy, cycle racing is a very popular sport to either watch or take part in. All those counties have many professional teams of cyclists, and the Tour de France, for example, I think draws the biggest crowds in the world for spectator sport. In this country, if you on a bike you are a failure in life and are beneath contempt for many motorists. They think that cycling is a poor man's way of getting about, so you should man up and get a job and a car! I love cycling in France, and have had many great touring holidays there, plus training camps in Mallorca and Italy, and I can count on one hand the near misses I've had. In this country, one short trip of twenty miles will often see at least one digit finger in the rear view mirror or a long blast on the horn as they pass at the smallest distance they can manage. I hate cycling in Britain.

In reply to pamph:
It's a sorry state of affairs. The saddest thing about it is how in this country, we tend to root for the hard pressed underdog. Yet for some reason that sense of fair play vanishes on the roads and the cyclist becomes a fair target for all manner of bullying, threats and worse. If that small minority of drivers took a step back and thought about it objectively, they'd realise how utterly pathetic and cowardly it is.

In reply to Trevers:

It is sad, but there is a definite change happening, thanks to a combination of the Olympics, two British winners of the TdF and of course the track cycling. And perhaps a realisation for some people that it is a great and cheap way of getting about. However, we are still regarded as pariahs on the road by many, who obviously drive about with fresh hearts/livers/kidneys in their cars and are on their way to the transplant hospital.

In reply to pamph:
Changing very slowly, mind... We had a classic moment today - club chaingang, maybe 10 blokes in two lines on a wide main road, going through a village near Almscliff. I have a video camera on my bike with a GPS in it, so it captures not only pictures but speed as well.

You see us entering the village, past the 30mph sign, doing 28mph, and right in the middle of the village maybe half a mile later, with the speedo showing 29mph we're overtaken VERY close by a Merc, horn blaring, probably doing 20mph faster than we were.

I wonder how fast he'd have driven through the village had he not seen a bunch of cyclists in two lines ("that's illegal you know!!") in front of him?

But that was, in 50 miles of riding, 30 of them in a group, the only bad bit of behaviour we saw - so you're right - it's better than it was.

In reply to andy:

be nice to the footage up on youtube and let the Merc take his chances from there