Why do I bother?

You would have thought I'd have learned the lesson by now: arguing with
cagers is a waste of time.

This morning I was hooted as I approached a pinch-point on the
Reading-Henley road. As lucjk would have it the offending driver stoped at
the lights shortly after (the two in front went through on red, but other
traffic was entering the junction by the time she reached it). I knocked on
her window and asked if she had been hooting at me. She had.

Apparently if I'm "going to do that" (i.e. ride my bike) I should get out of
the middle of the road.

Which is odd, because I wasn't even in the primary riding position. It's
not necessary at that point, the pinch point is so narrow that there is less
than a car's width to my right even in the secondary position. So
apparently I was actually suposed to be in the gutter, with the slush and
ice, so she could squeeze past. There is a wide bit of road after the pinch
point where overtaking is relatively safe, so waiting reduced her speed by a
third for slightly under ten seconds. Apparently she wants me to ride in
the gutter so she can endanger my life for the sake of an extra three
seconds waiting at the lights.

I told her she should try reading the Highway Code and Cyclecraft. She
muttered something unintelligible and drove off.

On the plus side, later in the ride I was overtaken by a Pickfords driver in
a biiiiiig truck. His driving was exemplary, I was not in the least
discomfited. Maybe I should stop referring to them as Rhinestone Removals
;-)

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"Just zis Guy, you know?" wrote in message
...
You would have thought I'd have learned the lesson by now: arguing with
cagers is a waste of time.

This morning I was hooted as I approached a pinch-point on the
Reading-Henley road. As lucjk would have it the offending driver stoped
at
the lights shortly after (the two in front went through on red, but other
traffic was entering the junction by the time she reached it). I knocked
on
her window and asked if she had been hooting at me. She had.

Apparently if I'm "going to do that" (i.e. ride my bike) I should get out
of
the middle of the road.

Get with the world of sound bites.

"So that idiots (*) that can't overtake safely don't kill me"

Were you on your mountain bike then?


(*) If you're feeling a bit Jim Davidson you could replace it with "bloody
women" etc.

The trouble is that although we all know that as cyclists we have a
perfectly legal right to use the roads and also expect other road users to
respect and show consideration to us - they don't.

I keep one thought always in my head:

It's pointless being 'right' if you are dead!

The bald fact is that he/she is in 'control' of tons of metal and you
damage so very, very easily.

"Just zis Guy, you know?" wrote in news:bvd8et
:

I told her she should try reading the Highway Code

The equivalent of the Highway Code here in Western Australia is free
(although not as comprehensive to my eyes). Once the weather has cooled to
a level where I can stand to cycle, I'm highly tempted to carry a couple of
copies to give away to educate such idiots.

Cheers,

Graeme

"W K" wrote in message
...

Get with the world of sound bites.
"So that idiots (*) that can't overtake safely don't kill me"
Were you on your mountain bike then?


She didn't ask "why" otherwise I would have told her exactly that. Sadly
the clueless rarely admit of the possibility that there might be an
opportunity for education: they normally stick to statements like "you
should not do that" rather than questions.

I was on the 'bent. The roads are mostly clear except at the edges.

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"nobody760" wrote in message
...

The bald fact is that he/she is in 'control' of tons of metal and you
damage so very, very easily.


Which is why I was riding in a position which ensured that she did not
overtake in the pinch point :-)

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"Graeme" wrote in message
4.51...


The equivalent of the Highway Code here in Western Australia is free
(although not as comprehensive to my eyes). Once the weather has cooled to
a level where I can stand to cycle, I'm highly tempted to carry a couple
of
copies to give away to educate such idiots.


At two quid a throw I'm tempted to do the same at my own expense.

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:
"W K" wrote in message
...

Get with the world of sound bites.
"So that idiots (*) that can't overtake safely don't kill me"
Were you on your mountain bike then?


She didn't ask "why" otherwise I would have told her exactly that. Sadly
the clueless rarely admit of the possibility that there might be an
opportunity for education: they normally stick to statements like "you
should not do that" rather than questions.

I was on the 'bent. The roads are mostly clear except at the edges.

The insight into why she behaved as she did is here
http://www.trl.co.uk/static/dtlr/cycling/549summary.pdf

Tony

"Tony Raven" wrote in message
...

The insight into why she behaved as she did is here
http://www.trl.co.uk/static/dtlr/cycling/549summary.pdf


Yes, it's interesting isn't it? I read it last year when it was referenced
by the Scottish Executive in an analysis of cycle networks in Edinburgh.

The gap between known desirable behaviour and perceived actual behaviour is
very much in line with the research on drivers' estimates of their own
driving skills.

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

The insight into why she behaved as she did is here
http://www.trl.co.uk/static/dtlr/cycling/549summary.pdf

Tony

I think where it says the current low level enforcement of traffic law should
be increased is excellent.

Cheers, helen s


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