"what the f*%@ is that truck doing in this narrow country lane?!?!?"

Close call out on the club ride yesterday.

We were coming down a fairly sharp descent with an tight-ish left-hand bend
near the bottom. Stephen was off in front but I was catching him and must
have been doing around 40mph. I was almost on top of him as we came round
the bend, which we both took with barely a touch on the brakes.

Suddenly, on rounding the bend, we were confronted with an enormous milk
lorry that was coming up the hill, taking up the whole width of the lane,
and doing a good job of trimming the hedgerows down either side of the lane
too.

Somehow, both Stephen and I managed to brake sharply *and* keep control of
our bikes, and just found enough room to squeeze down the side of the truck,
where we came to a stop. At the same time, we were yelling for all we were
worth to try to warn the rest of the group. Mike was close behind. He
managed to avoid the truck too, coming to a stop a hair's breadth off my
back wheel.

But then, what felt like a good few seconds later, along comes Keith.

Keith, despite having an ultra-lightweight high-performance racing bike, and
despite the fact that he was going somewhat slower than Stephen, Mike and
me, only just about managed to bring himself to a stop. Except that he
stopped by locking up his front wheel. So he flew over his handlebars and
landed on top of Mike, who almost fell under the wheels of the truck but
fortunately didn't (the truck at this point had not actually stopped moving)
because instead he jarred his shoulder against the fender along the
underside of the truck. And then fell on my back wheel.

Fortunately, the rest of the group all managed to stop safely.

But can you guess what was the first thing Keith said on extracting himself
from the wreckage?

Not: "What's that f%&*ing truck doing in this road?" (that's what I said)

Not: "I must learn to use my brakes properly."

It was: "Thank God I was wearing my helmet."

Of course, it's entirely irrelevant that the only real injuries incurred
were to Mike's shoulder and to my back wheel. Obviously the fact that Mike
was wearing a helmet stopped his shoulder from being more seriously damaged,
and the fact that I was wearing a helmet meant that my wheel was still just
about rideable. Keith's assertion was due to the fact that he thought he had
landed on his head. I suggested to him, surprisingly politely given the
Pringle-esque shape of my wheel, that his [evidently very robust] skull had
probably given him a lot more protection than the lump of polystyrene that
was strapped to it, but that didn't seem to sway him. It was not the time or
the place to discuss the matter further. And above all else, I am very glad
no more serious injury was suffered by anyone - it could have been very
nasty.

Surely there is some law against trucks driving up entirely unsuitable lanes
like that? A car coming round that bend at anything over 20mph would have
had no chance to avoid a head-on collision. I wish I'd taken his number but
at the time was more concerned for the state of Mike and Keith's health. The
driver did stop eventually, and leaned out of his cab to check we were all
OK - but it's no thanks to him that we were all OK.

In spite of all of the above, it was mostly a very pleasant outing. We got a
bit lost a few times, which slowed down progress, but it was very enjoyable
to explore new territory. We also found a rather nice new cafe for our
mid-ride coffee break. And by the time I got home again I had clocked up
another 60 miles to add to my tally for the year, which is around 1200 since
I started recording my rides 3 1/2 months ago, probably close to 2000 miles
for the year. Am I feeling the benefit? You bet I am. I even managed to put
on a pair of trousers on Friday that I haven't been able to wear for some
time...

It's just a shame about that sodding wheel.

d.

On Mon, 28 Jun 2004 08:33:08 +0000 (UTC), davek
wrote:

Close call out on the club ride yesterday.
[...]
Surely there is some law against trucks driving up entirely unsuitable
lanes
like that? A car coming round that bend at anything over 20mph would have
had no chance to avoid a head-on collision. I wish I'd taken his number
but
at the time was more concerned for the state of Mike and Keith's health.
The
driver did stop eventually, and leaned out of his cab to check we were
all
OK - but it's no thanks to him that we were all OK.

I'm glad you were all relatively okay. However, unless there is a specific
restriction on that road, perhaps you could identify it exactly, he has
every right to be there and if the road is his access to a dairy farm then
he may *have* to be there. It's been said before but you should drive/ride
at a speed such that you can stop safely whatever is round that bend.

Colin

"davek" wrote in message
...

Suddenly, on rounding the bend, we were confronted with an enormous milk
lorry that was coming up the hill, taking up the whole width of the lane,
and doing a good job of trimming the hedgerows down either side of the
lane
too.
....
Not: "What's that f%&*ing truck doing in this road?" (that's what I said)
....
Surely there is some law against trucks driving up entirely unsuitable
lanes
like that? A car coming round that bend at anything over 20mph would have
had no chance to avoid a head-on collision. I wish I'd taken his number
but
at the time was more concerned for the state of Mike and Keith's health.
The
driver did stop eventually, and leaned out of his cab to check we were all
OK - but it's no thanks to him that we were all OK.

My immediate thought is to just swear at you for being so stupid. But I'll
try and keep it calm.

It's a milk lorry. That's where they drive - on narrow lanes to farms, which
is where the milk comes from. (And yes, they do it every day of the week -
udders don't stop at the weekend).

What are you going to do about a tractor? Or a hay lorry? Or a feed lorry?
Or a mobile library? Or a removal truck? A herd of cows? A skittery horse?

Ultimately it's _entirely_ your problem - riding with the assumption of an
empty road ahead is the same as driving like that.

I'd say the same to your putative car driver.

clive

davek wrote:

Close call out on the club ride yesterday.

snip

Surely there is some law against trucks driving up entirely unsuitable lanes
like that? A car coming round that bend at anything over 20mph would have
had no chance to avoid a head-on collision. I wish I'd taken his number but
at the time was more concerned for the state of Mike and Keith's health. The
driver did stop eventually, and leaned out of his cab to check we were all
OK - but it's no thanks to him that we were all OK.

Alternatively, what the f%%@ were you doing riding so as to be unable to
stop safely? Unless the milk lorry were going unreasonably fast, I'd
place all of the blame for this incident on your riding speed.

If you were riding up the hill slowly, two or three riders abreast, and
a car came flying down the hill at 40mph and hit you, would you place
all of the blame on yourselves for taking up too much of the road?

--
Mark.

Mark Tranchant:
Alternatively, what the f%%@ were you doing riding so as to be unable to
stop safely?

I did stop safely. So did everyone else. Except Keith, who was going a lot
slower than me. And as I said, I believe his failure to stop was entirely
his fault because he apparently doesn't know how to use his brakes safely.

Point taken about the lorry driver being within his rights to be using that
road. I still don't like it, but there are lots of things I don't like that
I have to just put up with. I guess this is another to add to the list.

If you were riding up the hill slowly, two or three riders abreast, and
a car came flying down the hill at 40mph and hit you, would you place
all of the blame on yourselves for taking up too much of the road?

Coming up a hill, approaching a blind bend, riding three abreast? Yes, I'd
put the blame on myself in that situation. But I doubt I'd be so daft as to
ride like that. Coming down the hill, I made a point of riding in line
behind Stephen round the corner and keeping as close to the left hand side
of the road as possible. I don't think it's unreasonable to expect there to
be room to proceed (unless warned otherwise) even if there are vehicles
coming the other way along the road.

Perhaps I'll be more circumspect in future.

d.

In article ,
davek wrote:
Close call out on the club ride yesterday.

We were coming down a fairly sharp descent with an tight-ish left-hand bend
near the bottom. Stephen was off in front but I was catching him and must
have been doing around 40mph. I was almost on top of him as we came round
the bend, which we both took with barely a touch on the brakes.

Suddenly, on rounding the bend, we were confronted with an enormous milk
lorry that was coming up the hill, taking up the whole width of the lane,
and doing a good job of trimming the hedgerows down either side of the lane
too.

When car drivers drive around a blind corner faster than their ability
to stop and cause an accident, they are rightly castigated. Why is it
different for cyclists? You were riding too fast for the conditions,
because you could not stop within your sighting distance. What would
you have done had there been a tree blocking the road, or a cow that had
got out of its field, or a large patch of wet slippery mud and dung from
a herd being moved an hour earlier?

And to object to milk lorries on country lanes is asinine: where do you
think the milk in shops comes from?

ian

Clive George:
Ultimately it's _entirely_ your problem - riding with the assumption of an
empty road ahead is the same as driving like that.

I'd say I wasn't riding with the assumption of an empty road, just with the
assumption of a not-entirely-blocked road.

It seems even that is too much to assume. I'm humble enough to take that
lesson on board. I'm just ****ed off about the state of my wheel, for which
I blame Keith, not the lorry driver.

d.

In article ,
davek wrote:
Clive George:
Ultimately it's _entirely_ your problem - riding with the assumption of an
empty road ahead is the same as driving like that.

I'd say I wasn't riding with the assumption of an empty road, just with the
assumption of a not-entirely-blocked road.

Country lane. Not quite wide enough for two vehicle to pass at speed? So
when two vehicle meet, they slow right down and inch past each other.
Bit narrower? They slow right down and one finds a passing place,
possibly even reversing in order to do so. Agricultural equipment?
Easily wide enough to block the road completely.

And your club will, as a standard procedure, whack right into any of
those scenarios at 40mph. I hope you have good liability insurance.

ian

Ian G Batten:
And to object to milk lorries on country lanes is asinine

Mea culpa.

where do you
think the milk in shops comes from?

Please don't shatter my romantic illusions of milkmaids traipsing about with
milk-laden pails hanging from yokes about their pretty little necks.

d.

davek wrote:
Close call out on the club ride yesterday.


Glad you all survived but I have to concur with the other replies to date. As
Guy would say, cycle so as you can stop within the distance you can see to be
clear. It could equally have been a fallen tree, herd of cows, tractor, horse
riders but in any case milk tankers go to farms which are down country lanes.

Tony