duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member
Out of retro ownership
Posts: 1,320
Club RR Member Number: 70
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Updated Highway Codeduncanmartin
@duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member 70
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Sept 7, 2020 15:52:36 GMT
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We are under no obligation to use cycle lanes. Then don't waste taxpayers money building and maintaining routes nobody uses. Before you, or anyone else, gets all hot under the collar and passive aggressive about an opinion that's contrary to your own, I cycle and I don't disagree on many of your points or that many drivers are t***s, equally though it's not the fault of drivers exclusively and some of the demands that many cyclists seem to think are 'reasonable' are, quite frankly, ridiculous and just deliberately confrontational. I concede though, that they come pretty much exclusively from the 'Team Sky' lycra types. Cycle infrastructure in the UK sucks. A lot of the time cycle lanes are afterthoughts, some even actively put cyclists in harms way (eg by suggesting they ride in the door zone). If a lane is too narrow for a car to pass with a reasonable distance, then adding a cycle lane encourages cyclists to ride in the gutter and drivers to pass. There is an understandable feeling from many drivers that if there is a cycle lane then it's fine to pass if the cyclist is in "their lane" and the driver is the other side of the white line. See this road for example (the cycle lane is highlighted, and the cars you can see are parked - this road has a central grass verge and is 1 way in each direction): The cycle lane is entirely in the door zone, and the "car lane" is about the same width as a bus. In a couple of places there are even tree roots sticking out a little from the central kerb. If you want to ride down this road you have to either ride in the middle of the lane and risk driving the driver behind mad, or ride in the door zone and risk the parked cars and the passing traffic putting your life in danger. Most seem to take the second option, whether due to intimidation or not being aware of the risks I cannot say. And then there are shared use paths, with people and dogs wandering along them, and with junctions where you have to give way every 100 yards. They are fine for kids or people riding sedately, but they are no use if you want to get somewhere. Obviously, this being the UK, both types of cycle lane just end abruptly and dump you into the traffic at each end. This is one of the most cycle friendly cities in England, I can only imagine what it's like in cycle hostile places. Have a retro cycle that would not fit into most cycle lanes for penance:
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ferny
Club Retro Rides Member
Posts: 981
Club RR Member Number: 13
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Updated Highway Codeferny
@ferny
Club Retro Rides Member 13
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Sept 7, 2020 15:57:54 GMT
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This thread is a good reminder that I need to get on with making the bike rack for the tax exempt Herald.
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Sept 7, 2020 16:00:02 GMT
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I was heading up towards bridge of don one evening for a blast and it was around 6pm so still quite busy. I use clip in pedals and was filtering along a line of traffic moving at around 8 to 10 mph. car in front of me took exception to this and started weaving in and out to prevent me filtering by him, I should have known better and sit back but I was younger then and silly. I attempted to get by him and got to his rear 1/4 when he swung over and something else happened (cant remember what) that made us come to a stop, I was still clipped in and had a wobble on, as I couldn't release my feet in a bit of a panic, so I put my hand on his rood to stop me falling into the side of his motor. I steadied myself, released my foot and moved on passed the guy, he was going tonto in his car, screaming and shouting, I went on my way.
Perhaps 1/4 mile later he catches me up and opens the window and starts to rant about me touching his car, i said if you hadst been weaving in and out and simply let me past I wouldn't have lost balance and needed to steady myself, and that I was sure no damage was caused. He still ranted about it, I asked him then if he would have rathered it if I just fell into the side of his car instead as that's what would have happened, he didnt really have a response for that, just took off swearing.
Was early to clip ins then, I now release as soon as traffic gets slow, once landed right on my side at traffic lights because I forgot to release. Poor girl walking on the pavement thought I had collapsed until she heard me swearing as I tried to wriggle free.
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Sept 7, 2020 16:03:04 GMT
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I'm no eco-hippy, but something has to change. Yes but cycling isn't the answer for the vast majority, not even close. Cycling is a pleasurable pastime for me, as soon as it becomes an enforced necessity, I'm out. Maybe more buses and trains, in public ownership on a completely non-profit basis with drastically reduced costs and levels of overcrowding and cleanliness, along with new rail lines and more buses would be a start. Before anyone starts the usual 'yeah but British Rail' thing, it can be done, it's just this corruption infested hole of a country is just c**p at organising anything. If I lived in Germany or Austria, I'd use trains, they are clean, plentiful and cheap. Besides, have you met the British public? Dirty, foul mouthed, aggressive and self centred d***s that I gladly pay to avoid by way of VED/fuel duty etc. Better still, accept the high street is dead, get the government to actively promote home working instead of trying to guilt people into an outdated and unnecessary commute just to save Costa and Gregg's and acknowledge that the world has changed. A massive percentage of the UK workforce no longer need to go to an office anymore. At the moment I'm using my car twice a week for non-work related travel and it's a total revelation, but Boris says I should go back to the office because multi-million Euro foreign investment firms who own businesses like Pret built their houses on sand by over-saturating high streets with their overpriced, tasteless chow, whilst actively shoving small local employers out of business. So in short, sod cycling 15 miles before I've even started working and for that matter, sod working from anywhere other than home. I've done less than a twentieth of my usual mileage over the whole COVID/lockdown period and that's got to be a good thing for the planet.
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Sept 7, 2020 16:08:40 GMT
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I'm with you there pseudonymous work from home is the way ahead if you can. Pre Covid my office was a 5hr drive from home to do work I could easily do at the house, madness. And to stay fit, you could take the bike out a 30 minute cycle before and after work to pretend you are commuting.
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Last Edit: Sept 7, 2020 16:12:10 GMT by henspeed
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Sept 7, 2020 16:09:22 GMT
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I'm no eco-hippy, but something has to change. Yes but cycling isn't the answer for the vast majority, not even close. Cycling is a pleasurable pastime for me, as soon as it becomes an enforced necessity, I'm out. Maybe more buses and trains, in public ownership on a completely non-profit basis with drastically reduced costs and levels of overcrowding and cleanliness, along with new rail lines and more buses would be a start. Besides, have you met the British public? Dirty, foul mouthed, aggressive and self centred d***s that I gladly pay to avoid by way of VED/fuel duty etc. Better still, accept the high street is dead, get the government to actively promote home working instead of trying to guilt people into an outdated and unnecessary commute just to save Costa and Gregg's and acknowledge that the world has changed. A massive percentage of the UK workforce no longer need to go to an office anymore. At the moment I'm using my car twice a week for non-work related travel and it's a total revelation, but Boris says I should go back to the office because multi-million Euro foreign investment firms who own businesses like Pret built their houses on sand by over-saturating high streets with their overpriced, tasteless chow, whilst actively shoving small local employers out of business. So in short, sod cycling 15 miles before I've even started working and for that matter, sod working from anywhere other than home. I've done less than a twentieth of my usual mileage over the whole COVID/lockdown period and that's got to be a good thing for the planet. I have met the public, unfortunately I have to deal with them daily. I'd rather interact with them as little as possible! Fortunately, I'm able to work from home, and had my contract changed to make this a permanent change. We are remote from our clients, all our software and telephone systems are remote, I can be remote too. Cycling doesn't work for my line of work, I have to be able to go to client sites with large/heavy equipment. They could be 50+ miles away. Bus's wouldn't work for this either so I'm a slave to my car. But people who sit in an office all day don't need to be. People who sit on their behinds all day in one place don't need to be. My mother is prime example of this. She works less than a mile from her house. There's a nice, wide, illuminated separated path from her house to the door of her work. She won't walk. She wouldn't cycle. She absolutely must drive. Having said all that, when I used to cycle the distance to Dinnington, I had access to a work van that I used so I was in a lucky situation. The cycling made me feel a lot happier with my dismal job. I enjoy cycling and that was 2 hours a day I was not having to interact with people, or think about stuff other than what the idiot in the car next to me might do. Just me and the bike.
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Last Edit: Sept 7, 2020 16:13:23 GMT by Soopahfly
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duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member
Out of retro ownership
Posts: 1,320
Club RR Member Number: 70
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Updated Highway Codeduncanmartin
@duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member 70
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Sept 7, 2020 16:21:59 GMT
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I'd cycle the 15 miles to/from work if my hip would let me (and Covid). It's not practical for most people, though e-bikes would help massively. However, there's no reason why people couldn't cycle a mile or 2 if they felt safe though - this is where the cycle lanes come in. If they are good quality and go where people want/need to go, they will get used, and it will make the local environment better for everyone, even those who want/need to use cars. I would really like my daughter to cycle to school, but my wife has banned it because it's "not safe". There is no good quality cycle lane approaching her school from any direction! I agree entirely about re-balancing the way that work works though. Commuting in traffic in a dreary diesel is no way to spend many hours a week.
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vader
Part of things
Posts: 425
Club RR Member Number: 93
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Updated Highway Codevader
@vader
Club Retro Rides Member 93
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Sept 7, 2020 21:22:50 GMT
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But by the time I’ve cycled from Worcestershire, done my job and cycled back I’d either be knackered or as fit as a butchers dog! Please don’t say use the train 😩
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Triumph Stag Ducati Supersport Shanks’s Pony
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Sept 7, 2020 21:55:40 GMT
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Do you know what I can count on one hand the number of cars I've seen this year jump a red light. I see more cyclists than I have fingers and toes ignore red lights every day. Maybe it's my proximity to a railway station that is on a line to London? A friend who had the misfortune to commute into the London suburbs by train every day is hit and abused by cyclists on the pavement on such a regular basis that he had taken to wearing a body camera, he was knocked over twice last year whilst using a pedestrian crossing by cyclists ignoring the road rules. Also as for commuting by bicycle rather than in a half loaded van please consider that half loaded van is going to be fully loaded once materials have been collected.
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Do you know what I can count on one hand the number of cars I've seen this year jump a red light. I see more cyclists than I have fingers and toes ignore red lights every day. Maybe it's my proximity to a railway station that is on a line to London? A friend who had the misfortune to commute into the London suburbs by train every day is hit and abused by cyclists on the pavement on such a regular basis that he had taken to wearing a body camera, he was knocked over twice last year whilst using a pedestrian crossing by cyclists ignoring the road rules. Also as for commuting by bicycle rather than in a half loaded van please consider that half loaded van is going to be fully loaded once materials have been collected. What about cars running on Amber, either gunning it on amber to avoid the stop of taking off on Red/Amber, that is a lot more prevalent in my experience than a full on red light jump.
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But that wasn't what was being highlighted. I'm talking about the straight into the face of incoming traffic ignore the red light because it doesn't apply to me type of offense.
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What about cars running on Amber, either gunning it on amber to avoid the stop of taking off on Red/Amber, that is a lot more prevalent in my experience than a full on red light jump. Of course it is, because you are overtly defending the cyclist point of view. Most pro-cyclists want, or choose, to believe that cyclists are the aggrieved party in most, if not all cases. In my experience, there are tools in, or on, every form of transport. I see cyclists run lights all the time, usually cutting in front of cars dangerously, or nearly hitting pedestrians and then often letting loose a volley of abuse at whoever 'dares' to honk their horn or call them out on it. I can't remember the last time I saw a car driver blatantly run a light. I've seen cyclists hit cars and cycle off (without stopping to exchange details so that they can pay for the damage, in the knowledge that they'll get away with it, as there's no identification on a bike and the police couldn't give a hoot), yet this isn't something I've seen a car driver do for years, despite driving in and around towns and cities in a daily basis. Cyclist standards and discipline have, again in my experience, seen just as marked a decline over the last 10 years or so as driving standards. The roads are too clogged and everyone, particularly cyclists in my opinion, has an entitled view of what they have 'rights' to do. Your 'rights' don't protect you* from a ton of metal, or negate your responsibility to ride (or drive) considerately. *that's the 'royal you' by the way ...
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duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member
Out of retro ownership
Posts: 1,320
Club RR Member Number: 70
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Updated Highway Codeduncanmartin
@duncanmartin
Club Retro Rides Member 70
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Do you know what I can count on one hand the number of cars I've seen this year jump a red light. I see more cyclists than I have fingers and toes ignore red lights every day. Maybe it's my proximity to a railway station that is on a line to London? Maybe. I generally see at least 2 or 3 cars run a red light at a roundabout half a mile from my house every single morning (large queues mean you sit there waiting for a few minutes). Mostly it's within a couple of seconds of it turning red, but that means they are probably 2 or 3 cars back from the amber gambler. There's probably an accident once a month, though usually that seems to be from curse word-poor lane discipline and people turning across each other. Some people are dicks, no matter what mode of transport they are piloting. The highway code is there to try to mitigate the consequences, and the quiz that is part of the start of this postcode seems to be taking steps to try to prevent the worst consequences being borne by the most vulnerable road users. That should include your friend walking on the pavement. Let's hope it has the desired effect.
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I think duncanmartin's conclusion really says what we need to say to wrap this up. So some more cool old car threads please. For bike enthusiast chat we've got Readers Other Mods for all that good stuff
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vanpeebles
Part of things
I am eastbound in pursuit of a white Lamborghini, this is not a recording.
Posts: 978
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Sept 8, 2020 12:20:42 GMT
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I'm no eco-hippy, but something has to change. Yes but cycling isn't the answer for the vast majority, not even close. Cycling is a pleasurable pastime for me, as soon as it becomes an enforced necessity, I'm out. Maybe more buses and trains, in public ownership on a completely non-profit basis with drastically reduced costs and levels of overcrowding and cleanliness, along with new rail lines and more buses would be a start. Before anyone starts the usual 'yeah but British Rail' thing, it can be done, it's just this corruption infested hole of a country is just c**p at organising anything. If I lived in Germany or Austria, I'd use trains, they are clean, plentiful and cheap. Besides, have you met the British public? Dirty, foul mouthed, aggressive and self centred d***s that I gladly pay to avoid by way of VED/fuel duty etc. Better still, accept the high street is dead, get the government to actively promote home working instead of trying to guilt people into an outdated and unnecessary commute just to save Costa and Gregg's and acknowledge that the world has changed. A massive percentage of the UK workforce no longer need to go to an office anymore. At the moment I'm using my car twice a week for non-work related travel and it's a total revelation, but Boris says I should go back to the office because multi-million Euro foreign investment firms who own businesses like Pret built their houses on sand by over-saturating high streets with their overpriced, tasteless chow, whilst actively shoving small local employers out of business. So in short, sod cycling 15 miles before I've even started working and for that matter, sod working from anywhere other than home. I've done less than a twentieth of my usual mileage over the whole COVID/lockdown period and that's got to be a good thing for the planet. Hero level post, superb!
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melle
South West
It'll come out in the wash.
Posts: 1,983
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Sept 8, 2020 12:39:52 GMT
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So some more cool old car threads please. Message received HoTWire , let's talk about other green modes of transport.
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www.saabv4.com'70 Saab 96 V4 "The Devil's Own V4" '77 Saab 95 V4 van conversion project '88 Saab 900i 8V
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Sept 8, 2020 12:59:07 GMT
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I'll see your green car and up you one of these, repowered by an RTG for only water out of the exhaust
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Last Edit: Sept 8, 2020 12:59:32 GMT by dodgerover
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Sept 8, 2020 15:38:34 GMT
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Sept 8, 2020 16:29:34 GMT
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WTF is that?
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melle
South West
It'll come out in the wash.
Posts: 1,983
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Sept 8, 2020 16:42:35 GMT
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A Corsa on 20" wheels?
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www.saabv4.com'70 Saab 96 V4 "The Devil's Own V4" '77 Saab 95 V4 van conversion project '88 Saab 900i 8V
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