So what did I do to deserve this ( warning cycling based thread )

[fizzwheel]

Picture the scene.

Its a lovely warm evening and me my mate decide we'll take the long way home. Now alot of you after AR08 will know what the roads are like in my neck of the woods. So we get a little way round the route we decided and we're off into the country lanes, its narrow and tree lined and the surface in the gutter isnt very good and not where you want to be.

So we're cycling along in single file doing about 17 - 18mph we both hear a 4 x 4 discovery befoer we see it. I clock the driver is trying to come past and we both hold in tighish to the kerb to make it a little easier for her to get by. This is accompanied by more revving and a failed overtake due to a car coming the other way and that the road isnt wide enough to get bikes, a car and a 4 x 4 down with room to spare.

This carries on through a litle village that its not safe to overtake by, I'm doing regular over the shoulder checks to see where this 4 x 4 is and I dont like it sat behind me as it seems to me its being driven erratically.

So we get through one village and come to a bit of road where its straight and I know the 4 x 4 can get by me and my mate. I sit up in the saddle extend my hand in an open manner and wave the 4 x 4 by us both, this is accompanied by more revving and another failed overtake, now I know that the road gets narrow again and the 4 x 4 wont be able to get by either of us for a mile or so so I sit in tight to the verge and slow my pace a litte. This is then followed by another failed overtake on a blind bend.

Now I'm not very happy so to prevent being run off the road I sit a little defensively about where the left wheels of the 4 x 4 would be or maybe out a little more into the middle of my lane.

We tackle a steep rise, and then take another sharp bend into another village. again the road is narrow and I can hear more revving. Again we both tuck over tight this time accompanied by more revving, the 4 x 4 makes its overtake safely leaving us room. The overtake is accompanied by a blast on the horn and a torrent of abuse from the late 40's female driver, she seems from what I can be making out to be questioning my fatherhood and implying that I shouldnt be cycling on the road, she then pootles away at no more than 5 mph more than we were doing. We pick up the pace as I'm not very happy with the way I've been treated and I can hear her kids shreking out the wound down windows, mummy mummy they are catching us...

I'm now clocking 35mph and I cant sustain it for long so I sit up and she drives away.

So what did I do to deserve this apart from being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Was I correct in my behaviour, was she correct in hers or was she out of order ?

I'm geniuely interested in what you guys n gals who dont cycle on the road think.

Personally I dont think I did anything wrong, I made it easy for her to overtake several times. But for whatever reason she didnt want to ( no problem with that ) but then I get abused and beeped at.

I really think the way the media make out cyclists to be the black sheep contributes to the way we get treated, I personally think that we're "fair game" as far as some people are concerned.

[plowsie]

Cyclist's deserve room end of, I don't give a toss how they are ridden, they're the ones saving from all the pollution, obesity and all other things that can be benifitted from it.

Sounds like you did nothing wrong Fizz.

I tend to just wave my arm for them to go by, if they don't their problem really.

I'm prepared to be flamed for this, but what does annoy me on the road - Horses!

[tanis34]

not your fault m8 i used to get it a lot as well , theres nothing worse than an impatiant driver trying to get past it can be very unnerving

[anna]

Its difficult to tell without actually having seen it but perhaps she saw your jestures of waving her past and your manoveours to the side of the road as something else.

It could be that she just saw the situation completely differently and decided that you were the one that was deliberately getting in the way ... I'm just grasping at straws here but it's the only thing i can think of.

[Filipe M.]

Yup, deffo not your fault, other than stopping and stepping out of the bike you did everything you were supposed to do. Ignore it...

[Miss Alpinestarhero]

You didn't do anything wrong Fizz - like you said, you made it easy for her to overtake on several ocassions and she failed to do so.

Glad you got back home in one piece, sounds like she was very aggressive indeed. I would have been really scared if I was in your situation.

Maria

[anna]

Yup, deffo not your fault, other than stopping and stepping out of the bike you did everything you were supposed to do. Ignore it...


deffo?????????????? your english is slipping ;)

[Filipe M.]

deffo?????????????? your english is slipping ;)

Must be the bad influences... :p

[Stu]

How open to misinterpretation was your gesture - remember Messie

[Jayneflakes]

With you on this Fizzwheel, I have been there many many times.

Many car drivers are not aware of the Highway Code or how it relates to Cyclists.

The only thing that you could have done as a slow moving vehicle would have been to pull in wait for her to pass, but if no pull in place is available, then you can not do so.

It sounds like you had a stressed out Mum in a Chelsea tractor being a grumpy old bag. Maybe you should have gobbed through her open windows as she passed you.

I had a Cycling mate years ago who (Aswell as being a local champion for BMX Racing) was cut up really dangerously by a girl in a open top sports job. She got stuck at traffic lights and he pulled up next to her and gobbed in her lap as the lights changed. He laughed for weeks over that and I told him he was a dirty git! Mind you I laughed too! ;)

[fizzwheel]

I wasnt scared, it takes alot more than that to scare me.

I should add, as most of you know I cycle alot. I have good bike control and a good level of fitness so I dont wobble about all over the road. I cycle lycra'd up as well so I would think I give off the impression that I know what I am doing.

I did think about stopping and pulling over but I decided that I wouldnt be bullied off the road.

I'm definately noticing that I'm starting to get treated alot worse by car drivers. Especially the guy in a different 4 x 4 the other morning who passed my so closely he hit my elbow with his passenger wing mirror.

[Alpinestarhero]

You shoulda peddled faster, caught her up and had a word :p

No, seriously, You did the right thing. Now, I don't normally like cyclists, but thats mainly because of intereactions with the many cycling buffoons that frequent london's roads. But outside london, cyclists are generally serious road users, and as such, i treat them so - this includes you!

I gues maybe in future, if you really feel someone is endangering you, pull off when its safe to do so and let them go. But understanding what the roads are like around your area, this would probably involve you jumping into a bush

Don't sweat it, she's in the wrong here.

[fizzwheel]

How open to misinterpretation was your gesture - remember Messie

I sat up in the saddle and made eye contact with her. I then raised my arm to the side and waved her by.

By the time I did this she was already wound up, so I dont think it would have made much difference, but could I guess have made things worse.

[Miss Alpinestarhero]

I did think about stopping and pulling over but I decided that I wouldnt be bullied off the road.

Good man for standing your ground :thumright:

[SoulKiss]

I cycle lycra'd up as well so I would think I give off the impression that I know what I am doing.

And Power Rangers wear full matching leathers - what you were wearing means nothing :p

But sounds like you were totally in the right - what you should have done was get your cellphone ready, let her pass, get her reg and then call the cops on her :)

[Filipe M.]

But sounds like you were totally in the right - what you should have done was get your cellphone ready, let her pass, get her reg and then call the cops on her :)

And then get done for cycling while talking on your cellphone. :p

[SoulKiss]

no, just making a note - and done after stopping to let her pass :P

[Filipe M.]

no, just making a note - and done after stopping to let her pass :P

Stop and lose momentum? Are you insane? :p

[fizzwheel]

Stop and lose momentum? Are you insane? :p

He's got a point :D

[Ruffy]

...
I'm genuinely interested in what you guys n gals who dont cycle on the road think.

Damn! I cycle to & from work virtually every day so I'm excluded. You won't want to hear then that I think you were absolutely in the right.;)

...
I did think about stopping and pulling over but I decided that I wouldnt be bullied off the road.
...

Good man for standing your ground :thumright:
+1. I'm sick and tired of the expectation that we cyclists should stop all the time, or ride in the gutter, just to keep the flow of tin boxes steady to the next holdup.

...
Especially the guy in a different 4 x 4 the other morning who passed my so closely he hit my elbow with his passenger wing mirror.
Isn't that a failure to stop? Call the cops!

[fizzwheel]

Damn! I cycle to & from work virtually every day so I'm excluded. You won't want to hear then that I think you were absolutely in the right.;)

:D


Isn't that a failure to stop? Call the cops!

Dunno, but he did stop at traffic lights 30 seconds or so after he did it. So I cycled up to his window and tapped on it till he wound it down, he knew what he'd done and he was sh*tting himself as he couldnt drive away as there was a car in front of him.

I spoke to him politely and calmly and explained what he'd done and that it wasnt a very clever thing to do and that next time I'd appreciate a little more room I then thanked him politely for driving like a moron and putting me at risk and took my place in the traffic queue.

he overtook me about 1/2 mile down the road and left me plenty of room this time so I like to think my being calm actually got through to him.

[Ed]

You are another road user, lawfully entitled to be there, and you do not have to stop or crash into a tree just so a car can get by. If the driver don't like it, tough. Did you get the registration number. Such petulance and contempt for other people is so selfish and arrogant, I hope you report the cowbag.

[Ruffy]

Dunno, but he did stop at traffic lights 30 seconds or so after he did it. So I cycled up to his window and tapped on it till he wound it down, he knew what he'd done and he was sh*tting himself as he couldnt drive away as there was a car in front of him.

I spoke to him politely and calmly and explained what he'd done and that it wasnt a very clever thing to do and that next time I'd appreciate a little more room I then thanked him politely for driving like a moron and putting me at risk and took my place in the traffic queue.

he overtook me about 1/2 mile down the road and left me plenty of room this time so I like to think my being calm actually got through to him.
Fair play to you. I expect (& get) near misses all the time - there seems to be a fixation about making the overtake irrespective of what other traffic is around and what the road conditions are like - and I like to think that I have a reasonably balanced outlook, but if I was actually hit I think the red mist would descend very quickly. Your restraint is commendable and an example to us all!:salut:

[Quiff Wichard]

get off and milk it

[fizzwheel]

Your restraint is commendable and an example to us all!:salut:

I'm not always restrained, I tried to remove the wing mirror from a ford focus a week or so ago. Woman saw me coming pulled out in front of me and then grinned at me like a chesire cat because she thought it was funny. I didnt...

[KrZ]

I would of just stopped in the middle of the lane and signal i've got a cramp and can't continue.
It certainly sounds like that driver is not a very good driver, from that perspective, you were lucky that you didn't get knocked off ya bike and praise to her for staying behind rather than try to sqeeze through.

[MiniMatt]

It really does baffle me. Sure it's moderately annoying (hell, even annoying is too strong a word) to get stuck behind a cyclist / horsey / learner driver / moped but getting held up for 60 seconds just isn't worth the rise in blood pressure. Kids in the car, great one mum - why is it that the worse driving always seems to come from those with "baby on board" stickers? Just how screwed up are her kids going to be when her foot slips off the clutch when revving and bits of dismembered cyclist go flying through the window into little Tarquin's lap? Don't drive like a tit when the other person is on two wheels or four legs and you're in a steel re-inforced cage.

Ok, solutions. Get yourself a t-shirt (lycra if you must :D ) with "Cameras recording front and rear! Smile!" written on it. Or "I'm best friends with a litigation happy lawyer!".

[Ratty]

Fizz

You were lucky it was just mummy and the kids. I saw some proper road rage on the Manchester – Blackpool ride on Sunday. We were on a semi-suburban lane when we heard a car behind us revving loudly and he eventually came past (bearing in mind there was hundreds of bikers on the road). It was bloke in a beat up 3 series BM with a through exhaust. He seemed a more than a little agitated as he picked his way through our group and worked his way up through the other riders. Two mins later there were bikes and riders all over the road and cars coming the other way were doing emergency stops to avoid the commotion. Turns out somebody must have really wound him up because he pulled in and waited for the offending group before charging into them swinging punches at them all sending bikes flying everywhere. There were about a dozen spectators trying to break it up as we went through. Scary stuff.

Ratty

[fizzwheel]

That sounds nasty, trouble is if somebody is that agitated it doesnt take much to tip them over the edge.

[Viney]

17 - 18mph , 4 x 4, late 40's female driver,

Hope this answers your question?

However, i would have just stopped and let her by, the daft bint

[Baph]

I'm definately noticing that I'm starting to get treated alot worse by car drivers. Especially the guy in a different 4 x 4 the other morning who passed my so closely he hit my elbow with his passenger wing mirror.

Isn't that a failure to stop? Call the cops!

Dunno, but he did stop at traffic lights 30 seconds or so after he did it. So I cycled up to his window and tapped on it till he wound it down, he knew what he'd done and he was sh*tting himself as he couldnt drive away as there was a car in front of him.

I spoke to him politely and calmly and explained what he'd done and that it wasnt a very clever thing to do and that next time I'd appreciate a little more room I then thanked him politely for driving like a moron and putting me at risk and took my place in the traffic queue.

he overtook me about 1/2 mile down the road and left me plenty of room this time so I like to think my being calm actually got through to him.

Just a thought, but maybe the next time you decide to be so reasonable, the guy/woman you talk to may just be so enraged by red mist that Ratty's post happens.

T'is always much much funnier to complain to the police, as they're then obliged to do something about it - even if it's just a visit & a nice chat about dangerous driving/due care/failure to stop at an accident.

[Viney]

In my recent new excursion onto the road under human power, i have noticed how venrable that i feel on a pushbike. Its actually quite scary. I dont hink its until you actually do this stuff that you start to have respect for your fellow road users. Like having respect for what bikes do when you are a car driver, etc. I think that i am more observent to motorbikes etc now that i ride one when in the car and so on.

Still doesnt stop me getting wound up with stupid cycle riders in london!

[yorkie_chris]

Hang on, this was a woman, in a 4x4, with kids in the car? What do you expect except for totally $hit driving? :-P

[yorkie_chris]

No, seriously, You did the right thing. Now, I don't normally like cyclists, but thats mainly because of intereactions with the many cycling buffoons that frequent london's roads. But outside london, cyclists are generally serious road users, and as such, i treat them so - this includes you!

Leeds seems to have about a 50-50 split between decent cyclists and complete muppets.

I don't care how responsible a road user anyone is, what's the point of wearing a lycra gimp suit in public?

[fizzwheel]

I don't care how responsible a road user anyone is, what's the point of wearing a lycra gimp suit in public?

Its more comfortable, as you dont get the clothing bunching up around you. Also it doesnt chaffe around your man bits either. Cycling shorts have a chamois pad in the bum that lessons the blow from potholes etc etc

[Filipe M.]

Its more comfortable, as you dont get the clothing bunching up around you. Also it doesnt chaffe around your man bits either. Cycling shorts have a chamois pad in the bum that lessons the blow from potholes etc etc

Okay, that's the sensible answer. Now the real one please? ;)

[yorkie_chris]

There was a big road race going on on saturday up in the Dales, had to overtake 100+ cyclists. It was very unpleasant.

(Although it did give me a giggle watching one fall off at a junction :-#)

[Stig]

I'd have stopped and let her pass.

I don't see the point of standing ground and all that stuff. The whole business would have been over and done with in a matter of a couple of seconds.

If your winding down country roads and find a tractor in front, you would expect the tractor driver to pull over when he could to allow faster moving traffic to pass. Why should this be any different?

I think just by you standing your ground and not moving off the road to allow her to pass, you created most of the event yourself.

Was it worth it? I'd suggest it wasn't.

[yorkie_chris]

Similar situation when I had the 125, 62mph flat out crawling under the paint on the tank.

Yes it might have been "my" bit of road, but get out of the way as there's only going to be one winner if someone gets a little too annoyed. I would usually indicate into the side of road and let tailgaters pass, not really worth the bother.

[Viper]

i would have just mowed you down you lycra wearing fitness freak ;);)
( its a joke just in case the PC army take it the wrong way)

[Bear]

mate of mine who is a proper, triathlon and stuff cyclist had a bit of an argument in traffic with a taxi, who then pulled into him and knocked him off.

My mate caught up with him in the middle of Waterloo roundabout, reached in through the window and lobbed his keys as far as he could (Into the trench around the Imax for those who know it) before getting a decent distance away and calling the cops for the guys dangerous driving.

He's a little bit my hero...

[Spiderman]

Dude she was driving a 4x4 with kids in the back. This type (who i call "Mums on the run") are the worst drivers i encounter anywhere, ever.

Most of the time they are too busy having a chat with Tarquin and Rosemelda via their rear view mirror to even keep half an eye on the road and they buy 4x4s so if they do have an "accident" (read so they can drive crappily) they are the ones who are safe and whoever they hit, well who cares is their attitude.

So in answer to your question ... i think you did everything right (apart from the lycra of course) and no matter what you had done she'd still give you a mouthful.

Mums on the run in 4x4s are just that way mate :roll:

[Filipe M.]

Ahhhhhhh short 10 mile ride, only got cut up twice, still I'm grinning like a lunatic. Haven't done this in a while, still feels good to be out there on the saddle.

Just a shame I'll have to throw some money at a new transmission kit, mine is definitely on it's way out.

[ThEGr33k]

4 x 4 female's driving or cyclist? I dont like 4 x 4's at all to be honest, they seem to have this "I own the road" thing going on.

She was obviously a idiot. Dont worry.

[lukemillar]

There was a big road race going on on saturday up in the Dales, had to overtake 100+ cyclists. It was very unpleasant

Should of been in London to see the naked bike ride! :wink:

http://www.worldnakedbikeride.org/uk/

Actually - it's all round Britain!

[Viney]

4 x 4 female's driving or cyclist? I dont like 4 x 4's at all to be honest, they seem to have this "I own the road" thing going on.

She was obviously a idiot. Dont worry.
*Pulls a camo sheet over my Hummer*. I dont own the road, i rule it! ;)