Feeling a bit c**p
 

Hi guys, thought I'd post this here since most of you lot are in the same boat as me, i.e. commuting round london (or playing around london). Anyway, I feel like a bit of a cack rider today. I seem to be getting in every other bikers way when filtering, not so much crossing into their path but because I can't go fast enough (limited by my own confidence) I feel like I'm holding up the riders coming up behind me. I try and move out of their way as soon as I can, and let them go in front, but I still feel bad for holding them up. It dosnt help that riders behind me dont leave as much of a gap between us as I do whem I'm behind other riders, so I'm scared of braking suddenly after bottling out from going into a gap between cars that I think I might not fit through

Anyway, if any of you get caught up behind me then just be patient, I'll move over as soon as I can and you can make your merry way to where-ever :)

How do you guys do it? I dont suppose all of you filter quickly but I never really get out of second gear when traffic is stationary, and never out of third gear. If the traffic is doing 30 mph, then I sit with the traffic.

Matt

Re: Feeling a bit crap
 

Sounds sensible to me.All too easy to get pressured into riding outside your comfort zone.All too easy to be impressed by the uncanny ability and skill of others who ride like gods.

What you almost never discover is when those gods end up in hospital.Worth a thought.

Re: Feeling a bit crap
 

i never filter faster than i can stop at any given moment(if that makes sense!?)

on my SV i am a lot more cautious when filtering, if the traffic is flowing i move with it, if i get the room to overtake i do, but by and large i dont. when its stationary, i filter at around 15-25mph i suppose, dont look at teh speedo, no time too!

on my scoot i think i filter alot quicker, its more nimble, fart and it changes direction , its light ,and i can stop it very quickly compared to my SV. but thats probably a confidence thing?

plus i can get through tiny lickle gaps!

Re: Feeling a bit crap
 

I really wouldn't beat yourself up about it too much mate, always ride within your comfort zone. Riding in London, especially at rush hour, and at this time of year is always a pig because of the road conditions and the other things you have to worry about like buses and lemmings. Give it time and your confidence will build. I remember when I first started riding in London I was sh*t scared and paranoid, but after a year or so my confidence grew to the stage where I now ride progressively but safe.

If you've got some moron behind you, it's their job to get past you without putting you in danger, but don't worry about letting them past either, it doesn't mean your slow, some people just take more of a risk. Even now I still let couriers and other bikers past if I see them approaching me fast in my mirrors. If this happens I just move over in my lane and stick my boot out to tell them I've seen them and to go through.

Mind you, at rush hour most of the time you'll be filtering and therefore not going over 15/20 mph anyway.....you don't really want to be going above this because if a car/person steps out, you want to be able to stop without locking the front.

Hope that made sense, drivvle over :D

Re: Feeling a bit crap
 

One of the biggest mistakes that experienced riders make is to filter too fast. I'll admit that I do it sometimes. Filter at a pace that you're comfortable with, but check your mirrors and let other bikes past you. Don't let them push you to go at a pace that you're not comfortable with. There'll always be someone faster and someone slower than you. We all have off days. There'll be days when I can't cope with the concentration necessary to filter fast, so I just take it easy. Even when I'm being a complete nutter and really going for it, I'm still constantly thinking about safety.

Re: Feeling a bit crap
 

7 ish years as a courier taught me fast filtering. However I do filter too fast most of the time.

I'm just not able to ride slow!! :twisted:

I regularly get stuck behind the same people every day on the way to work but I make it perfectly obvious that I'm there. Show myself in both mirrors and if needed rev the nuts out of the engine. (Note to self: sort out the standard can!)

AShero, don't worry about holding people up, if they're good enough to filter fast they'll get past you at some point. Ride at the pace you are comfortable with and watch your mirrors. Your speed will increase with practice and confidence. :thumbsup:

HTH!! :lol:

Re: Feeling a bit crap
 

I have, on more than one occasion (in fact, probably more than four or five occasions) asked a rider filtering behine me if they are trying to ride pillion on my bike.

By all means move out of the way to let a faster rider through, but ****holes who ride dangerously close need a talking to.

Jo -> blimey, I'm in a grumpy mood today :-s

Re: Feeling a bit crap
 

Cheer's guys, that makes me feel a bit better, specialy knowing that some of you let others past aswell. I think some of it aswell is knowing that drivers ahead of me havn't seen me in their mirrors, so I know I can't go faster even if the gap is there incase I need to stop. Might feel better when I have my fuel exhaust on, it makes people look a bit more (from observing other riders with loud exhausts and how car drivers react to that)

I've given up telling other road users off after one guy chased me in his mondeo on monday night after wandering into my lane on the A406, trying to use the bit of road I was occupying. Apparently I was wrong, he was right.

Matt

Re: Feeling a bit crap
 

Amen to that, it'll help loads :smt045

Re: Feeling a bit c**p
 

Ride to your own ability comfort zone and F*** everyone else. If they are as good as they think they are, they will find an alternative way round you.

I am the same as Jester, I filter fast, I like it. Unlike Jester though, I did not have my brain removed as part of the process of becoming a courier so I do have some life preservation bits stuck in there somewhere which keeps me honest.

Or that could be interpreted as he is better than me at filtering (possibly) :lol:

But I doubt it.