I'm a cyclist - Ask me anything

[IamwhoIsayIam]

There doesn't seem to be a lot of love for cyclists on MN - specially cycling husbands. I've been a bit at some of the things I've read - even that women in cycling clubs are predatory!!

I work in cycling and have been a cyclist and racer for decades so go ahead, ask me anything.

Lots of people use public roads for leisure, not just cyclists. You might not like "Sunday drivers" or a mini rally or Porsche owners club meet up but they don't get the vitriol against them cyclists do, probably because they are also in cars.

Events are hitting peak capacity and there needs to be some solution. Its a tricky one. Simply banning cycling events isn't the answer and preaching sharing and tolerance doesn't seem to get anywhere. Closed road events, once a year in each area, would be safer, more fun and fair on everyone. City centre marathons don't get the hate that cycle races do - any thoughts on why?

Yes to all of those questions - and I drive a noisy old car. Just so selfish. The Highway Code says that you shouldn’t inconvenience other drivers. I think cycling on country lanes is very different to towns - cyclists do seem to forget that other people are doing normal things, driving to work etc. There are other slow things; horses - always let people pass; tractors - are working not playing and nearly always pull into a gateway every so often to let traffic pass; walkers - always let cars pass. I have never been stuck behind a rambler ( and there are lots where I live).
I am indeed intolerant off inconsiderate behaviour. It’s selfish to knowingly delay someone’s journey when you could just pull into a gateway & let them pass. I live in a rural, touristy, hilly area with narrow twisty lanes, near several big towns, there are just so many cyclists these days. Probably once a week I get stuck behind a bunch of them - it’s our home & workplace not a race track! It’s just too much & it’s really not an appropriate place to race. They also go dangerously fast downhill esp round corners.

Do you wear a helmet? It annoys me so much when people don't.

Do you cycle on pedestrian pathways? It's so dangerous. If a car can't drive, a cyclist shouldn't be there either. With exemption of specific cycle paths of course.

Are you a serious cyclist? If so why?
People who are casually cycling, maybe for commute or just for fun don't bother me at all. But those idiots hunched over in ridiculous clothes who have the most serious faces annoy me. Isn't a hobby meant to be fun? Is there a benefit to looking as though you are participating in the Olympics every bike ride?

Have you ever been shouted at by a driver?

Do you think it's safe to cycle with a child seat on the back? Do you find people drive more carefully around you or just as likely to knock you over?

I wish cars had two horns a friendy I'm here beep beep and a pissed off one! In this country if you hear a car honk you assume it is because they are angry.

You could say the same for cycle bells (not that many cyclists bother with them at all). Dinging a cycle bell can be construed as either a friendly warning or a "get out of my way" in just the same way as a car horn.

And don't get me started on the arrogant lycra louts who fix powerful air horns to their bikes - when I'm walking, I'm far more likely to ignore that kind of ignorant prick as someone who gives a friendly ding!

Thanks for this thread OP -

I am a "transport" cyclist - I use the bike to get to work, go to the shops, railway station etc. I am a car driver also but use the bike in preference. And of course most of us are pedestrians as soon as we get out of the car/off the bike. I love the freedom that cycling gives me, parking is easy and always free. If the road is really snarled-up I can get off my bike and walk it along the pavement for a bit until I get past the obstruction (which around here is usually the school junction every morning).

I do find that people often misjudge the speed at which a bike can be going, especially in town, and I do sometimes have to brake sharply so a driver can complete their ill-timed manoeuvre safely.

I live in a semi-rural area so sometimes I am out on rural roads - usually drivers are more considerate there than they are in town/ misjudge things less. I think it has something to do with perceptions of the amount of space we feel we have.

I don't like suggestions that have been made on this thread that people in cars are doing something useful, but cyclists are somehow not. I wish for example that more people using the local gym in our small town would cycle or walk there, as the car park is mayhem in the morning and people park on the verges, in front of other people's driveways etc. Ditto my workplace car park. (I know someone who drives literally three streets to get to work - even though there is actually a more direct pedestrian route.)

But to my questions:

1. what are your thoughts on hi-vis clothing?
2. do you engage with central and local government at all about cycling policy, provision of better infrastructure etc? I try to respond to consultations etc but am never sure whether it makes any difference.
3. What do you do to clean your bike? And how often?

Why do cyclist think it's ok to cycle the wrong direction on a one way road?

Or to cycle through red lights? They're still an obstruction for the drivers who are going through the green.

Ive been commuting on a bike in London for 20 years.
Personally I’ve had very little, if any grief from car drivers in that time. when i 1st started virtually all cyclists were couriers leisure cycling has never really appealed...

My question would be why all cycling clubs seem to have ‘wheelers’ in their names - such a lack of imagination!