Road cyclists?…

[Humphreyshead]

Do you genuinely enjoy having cars following behind you? Or is it just something you’re willing to put up with?

I live in a very popular road cycling area, with scenic routes and lovely windy and hilly roads. Some of these roads are busy though and it can take a few miles sometimes to be able to overtake a cyclist safely.

When I’m driving behind them I often wonder if they’re constantly aware of the cars behind them, which then in turn ruins their experience. Or do you have to just switch them off?

I also ask as I’m an avid mountain biker, and sometimes I have to use the roads to connect trails. But I always pull over when I can, to let cars past, as I hate it!… But road cyclists never seem to do this.

They are selfish because they deliberately block the whole road while driving at 10-20mph so they hold up all the car drivers behind them.
If they went in single file then cars could overtake more easily and safely but the cyclists have no consideration for other road users.
I’ve also had near misses with cyclists when walking my dog as they refuse to slow down to pass and often appear with no warning.
Selfish!

Cyclists don't take the whole road.
Cars take the whole road.
If the people following were on bicycles or even on motorbikes or fast horses..., they'd easily get past cyclists. There's plenty of room for reasonable size vehicles to get past cyclists.

The problem isn't slow cyclists, it's too big vehicles (motor vehicles) for the roads.
Why are people so selfish as to drive huge (too wide, too long, un-maneuverable) vehicles too big for the darn roads?

if you're moaning about the traffic when you're on the road then you're moaning about yourself... you are the traffic causing the problem you moan about. Stop being the problem or accept your fate = part of the problem.

Thank you. Glad I’m not the only one who feels like that.

I ride on roads and tracks. If I can tuck in, I will. If it’s safe to do so. I am not getting off the bike and dragging it up a verge just to let a car driver past me, there are plenty of gateways that I can tuck. Someone would have to wait a minute at most. I’d doing 20-23mph anyway, how fast do folks want to go around some of our single track, twisty roads. They are likely to meet horses coming in the opposite direction around here.
Quite interesting the other day when some driver blasted past me, leaning on his horn and the passenger yelling abuse at me. They were too busy glaring and yelling at me to see the tractor that they drove in to.

I try and judge the road conditions, avoid any big, main roads, like the plague and make sure that my camera has a lot of battery charge. I get more static than any of my male bike buddies. I ride around 9000 miles a year.

I live in an area where the masses descend on Sunday mornings from London for long cycles round the forest roads.

It’s absolutely infuriating to come across 10 cyclists presumably from a club, all cycling behind each other on country lanes. If they’re two abreast, you can’t pass. If they’re single file, you can’t overtake ten cyclists.

They are truly despised round here. Thankfully the annual London cycle race (inexplicably held in Essex the last few years) has been cancelled.

Nonsense. Motor vehicles all move at a reasonable speed so don’t hold up the other road users like selfish cyclist do.

FWIW. I used to cycle everywhere until I was about 25 but I kept to the side of the road. There is no need to block the whole road as a cyclist.

Ah, it’s another how dare people use a road thread, while using a road themselves.

Probably the same SUV drivers I see as a pedestrian who can’t turn into a road without being in the middle of the road.

"Motor vehicles never get stuck in traffic behind each other, stop-go traffic is a myth. Motor vehicles always move at a reasonable speed and don't hog the whole road nor get in each other's way nor in the way of any other vehicles or even in the way of pedestrians. It's fake news to say otherwise! "

Wow. Who knew?

I really don't understand what traffic reports on the radio are for, or on the TV if you live in the USA. There's no need for news about the traffic, Since motor vehicles always move at a reasonable speed & never block the roads or impede other road users. No journeys are ever delayed because the too big vehicles are using up all the space on the roads.

Has someone let Donald Trump know?

I wave drivers past, as i thought it was a courtesy! Normally when I am ahead of them, so can see around an otherwise blind corner, so they shouldn't be overtaking. However if it is very annoying then I'll stop!

Let me see whether I've understood this: You're tempted to mow down a child's parent / a parent's child / someone's beloved partner / friend etc. with your vehicle, because you perceive these people, most of whom you will never have met previously, to be selfish, because they happen to be riding a bike on a road and you happen to have driven up behind them, and you think this merits mowing them down.

Did I get that right?

Yes, they are literally entitled to use the road

So much generalisation. I might as well have said all motorists are selfish and entitled believing they can drive/park anywhere, ignore traffic laws, somehow believe they are solely paying for the upkeep of roads, that having a license and insurance is unfair after all 'they' don't have anything meaning cyclists. Some cyclists may be irritating but really they are holding you up for a few seconds. You will spend longer in traffic queues and at lights. I see this in action every day on my commute which I can do on a bike as fast as I can in my car.

When I pull over while cycling to let cars put, ghe cars then don't let me back onto the road. Or the last one tries to sneak past without leaving any space. So then you end up pulling over less, or cycling more into the middle of the road, to keep myself safe.

No, only if they insist on blocking the whole road en masse just because they are entitled to. That is unnecessary, selfish and inconsiderate.

Really? You would happily commit murder because someone on a bike is poss holding you up? Bit of an overreaction there and would suggest you seek help.

You basically just described rush hour traffic...

I have ridden on a lot of cycle paths, and very few are fit for purpose

I don't mind waiting behind cyclists but I am another one who gets cross at people trying to wave me past! Sorry but I'm not going to trust someone else to tell me the road is clear, and you don't know how crap my acceleration is and how much space I need to get past. You might not have noticed if I have my trailer attached either.

It’s hilarious that drivers are upset about cyclists taking over the road.

How do you feel about drivers parking on pavements so pedestrians have to walk in the road? Or are pedestrians the selfish ones who need mowing down in that situation?

You see this is the problem - if we go on the road we are annoying the cars. If we go on the shared pathway we are “terrorising the pedestrians”.

I live in a cycling city. There are lots of cycle paths. I’m not an idiot - I would much rather be on a safe cycle path than be on the road with two ton vehicles rushing past me.

But there are some cycle paths I won’t ride on. Broken glass can be a big problem. My path to work spent about a year with a nice new supply being added every Friday night before the under age drinkers (presumably!) got old enough to be able to be served in the pubs.

Also I am very aware of pedestrians. Marking about which side is for cyclists is often so faded it is invisible. Many pedestrians also ignore it and walk on both sides as a group and then look shocked when a bike appears. And then there is the path round the corner from us that I think the person who labelled it might have been drunk…. According to the sign the bikes are on the left. And then there is a nice clear marking of a bike on the path about 200m later but on the right. It wouldn’t be so bad if the path was straight so we could all see who is coming but it is nice and windy with trees / bushes on both sides to block visibility. After a near miss as a pedestrian pushing a buggy I neither walk nor ride on that path anymore!

No, not the same thing at all.
In rush hour traffic there are a lot of vehicles all driving or waiting together. When cyclists blocks a car, the road is clear ahead of the cyclists

You could do with an anger management course.

Drivers parking on pavements are obviously selfish too. I’d be tempted to mow them down too