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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

WTF cyclists in the snow

193 replies

lifeandtheuniverse · 01/03/2018 18:47

Cycling in the snow and ice, with no lights on and no reflective gear.

AIBU to think they should be arrested as a danger on the road.

Just had one fall off as lost back wheel on the snow,, car behind him managed to swerve round lost his back end and corrected. Me second car behind, I slam on brakes as he slides towards my front wheels - feet under my bumper. Car behind me ends up touching my bumper!

Then the moron has the balls to swear, berate me and demand my details.

OP posts:
Aprilmightmemynewname · 01/03/2018 18:48

Presumably suicidal imo. Have seen a few today. And some joggers!!

abbsisspartacus · 01/03/2018 18:49

Did you respond in kind?

LondonHereICome · 01/03/2018 18:50

Runners I can understand....

But I saw a few bikes on the way home and wondered why. Had to literally go at snails pace as I was worried they would slide off. Not that I was going at much speed anyway!

Socksey · 01/03/2018 18:51

So no change to normal behaviour.... as i cyclist myself u would love to see some sort of licencing or theory test for cyclists and the understanding that they can be close to invisible on the roads and that it is their responsibility to make themselves visible.... as it's the drivers fault if they hit them..... 😢

Socksey · 01/03/2018 18:51

Sorry about the typos.. .. phone going fun on my part 😭

Neolara · 01/03/2018 18:51

Sounds very alarming. Cyclist probably got an adrenaline rush which made him shout at you. I cycle every day but wouldn't risk it in the snow.

manicmumday1 · 01/03/2018 18:56

Deliveroo on bikes in London, madness!

lifeandtheuniverse · 01/03/2018 18:58

Got the usual diatribe about his right to be on the road.

My youngest DC (7) pipes up from the back - are you mad man, do you want to die, because you will if you cycle that!!

Feck his adrenaline - my heart was hammering - I do not adrenaline rushes courtesy of effwits

OP posts:
MyFavouriteChameleon · 01/03/2018 19:00

car behind him managed to swerve round lost his back end and corrected.
So car behind was also not driving at a safe distance to be able to control his vehicle in the conditions, surely? Sounds like evidence that its not safe for cyclists or cars, as per the met office advice.

Doyouthinktheysaurus · 01/03/2018 19:02

Cycling in the snow is madness. I did it once off road and ended up knocking myself unconscious falling off. Not really been back on a bike since!

Running in the snow is fabulous though and little more risk than walking.

LondonHereICome · 01/03/2018 19:03

Even at a over generous distance it would be the same outcome

WillowWept · 01/03/2018 19:04

Saw a cyclist plough into group of pedestrians at crossing in central London today.

He wasn't going fast (thankfully!) light was red he applied break and just slid....

Niceandwarmandhot · 01/03/2018 19:06

Sounds like Darwinism in action right there. Why put yourself in a vulnerable position when surrounded by cars in unfamiliar slippery conditions - you have no idea how good the tyres/brakes/experience of the driver is, to say nothing of where the road might become treacherous suddenly. Only an idiot would do it!

CakeFlake · 01/03/2018 19:07

willowwept just as well it was a bike then and not a car. A car applying brakes and sliding into pedestrians would be a hell of a lot more dangerous. And much much more likely in this weather....

Genuinely don't get people who drive cars in this weather saying that bikes are a danger?????

carefreeeee · 01/03/2018 19:08

Sounds like the three cars on the road weren't being driven safely at all. You all knew it was slippery so why drive so close to cyclists or other drivers? Don't try and blame a vulnerable road user for your own bad judgement! Imagine the cyclist was your son - I bet you'd have given a lot more space.

Hamiltoes · 01/03/2018 19:15

Not sure who was worse here, the cyclist, car 1 or car 2.

If you're in a red or amber alert area I do have very little sympathy for you (unless an emergency services worker... but with a DS in the car sounds unlikely).

Also, isn't slamming on breaks in snow/ icy conditions the worst possible thing to do? If a cyclist is on the road stay WELL back and in future try to swerve, not break. Breaking on ice just propels the car forward, so V lucky there wasn't hidden ice.

FreeNiki · 01/03/2018 19:18

I wouldnt dare cycle in snow. Too scary.

AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 01/03/2018 19:18

Cycling in the snow and ice Just as legal as driving a one tonne vehicle in the snow and ice

with no lights on not a legal requirement unless it was after dark

and no reflective gear. never a legal requirement

AIBU to think they should be arrested as a danger on the road. Very unreasonable

Just had one fall off as lost back wheel on the snow,, car behind him managed to swerve round lost his back end and corrected. Me second car behind, I slam on brakes as he slides towards my front wheels - feet under my bumper. Car behind me ends up touching my bumper! The car drivers in this scenario are the ones causing a danger to others. They shouldn't have been so close as to have struggled to take evading action

Then the moron has the balls to swear, berate me and demand my details. Well you did nearly kill him

Pro tip: if drivers are allowed to be on the roads, so are cyclists. Difference is that if the cyclist messes up they will be the one hurt. If you mess up you will hurt other people - and probably not yourself. You are driving a one tonne lump of metal at speed, and have to take additional care because of it.

lifeandtheuniverse · 01/03/2018 19:59

What a load of sanctimonoius cyclist twaddle.
am not in a red or amber area and my journey was essential - just spent 4 hrs in ED with asthmatic child having nebulisers!!!

Cyclist, no reflective gear, no lights cycling up a steep hill. Decides to play russian roulette with his life - fine he can, but do not involve other innocent people in his suicide mission.

Car 1 : lights on a good 20 metres behind, me car 2, lights on and snow tyres, a good 10 metres back from him.
Speed dictated by the effwit virtually invisible cyclist - 6 mph. He did get up to 9mph on the flat before we hit the hill, no one considering overtaking, we were all toddling along behind the cyclist. no horns beeping, no lights flashing, just all being sensible. ( DS commented on how slow we were going,)

Because we were on a hill, he slid down.

car 1 swerves infront of me, as he moves, cyclist on the ground sliding towards me with his bike. I swerve hit the trees on the left, swerve right end up at the back end of Car 1 and over cyclist as he heads to the white line.

I did not nearly kill the cyclist Avocado - he nearly killed himself. We obviously were driving sensibly we did avoid an accident and any injuries were inflicted on him by himself and the road, not by any vehicle.

When you see an effwit coming towards your car, split second decisions are made - do not brake - right, human instinct stop going forward.

As to cyclists not hurting anyone - please talk to the family of the woman killed by a cyclist last year - bikes are a lethal weapon, as are cars.

Been to police station, all the drivers exchanged details and I await the personal injury claim against one if not all of us.

OP posts:
KidLorneRoll · 01/03/2018 20:00

Whilst I wouldn't condone cyclists who don't use lights etc, maybe they - just like - motorists, have places to be and that is their chosen mode of transport? It's massively hypocritical to go out driving and whinge about cyclists in weather like this.

That said, I used to have winter tyres on my bike, and they were brilliant - just like the car equivalents. Happily whizzing past cars struggling at 5mph in the snow and ice was always fun.

lifeandtheuniverse · 01/03/2018 20:01

Oh and braking distance at 6mph is 5 metres - I think the 20 for Car 1 and the further 10 for me - shows we were thinking!

OP posts:
IllustriouslyIllogical · 01/03/2018 20:05

Difference is that if the cyclist messes up they will be the one hurt.

Pity none of them seem to realise this though. Small consolation being morally right when your intestines are wrapped around someone's axle - actually seen this & it could have been prevented with an over the shoulder look ( not a legal requirement )

IllustriouslyIllogical · 01/03/2018 20:07

It's massively hypocritical to go out driving and whinge about cyclists in weather like this.

I'm going to argue that 4 wide wheels, one at each corner, are an inherently more stable platform than 2 thin ones (I cycle too).

A bike on ice is fecking lethal & an idiotic thing to be riding.

MyNewBearTotoro · 01/03/2018 20:07

We have snow and DP was cycling in the snow today. He doesn’t drive and had to get to work - there is no public transport unless he walks a mile and it’s only a 2 mile cycle. He says he cycled mostly on the roads but used the pavement ina couple of areas where it felt safer. Obviously it’s not ideal to be cycling in the snow but it’s not ideal to be driving or walking either.

Niceandwarmandhot · 01/03/2018 20:09

Completely agreeing with Illustriously here!