AIBU to bloody hate cyclists

[FortyAndFlagging]

I have just trailed three cyclists during the course of the day. Honest to God, why don't they just pull over and let people pass?

there are cyclists who hop on their bikes for tge some purpose of avoiding traffic commuting. They want to prove they can get to work quicker than if they drove and will take risks to do so. They are dangerous idiots.

Er, wait, what?

Hillrunner I have never seen a lorry only doing 40mph unless that is the speed limit of the road or it is only safe for all vehicles to be doing this. If the speed limit is 70, lorries will be doing 60.

I suspect you have a better car than me if your car can speed up from 10 mph in a negligible amount of time.
And no I don't drive in the wrong gear. For 10 mph or less I would be in second gear.
And no I don't speed up to 60mph on the other side of the carriageway before pulling back in.

I suspect strongly this is all down to better cars. I have an old not very powerful car and it does not speed up quickly at all.

And yes, I figured that it goes without saying that the easy way to gain the speed for overtaking is by dropping a gear. If you are driving at a low speed in 5th and put your foot down, you won't gain speed fast enough, but that's poor driving.

Lorries on rural roads are me regularly do 40mph. If they were doing 50mph, they'd be harder to overtake, not easier.

I thought most people were objecting to cyclists on bendy rural roads, not dual carriageways?

The same logic applies regardless though. The fact that a vehaicle is travelling comparatively slowly does not make it harder to pass them. Quite the opposite.

And this is why I totally ignore cyclists waving me on. Most are on expensive bikes, will have far more money than me, and will drive a much better car. They can not judge what would be a safe overtaking situation for my old car. Even though on country roads I can see that some are annoyed that I am not overtaking.

"rural roads near me", is what I meant to say.

And I wouldn't make assumptions about what cyclists drive, as it's nonsensical. I know cyclists who drive everything from clapped out vans to fast audis.

Hillrunner Why are you talking about driving in a low speed in fifth gear? I was answering someone who had assumed my car did not have good acceleration because I drove in a high gear. I am not an idiot, so I don't. I simply have an old not very powerful car.
And overtaking if you are only going a bit faster than the car you are overtaking is easier in my car. I have already got up to speed and it is easy and quicker to overtake them.

For the record, I regularly drive a heavy van, and I can get from 10mph to 20mph quickly. It's not hard, but you have to drop a gear or two.

I have an old not very powerful car and it does not speed up quickly at all.

I wasn't trying to get at you Claire, just suggesting what I thought/I do.
FWIW, I have a 1.4l 15 year old hatchback, so I'm not exactly Lewis Hamilton myself

Hillrunner Fair point. But if cyclists have expensive bikes, then I admit I do assume they are more likely to have expensive cars.

Buzz Sorry for being defensive.

Hillrunner How many times have I said I do drive in an appropriate gear? And a heavy van with a powerful engine can do quick acceleration.

The other day a car overtook me (at speed, narrow ish unclassified road) on a bend with an oncoming car, he was completely on the wrong side of the road, he swerved to avoid the car and then swerved again to avoid the hedge, a mile further on, he pulled into a car park at a local beauty spot... out jumped 3 kids, mum, granny and the dog.

Everything could have gone wrong for him, he could now be burying his family and the people in the oncoming car.... i wouldn't matter as i'm just a fucking cyclist, who many posters "hate", though my DD might have a different opinion.

He saved maybe a few seconds.... was it worth it?

No of course it was not worth it. I have had a similar experience as a car driver with a man with a toddler in the other car.

I'm with the op- they go seriously slowly, way under the speed limit, causing massive tailbacks, and then instead of pulling slightly to the side of the road which should be wide enough for the cars to get past if the flipping cyclists weren't cycling in the middle of the road-
next pet peeve- perfectly good cycle path, and all the cyclists are cycling in the middle of the road- going at 30 down a 50, its bloody infuriating-
If they actually paid road tax and insurance the, then, they might- have a right to act like they have equal share in the road- but they don't, and therefore don't have the right to act like they won it and cause inconvenience to the rest of road users

Another one who clearly cbc to read the thread....

Don't let that stand in the way of your prejudice though!

Geo well done, add yourself to all the other idiots in this thread.

they go seriously slowly, way under the speed limit
it's a limit, not a target!

In fairness, its a limit not a target tends to get quoted by car drivers who drive far too slowly to be safe.
All vehicles should go at an appropriate speed for their vehicle. For cyclists that will obviously be a lower speed than car drivers.

I'm with the op- they go seriously slowly, way under the speed limit, causing massive tailbacks, and then instead of pulling slightly to the side of the road which should be wide enough for the cars to get past if the flipping cyclists weren't cycling in the middle of the road-
next pet peeve- perfectly good cycle path, and all the cyclists are cycling in the middle of the road- going at 30 down a 50, its bloody infuriating-
If they actually paid road tax and insurance the, then, they might- have a right to act like they have equal share in the road- but they don't, and therefore don't have the right to act like they won it and cause inconvenience to the rest of road users

FFS what fucking road tax do you pay?

Also they = every single cyclist, without exception?

While I agree with you that going too slowly can be a problem, on small bendy rural roads 60mph is often far too fast, despite the fact that it may be the official limit.

There is a bendy single track road near me that has a speed limit of 60mph, but you'd have to be insane to actually go at that speed.

I think we need a new educational thread which says

AIBU to educate you all that there is no such thing as road tax in the UK?

Did geogirl really write road tax? do they really just not understand how daft they look talking about a non existent tax?

Did geogirl really write road tax? do they really just not understand how daft they look talking about a non existent tax?

Yes she fucking did, spouting nonsense!

I bloody hate Boris Bikes - Fat arses that haven’t been on a bike for 20 years suddenly decide it’s a good idea to wobble through London with no headgear and even less road-sense.