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?

I'm just shocked by the level do aggressive comments and people indicating they don't care of cyclists get hit or would do it themselves. Why hasn't Mumsnet admin deleted this thread itsa appalling.

Unfortunately, some motorists are twats cyclingmad, and seem to think it's ok to wish death on more vulnerable road users. It's all fine though, as they pay road tax which means they own the roads and everyone else is a menace.

Sadly I’m not shocked.. there are many bigots & life is cheap to them with complete disregard for another living person, until it’s the bigots loved ones - then they squeal very loud

Not a single cyclist on this thread has wished harm on car drivers or joked about killing car drivers... but apparently we're the problem.

There are twats in every section of society, but the fact is that cyclists simply going about their day is seen as an outrage by certain people. They don't even need to be doing anything wrong, just existing is enough.

There's even a poster above who claims to have been repeatedly hit by drivers while cycling, but reserves most of their wrath for those who cycle two abreast ffs! That is some seriously ingrained hatred.

Not a single cyclist on this thread has wished harm on car drivers or joked about killing car drivers... but apparently we're the problem.
I'd be willing to bet that's because most cyclists are also drivers and so have first hand experience of dangerous situations caused by dodgy overtakes etc.

People with a foot in both camps are more than capable of saying 'sure there are dicks in life, and they exist in every section of society but to judge a whole group and be irrationally angry about a group because of the behaviour of a minority is illogical and ridiculous'. The non-cyclists who realise whining about bikes and wanting to perform unsafe overtakes or ban bikes from the road will also have this form of logic and common sense.

The people who are frothing at the mouth with their hatred of cyclists, pointless unpleasant remarks about lycra wearing, joking about running cyclists over, wittering on about how their journeys are too important to be slowed down by 3 minutes are too grounded in their own frothy irritation to see how illogical it is.

I'd be willing to bet that's because most cyclists are also drivers

Yes, almost all will either be drivers or be closely related to a driver. We're also all pedestrians.

I wonder if most of the hate comes from people who have no cyclists in their immediate circle? Making it very easy for them to see cyclists as an inferior and unwanted 'other', taking up space in the world which they have no right to?

The hatred posts come from posters who are unfortunately bigots 😪

They don't think the cyclist has a right to be there

That’s the issue in a nutshell. The cyclist-hating car drivers do not see cyclists as equal humans on the road, cyclists are their inferiors. Dispensable inferiors, in some cases.

They are utterly blind to the FACT that car drivers kill other road users in a way that cyclists don’t, and that car drivers poison our environment in a way that cyclists are not. But it’s cyclists who are to be hated?

There’s no arguing with this amount of stupid, is there?

The vitriol towards people riding bikes come from uninformed people, who don’t seem to have read the HC yet some have been tested & licences to drive. Believe that there should be a new tax called road tax, think cyclists shouldn’t be on the road or the path.

Then they will probably complain when they get gridlocked, can’t find a parking space and complain more when they get COPD and dementia - but they’ll never understand why these things happen

There’s no arguing with this amount of stupid, is there?
Nope.

There's a certain amount of empathy that cyclists or those close to cyclists have.

Many other sensible people can apply the common sense or be willing to learn too.

E.g. I had no idea about safe passing distances until I made friends with some cyclists. I'd never squeezed past, but I'd certainly not given enough room. I also bitched about the groups to cyclists thing until DP at the time explained how and why it works in terms of safe overtaking, how good clubs insist on group riding of certain sizes and there's etiquette in terms of when a group has to split etc (he also had a long rant about groups doing it wrong and had been known to mention it if he passed other clubs being a PITA).

People who are led by and strongly attached to fixed positions (on any topic) are rarely open to the idea that they could be wrong or misguided and seek any evidence they can to support their opinion, however insignificant.

@contentedsoul car drivers do not have priority over you, why do you think that?! There are already a tonne of posts on here about road tax, so I won't explain that again, but you pay for the roads as much as any car. And riding really close to the curb is putting yourself at risk. Maybe you should have some cycle training so that you can keep yourself safe and know your rights.

Why hasn't Mumsnet admin deleted this thread its appalling.

Agreed.

@Hillrunner
Cars aren’t allowed to. That’s what I said. Not that they never do, but that as a motorist you should keep up with the flow of traffic. Not keeping up & causing another vehicle to slow down is dangerous driving & an automatic fail on your driving test. It doesn’t make sense that this is in place when there are cyclists on the road that hold up traffic because they can’t keep up with traffic flow.

A Boeing 737 Max holds around 200 passengers. After a couple of crashes all planes of this type were grounded. Statistically, 5 people a day die on our roads, the equivalent of a plane crash roughly every month, yet no action is taken.

This Twitter thread makes for depressing reading twitter.com/ormondroyd/status/910244326567006211 but no, wait! Don't look that way! Look over there.... there's a bloody cyclist on the road, argh they might make me driver slower and they don't even pay any road tax!

Cycling in pairs is a defensive strategy which can used specifically to stop dangerous overtaking where it would not be safe. Ie where the road is not wide enough. It is often a cyclist saying
"My life is more important than your speed so please wait a while until the road is wider and it's safe to overtake"
This would not be a necessary strategy if there weren't so many drivers willing to put lives at stake with dangerous close passes.
So please those of you who are berating us for riding side by side next time you see it please think about why it's needed and wait a few seconds.
We are all human beings and many of us are mothers fathers etc with a family hoping we get home safe.

The hatred and selfishness on here is despicable.

I also bitched about the groups to cyclists thing until DP at the time explained how and why it works in terms of safe overtaking, how good clubs insist on group riding of certain sizes and there's etiquette in terms of when a group has to split etc (he also had a long rant about groups doing it wrong and had been known to mention it if he passed other clubs being a PITA).

See this is useful information and no one else has mentioned it, just argued that if a driver can't get past for a long time it must be their fault. The group I posted about was about 30 strong and they didn't split, so it was impossible to pass them on a winding hilly road for nine miles. That sort of thing does impact on people's perception, but the gist of the thread from the cyclists POV is that it's fine to do that, they're entitled, you're a twat. As a reasonable person I would expect there to be etiquette and it should apply equally to motorists and cyclists.

The hatred and bigotry against people who cycle (I use that term intentionally, to humanise us and remove the ‘othering’ effect of us being dismissively lumped together as ‘just cyclists’ as tho that’s a perjorative term) is disgusting vitriolic prejudice and shouldn’t be allowed to stand here on mumsnet.

Appalled.

Yes there is clear stupid anti cycle stuff here.
But there is also hyperbole, talking about car drivers having their journey slowed down for 3 minutes. It is common where I live with windy roads to have a tailback build of cars behind a few cyclists. I accept the delay, but it is a lot lot longer than 3 minutes.
Just yesterday on my way to supermarket, on opposite side of road saw 2 cyclists and about 25 cars behind them. That is common sight here.
I do get frustrated I admit, although still drive safely, when I am working at a weekend and there are lots and lots of groups cycling. If I am not working, there are roads Is imply don't drive in very good weather as a drive of 30 minutes can easily take an hour or more because of this.

people who cycle (I use that term intentionally, to humanise us and remove the ‘othering’ effect of us being dismissively lumped together as ‘just cyclists’ as tho that’s a perjorative term)

Agreed. I use a different bike for commuting - a big old fashioned style sit up an beg. I ride in a dress with fashion boots on.... because it makes me seem human. People give me a bit more room & I am likely to get to work without being killed. If I ride in exactly the same way (route, road position, speed, brightness of clothing et al) on my other bike in my lycra I will have cars trying to squeeze by, be spat at, lit cigarettes and rubbish thrown at me cars over taking and then breaking suddenly(either to turn or maliciously), I am shouted at, rude hand gestures.

I do not run red lights, I stop to let pedestrians across, I ride slowly past horses, pedestrians and come to a stand still if there is a chance a dog or child it going to cross my path. I use my bell (it is a 50/50 chance that I will get this right - not all people like it and others insist). Yet it is perfectly acceptable for people to hate me, threaten to kill me because I am a "Cyclist" as if I am some demonic beast put on this earth to cause them personal harm to their day.

For those people saying they were delayed 3 minutes by a cyclist you will have had to have been held up for the time it would take you to travel 1.5 miles, assuming the bike is almost stationary and you are travelling at 30 miles / hr. So we can add to the list of cyclist crimes they warp the time space continuum - we are in fact time travelling aliens.

HouseName
People have mentioned it countless times and replies are people still insisting that they shouldn't ride 2 abreast, should be across in the gutter, that they'd rather cyclists were in a thin line so they can get past (then saying 'yeah but on some country roads it's impossible to overtake safely). The reality is people with that attitude have that attitude on any road where they might have to slow down, and most country drivers (and country cyclists) tend to accept the roads are less than ideal and do their best to be polite and as safe as possible.

There are dickheads and inconsiderate people in any group within society, just a certain type of car driver seem to have an irrational level of hatred and vitrol for what is really 'I've been held up a few times'.

It's really quite an unhealthy dislike (as seen by how often said vitrol appears on threads about people who cycle for a hobby, comments mocking cyclists for their attire, comments about men in lycra because nobody wants to see that, endless whining about them being on cycle paths cycling because someone might want to walk their dog, claims that anyone who cycles on a weekend must be an inconsiderate man child, how it's a selfish hobby to have). I find the hatred for it on MN in some quarters to be totally irrational.

I have a quick question for all the cyclists. My husband is a cyclist band I've asked the question but would like opinions from a wider grout. Often I drive a single track road which is very popular with cyclists. When happen across someone
on their bike i just hang back (I'm never in a hurry to get anywhere) until I come to a passing place. As a cyclist would this annoy you and make you feel pressure to speed up? Should I try and overtake you slowly?

monster
That's fairly standard and polite. It's part and parcel of single track roads. As an infrequent road cyclist I would move over into the passing place and give you a wave. Most cyclists I know are the same.

Wait for a safe overtaking point . If a car comes the other way or there is some other obstruction that you cant see it is human nature to swerve to avoid harming yourself or your car. If a car comes the other way you are likely to move across onto the person cycling than hit the other car. In those circumstances it makes no difference how quickly you are overtaking the person cycling they will still end up being squashed into the gutter, hedge, grass verge, stone wall, under your car..

I do what Lola said too.

Never been an issue because, you know, normal people behave normally.

(Although I do pick quiet single track back roads on purpose, to separate myself from heavily trafficked routes.)

That twitter thread makes sobering reading, although there's nothing in it that should come as a surprise to someone who reads the news.

People don't post threads about how much they hate drivers when they read about deaths caused by drivers, and judges/juries are lenient when it comes to driving offences because they picture themselves behind the wheel, rather than under the wheels.