AIBU Cyclist Twats

[TractorAndHeadphones]

Walking down lovely canals with DP. Supposed to be romantic - but every 5 minutes we were interrupted by a cyclists whizzing along! Some had the courtesy to ring the bell but even so they rode straight at us instead of around us.

This really boils my piss because cyclists always complain that cars overtake dangerously and that’s it’s their god given right to hold up traffic. But cyclists can ride straight through pedestrians?

There was enough space for a cyclist to ride alongside us if they’d been slower ; even so you don’t expect people to walk in single file on canal roads which are meant to be enjoyed slowly! There were families in front of us, mothers with prams etc. Thé cyclists were probably scared of swerving into the lake but if you can’t control your bike then dont bloody ride!
It really ruined my day.

This has also happened on pavements with people whizzing along in the middle. Even if the road is dangerous there’s no need to go that fast.
AIBU to think that cyclists are twats and should be licensed?
People often complain that cars are rude to cyclists but IMO people in general are twats. Cars can do more damage but they’re not behaving worse than cyclists.

The no bell get out of my way MAMILs are just awful

Do people realise it’s a legal requirement for bikes to have a bell when they’re sold. Don’t think the govt made that law intending them to be for decoration. 🤷‍♀️

@MLMbotsno

The no bell get out of my way MAMILs are just awful

For the hundredth time, it does not mean get out the way. Stop projecting. 🙄

@Dreamstate. As a wheelchair user, as per my post upthread, I regularly come across cyclists using the wider pavements to ride on instead of the road. And it’s not my experience that cyclists ring the bell to let me know they’re there - they’re usually coming straight at me and expecting me to move out of the way.

[quote Rosscameasdoody]@Dreamstate. As a wheelchair user, as per my post upthread, I regularly come across cyclists using the wider pavements to ride on instead of the road. And it’s not my experience that cyclists ring the bell to let me know they’re there - they’re usually coming straight at me and expecting me to move out of the way.[/quote]
And as my point and several others are is that your saying cyclists meaning all cyclists but its not all cyclists who ride on wide pavements.

Its some cyclists that do that and noone is saying that they are right to behave like that but it is wrong to say all cyclists are like that

I live in the Netherlands and everyone cycles everywhere, and in the main, very safety. The issue is not enough bike lanes and acceptance of cyclists

I explicitly stated there was space to pass when riding slowly

OP you have stated this several times. It still makes zero sense.

Either they have enough space to overtake or they do not. If they are cycling at 3mph or 300mph the gap you are leaving remains the same.

You saying they can over take but need to slow down means that there is not enough space.

@CovidCorvid
I think 20 mins is a rare and extreme example. Did you not overtake because it was too narrow, too many cars coming the other way or your lack of confidence?

Or maybe as PP said there was 30 fucking bikes in a group which is dangerous and inconsiderate but oh no let’s blame something else. Jeeeees 🙄

@PixieLaLa I was asking a question, not blaming someone else. Did you read my post in response to her answer where I said it sounded shit?

Sometimes when I’m out cycling it is very safe for a car to overtake but there’s an unconfident, dithery driver who doesn’t. Sorry but I’m not pulling over because someone can’t drive to a normal standard. 🤷‍♀️

@Dobbyafreeelf what makes cyclists so special is that cycling is good for the environment and public health, whereas cars are bad for both, and bikes are much, much less dangerous than cars. So we are supposed to be encouraging more people to cycle, and there is much less scope for liability with bikes.

@FloconDeNeige

Fucking mamils do my head in here in Switzerland. One day I’ll flatten the arrogant wankers with my Discovery.

Wow!

What a nasty, nasty person you are.

Threads like these I think are actually quite dangerous for cyclists. The more anti cyclist feeling and hatred which is stirred up by such threads increases the chances that someone who has read/commented on the thread next time they’re behind a cyclist subconsciously remembers what a bunch of arrogant twat MAMILS they are. Increases the chance of a close, dangerous pass. Increases the chance of someone being killed.

@FloconDeNeige

Fucking mamils do my head in here in Switzerland. One day I’ll flatten the arrogant wankers with my Discovery.

I wish we knew who you were so we could get your driving licence revoked.

This thread is appalling, so many people who don't know the highway code properly yet out there driving on the road, people who yoo nervous or anxious to know how to overtake safely shouldn't be driving, people who are saying they are too impatient to wait a few minutes shouldn't be driving either

Yet these people on here making those comments have the audacity to have a go at cyclists and saying they shouldn't be on the road.

Alot of posters on here need to have a hard look at themselves and how disgusting their attitudes and behaviours are.

@FloconDeNeige my friend who was flattened and killed recently while out cycling was a mother of small kids. Do you think she deserved it because she had the audacity to wear Lycra and legally ride a bike on the public highway?

@Macncheeseballs

Thats annoying but not all cyclists are bad, some are considerate, bad drivers are worse because bad driving can kill

So can being hit by a bike.

So sorry to hear about your friend @CovidCorvid, that’s awful I worry about my DP every day. He’s had to change his route to work several times after near misses and an accident earlier this year where a car pulled out in front of him without looking - he was very lucky to only have a sprained wrist, a broken tooth and stitches in his face.

@DerAlteMann the chance of being killed by a cyclist is extremely low. The chance of being killed while cycling is unfortunately much higher. In part because of the horrible attitude many people have towards cyclists as shown on this thread.

Nobody wants to kill cyclists. That's why they shouldn't be on the roads. No-one wants to injure them. Everyone can see how horrifically vulnerable they are. They choose to be there, choose to cause a hazard for all other road users. It's reckless, arrogant, and should be illegal. If I took a dance team onto the highway in rush hour traffic, you'd think I was mad and the authorities would turn up to move us along. Cyclists should be able to reason for themselves that roads are not safe places to be. But they don't. They insist on their right to be there. Reckless, foolhardy and an unnecessary distraction and hazard.

@DoesHePlayTheFiddle

Nobody wants to kill cyclists. That's why they shouldn't be on the roads. No-one wants to injure them. Everyone can see how horrifically vulnerable they are. They choose to be there, choose to cause a hazard for all other road users. It's reckless, arrogant, and should be illegal. If I took a dance team onto the highway in rush hour traffic, you'd think I was mad and the authorities would turn up to move us along. Cyclists should be able to reason for themselves that roads are not safe places to be. But they don't. They insist on their right to be there. Reckless, foolhardy and an unnecessary distraction and hazard.

The road is not solely for cars or lorries and with the government pushing cycling agenda.

Its is not possible for every road to have a cycle lane separating them from cars and not having shared pavements.

Why is that so hard to comprehend.

The roads wouldn't be dangerous if people drove or cycled in a considerate manner.

The problem isn't the road itself the problem is people and their behaviour and this thread clearly shows that.

The pandemic was great when the roads were virtually empty, the roads weren't dangerous then so what chnaged oh thats right less people on the roads driving badly.

Some other posters who live in the Netherlands have said that cyclists hit each other too...again that isn't down to the road its down to people not behaving properly.

She's can't believe some people still trot out the roads belong to cars crap.

Why is it 'so hard to comprehend' that if something is clearly dangerous, you don't do it?

Yes, they are dangerous. The worst ones also like to ride two abreast along those paths. I've had more than a few come hurtling towards me and we play a game of chicken - I'm not leaping off the path for them.

I've also come across some that insist on riding across narrow pedestrian bridges - at least get off your bike then, FFS.

"Nobody wants to kill cyclists. That's why they shouldn't be on the roads. No-one wants to injure them. Everyone can see how horrifically vulnerable they are. They choose to be there, choose to cause a hazard for all other road users. It's reckless, arrogant, and should be illegal. If I took a dance team onto the highway in rush hour traffic, you'd think I was mad and the authorities would turn up to move us along. Cyclists should be able to reason for themselves that roads are not safe places to be. But they don't. They insist on their right to be there. Reckless, foolhardy and an unnecessary distraction and hazard."

Bloody hell. Do people really think like this? Is this a joke? Cycling on a road should be illegal? Like cycling on a pavement is....so just all cycling should be banned so that 'other road users' ie drivers can have the road to themselves?

I wish we knew who you were so we could get your driving licence revoked.

Even if you did, as if the Swiss authorities would give a shiny shit about your opinion on my driving license 🤣

Back in the real world, I’m a cyclist too. The difference is, when I’m sharing the public paths & highways with other users on my bike, I don’t block it, don’t tap windows, don’t grab wing mirrors, don’t knock over pedestrians etc. There’s zero excuse for any of this; it’s entitled, arrogant and dangerous.

If one day, something happens to one of them, it’ll be their own fault. And there’ll be no use whinging and crying then as public sympathy is in short supply for these utter wankers, as we can see.

@CovidCorvid

Your friend, by definition then, was not a MAMIL if she was female, was she?

I’m sure she was a responsible cyclist and it’s a tragedy that it was someone like her who actually paid the price.

Meanwhile, these dickheads carry on causing accidents and inciting both drivers and pedestrians alike.

YABU to say ‘cyclists are twats’. Some are, some drivers are, some pedestrians are.
I can’t stand cyclists on pavements but they have as much right to use the canal path as you do- it’s a shared, negotiated space and sometimes you DO have to move to single file or be a bit vigilant to a cyclist approaching.
Not sure cycle licences would help either - that tends to be used as a bit of a smokescreen to make irritation sound like a logical argument. They’d still want to overtake you on paths and they’d still slow you down on roads.
If you have some emotional energy about this, why not help to campaign for better cycle lanes?
As for cars not slowing anyone down on a commute, hard to know where to start with that except to offer the very obvious point that cyclists might also be commuters.

I feel your pain. My local tow path is used by some cyclists as their own personal velodrome. My elderly neighbours won’t walk on it now for this reason and prefer to walk on the busy national speed limit road where there are few pavements because they actually feel safer!