To wonder why some people are twats towards cyclists

[Apacheshadows]

I’ve lost count of the number of times a car has driven past me and people (usually grown men) have screamed/shrieked at me out of their window, shouted obscenities etc.
Beeped at and then they drive on laughing
Today I had a teenage boy deliberately try and jump in front of my path on a road, this isn’t the first time someone has done that.
I had another teenager try to intimidate me by pulling out in front of me on his own bike, forcing me to quickly swerve

It’s putting me off cycling really, there are some absolute pricks out there.

Also, the number of people who have to comment on how small the bike is. It’s not one of the mini fold up bikes or a children’s one, it’s a bit smaller than average but suits me fine, but people have to comment on it constantly which is weird.

Anyone else had this when cycling? I’m responsible, use lights and wear a high vis and go slowly

I’m a cyclist and a driver and have always found the behaviour of some drivers towards cyclists to be bizarre at times.
I’ve been yelled at by random men for doing nothing more than being on my bike in the bike lane, well out of their way - and it is always men.
Some drivers just get the rage at having to share a road I think, and others are the type to do the ‘give us a smile, darling’ thing anyway and a lone female cyclist is the perfect change.
The first time DW rode with me into our town we got beeped and had comment 3 times in a 10 minute journey ( on a bike path so we’ll out of the way of the cars) and she couldn’t believe it.

@ivykaty44

Oh, is it ok when drivers use the roads for leisure activities?

Isn't going for a drive just for the sake of it a leisurely activity?

@DreadingChristmasAlready many cyclists are commuters. Some ARE out for fresh air, that is allowed. They are keeping themselves healthy and lowering their reliance on the NHS. They are roadusers, not annoyances....

@ivykaty44

motherheroic

I often come across the same two cyckist on my morning commute. They use the main rd out of town, it’s heading towards a nearby town.

I assume it’s there commute as the time of day etc
M20 years that rds been ear marked for a cycle Lane, if drivers were that concerned about other commuting infringing on their speed - then help proactively get segregated infrastructure of decent quality and signage for these paths and where they go

Exactly, complain when they use the roads and then call them dicks for using the pavement. Like make up your minds.

[quote DreadingChristmasAlready]@tabletennistop what is appalling about my question?

I would say roads are for cars, buses, lorries, vans, etc. Vehicles that pay tax to upkeep them. Cyclists have cycle routes, horses should be in fields.

Please stop being so rude and faux offended.[/quote]
@dreadingchristmasalready I think you're just making this up to wind people up. Try getting anywhere on cycle routes. Some countries have viable cycle routes segregated from roads that get you between towns etc and are well maintained. This country does not.

Cycling is not taxed because bikes cause no pollution or wear on the road and it benefits health. A taxation scheme would be an unworkable waste of money that would reduce cycling and push more people into cars with all the air pollution and obesity associated with that.

Do you ever ride a bike? You should try it, it's mostly fun.

I’ll admit, when I first moved to Cambridge I didn’t understand the hostility towards cyclists. 10 years later I definitely get it more.
I’ve been hit by a bike as a pedestrian and seen other people (including children) be hit by bikes while walking on paths. I had to pull my sister out of the way of a bike when she was visiting me, she was very confused, as there was a cycle path right next to us.

Obviously I wouldn’t harass a cyclist and I don’t think anybody should. I think a lot of negativity towards cyclists is caused by the irritating minority of cyclists who pick and choose which road laws to obey, and barrel down the street ringing their bell and expecting everyone to jump out of their way.

[quote DreadingChristmasAlready]@tabletennistop what is appalling about my question?

I would say roads are for cars, buses, lorries, vans, etc. Vehicles that pay tax to upkeep them. Cyclists have cycle routes, horses should be in fields.

Please stop being so rude and faux offended.[/quote]
Keeping a horse in a field and never exercising it would be really cruel.

And the racing yard near me exercises some of the horses on the roads. I believe it helps improve their muscle tone or something.

I love seeing them walk past my house around 8.00 most mornings.

One thing I have learned is never slow down a car driver. Their journey must not be impeded at any cost. They have places to go and important things to do.

barrel down the street ringing their bell and expecting everyone to jump out of their way.

You mean a bit like all the drivers on this thread barrelling down roads and expecting cyclists to move out of their way?

I could ask why so many drivers are complete knows. 3 recent examples

1. out on my horse, I have to do about 100 yards on the road from the bridleway back right turn into the yard. 40mph limit, bendy road. Just as I approach the yard I get on to the road 3 cars come round the bend behind me. First car slows to allow me to turn off out of the way, next thing I know the 3rd car has nearly hit my horse. I know he was the 3rd as a distinctive colour.
2. riding a short distance on a "quiet" road, come of nasty bends, 40 mph limit. Car flies past me approaching one of the bends, well over 40 wouldn't have been able to see what's coming.
3. couple of hundred yards later on the same road, approaching a nasty double bend. Car behind initially slows and I indicate that Iam turning left on to the bridleway on the bend. Car then overtakes and nearly has a head on with a van coming in the opposite direction. If he hadn't been going slow because he was turning left onto a track himself they would have collided.

It doesn't surprise me that cyclists make better drivers, if don't get annoyed by cyclists when I drive, because I know what it's like for them. I give them lots of room and am not impatient. It's pretty easy for us all to share the road space without all this ridiculous hatred.

@Lockheart
If you’re assuming I’m on the side of drivers, I’m not. I don’t drive. I’m on the “I don’t wanna get hit by a bike again” side!
I would say if more drivers made room for cyclists maybe they wouldn’t get on the path, but where I got hit by a bike was in a public pathway not near a road- with a no cycling sign. There’s always gonna be cheeky bastards.

Cyclists who follow the rules don't bother me. My problem is with bad cyclists, particularly when I make sure to use a different lane to overtake them and then I get to the traffic light and they squeeze pass me on the left.
I was nearly knocked down by cyclists on two occasions as I stepped out of my workplace as they came flying on the footpath near the door.
I think adult cyclists should get compulsory licensing and get fines.

The PP who said cars don't hold each other up has never driven on the M25 on a Friday night.

@DrGoogleSaysSo

Cyclists who follow the rules don't bother me. My problem is with bad cyclists, particularly when I make sure to use a different lane to overtake them and then I get to the traffic light and they squeeze pass me on the left. I was nearly knocked down by cyclists on two occasions as I stepped out of my workplace as they came flying on the footpath near the door. I think adult cyclists should get compulsory licensing and get fines.

That's not bad cycling, that's filtering and is legal and advisable.

You get in front of them, they get in front of you, thats how roads work. Different users make progress at different rates. Just because you've overtaken someone once doesn't mean they're not allowed to overtake or filter around you.

@Mumoblue

I’ll admit, when I first moved to Cambridge I didn’t understand the hostility towards cyclists. 10 years later I definitely get it more. I’ve been hit by a bike as a pedestrian and seen other people (including children) be hit by bikes while walking on paths. I had to pull my sister out of the way of a bike when she was visiting me, she was very confused, as there was a cycle path right next to us.

Obviously I wouldn’t harass a cyclist and I don’t think anybody should. I think a lot of negativity towards cyclists is caused by the irritating minority of cyclists who pick and choose which road laws to obey, and barrel down the street ringing their bell and expecting everyone to jump out of their way.

Fully agree. There are too many self obsessed arrogant cyclists that give them all a bad name. I walk daily on a canal towpath. I always stay to the side of the path, not walking down the middle. But every single day, there are cyclists going way too fast for a narrow path shared with walkers, dogs, etc. Most of them seem to be trying to break their own speed records. No consideration at all for others, just lots of angry bell ringing, horn blowing, etc to tell people to get out of their way. Worse are the ones going 2 or 3 abreast at high speed who won't go into single file when passing walkers, so just expect the walkers to stand aside into the hedges etc to let them past, and give a torrent of verbal abuse if you don't.

@DreadingChristmasAlready

As a driver on country lanes cyclists are extremely dangerous. They often have a long queue of traffic behind them and choose to cycle during the busiest times of the day. I have never shouted abuse at anyone in my life and wouldn't start on cyclists now, but I can see how people would get the rage.

at ' choose to cycle during the busiest times of day.' My kids and I choose to cycle at the busiest times of day because we're getting ourselves to and from work and school!

I think many car drivers forget that cyclists have just as much right to be on the road as they do. Yes, cyclists need to follow the highway code. But drivers sometimes get cross at cyclists for doing things that are actually perfectly legal. Cyclists are encouraged to use cycle lanes when cycle lanes exist, but this isn't mandatory, it's a recommendation. Some cycle lanes are badly designed and frankly not fit for purpose. So if I consider it to be safer to cycle on the road for a stretch, I'm entitled to do so.

Cycling is a more environmentally responsible mode of travel than driving. Not everyone can cycle everywhere, and that's fine, but especially in the context of climate change, people need to stop viewing cyclists as road users who are somehow secondary to motorists.

We need better cycling infrastructure and also a change in people's attitudes so that cycling is as respected here as it is in, say, the Netherlands. A lot of fault lies with the government for not investing in an infrastructure that would make it easier for cars and bikes to share roads safely.

I've found it to be the opposite, I think men get a far worse time on the roads.
Also have a vague recollection of an article saying cars tend to give women more space, because they are classed as more vulnerable on the road.
Ive only been riding the last few years and haven't experienced too much twatty behaviour.
Don't understand the hatred, even as a car driver for many years before, I regarded cyclists as a minor inconvenience. In about 25 years of driving only one cyclist that sticks in my mind for knobby behaviour, middle aged bloke , cycling against the flow of traffic on a bend, that told me to fuck off when I challenged him, but I suspect he was an arrogant dick both on and off road.
I think cyclists are just easy target, smaller and more vulnerable than say a tractor that could probably squash your car, if the driver took a notion to.
These threads just pedal (no pun) the same old trope about cyclists -
don't pay road tax - there is no such thing.

won't stop to let cars pass - it might not be safe and can you really not wait a few minutes?

Drive through red lights - when, where, is this all cyclists?
Entiled - to what? Cycle on the road?
Not insured - a lot of cyclists are, some biked ares very expensive, so not true.
Lastly, On a scale the damage that a bikes can do is much less than a car, even without mandatory testings, licences ec the danger we pose is far less than cars. It's in our interests to cycle as safely as we can, we're the ones that are gonna come off worse when we don't.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow

Susiebob, it depends where you live.

I live next to a national park. Believe me, they are in packs EVERWHERE. Absolutely everywhere. Swarms of them.

I live IN a national park, and they are, indeed, everywhere. Especially on spring/summer weekends, when it sometimes seems like every cyclist in London has decided to cycle in the South Downs.

They are especially a pain when they are on public footpaths where they have no right to be. They tear down a winding path through the woods, with no regard for dogs or walkers. They ride full tilt down a sloping field, scattering sheep as they go. They chuck their bikes over stiles and kissing gates, with no regard for people coming the other way. They cycle at speed through fields of cattle and calves. A dog I used to have was so spooked after being almost hit by them that he would bolt as soon as he heard a bike. Someone's dog sustained fractures after being hit by a bike tearing through a field on a public footpath.

And when you're strolling along a narrow footpath, the cheeky fuckers have the nerve to shout at you to get out of the way. WTAF?

I once asked a cyclist why they wouldn't stick to the bridleways, like they're supposed to. He told me it was because they were too muddy. Ironic, given his jacket was branded "Muddy Fox".

@SnackSizeRaisin

I'm not defending this behaviour at all but I would say about 60% of cyclists I come across ride dangerously whereas maybe 5% of drivers drive dangerously.

Lol! Dangerous to whom? Cyclists are not dangerous to car drivers

Dangerous to pedestrians! A former colleague had to retire on medical grounds because of injuries she sustained when a cyclist rode through a red light and she was crossing the road, and a friend was knocked to the ground and bruised when hit by someone cycling illegally in a pedestrian precinct.

I nearly got hit when walking along a narrow section of pavement and a cyclist came round a blind bend. I stopped in my tracks and he had to go down the kerb and into the road to avoid hitting me (which made me a stupid cunt, apparently).

The pavement cycling where I live is dreadful. It's a historic town with narrow streets and pavements, but cyclists seem to think it's acceptable to take to the pavements to avoid red lights and traffic queues, or when they want to go the wrong way down a one-way street and not run into the oncoming traffic.

@Offmyfence @UnsuitableHat I’m not a nervous driver at all. I AM a human who is nervous about accidentally killing another human. I don’t drive my car for leisure - only for purpose. I live in a village with two buses a day (one in the morning, one in the evening) so I have to use my car. When I say ‘risky’ overtakes, I mean that by its nature, any overtaking is a risk because you are driving on the wrong side of the road. I’m not speeding round blind bends, I just prefer to stay on the side of the road I’m supposed to be on but I also prefer not to be stuck doing 20mph for miles and being late to work/appointments so someone can enjoy their leisure activity . My leisure activities don’t involve danger or disruption to other people it’s a pity cyclists’ feel their enjoyment trumps everyone else’s.

The point of my second paragraph was to demonstrate that not all poor beleaguered cyclists are cycling around being bullied by cars. They can be the bullies, road hogs and abusive.

My leisure activities don’t involve danger or disruption to other people

Do you never travel to any of them in a car? You’re unusual if so.

I do agree that some cyclists can be wankers sometimes, particularly on shared use paths. I use shared use paths both as a cyclist and as a pedestrian; I appreciate that the most vulnerable user (pedestrians) should take priority over faster, less vulnerable users (bikes). This means I don’t get to go as fast as I’d like to go on the bike, but such is life when you share the world with other people, and it’s not the fault of the pedestrians.

I think many drivers can understand this principle when it’s cyclists and pedestrians. I wish more of them would expand it to drivers and cyclists on roads, where the exact same logic should be in play.

[quote TarzansFavouriteThong]**@Offmyfence* @UnsuitableHat* I’m not a nervous driver at all. I AM a human who is nervous about accidentally killing another human. I don’t drive my car for leisure - only for purpose. I live in a village with two buses a day (one in the morning, one in the evening) so I have to use my car. When I say ‘risky’ overtakes, I mean that by its nature, any overtaking is a risk because you are driving on the wrong side of the road. I’m not speeding round blind bends, I just prefer to stay on the side of the road I’m supposed to be on but I also prefer not to be stuck doing 20mph for miles and being late to work/appointments so someone can enjoy their leisure activity . My leisure activities don’t involve danger or disruption to other people it’s a pity cyclists’ feel their enjoyment trumps everyone else’s.

The point of my second paragraph was to demonstrate that not all poor beleaguered cyclists are cycling around being bullied by cars. They can be the bullies, road hogs and abusive.[/quote]
Cyclists don't always cycle for leisure, it's often a mode of transport to and from work etc. It's a pity you can't accept their right to be on a road.

Again you seem concerned about your driving ability, I've never put myself in a position where I feel I'm a risk to others on the road!

The point of my second paragraph was to demonstrate that not all poor beleaguered cyclists are cycling around being bullied by cars. They can be the bullies, road hogs and abusive.

How many drivers have been killed by cyclists during this bullying?