....to tell you that negative comments about cyclists can cause issues...

[alittlequinnie]

I cycle to work - every day that I'm working in the office.

This morning I was cycling - wearing high viz, a helmet - two red lights on the back and two white lights on the front.

I'm going to try to upload a picture of where I was - the road is really really narrow - so no matter where I position the bike if you want to overtaken me you are going to have to go over the centre line.

This morning only me and a car coming up behind me on the entire road. I'm pretty much bang on centre in the lane. Nothing coming towards me or the car behind me.

Car behind overtakes - really really close and then pulls in too quickly in front of me - causing me to swerve.

Few meters up the road catch up with them at the lights. Knock politely on the window and ask her "why on earth did you do that - there was plenty of room?"

She responds that it's my "own fault" I was "riding in the middle of the road" I "do it on purpose" and she see's me "every morning" - then calls me a stupid cow.

I say "really? you did it as a punishment?" - she then repeats that I shouldn't be in the middle of the road.

No point arguing with stupid so I remind her that it's a good idea to read the Highway Code - she tells me I need to read it and then calls me a cunt.

I feel this all the time on the bike that all the comments that "all cyclists" do red light jumping and pavement cycling etc means that there is just such a HATE for cyclists - wherever and however they ride.

Imagine what this is like for me - this woman has told me she sees me all the time and she did it on purpose - so she's bound to do it again - it's really frightening.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to achieve by posting this - just think carefully before spreading the sort of venom for cyclists that I see on here and other sites?

The driver of the SUV is wrong and I always think they're an idiot. But the cyclist who had the opportunity to pull to the side when the road widened is the kind of cyclist that makes me dislike cyclists and should be fined for willfully obstructing traffic when they didn't have to.

The kind of roads I'm thinking of it won't take you any longer and there aren't huge banks of cars. It affects the cyclist in no way to pull into the bays in the areas I'm thinking of.

So everyone should follow a bike up a steep hill at maybe 3mph for miles to avoid pulling into a bay that won't inconvenience or slow any cyclists down? Those cyclists are arrogant and care for no-one else. I heard of two abreast the other day who wouldn't let an ambulance pass which really slowed down the trip for the person inside.

I move over for vehicles because its safer for me and helps spread a little bit of goodwill...

Thank you for being a considerate human being. It definitely does foster goodwill towards cyclists. Unfortunately, you're a minority.

They're not wilfully obstructing traffic, they are legitimately using the road. Just because they're not going as fast as you want does not mean they're causing an obstruction.

They are causing an obstruction when there is a side lane they can pull into that won't make any difference to their cycling experience. If there is no side lane, then the cars just need to suck it up until there is a chance to pass safely. If you think it's okay to make cars trail behind you unnecessarily for half an hour when you could have moved to the side, you are part of the problem. It would make my day if the police came along because they'll fine you for that around here.

There's a lot of over-egging the pudding going on in this thread. I'm both a road cyclist and a driver - I drive and cycle on everything from 40mph roads to country lanes in the Lakes and Peak District. I commute by bike and do long road rides at weekends or when I'm off work. As a cyclist I've never had cars trailing past me "for half an hour". As a driver I've never been held up by a cyclist or cyclists for "half an hour". People are just using this thread to be keyboard warriors for fun.

Only on the road there are rules that are 99.9% of the time followed by road users, you basically only have to overtake cyclists going the same direction as you, and generally following a prescribed lane. On shared use paths people don't walk neatly along in lanes like the road, they amble all over the shop as do their unpredictable kids and dogs which makes passing them a very different challenge. It's also considerably more difficult to slow down to 3mph on a bike and then speed back up again once you've successfuly navigated dog walker with buggy than it is to slow to 15mph and then speed back up to 30mph in a car, which uses precisely fuck all skill or physical exertion in comparison.

I drive thousands of miles a year, including driving large vehicles round city centres for work. I have a full clean driving licence and personal and business use insurance, as well as paying VED on 2 vehicles, ignoring the fact that roads are paid from general taxation, which I also pay. I also cycle, am a British Cycling trained ride leader, have a racing licence, and have fully comprehensive insurance separate to any car or household policy. I have an obnoxiously bright set of lights and bright orange kit. So for all those people who say it's OK to be a dick round bikes because they don't have this or don't do that, i tick every box you've theoretically asked for in order to use the road yet still get abuse, get cut up, get close passed and have had things thrown at me out of windows. Could a non cycling driver explain why this is justified?

I neither cycle nor own a bike, so I am unlikely to find myself in this position.

It is courteous for slow moving traffic to allow others to pass but it is not an offence not to. Otherwise the next tailgater you get could have you done for the same thing.

You clearly don't live where I live. Some of the hills go up forever. Half an hour is not an exaggeration at that speed. I can easily take half an hour to get up some of the hills even at normal car speeds. Then the speed they go down the other side. :-o I don't mind but if they came off! I have cycled too but not for many years.

Why were you in the middle of the road? Were you going to turn right or was there an obstruction ahead you didn't want to swerve round?

Some people do, some people don't but unless you've ever ridden up a hill at 3mph (I'm guessing quite steep) then pulling over isn't an easy thing to do, to then set off again.

You sound like a right one. I can honestly say that I get stuck behind more cars than I do bikes. So should the police fine drivers in traffic jams because they're holding everyone up and obstructing traffic flow? What about old people who drive more slowly than everyone else. Or learners?

Only an idiot would bemoan two cyclists blocking an ambulance on some freakishly rare occasion when cars do this literally every minute of the day. I experienced so many idiots on the road when driving. I pull over in my car after seeing lights in my mirrors to find that the plonker behind hasn't noticed and overtakes, blocking up the road even more. Then there are the SUV brigade who buy an off-road vehicle but can't bring themselves to mount a kerb to let emergency services through.

Some people do, some people don't but unless you've ever ridden up a hill at 3mph

I* *have and was taught to move over the let the cars pass, which I did. It's in my own safety interests to not have a car behind me.

Only an idiot would bemoan two cyclists blocking an ambulance on some freakishly rare occasion when cars do this literally every minute of the day.

I wouldn't have anything to bemoan if the cyclists considerately changed to single file rather than stay two abreast. No cars on the road at that time. I've been in an ambulance and only ever seen cars stop and give way for the lights, even in peak hour. If cars don't give way I hope the ambulances have dash cams that capture their plates and they get a well deserved fine.

I try to be considerate. If I'm out walking and I see a cyclist coming, I pull my dog close to me and stop walking till the cyclist has safely passed. I don't do dangerous overtaking of bikes ever. I'd rather be slow than hurt someone. If I have to pass closer than I'd like, I slow right down to do it if it's safe. It would just feel nice to feel that the consideration and care is reciprocated.

But you're not every cyclist and whilst you may be able to pull over, stop and get started again up a hill, not everyone can. 3mph must be a pretty steep hill (fitness dependent obviously) but it'd have to be about 18% for me to be doing that speed. That isn't easy to start from zero and keep momentum or stability. Potentially more dangerous when cars are passing. As a driver I'd happily sit and wait because I know how lung busting hills can be. Sitting in a warm car with no physical exertion is a cinch so my courtesy would be extended to the cyclist.

But you're clearly only thinking of the driver, who isn't more important than a cyclist. That's your problem really. I agree that we all need to share the roads and a bit of give/take is necessary but cars dominate every mm of road and drivers need to accept that their progress isn't paramount.

But you're clearly only thinking of the driver, who isn't more important than a cyclist. That's your problem really. I agree that we all need to share the roads and a bit of give/take is necessary but cars dominate every mm of road and drivers need to accept that their progress isn't paramount.

To be fair, I think it's the person that is causing the hold up to other vehicles that should do what they can to minimise that. On the downhill, that is likely to be the car holding up bikes with the speed some of the bikes go. In that case I would pull to the side to let the cyclists pass, if I had some coming up behind me faster than the speed I was traveling.

Neither is more important, and a cyclist or car driver who behave like they are are both problems. We share the road so we need to consider each other.

@Alexandra2001 i’m on as quiet roads as possible mostly country lanes. But in a rural shire they still have a lot of cars on them.

... use a much less lethal form of transport which is reflected in the rules attached to its use?

Probably too late to the party, but most of the cyclists I come across on school runs are selfish.

Trying to make you stand in thorny bushes when they could have just waited 5 seconds. Ringing the stupid bell, again, when they could have just waited 2 seconds.
Never stopping at zebra crossings, cutting people up all the time.

Sorry, no patience for cyclists here, there are too many rude ones

... despite this, injure and kill far less people than licensed and insured modes of transport per billion miles travelled.

This is a good game

The sooner cars are off the roads of our cities the better.

Maybe one of the cyclists can answer this, because it's got me thinking:

Someone, can't remember who, up a bit further, said that to move to the side to let cars pass if there was a lane, might not be possible. So in this scenario - you are going up a very steep hill at an incredibly slow pace. The hill goes on for a long time and no car can safely pass for you for a long time. If a side lane comes up meaning that you can move about three feet to the left and the car can pass, you don't have to lose any speed or stop, it's literally just moving 2-3 feet to the left and continuing as you are, is there a problem that would stop you doing so? Someone mentioned stability might be an issue. Is this it? If so, I might feel a bit more sympathetic to the next cyclist who doesn't move over if they're at risk of falling off the bike, or something.

Most of the car drivers I come across on the roads are selfish @FloydWasACat .

Running red lights to get ahead.
Running red lights through a junction when I’m trying to turn right and there’s no filter, leaving me exposed to four lanes of traffic.
Overtaking so closely that I can touch their car rather than wait five seconds to let an oncoming car pass.
Breaking the speed limit when overtaking a cyclist too closely.
Driving too closely behind a cyclist.
Parking in bike lanes.
Driving in bike lanes.
Stopping at a green Advanced Stop Line which are for bicycles only.
Spitting out of the window.
Throwing cigarettes.
Slapping a cyclist’s bum because “it’s funny”.
Overtaking and then turning left in front of a cyclist who is going straight in because they are just too impatient to wait for the three seconds it takes for the cyclist to ride past the side road.

In this instance, most cyclists would move over - I cycle up two hills very much like this on my commute and I and all the other cyclists I see move over to the left lane when we’re able to, I’ve never seen anyone not do so.

If you’re repeatedly seeing cyclists not move over then I’d imagine it’s an issue specific to this particular hill that means they can see something you can’t.

@lifeinthehills in response to your question, sometimes we can do that and we do. But sometimes we can’t, not because of the car behind us, but because of the car behind them (if there is one). The driver behind us might see us move in, but to then pull out again in front of the car behind them who may not have seen us, can be really dangerous. I do try to do it if I feel my life isn’t at risk.

@alittlequinnie the picture you’ve loaded looks like a totally normal width road with two lanes. Why do you think it’s particularly skinny and why did she feel you were making her life difficult if you were just cycling on your side of the road? Were you in the middle of the road?

Were you in the middle of the road?
A few posters have said she was in the middle of the road, but OP clearly said she was in the middle of her lane.