Fucking Cyclists

[SpanielSprint]

I live in a very rural area that is super popular with cyclists. All of the roads around me are narrow, bendy, single track lanes - no white lines. Wherever I go I get stuck behind cyclists. I accept this, always leave extra time for my journeys and never drive aggressively.

The issue is that the cyclists always seem to try and wave me past when I don’t feel it is safe to overtake. Either into blind corners, or when the road is too narrow so would necessitate going onto the verges which are rutted and full of hidden rocks and pot holes - I’m not willing to risk my tyres driving at pace along them. Obviously I just ignore them but this seems to infuriate them.

I’ve just returned from yet another journey where I was behind a pair of cyclists for several miles. The cyclist at the rear kept waving me on and when I didn’t go past she seemed to get increasingly angry about it, gesticulating etc. when I finally did pass, she screamed fucking twat at me and gave me the Vs.

Nice. So basically that’s my ‘thanks’ for trailing patiently behind them for 10 minutes and almost doubling the duration of my journey.

disclaimer: I realise that not all cyclists do this, but there seems to be a significant enough number of them around here to make this sort of thing a weekly occurrence.

AIBU to overtake cyclists when I’m good and ready, and think that some of them need to learn a few lessons about manners and road safety before they go out on their bikes?

Brilliant response!

Original post was about an angry cyclist calling OP a 'fucking twat' and giving her the finger, all because OP kept a safe distance behind her.

Humans, all of us humans. Getting from one place to another using different modes of transport but lets spread the hate because we just love 'othering' people based to reinforce our biases. You get assholes on bikes, driving cars, motorhomes, lorries, tractors, riding horses, walking, scootering - but they are all assholes.

Well perhaps drivers should stop being so lead-footed and back off.

That's a good point actually. Basically humans are selfish. The problem isn't car drivers tailing cyclists or cyclists running red lights or pedestrians telling cyclists to get off the pavement, the problem is people.

What I take from this is that it doesn't matter if we try to "other" cyclists or draw division between them and ourselves. We're all human. Emnity and hatred are natural traits and the mistrust/dislike of those who are different or unknown is normal behaviour, it's one of the reasons we have become the dominant species on the planet.

I thought the highway code advised against any 'waving on because it's safe' from any road user to another.

Vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders - basically - helpful as it may seem, don't wave anyone anywhere. If you're wrong you've caused an accident.

No you’re right , she didn’t. I’ve gone back and looked, my mistake. She did however say there was no oncoming traffic and a clear road with long straight bits. She also said if there had been a lay-by she’d have pulled over (off the road).

so no idea why Doris didn’t overtake but it’s certainly not up to a cyclist to stop in the highway and endanger themselves when it’s perfectly overtakeable Doris needs to either learn how to overtake more confidently or be happy staying behind (maybe she was happy).

the only time I will pull over (when safe to do so in a gateway, etc) is when it’s a single track road and they can’t overtake. I’m not under any obligation to, could make them crawl along for miles but I’m nice. I do drive as well (like most cyclists) so I treat drivers how I’d like to be treated by a cyclist. Sadly a lot of drivers don’t offer the same respect.

Both the OP and 'Doris' were nice though, they stayed behind the cyclists to avoid injuring them by overtaking them.

And who knows whether there was a clear stretch for Doris or no layby for Noodle Queen, as you say, it's not anyone's job to endanger themselves for anyone else, so everyone has to be free to make their own judgment call.

Round here, the technique is for the tw*t in the fast car to wait for a straight bit of road then try to overtake all the cars at once & if any oncoming traffic appears, to force his way back into the cars on his own side of the road by cutting someone up.

I'm sure it's recommended in the Highway Code somewhere.😜

Haven't read the full thread but totally agree with this. I'm a cyclist and car driver but also have a motorbike licence and this was absolutely drilled into me during motorbike training. Far more so than when I learned to drive. It's kind of other road users to wave you on but unless YOU can see, you don't go. You never trust someone else telling you it's safe to overtake.

I live rurally too and it's frustrating to get stuck behind something slower but it's just tough. Many farmers or horse riders will move over into field entrances or onto verges to let traffic overtake but that's not going to happen with a peloton of cyclists. So there's nothing much we can do but hang back, not rev the engine and totally ignore anyone who tries to wave us on. It's lousy that you got abuse for doing this.

This popped up on my browser for some reason

Cyclist caught ignoring Britain's widest cycle lane as she rides in lane dedicated to other traffic (msn.com)

I read the article, I would definitely love to use that cycle lane if was well maintained. I wouldn't risk it if it wasn't sweep of road debris or gritted in icy conditions . Broken glass is often a huge problem in cycle lanes.

I’d love to hear her reason why she wasn’t using it because generally a cyclist will opt for the safer option.

I used a cycle path running alongside a busy B road last week. Very rough tarmac, full of twigs and small branches and most importantly came to an abrupt halt meaning I had to wait to rejoin the road again. Next time I go that way I’ll stay on the road the whole time.

@QuintanaRoo Are cyclists involved with council Highways Departments when they design cycle routes? I've never heard a cyclist have a good word to say for them, & sometimes the designs do seem disjointed or useless (I know of a bridge which was modified for cycles at enormous expense, but allegedly they didn't drop the kerb at the point cyclists were supposed to join it!).

The surface certainly doesn't look very clear in the picture.

It looks like there’s dips for access to every driveway which I get is necessary but gives a rollercoaster effect to the cyclist. It also looks recently surfaced with rough bits loose on the top so she may have been worried about punctures.

some councils consult cyclists to tick a box but ime will do whatever is cheapest anyway.

Yes silly you - the OP was very clear that it was the cyclist that was angry

Why on earth would you feel the need to overtake cars doing 55mins on a national speed limit road? Sounds perfectly fast enough and a completely different scenario to groups of bikes. Which definitely should split up, as per the Highway Code

Ugh - you are right to ignore cyclists waving you on. On one occasion a cyclist waved the car behind them to go and stupidly the car driver went (despite not being able to see over the hill) & overtook the bike - heading straight for me in a collision course (I was driving towards him on the correct side of the road but by overtaking the other driver was on my side of the road)

Yes I’ve been on the receiving end of this too when a car tried to overtake me on my horse on a blind bend (not waved on by me in this case I hasten to add!) and ended up having to swerve into a stone wall to avoid the oncoming car - which in turn swerved towards me and narrowly missed my horse!

As horse riders we can often see much further ahead than car drivers as we are so high up and can see over hedges etc., but it was drilled into me from a young age to never wave them on. That’s not to say there aren’t other riders out there that will do so if they haven’t received the correct training.

some councils consult cyclists to tick a box but ime will do whatever is cheapest anyway.

It would be cheaper if they didn't botch it in the first place.

Sorry, I must be totally missing the bit in the Highway Code which says groups should split up. Can you point it out to me please. All I can find is:

• be considerate of the needs of other road users when riding in groups. You can ride two abreast and it can be safer to do so, particularly in larger groups or when accompanying children or less experienced riders. Be aware of drivers behind you and allow them to overtake (for example, by moving into single file or stopping) when you feel it is safe to let them do so

Does not say anything about a group splitting up and cycling in smaller groups. Safety in numbers and all that, a group is more visible. It talks about cycling two abreast being safer, it says allow overtakes by moving into single file or stopping. I do all of this. When I’m in a group which is a max of 12 we do not split into smaller groups and I don’t feel I should have to.

I also live in a cycle and horse heavy area and have zero issue with cyclists on the road. If I make a mistake get hit, I'm in a massive metal box and likely to be ok, if I make a mistake and hit them, they're dead, so it's just not worth it. Have been witness to a very close call once where cyclists were pointing out potholes to others in their group and a driver mistook it for being waved on, nearly hit an incoming vehicle. Always best to decide for yourself when is safe to overtake even if you don't get any thanks for it!

Zero worship- so the 'fucking' in the title is a term of endearment? Op's anger has lasted long enough for her to get to her destination, stop driving, and post a cycle hating thread on an anonymous forum, and shes not angry?

So here’s an example of a shit cycle path design. The bollards mean you hit the cattle grid at an angle, it’s slippery when wet and dangerous even at slow speed. The bollards were a late and unneeded addition. The path had managed fine for years without it. Motorcycles could get on the path at multiple other points so it doesn’t prevent that.

when I spoke to the council they said they couldn’t afford to remove them. Yet they could afford to waste money putting them in? Someone I know took an angle grinder to them eventually