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?

Quite. It never starts as the issue on such threads. Starts as something much less confrontational but posters true colours soon surface and sure enough you realise what the real is. Like the OP currently arguing with me about groups of 12 cyclists being allowed. If she’s really so happy with being behind cyclists a group of 12 wouldn’t be an issue would they?

and still nobody has answered why they think it’s acceptable to slag people off due to age or clothing on this and similar threads! Only time on mn it happens without people being called out.

But you’re happy waiting behind cyclists remember? You leave early and don’t have a problem with it 😆😆😆😆😆😆

oh dear, you’re real attitude of thinking cars own the road and cyclists shouldn’t be there is shining through. Busted

Why should the cyclist not have been there? Of course they can be, it’s a public highway isn’t it? Saying cycling not advised is not banning it. It’s saying you might not like it as it’s steep. Chances are that cyclist wanted the challenge which they’re entitled to.

there’s a 1:4 hill near me and I’ll sometimes spend time cycling up and down it for hill practice. I wouldn’t want a less steep alternative

Oh I see, I didn’t realise that the groups of cyclists were forming because they were getting stuck behind roadworks and other traffic.

Being delayed isn’t an issue to me when it’s unavoidable but I think we should all try to be considerate to other road users.

I don’t go out in big groups on my horse for this reason, even though it sounds good fun. If there are more than two of us riding we always split into separate pairs with plenty of overtaking room between us. Consideration.

Depends what you call unavoidable. How many car journeys are actually necessary?

Very strange that drivers get irrate when being slowed by cyclists, but spend more time at traffic lights and being slowed by other drivers. Not a peep then. Why is that?

I am happy to be behind cyclists, as I’m often in the unfortunate position of holding up traffic myself as a horse rider so I know what it feels like. But, as a horse rider, I do make every effort to ensure that the driver’s delay is as brief as possible. I don’t ride in large groups. I do pull into gateways to allow cars to pass as soon as possible. I always thank drivers for passing wide and slow.

I actually understand why, for cyclists, pulling into gateways would be very tiresome and much more difficult than it is for horse riders. Hence, I don’t expect this from them. But I fail to understand why they can’t, at the very least, refrain from riding in such large groups that overtaking becomes impossible. It’s not that much to ask surely?

I realise this is a somewhat separate issue from my original OP (although the rear riders of these large groups are often trying to wave me on!) but I guess discussions evolve.

Because it seems ok "to hate/despise fucking cyclists", contempt breeds contempt!

It’s a two way street. I am happy to wait, but if I think said cyclists are taking the piss then I might feel less pleased about it.

ou're missing the point. Try this handy guide...

The point of this thread is:

Cyclists are a danger to other road users when they wave drivers past on blind bends. Those particular cyclists tend to get angry & offensive when drivers ignore their waving & politely stay behind them until it's safe to overtake.

This has now expanded into point 2 (though in my experience it sometimes combines in the real world with point 1):

Some cyclists travel in large groups of 12 or more, going to single file when a car approaches at their rear. Instead of splitting into car-sized groups of 2 cyclists with enough space between each group for a car to pull in after having overtaken one group, the entire group clings together in single file, thus making it impossible for a vehicle to overtake them.

Even at this point, the rear cyclist has been known to wave a driver past, on a winding country road where such a course would result in a collision. Said rear cyclist also reacted angrily when the motorist would not do as he said.

Have you got it yet? The thread is about some cyclists being selfish, stupid & dangerous on the road. That doesn't mean that all cyclists are. And it's not about drivers being angry at being held up. Quite the opposite. It's about the irrationality of some cyclists expecting drivers to get away from them, while at the same time being unaware of road conditions which prevent that, or actually making it impossible by bunching up so they can chat or get an easier ride.

It how on Earth are cyclists “taking the piss” by legally cycling. It is not up to you to decide who should and should not be on the road in whatever numbers. You are not the gatekeeper of the public highway.

how would you feel if you someone said they thought you were taking the piss having a horse on the public highway for pleasure? After all it’s totally unnecessary.

I’ve certainly seen stuff on social media telling horse riders to stay in fields or on bridleways. It’s obviously ridiculous……about as ridiculous as deciding what’s acceptable to you regarding numbers of cyclists and thinking people should abide by that.

Should of course read 'You're missing the point'. I wondered where the cursor had gone...

These are not equivalent things. I am not telling cyclists to stay off the roads, merely asking for some consideration for other road users. I would say the same to any horse rider.

Oh dear. It’s not me who has “evolved” the topic onto this slightly different area. I’m simply responding to it. Surely that’s how chat forums work. Certainly seems to be what I’ve experienced over the years on MN. Do you need a handy guide in how social media forums work? Even the OP is busy talking about how many cyclists are acceptable to her and whether or not she’s happy waiting behind them.

I have never said that anyone on here has said all cyclists are selfish. And I quite agree that some cyclists can be. What I’m disagreeing on is what counts as selfish. That’s how the topic has evolved. Sweary cyclists (if no reason) I agree are bad. Sweary cyclists if someone has driven dangerously close to them then that’s fair enough. I totally agree no cyclist should wave a car on….I never would. I don’t think riding in a peloton is selfish. I think drivers are selfish for being pissed off for being stuck behind cyclists. I’m allowed that opinion, you are very free to disagree.

So you didn't understand my post either? Im out.

Oh my god you really do not get it. It it is not up to you to decide what’s consideration/acceptable and what isn’t. Different people will have different opinions. All anyone has to do is what’s legal. The majority of cyclists will go above and beyond that such as me pulling into gateways to let drivers through…..though after this thread it makes me feel like not bothering anymore. What if I say that riding one horse on the road isn’t showing consideration to drivers? Because if you can have an opinion about cyclists (doing something legal) I can have an opinion about horses.

@SpanielSprint Thanks for the thread - very interesting & supportive. All the best.💐🐎

It might not be up to me to decide, but just because something is legal doesn’t make it right. Yes, all you have to do is obey the law, but if that’s all you do without any consideration for your fellow human being then I don’t know what to say to you.

It wasn’t that long ago that hogging the middle lane of the motorway was a perfectly legal activity. I guess there would have been plenty of drivers on mumsnet willing to argue that it was their legal right to sit in the middle lane on threads like these.

I really don’t think arguing that horses shouldn’t be on the roads is at all comparable. We all need to use the roads together and no one has more right to that than anyone else. If you were to make a suggestion as to how I could be safer and more considerate on the roads however, I’d like to think I’d be all ears.

I am in no way aggrieved by their presence ,if they want to go for a ride , crack on .But what does aggrieve me is when they look backwards they blatantly clock my uniform and carry on riding two or three abreast so i can't get safely past for ages .That is inconsiderate and selfish .I have never shouted at a cyclist nor would i ride right up behind them.I often show them more consideration than they show me .And yes it is always lycra clad men .Not sniggering at lycra just stating a fact .

I really don’t think arguing that horses shouldn’t be on the roads is at all comparable. We all need to use the roads together and no one has more right to that than anyone else. If you were to make a suggestion as to how I could be safer and more considerate on the roads however, I’d like to think I’d be all ears.

exactly. We all need to use the roads together, so you extend that thought to cyclists right? In which case why are you telling me I can’t ride with a group of friends! Out of interest how many cyclists max would be acceptable to you?

Drivers don’t have anymore right to be on the roads than cyclists. So if cyclists are doing something they’re allowed to do then you will have to accept that. Of course I don’t actually think horses should get off the road, I used to work as a riding instructor so I’m very pro horse. I’m just trying to point out that in the same way you seem to think cyclists should not inconvenience you others will think horses shouldn’t inconvenience them.

Not sure what your uniform is?

anyway it is safer for cyclists to ride two abreast. You should not overtake until it’s clear of oncoming traffic in the opposite lane. So you wait until it’s clear and pass on the opposite side of the road. Two abreast stops cars trying to squeeze by when there’s oncoming traffic and risking cyclists. Which is why when I’m on my own I ride in the middle of the carriageway. Also if the cyclists went in single file it makes a longer line which takes longer to pass. The only difference to this is if it’s a single track road and if it’s wide enough for a car to pass a single cyclist then yes they should go single file, my club always would in that situation only.

People shouldn’t ride three abreast and a decent club won’t allow it. Though recently some angry man overtook us just prior to a t junction (so dangerous, if a car had turned in off the main road he’d either have had a head on or swerved into us). He jumped out at the junction to shout at 7s for being three abreast. We had been two abreast and had it on helmet cam to back that up. He was adamant we were three abreast and screaming at us. the only thing I can think is that because there were 5 of us we were riding in two pairs and I was on the back row by myself and was probably not directly behind the row in front (but I was behind them not with them) so maybe he thought we were three abreast. Anyway, no excuse for his temper and threats, plus his dangerous driving. I think as a group of women we get a lot of road rage at us, he’d never have stopped and got out with a group of male cyclists.

I still don’t see why everyone has to mention Lycra. Yes it’s factually correct but it has nothing to do with anything so why is it constantly mentioned……like an insult? Oh bloody cyclists, all in Lycra. 🤷‍♀️. See it again and again and I don’t understand it.

I’m not telling you can’t ride out with a group of friends. You can head out together but separate into smaller groups. I think aiming to be no larger than a van / tractor would be reasonable. So maybe 4, or 6 at an absolute push? I make the same effort when I ride out on my horse even though it would be more jolly for us all to ride out in a gang. We stick in 2s as we are larger than bikes, until we get into the bridleways. I’m not expecting anything that I don’t do myself.

You can expect what you want but it’s not happening. Riding separately is not riding with friends. I’ve already explained the reasons why from a drafting /energy saving point of view but also the larger group is more visible so we are safer which is the number one priority.

Ok. Thanks for confirming. You do you. Don’t worry though, I’ll continue to ride considerately because I’m not a selfish dickhead.