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?

I think if you are sitting behind them for miles the issue is more likely your driving and reluctance to overtake.

I both ride and cycle and will always wave people past if it’s safe. Less so cycling as I’m travelling faster but frequently riding.

I must admit that I did enjoy following a motorbike past all of the cars in the tailback for a roadworks. I was turning right at the roundabout before the temporary traffic lights anyway so no reason I should be in the same queue.

Well, I agree that I am reluctant to overtake if it involves potentially damaging my car or causing an accident. Some of the roads in my area are simply too narrow to overtake on, and can continue like that for miles. Why can you not get your head around that?

Then I think you are wrong and ignorant to do so. I take it you didn’t do your RaRST in pony club?

Isn’t waving people in the Highway Code? The hand signals certainly are.

You sound incredibly anxious to find this so problematic. Perhaps some refresher lessons are in order?

i don’t think I’m the one in need of refresher lessons… The Highway Code states that waving on is not allowed. And it’s pretty obvious why - it’s not for a third party to determine whether or not it is safe for another road user to perform a manoeuvre.

Plus there is huge scope for misinterpretation. Earlier on this very thread we had a cyclist say that she waved at motorists simply to say she is ready to be overtaken, rather than to indicate that the road ahead is clear. How on earth are motorists supposed to know the difference?! You mention hand signals - what’s to say a poorly performed ‘slow down’, ‘stop’ or indication to turn right might not get confused with a wave on?

You sound pretty clueless and careless. Hope I don’t come across you on the roads any time soon!

😂😂 never had a hand signal misinterpreted in my 30 years of riding and maybe 10 of cycling. But ok. It seems very much like you’re the one with the issue and everyone else is coping just fine. That should tell you all you need to know.

YADNBU

Over 1000 people agree with you on this thread! It says it all really!

I don’t know whether you are being deliberately obtuse or just hard of understanding.

We have evidence on this thread of cyclists using obscure hand gestures of their own invention. The fact that you have never had a problem (so far) is irrelevant. You are one person, out of millions of cyclists in the UK. The chance of miscommunication may be low, but given that the possible consequences could be a serious as someone’s death, it’s never a risk worth taking in my opinion.

There is absolutely no way I am going to overtake a cyclist or horse rider on their say-so unless I can establish for myself that is it is safe. Any motorist willing to chance it and take a random cyclist’s word for it that the road ahead is clear is dangerous and shouldn’t be on the road at all.

Completely agree. And I cycle to work every day. I just did a (SUPPOSEDLY FUN) long organised ride and the cycling wankers were just such c@#ts that I have every sympathy with people who hate them. Travelling 3 abreast on winding fast roads, yelling CAR BACK then cutting right in front of me, shouting inspirational shite whilst I was wheezing uphills. Fuck off MAMILS...you make everyone hate all cyclists, you know. And cover up your testicles.

I didn’t suggest you should overtake where you can’t satisfy yourself it’s safe. I suggested that if this is happening as regularly as you suggest and you’re following them for miles and miles (I’m surprised they don’t just pull in and allow you to pass, I certainly do) that the issue is more likely your reluctance than their signals.

No, the issue is that roads exist in this country where it's impossible to safely overtake a cyclist or a vehicle: narrow, twisting country roads with insufficient forward visibility to allow safe overtaking. Plenty of us on this thread have attested to this being the case in our local areas, all around the UK.

On these roads, a cyclist waving a following car around them is being a dangerous idiot, because the cyclist obviously doesn't understand the road & they're telling someone to do a dangerous thing.

People who don't know of or travel on such roads seem to doubt they exist. Believe us, they do.

I started reading through this thread and came to the same conclusion as you OP long before I saw you post your reply.

But by waving you absolutely are suggesting cars overtake you without satisfying for themselves that it is safe. What else are you trying to say by waving? Are you merely giving permission to the cars to overtake you like the pp? Because that’s not necessary, they don’t need permission. And one day, a silly driver is going to interpret that previous posters wave as a green light to go past and cause an accident. It will be the drivers fault of course, but it just goes to prove that waving on is a totally unhelpful thing to do.

As for my reluctance to overtake, please read ifIwerenotanandroid’s post as that pretty much covered it. But I’ve already explained several times that there are roads like this that exist in the UK and I don’t know whether you missed it or just don’t believe me so I’m not sure what more I can say.

It's not up to the cyclist to decide when there's room to do so. It's up to the driver of the car!
YANBU op.

You don’t have to say anything: I don’t agree with the sentiment of your post in its entirety. That’s all. You don’t have to convince absolutely everyone.

i make a suggestion that it’s safe to overtake, that doesn’t absolve a driver of responsibility to satisfy themselves.

So you don’t agree but you can’t explain why or defend your argument. Ok then.

You won’t say what the actual benefit of waving on a driver could be (given that you admit that it is not an instruction and is still up to the driver to decide). On the other hand many of us have put forward scenarios to illustrate why waving could increase the risk of an accident. The Highway Code agrees with us.

I guess you’re just one of those people who can’t admit they are wrong, no matter what evidence they are faced with.

Surely the actual benefit is clear - signalling I am of the view it’s safe to pass and not having someone sat behind me for miles… It’s a form of communication. Is that difficult? It has worked for me for the last 30 years, as I have said.

As I’ve also said I suspect you’re being over zealous in your approach.

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.

If your tyres cannot withstand passing on a verge at a slow and considered pace you need new tyres.

Oh so you ARE signalling that it’s safe to pass! And you expect the driver to obey? which would be high risk on the part of the driver. Or do you expect the driver to decide for themselves? In which case the wave is completely unnecessary. Which is it?

I don’t know if you have any understanding of statistics but your anecdotal experience really doesn’t count for much.

You say you are a horse rider but you sound an awful lot like a townie. Have you ever seen a proper country road? The verges are not nice manicured lawns.

They are overgrown, rutted and full of hidden ditches, drains, rocks, boulders and goodness knows what else.

Furthermore, a lot of the cyclists around me seem to be pretty ‘serious’ and travel fast, maybe 20mph? So I would need to be doing at least 30 or so to get past them in a timely fashion. That’s pretty fast for that sort of terrain.

FWIW I’m from farming stock and drive a defender! My DH drives an Amarok and is slightly more gung ho than I am, but he gets flats all the time and this is why!

For anyone struggling to imagine it, this is the sort of road we’re talking about.

Sorry it’s such a low quality image it wouldn’t seem to let me upload anything else

I sound like a townie 😂😂 I don’t have any neighbours for 3 miles pal. A defender can’t drive on the verge? Honestly.