to think cyclists on country lanes are selfish gits

[justonemorethen]

Ok not talking about children,people nipping around town or coming back from the pub.IMHO thats who bikes were designed for.
I just hate those people who use country lanes to do their time trials and cycle up and down the same hill to make their calves bigger than their brains.

Roads surely were designed to get people from A to B. They weren't designed to be a fitness track or a playground. I really resent getting stuck behind some lyric clad arse (and they are ususally in packs) at 20 miles an hour. I can't overtake cos it's a country lane you see. I'm not a speed freak, I am happy to slow down for horses or to be behind a tractor.The differnce is they are meant to be there. I don't think townie gits who have nothing better to do should clog up our country lanes when they could use country parks or dual carriageways.I wouldn't mind if they even appreciated the countryside they go through but I don't think I've ever seen one stopping to have a picnic or looking at the wildlife.It;s head down with those stupid glasses and clothes that would scare the animals

There are so many on a Sunday where I live that it's getting dangerous. Still it'll be the poor motorist blamed for going about their business rather than the cyclist won't it.

Forgot to add, the UK has an appalling attitude to cyclists. In the rest of Europe it is a popular sport. It is normal for cycling clubs to be out on the road on a Saturday and Sunday, but is it a problem? no, the motorists just do the appropriate speed and overtake them safely without bibbing or f'ing and blinding. We got back from Italy in May having watched a stage of the Giro d'Italia, where (like Le Tour de France) many roads are closed for either a half or whole day to accommodate the race. Does everyone moan? No, they all come out to watch and cheer the cyclists on. DH did the Dragon Ride in Wales the other weekend and told me how lots of miserable gits were swearing and bibbing at the cyclists.

i'm sorry but they really do not. never!

It's interesting how it's only car drivers who have to show consideration to cyclists and not the other way round. Cyclists should not cycle two or more abreast whist, say, going up hill or along narrow roads. It's called being considerate to other road users and just because they are small and vulnerable does not exempt them from this. In this, I include the twattish motor cyclists who think it's fine for them to weave dangerously through traffic and to exceed the speed limit set for all road users.

I am considerate to other road users including cyclists, horse riders, learners and other slow vulnerable users and it would be nice to have some back.

it is a simple case of the minority spoiling it for the majority. There are bad drivers, bad cyclists, pig headed pedestrians... And many more good ones which you tend not to notice.

This issue so bothered someone in our area during the Etape race and 80 miles of roads being closed that they sprinkled carpet tacks a la Wile E Coyote.

The community was divided between those who welcomed the race (and subsequent income etc it brought) and those who felt they were being locked in to their homes, unable to get to church or drive their cars plus the need to get an ambulance there quickly.

I worry about the safety of some of the cyclists as the cars speed terribly and road verges tend to become very overgrown so visibility can become poor.

I do mutter about cyclists sometimes, but I don't care that much really. I do wonder why some of them ride their bikes on such insane roads (such as dual carriageways) - I fear for their lives. There is a really manic dual carriageway where I live and alongside is a cycle track which follows the same path as the road iyswim. Why do they not go on that?

I reserve my real ire for the horse riders - not all of them, some of them are lovely and acknowledge that you have slowed down to 3mph, but some of them look superciliuosly down their noses at me and it brings out the latent Wat Tyler in me, and I feel like yelling class-based insults at them and their bloody old nag.

Ooh where did that anger spring from?

There's a world of difference between a road race on a closed road and one where there is still regular traffic.

We live around nothing but A and B, bendy country roads.

Even in packs, I still overtake them.

Yes, but many cyclists wanted to practice the route before the race so it is a regular weekend scene to see large groups of them in training.
I wondered if some of them cycled with iPods in as they often don't hear traffic behind them.

Cycling with iPods in is damn stupid IMO.

YABU. Round here, there are A road alternatives for the windy country lanes so you hgave to drive for about 3 minutes till you're on a road which cyclists don't use. I don't see why anyone can't go slightly more slowly (e.g 20mph rather than 30) for a few minutes to ensure other road users are safe.

Also cyclists going up gurt big hills at about 0.7mph wobbling all over the place, I am too scared to overtake them incase they wobble in my direction.

Ditto those nutters who have one of those baby carriage thingies on the back of their bike, you drive behind them in terror because you fear for a baby's life in there, only to discover that the bloke is using a baby carriage thing to carry his laptop and sandwiches (yes, you Andy H from Airbus, I followed you all down the road and wondered why you were taking a baby to work, and then I saw you lovingly remove your bloody cheese and pickle in the bike sheds. You nutcase)

When you get stuck behind a lycra-clad fitness freak, do what I do - appreciate the view!!

Ds2 goes out on his roadbike - not to get anywhere, but to cycle a few miles as part of his attempt to get fitter.

I won't come and use your roads, if you keep out of my city.

YABVVU. Agree with DrN. Most pay road tax and have every right to use it.

'townie gits who have nothing better to do' Actually I take exception to that.

I think it si sad that we are now so obessessed with getting places "fast" that we can't take the time to drive appropriately - and complain about others who have the temerity to hinder our ability to drive at the speed limit.

A local bike club often trains on a winding country lane that I use to go to a Pilates class. I usually have the journey timed to the minute - but if they happen to be out that night, that is my problem. I shouldn't be cutting things so fine.

BTW - I used to cycle to work until I started working from home and my mother is now dying as a direct result of a head injury she sustained while cycling (although to be fair, the fall wasn't because of a car). My dad still cycles though (and until recently, so did my mum, in a specially adapted tandem that my dad had made).

Cyclists are vulnerable but have a right to be on the roads. Cars' speeds on roads should be adjusted according to visibility - as others have said, the speed limit is not a target

YABU. And a twat.

What a tolerant society we are.....

Yes ometimes its a PITA having to wait for cyclists to have a safe place to pass them and as a not so regular cyclist do try to give them plenty of room.

Same with horses and its much nicer when they acknowledge that cars do have to slow down to pass.

BendyBob - It's ok I'm sure the OP never goes into town to shop, go to attractions etc. causing congestion and inconvenience to the locals.

OP I agree with you in some ways, but I think your way of expressing it is a bit overtly hostile. You can't assume all cyclists in lycra are from towns!

We have the packs of cyclists round us. It does irritate the hell out of me when they cycle in pairs taking up the whole side of the road and making no effort to pull over into single file to let traffic by. A short journey can take far longer due to this. If I was driving slowly for some reason and traffic was building up behind me I would certainly pull over.

I reserve my real ire for the horse riders - not all of them, some of them are lovely and acknowledge that you have slowed down to 3mph, but some of them look superciliuosly down their noses at me and it brings out the latent Wat Tyler in me, and I feel like yelling class-based insults at them and their bloody old nag.

Getorfmyland - I so agree. They do it round here too. I don't mind slowing down for horses but it does annoy me when they regally wave me past to indicate the road is clear when I can see for several miles ahead that it's clear - something childish in me but it gets my blood pressure going..

Can I award the OP a prize for the most selfish opinion I have ever seen on MN?

This is the problem with country folk. Selfishness and rudeness. Unlike us tolerant city dwellers.

SwansEatQuince - I heard about the fuckwit idiot who put tacks on the road. Its people like that who give us Brits a reputation for being miserable gits, but more importantly, he could have killed someone.