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[Baldrick]

  Out in the car this morning , mainly carting SWMBO from A to B and back I could but notice the vast hoards of cyclists who were on the roads. There were many large groups and smaller bunches but all seemed to be heading in a southerly direction from us . Could but not help wondering if they were heading for Beachy Head


 

[Colin Bishop]

Why would you think that?! Maybe they were just trying to escape to a more pleasant part of the country. 

Colin

[Neil]

Could but not help wondering if they were heading for Beachy Head  

so long as they only throw their bikes off the cliff and not themselves..........nothing against cyclists per'se.......but when they come up your insides, scratch your car, bang your wing mirror and then have the insanity of trying to outdrag a high powered car whilst wabbling all over the road, just makes me wonder what insane asylum they have escaped from......


Lancashire county council spent 2 million on making a  2.5 meter wide designated cycle track alongside a main road leading out of Fleetwood................so what do the cyclists do..............they ride on the road, holding up traffic on a main route out of the town.........


when years ago I took a break from teaching and took my HGV Class 1 artic licence..........the bane of my and any truckers life was when a cyclist came up your inside, especially when you had all indicators on to turn left................. idiots

[Colin Bishop]

Lancashire county council spent 2 million on making a  2.5 meter wide designated cycle track alongside a main road leading out of Fleetwood................so what do the cyclists do..............they ride on the road, holding up traffic on a main route out of the town.........

Exactly the same thing here Neil, cycle lanes are ignored by the lycra crowd. We probably get it worse round here down in Surrey as they all want to pit themselves against the national event course as Wiggins wannabees and at weekends there are thousands of them. Two things I have noticed, one is that they never, ever, look as if they are enjoying themselves and secondly they insist on wearing dark glasses irrespective of the ambient lighting conditions. Come November I can't believe they can see where they are going and many of them are clad in overall black and don't use lights (too heavy?) just to make things easier for other road users.

No problem with people just out for a nice ride - they are not the ones that cause the problems and are usually sensible enough to wear domething hi vis.

Colin

[Neil]

Exactly the same thing here Neil, cycle lanes are ignored by the lycra crowd. We probably get it worse round here down in Surrey as they all want to pit themselves against the national event course as Wiggins wannabees and at weekends there are thousands of them. Two things I have noticed, one is that they never, ever, look as if they are enjoying themselves and secondly they insist on wearing dark glasses irrespective of the ambient lighting conditions. Come November I can't believe they can see where they are going and many of them are clad in overall black and don't use lights (too heavy?) just to make things easier for other road users.

No problem with people just out for a nice ride - they are not the ones that cause the problems and are usually sensible enough to wear domething hi vis.

Colin

AGREE ENTIREY Colin......the normal cyclist has more sense and fear of their own mortality.....its the lycra  crowd who think they are professional road users that sincerely p me off...........I had one one day cycling down the main road weaving in and out of others and overtaking that I blew my horn in frustration at him.........pulled up at lights about 100 mts further on where this idiot shaking his fists pulled along side me in my convertible............and started to shout obscenities at me.........he was soon laid on his accienda..........not by me, I hasten to add......but by 3 of his fellow cyclists who ploughed into his rear end as he had stopped so quickly................don't think he was impressed when I just guffawed in laughter as the lights changed to green and as I drove off and whilst avoiding the mele' I said to him.......just not your lucky day mate is it............

[jaymac]

Why Lemmings?they don't do that  it was faked by Disney way back long before the Beeb did their nonsense  in their nature programmes

[Baldrick]

Why would you think that?! Maybe they were just trying to escape to a more pleasant part of the country. 

Colin

  In this area they usually head for Box Hill to try themselves up the Zig Zag, Yes it is a scenic spot but they are not here for the appreciation of that but rather to see if they can get up the 2012 Olympic route (16Km difficulty level 5 )  avoiding them as they go up is one thing doing so as they come down is more problematic. However this morning they seemed to be on a different course.

[TailUK]

My main gripe about cyclists is that they appear to believe that the law doesn't apply to them,  If a car driver behaved in the same way and took his vehicle on the road in the dark without working lights the Police would throw the book at them.  Bike riders who want to use the roads should have to have a certificate that their vehicle is completely road worthy and also have to pay for the privilege of using the roads the same as the rest of us. 
In the event of that old chestnut being trotted out about "we're saving the planet!" having watched some of these "Middle aged men in Lycra" huffing and puffing, I'm willing to bet they're putting about the same Co2 as my 3 cylinder 948 cc engine.

[Neil]

In the event of that old chestnut being trotted out about "we're saving the planet!"

sadly that is counter balanced by the low gears of the cars just waiting to get past them, and the profanities and hot air that motorists utter and have shouted back at them when ever lunacy takes place with these "professional" cyclists riding through red lights, cutting you up, and totally unaware of other road users who have had to pay for the privilege of driving on potholed and third world standard roads..........no wonder they weave and swerve in front of us............ ,

[grendel]

and of course when they cut in front of you, and you hit them, it always seems to be the car drivers fault.

[Colin Bishop]

In France, and I think other countries such as Holland, if you hit a cyclist then you are automatically deemed to be at fault unless you can specifically prove otherwise.

Colin

[malcolmfrary]

In France, and I think other countries such as Holland, if you hit a cyclist then you are automatically deemed to be at fault unless you can specifically prove otherwise.

Colin

In countries like France and Holland, the cyclists are more likely to know what they are doing.  They have a culture of cycling.  In the UK, we haven't, but we do have wannabe athletes who think that the world revolves around them when wearing lycra.  Their outlook is often "switch on muscles, switch off brain".  We also have joggers.
As to cycle paths, I don't recall the one near Fleetwood, but well remember the ones between Lytham and Warton, and the Great Eccleston bypass one.  The road cleaner never went near them, the result was that all the flung detritus wound up there, and you were lucky to avoid getting a puncture when using the cycle lane.

[Bob K]

We have a dual carriageway, 60 limit, that goes over the Thames towards the M4.  A while back the Council widened it a bit to make it into two lanes each way, although the lanes are quite narrow.  They also put in a cycling lane on the "safe" side of the barriers, which no-one uses.
Driving along it you have to keep a lookout for very low flying swans over the bridge, then all of a sudden the car in front swerves into the outside lane to miss a group of cyclists riding two abreast.  Cars swerve in succession as you can't see the cyclists until the car in front clears them.  IMO it is a very dangerous situation with the narrow lanes and the speed limit.
Us regulars on that road keep extra car lengths distance because if another vehicle is alongside you have nowhere to swerve.

On the big roundabouts they change lane without so much as a glance, let alone a signal.  If we see one with a rear light at night it is cause for a cheer.  Traffic lights do not apply to cyclists, and when they zoom up on the inside of lorries approaching lights it makes me wince.  They appear entitled to swerve out to miss potholes without warning.  I am surprised no one has been killed.