Help - on the verge of giving up cycle commute :O(

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Help - on the verge of giving up cycle commute :O(

57 posts & 44 voices | Started 1 year ago by squarewheels | Latest reply from owenfackrell

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squarewheels - Member

After two days of near death experiences with cars overtaking and pulling in on me I am on the verge of saying sod it and getting back in the car to get to work.
Fwiw - the commute is about 10 mins across an unremarkable Wiltshire town. Who would have thought it could be so perilous?!

I think the biggest problem is that it spoils my day - I'm in such a bad mood when I get in to work after an 'incident' it defeats the purpose and it is stress I can well do without.

Everyone who commutes must get it but how do you either avoid it in the first place or brush it off so you don't feel the need to write posts like this?

Any advice appreciated....

Posted 1 year ago #
crazy-legs - Member

More lights.
No, more than that. It's worse now than it was when it was properly dark because reflective stuff doesn't work at dusk/dawn, cars still have their lights on and cyclists just kind of get lost in the half-light.
I've got 4 rear, 3 front now (plus reflective kit on the wheels and on my jacket) and it's cut the number of incidents I get quite markedly.

Assertive riding, ideally quite fast, you blend into the traffic better and cars accept you and give you more space if you're going at about their speed rather than if you're doing 10mph (when you're just an annoyance).

I just ignore bad driving now, I refuse to get into confrontations cos it's just not worth it. I'm courteous to other drivers but if the road is narrow or busy then *I* decide when they can overtake, not them.

Posted 1 year ago #
qwerty - Member

i've found that the key is "not to bite" and become agitated by other road users, try to let it all become water off a ducks back - this works most of the time and then every so often i usually "bite" and sound off

assume all other road users to be ****s and assume they are out to get you, anticipate that they will all do that dodgy move and you'll already be prepped for when they do

always have a safe zone / escape route whilst riding along

don't be put off - get back out there - spring is coming

Posted 1 year ago #
bobbyspangles - Member

take a course in better road cycling?

Posted 1 year ago #
freegan bikefascist - Member

How about a change in route? If you're riding 10 mins across town, what about 20-25 minutes skirting town?

dunno exactly where you are but there may be a route less travelled that could make your commute safer and more enjoyable.

Posted 1 year ago #
GavinB - Member

Have you thought about getting some training? (Bikeability)

Even a couple of hours of on-road training would help you to position yourself better on the road, and hopefully lead to fewer 'close calls'.

I don't mean to sound condescending, as everyone assumes they know how to ride a bike on a busy road, but very few have actually been trained.

Otherwise take a read of 'Cyclecraft' by John Franklin.

Obviously I've got no knowledge of your commute, but is there any way you can alter your route, to perhaps a longer but quieter one? When I was commuting in and out of Manchester from New Mills, if I was in a hurry or just wanted to 'get home' I'd batter along the A6, which as some off here will know is a little busy at times. If I could though, I'd head home via Werneth Low, Monks Road or Mellor (basically some nice big hills, with amazing views of the Peak). It would take longer, but was much less stressful and scenic.

Posted 1 year ago #
GavinB - Member

Haha (laughing at myself here) - in the time I've taken to write all of that, everything I've said has been covered...oh well!

Posted 1 year ago #
Roter Stern - Member

I think choosing a route that didn't hit the major traffic spots would be the first port of call. Ten minutes is just as you are beginning to warm up. Like previously stated try going a longer, safer route that takes 20-30 minutes then your seeing health benefits too.

Posted 1 year ago #
soobalias - Member

stop riding like a victim.

Posted 1 year ago #
oldfart - Member

Wear the brightest f*** off hi vis you can ?I do that and it seems you may as well wear a target on you back !Seriosly claim your piece of the road and don't give an inch !Assume all car drivers are half wits out to get you .You won't be far wrong !

Posted 1 year ago #
BoardinBob - Member

+1 for taking a route that avoids the heavy traffic.

I could step out my front door, turn right and cycle along the road directly into the city centre without having to make a single turn but the traffic is horrendous so I follow quieter parallel side streets which are more stop/ start than the main road but I'm not dicing with buses, lorries, commuters that have scraped a postage stamp sized hole in the windscreen frost.

Posted 1 year ago #
GavinB - Member

+1 for Crazy Legs' comments, especially about not getting wound up and confrontational.

The more lights you have the better - I run two flashing LEDs front and rear now, PLUS; a reflective helmet band, loads of reflective stickers on the bike, two reflective 'slap wraps' on my bag, rear reflector, front reflector, hi-viz Buff (with reflective tape), wheel reflectors and 'naff as you like' flat pedals with orange reflectors on there too. Jacket and overtrousers also have loads of reflective gear too, as do my overshoes if its really grim.

Its all a waste of time though, if you pootle along in the gutter, using the double yellow lines as your cycle lane as every car will ignore your presence. Force them to have to overtake you properly, and do not allow them to overtake you close in to junctions by positioning yourself in the centre of the traffic flow. Keep checking around you and good eye contact, to let drivers know that you are aware of them.

Don't give up!

Posted 1 year ago #
J0N - Member

+1 Crazy legs. Sounds the right idea(s)

Posted 1 year ago #
gazc - Member

experiment with routes - i've found much better routes to get to work/town centre which only add 5mins to the rat race line and cut out 90% of the heavy traffic just by going back streets etc. keep riding in whatever you do...

Posted 1 year ago #
JonEdwards - Member

Cars should only be able to overtake you when *you* want them to. Turn off approaching? Move out a bit further so they can't Smidsy you. AAnd yeah, try and ride as close to the speed of the traffic as you can.

Posted 1 year ago #
TeaBoyPaul - Member

Totally agree with crazy-legs... you've got to ride like a (sensible!) driver.. make yourself big and obvious.... and grow a nice thick skin

Posted 1 year ago #
BoardinBob - Member

Cars should only be able to overtake you when *you* want them to.

In an ideal world yes, however we live in a far from ideal world

I spent an hour watching this guy's videos last night. Here's his latest incident!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y5RZMAxsjg

But watch some of his other stuff. While he does come over a bit arsey at times, he appears to hold his position well on the road but that doesn't stop the lunatic drivers

Posted 1 year ago #
takisawa2 - Member

Motorbike trainer told me I needed to own the road more. I was riding too near the kerb (from cycling), told me get out a bit & take control of the road. Transferring this advice back to cycling seemed to work. Not the best advice on a busy main road obviously, but certainly works for dilly-dallying half-asleep muppets on minor roads. You need plenty of vis from all sides though, Wilkos do 2 pack of LEDs for £5. Four of them blinking away on the back at a minimum. Eye-contact also, look for their eyes & don't go/move till you've seen them. Always remember seeing bike-couriers in NYC, shouting at cabs etc, annoying to some, but probably keeps them alive.

Posted 1 year ago #
scruff - Member

I still use my Exposure Joystick on flash and Red Eye in the day. Red eyes are great, still bright in sunshine.

Riding in the middle of the road still wont stop a driver if they *must* get past, I still get wound up sometimes but I do try to just accept bad driving and get on with my own commute. I go over 2 hump back bridges the 2 very tight bridges over rivers, some blind overtakes are unbelievable, but the cars generally slow down alot more than me and I have to wait.

Last car I punched was party due to leaving house in foul mood (and the Audi leaving overtaking closely & pulling over /slowing whilst leaving no space on a left turn).

Posted 1 year ago #
BigDummy - Member

I really don't have near-misses, and I don't get annoyed. For me, the big thing was actually slowing down a bit and giving myself more time to make my trips.

I ride pretty rapidly on a clear road, but whenever I'm in traffic or around junctions I slacken off a fair bit, don't go nuts trying to get through gaps, don't rush to catch traffic lights etc and also really, really concentrate and look a long way up the road.

I find I'm less startled by things going on around me, don't get into competitions for a vanishing gap with anyone, and because I know I've got 10 minutes in hand I'm not stressed about getting to my destination, so my general disposition is calm and sunny.

All the stuff about road position, lights and all is absolutely spot on, it's just that for me the mental attitude that prevents me getting in a rage about bad driving also seems to make me safer from it.

Riding a giant bicycle with a passenger seat also helps I guess.

Posted 1 year ago #
toys19 - Member

I like the own the road comments, I am out in the middle of the road on my bike so that people have to go round me, I have been told by my roadie mates that its CTC form to ride two abreast so that cars have to go around you, Boss them cars!

Posted 1 year ago #
thisisnotaspoon - Member

As someone said, if you're being cut up by cars turning off, you're giving them too much room,

Aproaching junctions (major to minor) I get into the middle of the lane so they cant get past (and gives me room and better visibility to avoid muppets pulling out form the junction in front of me).

Aproaching junction (minor to major or roundabout) pick a position that stops cars going the same way as you from overtaking, going left or straight on, keep in the middle untill you'r off the roundabout, otherwise cars just squeeze you into the islands/edge, going right, stick right but no so far that cars can undertake.

Since I addopted a more "f****** 'em they can be late" philosophy I get cut up much less than when I tried to ride in the gutters to let cars past. Still pull over once in a while when its safe to let a stream of cars past, but if the cars ahead arent going anywhere faster I stay in the middle of the lane to avoid cars filtering past just becasue I'm a cyclist.

Posted 1 year ago #
user-removed - Member

Lots of excellent advice to which I would add, get yourself one of those reflecors-on-a-stick. They stick out about a foot to the right of your bike. Make you look a bit daft but really do work. When I had one on my commuter it made a massive difference to my perceived size - cars would skirt waaaaay round me and stopped overtaking dangerously.

No-one wants their paintwork scratched. I've had a quick google but can't find any for sale - Halfords maybe?

Posted 1 year ago #
myfatherwasawolf - Member

I commute just about everyday, 20 miles round trip, and have commuted by bike since primary school over 20 years ago. What pisses me off is cyclists sat in the middle of the lane forcing me to join the angry cars trying to get around their fat arses. Muppets - learn to ride!

That said - these guys can be useful for holding up all the traffic at junctions giving me a nice empty road.

Seriously though - look ahead and accept that cars are going to turn in front of you, women are going to step off the kerb directly in front of you, and 'lads' are going to jump in front of you in some macho display to their mates. In traffic jams people walk between cars, and buses sometimes open their doors. Truck drivers can never see you. Nobody is expecting you to be there. Accept these facts and you should be ok!

Posted 1 year ago #
votchy - Member

To be fair, if it's only a 10min ride then by the time you've faffed around getting the bike out, putting all your hi-viz clothing on and turned on your 72 lights I would've just driven to work, much quicker and a lot less hassle

Posted 1 year ago #
squarewheels - Member

This is all really good advice! Very much appreciated!

'Stop riding like a victim' ties up well with 'owning the road' - certainly this morning's incident would not have happened had I done that better. I am dressed up like a highways worker, have bright lights (including rear-ward facing Ay-Up!) and it was a lovely sunny morning so I dont think these this was a visibility issue - more just drivers being impatient an thoughtless.

And the idea of some training is a good one. I wouldn't have considered it but the very fact that this is happening suggests that it would be worth checking out.

I do need to go faster too - 2:1 ss on the road is prob asking for trouble. Will up the gear to give me a bit more pace.

I have other route options but am almost always late so opt for the shortest/ quickest route but to be honest I think I need to re-evaluate and accept that getting there alive is more important than get there on time.

"don't be put off - get back out there" Yep, sage words and duly adopted!

STW is worth its weight in gold at times like this - thanks again for this!

Posted 1 year ago #
kimbers - Member

id get the a muvi camera for your bike and report every fecker that cuts you up

id also recomend just chillaxing a bit

i take a shot cut through a really nice cemetary on my commute, its a bit longer and i usually slow down because its so nice

Posted 1 year ago #
Shandy - Member

Even on that link coffeeking posted, the cyclist had right of way but he could see the lorry well in advance of the near-collision. There is no excuse for bad driving but it is going to happen so you just have to try and be philosophical about it, especially when it comes to sacrificing a bit of speed to maintain safe distances.

Posted 1 year ago #
glenp - Member

Another "own the road" advocate here. I like to ride in the line made by the left hand wheels of cars and will only move towards the gutter if it is safe to pass - even then never closer than a couple of feet. Just stay out there and let traffic past individually if need be.

Posted 1 year ago #
trb - Member

2:1 ss on the road is prob asking for trouble. Will up the gear to give me a bit more pace.

Get gears so you can a) go faster and b) don't have to worry about maintaining momentum and can go slower when the situation arises

but am almost always late so opt for the shortest/ quickest route

As above, leave earlier and relax, I'd say that if you're in a rush then you're in the wrong frame of mind as soon as you step out of the house. If you feel the ned to film your commute then you're expecting problems and more aggressive and again in the wrong frame of mind.

For a 10 minute commute I'd be pootling along on a sit up 'n' beg cruiser town bike and chilling out(or my £20 ebay pub bike), in fact I'd probably be walking as I'm too lazy to put all the hi vis gear on for such a short ride.

and assume that every car is driven by a dribbling moron that's out to get you, who's blood pressure is so high that he could keel over with a heart attack if one more **** cyclist gets in his way.
and then relax 'cos that start of your day is so much better than his.

Posted 1 year ago #
jam bo - Member

ride on the pavement.

Posted 1 year ago #
glenp - Member

I missed the 10 minute bit. Walk for me, every time. Much simpler, no gear to worry about - just stick your coat and shoes on and enjoy the view.

Posted 1 year ago #
coffeeking - Member

10 mins by bike is a half-hour walk.

Posted 1 year ago #
west kipper - Member

Just to add to the calls to ride more assertively that've been made already...
By riding and positioning yourself more strongly, any tiny risk that you run into a loon like in the Magnatom vid, is more than offset by the fact that the majority of non psycho-motorists suddenly find themselves having to address you as fellow traffic.
Try not to apologise your meek little way onto a longer less convenient route or glass strewn out-of-the way cyclelane. By removing yourself from the road you're not only making your life harder, you're allowing motorists to have their own way on a road with less cycle traffic.
Remember ; ITS YOUR ROAD TOO.
(this has been a broadcast by the Bicycle Bolshevist Corporation)

Posted 1 year ago #
rocky mountain - Member

i always ride at least a drain covers width from the kerb, have a cateye flashing light dangling from my rucksack, with another light. always look round when you are approached by a car and make eye contact if possible. and push out a bit to block them if need be. they have to slow down as they could do a head on with whatevers coming on the other side. then drift back to the kerb a bit if its a big one coming by.

good luck.

Posted 1 year ago #
glenp - Member

10 mins by bike is a half-hour walk.
Like half an hour walk is somehow unthinkable!

Posted 1 year ago #
IainAhh - Member

Hi,

I guess most of this has been covered already, defend the road.

After being almost knocked of a number of times with cars pulling out from side junctions. I tend to move over to the middle of the road quite a bit before the junction (almost anticipating them pulling out) seems to make the drivers notice you. Also if they do pull out you have bit more room to avoid.

I used to think visibility vests were a bit naff. But they really do work. And it makes your commute much less stressfull.

Bright lights!

Also if there are pot holes, man hole covers etc in the road you are quite entitled to go round these again away from the kerb. Unless someone is bearing down on you don't need to look over your shoulder all the time. You don't waqnt to get jammed in and go in a hole or clip the kerb.

Obvious one ... ride on quiet back roads or tracks, ride on the pavement, might take longer but less stressfull. On a bike doing lots turns on side streets if clear makes almost no difference time wise to battling on a busy straight commute road.

Cheers Iain

Posted 1 year ago #
west kipper - Member

IainAhh, riding on the pavement may be less stressful (for a certain type) of rider, but its not less stressful for pedestrians, who have little enough space accorded them already.

Posted 1 year ago #
glenp - Member

I'm chuckling at the very idea of riding on the pavement! What are we, children?

The pavement is a perfectly good route. On foot. What exactly is wrong with half an hour's walk? Factor in a little extra time to get the bike out, add different clothes and carry yet more, get batteries for lights, find your helmet, lock your bike - all that stuff - and its only ten or twelve mins more than riding.

Posted 1 year ago #
hora - Member

Get a friend(s) to follow you down the same commute and ask him/them to comment afterwards.

Posted 1 year ago #

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