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I'm pretty sure this is a niche issue, but my 'from the door' riding is a mix of semi-urban ex-railways and canal towpaths, little green ribbons around the southern stretches of a mega-city, but increasingly I'm encountering young lads - and its always young lads on unregistered cross bikes riding in just the most selfishly aggressive way - (It certainly feels like that's the point)
Case in point today, met a young lad coming the opposite way to me, we meet on the side of a disused canal towpath - it's a bridle way, and there little room to pass safely, so this idiot just sits there revving the nuts of the bike and lurching at me to try to scare me out of the way...You could see the aggression on his face...I wasn't in the best mood it has to be said - just had one of those stupid low speed offs that seems to hurt more than high speed sometimes, so there may have been some choice anglo-saxon from me, but what a knob. tip-toes past past me and immediately pulls a wheelie going around a bend still revving the nuts off it...
No number plates, so there's **** all I can do, but the path is used by everyone, auld dears walking their dogs, kiddies, even seen horses riding along it.
anyway...Old man shouting at sky....
I'll probably get a bit of flak for this, but I've always found motorcycle riders (of all ages) to be proportionally some of the least considerate and most aggressive road users with regards to cyclists. Mostly on roads though.
Please report to police on the none emergency line/web contact. You may not see immediate action but bits of intel help build a picture, it has been a problem round here and there are periodic crackdowns. Try and pass a description, bike colour and make etc..
It’s mostly the electric ones round here now, even worse as you can’t hear them coming.
Police 101 for the immediate concern, (I guess once he's buggered off there's no emergency) then local councilor for the general increase in antisocial behavior.
Local Facebook pages seem to be an effective way of starting a moan-fest and engaging our local councilor in such things, but she is a quite proactive independent who seems to care a bit more than the party affiliated ones.
Feels like it's getting worse all round at the moment. Agree with comment above about motorcyclists, the number that have passed me well over the speed limit, not even crossing the middle line, is insane. To say they are vulnerable, in the same way a cyclist is i.e. no metal cage - feels like a startling lack of empathy.
Tension all over on the road at the moment, here anyway. Yesterday on a solo ride, clearly dressed and illuminated with no low light conditions or anything and some totally inexcusable close passes, absolutely no need on any level. Equally, I see more and more poorly drilled groups, which are either very large or riding as if they're a large group and totally impassable - safely.
Off road illegal motorbikes are a bloody menace. Report it so the Police have a record of when and where. Round here they have a squad of unmarked offroad bikes to go after them.
On road, bikers are almost always fine, shared vulnerability I think
We have a few unsurfaced byways near us and I occasionally encouter groups on MX bikes doing greenlaning on them.
They generally have helmets, lights, numberplates and are absolutely fine.
Then there are the scallys on illegal crossers, nicked road bikes or Sur Rons who are the absolute polar opposite of the above and who seem to exist purely to be as aggressively obnoxious dangerous.and intimidating as they possibly can be at all times.
There seems to be very little middle ground and I suspect the former spend a lot of time getting flak for peoples' experiences with the latter.
I'll probably get a bit of flak for this, but I've always found motorcycle riders (of all ages) to be proportionally some of the least considerate and most aggressive road users with regards to cyclists. Mostly on roads though.
I'll credit that opinion with as much validity as I would a Neanderthal car driver claiming all cyclists are tax dodging, light jumping, mobile obstacles who only ride because they can't afford cars.
On road, bikers are almost always fine, shared vulnerability I think
Exactly. I've been a motorcyclist longer than I've been a keen cyclist. I have always felt an affinity with cyclists and given them plenty of space. So do all the riders I know. Now when cycling on the road I find the vast majority of motorcyclists reciprocate. Certainly far more than car drivers. There are a few knobs amongst ANY group of road users. Deducing from this that the whole group are the same is nonsense.
Unlicensed drivers/riders are a completely different matter.
Yeah, I've nothing against motorcyclists, as a group on the road they're amongst the most aware and polite, especially to cyclists - shared vulnerability and all that. Some 17 yo **** revving the nuts off an unregistered 150cc Ichi-Fani along a bridleway is a different matter all together, they can get in the sea.
I love how motorcyclist overtake me into my braking zone forcing me to slow down because I now have 10 feet between me and their arses to brake just because they have no awareness or care of anyone else on the road.
On road, bikers are almost always fine, shared vulnerability I think
Mostly. But there are total idiots as well.
Mostly. But there are total idiots as well
Like pretty much every group of people, everywhere, but acknowledging that would spoil a STW middle-age, moanathon
I love how motorcyclist overtake me into my braking zone forcing me to slow down because I now have 10 feet between me and their arses to brake just because they have no awareness or care of anyone else on the road.
Pretty sure that is how driving works - someone overtakes you, you reassess your braking zone.
Deducing from this that the whole group are the same is nonsense.
Except I didn't say "all" or even "most".
There seems to be very little middle ground and I suspect the former spend a lot of time getting flak for peoples' experiences with the latter.
Much like the catch-all of "e-bikes" (seemingly covering everything from hire bikes like Lime, Dott etc up to legal EAPC and onwards to all manner of illegal/unregistered Sur-Rons, mopeds, motorbikes); there's the legal people who know what they're doing (most motorcyclists) and the illegal lot who don't give a flying **** and/or are actively going out to commit crime.
Everyone gets lumped into the same bracket / tarred with the same brush etc and a sensible conversation becomes almost impossible.
I'm always incredibly wary of anyone not obviously at first glance a "proper" motorbike rider on a "proper" motorbike because it's the work of a few seconds to be up alongside a cyclist, kick them into the bushes and grab the bike. This was only a couple of days ago:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjw9vgp72yeo
Deducing from this that the whole group are the same is nonsense.Except I didn't say "all" or even "most".
Nor did you say "a few" or even "some". You said:
I've always found motorcycle riders (of all ages) to be proportionally some of the least considerate and most aggressive road users
Which is pretty sweeping and implies many/most, even if that's not explicitly stated
Which is pretty sweeping and implies many/most, even if that's not explicitly stated
No, it doesn't.
Which is pretty sweeping and implies many/most, even if that's not explicitly stated
I'm pretty sure that 99% of off road motorcyclists I've met over the years are absolute whoppers of the highest order and deserve every bit of negativity aimed in their direction. Off the top of my head, certainly post COVID I've met one group of pleasant bikers (who were riding up an off piste track in Dalby at the time).
It's not just the local teenage twits round here.
Middle aged, beer bellied men on their global adventure bikes with straight through pipes riding like complete weapons on and off road in public spaces.
Made the "mistake" of capturing one of them in photos riding illegally and was subjected to threats of violence and verbal abuse by a large accompanying group (who I hadn't clocked in the tree line). Police response was ineffective despite that evidence and the 999 call recording where the threats were audible on the call.
All that said there's far more bad drivers out there doing their thing on the road.
Police 101 for the immediate concern, (I guess once he's buggered off there's no emergency) then local councilor for the general increase in antisocial behavior.
Different country obvs, but i've called in dangerous motorcycle/car incidents to the non-emergency police number here before and they've actually said next time call the emergency number - it feels weird, but I do it now. There may happen to be officers not far from you or where the dickhead is heading.
We called in an M3 driver on the motorway on Saturday who was either on meth or attempting some kind of Youtube shenanigans, he (safe to say it was a he I think) was weaving through traffic at high speed in a way i've honestly never seen before, so close to hitting several cars and lorries. Cops said they'd try and intercept him further down the road.
Which is pretty sweeping and implies many/most, even if that's not explicitly stated
Kinda implies you don't understand what proportional means.
There are definitely proportionally more straight up badly behaved bikers. Probably a higher percentage of safe bikers aswell. Just a lack of middle ground, generally poor and a bit naughty that drivers excel at. Largely opportunity i would wager. Even the best german engineering won't let your m3 s4 ****panzer can't enter the nsl on its back wheels.
Maybe it's my predjudice but motorcyclists seem to have a higher minority of aggressive riders than say electric car drivers...and I ride a motorbike but struggled with the "views" of fellow riders even when joining local IAMS rides....bikers are often "petrol heads" and a significant proportion of petrolheads seem to just dislike cyclists for existing. I have experienced similar with off road 4x4 drivers....they just seem anti because they think cyclists are the wokerati or something.
Obviously I have also met and larger proportion who are very pleasant.
Like a lot of places, we have issues with kids on both electric and petrol MX bikes. All the 'engined' bikes are un-registered, so someone is buying them. The sur-ron lot usually go round in groups. We had two of them splatted a few years ago at the bottom of our road - road closed job. Driver pulling out from a limited view junction, supposedly 20 mph road with speed bumps - both idiots fly into the side of the car at speed. Lovely lads apparently.
I am careful on my route home because of these idiots on the bridleways near home - very easy to get mugged (I've seen someone after they were mugged for their bike, and it was 'attempted' last year against me).
Aggressive drivers/driving in general, the roads these days are grim, whether it's motorbikes, white vans, SUVs, etc etc, too much traffic, too many impatient and angry people, it's endemic...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gp04kqzdeo
Which is pretty sweeping and implies many/most, even if that's not explicitly stated
It really doesn't if you think about it..all he basically said is that in his opinion a higher percentage of motorcyclists than drivers act like knobs on the road.
For what its worth I'd say (observations from 30 years as road user) the proportion of idiots on motorbikes is roughly on a par with car drivers, but it's far from the majority. However when I'm out on a bike ride, you definitely notice the car drivers more..
Anyways..off road unlicensed bike riders are generally the worst subset of the human species. And why do the yoof choose to wear balaclavas??? Surely there is something better suited to riding a motorbike that doesn't bring instant attention to the police, whilst at same time obscuring your face so you can't be seen..