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I've copied it from The Herald so you don't need to click it
Bullying cyclists are a menace to societyRobert McNeil
Columnist
Friday 20 June 2014
HANDS up who hasn't had a run-in with a militant, macho cyclist?I don't mean just car users, where I expect the figure to reach about 100 per cent, but pedestrians too.
You know the kind of cyclist I mean: all is vanity. Dressed in tight Lycra, like Dafydd the only cyclist in the village, his arms are set on the handlebars to display his biceps, as his frog-like legs pedal furiously. He wears wicked shades, an insect-head helmet, and has athletic signage on his inappropriate habiliments.
He sees himself not as an ordinary, everyday, peaceful road user, but as a superior athlete using the public highway for sport. He is a danger, and you have to distinguish him from ordinary, decent cyclists just trying to get from A to B.
See, cycling has changed. Once it was a peaceful, pleasant activity, performed at a leisurely pace. Cyclists signalled and wouldn't dream of going through a red light. Today, many don't recognise red lights as applying to them. They don't even see them as advisory. They see them as irrelevant or as opportunities.
The problem lies, as so often, with young men, who are also a menace in cars and should not be allowed to drive until the age of 52 or maybe 53. I cannot recall one incident with a female cyclist. The militants are entirely male. I saw one aggressive bully cause distress to an innocent female driver inadvertently caught in the cycling zone at lights after the traffic in front of her unexpectedly stopped and she was stranded on the red.
Cycling campaigners stymie debate with whataboutery. We're aware there are aggressive, dangerous motorists (mostly, but not always, male). But we don't need their equivalent on two wheels as well, particularly when cycling requires fitness and particularly suits the young, making the ratio of macho bullies to decent road users greater than among motorists.
If boy racers in cars are a bad thing, why do we tolerate speeding sports types on bikes? And all this on public roads used for commerce and for leisure by the inoffensive, elderly and orderly, or indeed on public footpaths used by the peace-loving, the slow and even pets (a dog was killed by a cyclist on a path I used to frequent, before it became overrun by cyclists).
The other day, half-way up my favourite hill, I was taking in the view when - whoosh! - a scarlet-clad mountain biker came violently and silently speeding past me, missing my body by inches.
Back on the roads, even decent cyclists are often dozy. Encountering parked cars in their way they just pull out into the traffic behind without looking or signalling, and it's up to everyone else to brake and make way.
I'm a considerate driver and always give cyclists plenty of room, but on most urban roads there's no need for motorists to cross the centre-line into oncoming traffic. I've seen so many near accidents caused by this. The optimum position is with your right wheels on the centre line's inside edge. If another motorist from the opposite direction looks like having to perform a similar manoeuvre at the same time, let him go first.
Every motorist will also have experienced a cyclist sneaking up on the inside, an overtaking manoeuvre that's a no-no for motorists and that endangers cyclists themselves in the event of a blind-sided motorist turning left into their path.
As for cyclists using narrow, winding, 60mph country roads, that's a dangerous absurdity. The truth is that bicycles and cars cannot co-exist. It isn't fair on either side.
Advanced countries like Holland and Denmark quickly separated cyclists from other road users, but libertarian Britain has by and large just watched as the hassle grows.
We need a better infrastructure for the many decent cyclists, one that separates them from motor vehicles. On the few dedicated cycle lanes, you get the feeling the militants don't like the safety and would rather be warring with cars.
Indeed, you hear of them bullying decent, slower cyclists. Banning their lurid costumery might help to make them behave. But, like poor drivers, I suspect they'll always be with us.
To be honest I feel like having a rant about cyclists this morning too.
While I was walking into the office some complete cock on a road bike of some description rode straight into the back of me.
I was walking down the middle of an otherwise empty pavement, the road is pretty quiet and what traffic there was on it wasn't moving fast.
He made no attempt at apology, just picked himself up and cycled off.
If the city streets are full they type of arsehole I'm not surprised so many folks are irate about it.
Click bait, again, ignore he'll be writing badly about another random topic tomorrow.
Lots of people are idiots and some of them ride bikes. Nothing new here.
Advanced countries like Holland and Denmark quickly separated cyclists from other road users, but libertarian Britain has by and large just watched as the hassle grows.
Not sure how Britain is 'libertarian' in comparison to Denmark and Holland, but this is actually a good point. We've done nothing to cater for the growth in cycling, bar painting a few lines on already busy and dangerous roads, and some token efforts (by Danish and Dutch standards) to create new cycle paths. For a country that practially invented the bicycle, his is quite shameful.
Ironic ho the 'author of that article actually shows it's the cars causing the problems, not the cyclists.
Encountering parked cars in their way they just pull out into the traffic behind
So, the 'not looking' myth aside (what cyclist seriously doesn't look first ffs?), what are cyclists supposed to do? And it's more that drivers get angry and frustrated at being held up for a few seconds, than cyclists actually being a problem. If the cars weren't parked there, the cyclist wouldn't have to pull out.
As for cyclists using narrow, winding, 60mph country roads, that's a dangerous absurdity.
Are those the same narrow, winding country roads that weren't designed for 60mph traffic in the first place?
What an idiot.
Please don't entertain this guy by even discussing it at any length. I got bored half way through the second paragraph. Rise above it people 😀
To be fair, this is one of the few articles, that I've seen, which attacks bad cyclists specifically. It also criticises bad drivers, and suggests a safer environment for decent cyclists.
Ignoring one or two glaring errors, it's actually a step in the right direction, towards an attitude that distinguishes between good and bad behaviour on the road - and away from the jaded 'cyclist bad, motorist good' mindset.
I have never had an incident with a car driver ever as they are such paragons of virtue
I aspire to be like them when I cycle 😉
name sounds familiar pretty sure he had a similiar link bait article about joggers recently.
must have a problem with people exercising and trying to stay healthy
To be fair, this is one of the few articles, that I've seen, which attacks bad cyclists specifically.
In the first half he critasies 'macho' cyclists in lycra for bullying car drivers. I'm not quite sure how that works. The situation with the 'young, female driver' could have been avoided if she'd been paying more attention and not got her self stuck in the cyclist zone, what ever that is.
The 2nd half he goes on about normal cyclists and totally misses the point about car drivers over taking as well cyclist pulling out to avoid parked cars.
It's a shite article written by a muppet.
It's not great but I've seen worse, as belugabob says, at least he's making a distinction between some cyclists being dicks, most of these sort of articles claim that every cyclist runs red lights, mows down pedestrians on the pavement etc. and concludes that "cyclists" are a menace. There's also a concession to, and explicit parallel drawn with, the reality that just as some cyclists are dicks, so are some car drivers.
In a world where we have this sort of lazy comment published as clickbait in local rags the nation over, this is one of the more considered and reasonable that I've seen. Still rubbish, but relatively inoffensive rubbish with no concluding sentiment that, for example, drivers should push people off bikes, string piano wire up or otherwise commit assault (as been seen in other pieces).
Scottish 'journalism' is full of this sort. Middle age, Scottish-middle-class (we're all Jock Tamson's bairns, hate Thatcher, only watch international rugby, still think they are working class etc etc.) blokes who are simply barely reconstituted bar stool bores. This fellow is just a wind up merchant. Ignore.
To be fair, this is one of the few articles, that I've seen, which attacks bad cyclists specifically. It also criticises bad drivers, and suggests a safer environment for decent cyclists.
Agreed I thought he was going to manage [i]a bit[/i] of balance there for a while, till I got to this "advice":
"I'm a considerate driver and always give cyclists plenty of room, but on most urban roads there's no need for motorists to cross the centre-line into oncoming traffic"
Contradicting yourself in a single sentence. That takes effort - well done!
The column is very badly written and clearly confuses cause and effect several times as well as contradicting itself as to be a total irrelevance in the current debate.
I welcome it and more like it - let there be crappy click bait like this as well as properly thought out pieces putting forward solutions and also plenty of funny articles too
Successive governments, town planners and county councils have totally ignored cycling since the 50's in this country
But slowly their hand is being forced and even junk like this will eventually work in our favour.
The column is very badly written and clearly confuses cause and effect several times as well as contradicting itself as to be a total irrelevance in the current debate.
There does need to be dialogue to discuss and dbate issues though, and currently, bar CTC, LCC andone or two other organisations, there really isn't mush representation for cyclists. Probably because we're too busy bickering with oneanother over what type of bike/tyres/wheel sizes/TT position etc.
He had a tiny point about aggressive macho cyclists but his article quickly disappeared up its own arse
[quote=bikeneil ]Lots of people are idiots and some of them [s]ride bikes.[/s] write "articles" for newspapers
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