[Closed] Dark side: just not worth the agro

I came to the same conclusion earlier this year. Transferred my power meter to my CX bike and don't ride on the road anymore.
I'm so much happier now not having to share my life with these angry idiors. It's a calmer, more pleasant way of living.

Yeah. I've got a lovely gravel bike and I'm 20 mins from the new forest. I'll do that.

I gave up road riding for exactly the same reasons. It seemed like every single time I went out someone would do something stupid/reckless/deliberate. The day I decided to knock it on the head I was run off the road on the brow of a blind summit by a f&@king driving instructor!! Enough was enough.

BMX racing and MTB for me now. I fall off and mangle myself frequently but it's my fault!

stop for a quick chat

Life's too short to argue with *****.

Yeah, between the turbo, track duathlons, the odd closed road sportive, the cx and the mtb I can get my fix. Not sure why this hasn't occurred to me before.

Flash you're right but the driving was so terrible I really wanted to try to persuade them to think on it before they do actually kill someone. A pointless exercise though, you're absolutely right.

I did a 30 mile road ride in Wales on Sunday and only saw 2 cars

If he smelt of booze and drugs you should have rung police non emergency straight away if they had free resources they would have probably popped round to say hello to him

I gave up on roadie about 15 years ago, for the reasons above. I think general bike awareness by drivers then was significantly worse than now. I've been drifting back to the dark side over last two years and now hardly ever ride off road. My view is that in general driving has improved a great deal, but I still get one bad pass a week.
I've broken bones twice in bike crashes - both off road !

Hampshire so local plod DGAF. Ordinarily I would suggest sending the pic in with a brief description of the egregious road manners.

I tend to ride on roads more than off road at the moment which upsets me greatly but I break a lot less parts of me and the bike on a road.

Generally speaking I stick to quieter roads and work a path around most of the area I would expect confrontation.

Today seemed really bad for it. Wife got close passed heading up Old Winch Hill & forced into bushes by some grey haired idiot.
We nearly got rammed by a Vectra estate near the Bat & Ball which was screaming down a single track road way too fast, luckily we were close to a farm track & could take evasive action.
To top it off a mile from home in Drayton some utter tool overtook us (we were at circa 19-20 mph in a 30 zone) then promptly stood on the anchors and indicated to turn right.
I just managed to stop before hitting him but my wife didn't stop before hitting me. She hit the deck, then I did, then the car just turned off & disappeared. A couple of other cats just drove round us while we were on the deck too.
Her front wheel trashed, my rear one too plus some scratches & scrapes to bikes & bodies.
It seems to be that summer holidays have spread the muppet drivers out throughout the day & they are also heading off into the countryside. Can't wait until schools go back!

I couldn't give it up. Took a kicking from my faster team mates in a team time trial on Saturday, enjoyed an easy short spin around the back roads on Sunday and back to commuting by bike today. The enjoyment I get from the different facets of road cycling, and the benefits to my health and way of life still far outweigh the risks and the bad behaviour of some drivers. I'd hate to end up just exploring the roads from inside a car.

I think Boomtown was a big factor this afternoon. Lots of extra traffic made up generally of young, hungover people. Plus locals using the back roads to avoid the gridlock. Time they canned it tbh. Couple of years ago there were still tents and stuff strewn along the SDW several weeks afterwards

That's shite, i get more anxious now dragging the road bike out than I do at the Start of a mass start race. Had a couple ofclattering into the side of cars that can't judge a closing speed of 20mph as they pull out of a side road. But not too bothered.

Last road ride of any distance, 16th July, a small van sized horse box overtook with nothing coming the other way for miles on a straight wide road pulled back into the curb as the passenger mirror just passed me. A bit of off road for me and nearly very painful, scared me quite badly. Shook me up more than actual crashes I've had.
Since then nothing more than a couple of miles on the road.

Hampshire

Matt, Winchester itself is a traffic mess.

The lanes and surrounding countryside side, however...... 8)

After 40+ yrs of regular riding I am now questioning the wisdom road cycling in the UK Recently a bus deliberately crosses the road and drove straight at me. (first eastern ****s)

I rang to complain they said they would call me back, they didnt. I rang the police they sighed and said i needed to fill out some online form and where generally unhelpful.

Riding abroad is just so different you cant help but conclude the UK is just a country of idiots.

We were told by our local police that if you suspect a driver is smoking weed, call 999 immediately.

Bunch of loud teenagers smoking, drinking and shouting outside our window at midnight were our first test of this advice - The 2 police cars, 1 van and an unmarked X5 that turned up in minutes, took their car to pieces and nicked a few of them showed us that it works 🙂

They might take that phone call more seriously than the close pass, so could be worth a go.

Dave

Riding abroad is just so different you cant help but conclude the UK is just a country of idiots.

Unless its the good old us of a as I'm currently finding!

I'm so lucky I just don't get these kind of situations that make me feel like quitting. Had a very bad overtake on a club ride a couple of weeks ago, but it didn't occur to me to not ride in the road.

Had one message Saturday night from someone who'd been on one of my beginners rides, saying she'd just bought a road bike and entered her first event as she felt more confident on the road now. Another lady did the club beginners ride for the first time on Sunday and thanked the ride leaders for helping her feel safe on the road.

Bad experiences are awful, I'm well aware of the possible consequences, but I've never felt so intimidated that I'd want to quit.

Oddly it wasn't far from that location that I had the last of the close passes on this ride, the result of which may resonate somewhat:
https://beyondthekerb.org.uk/that-friday-feeling/

Having been hit 4 times by cars on the road (not my fault, one was a double decker bus and boy did it hurt) I honestly cant see why anyone, ever, rides on a road in the UK when you can ride off road. Yes Ive been there, done that (for many years) and will never go back 😉

Roads are too dangerous to me. I never took up the dark side for this reason, and moved to a New Town with cycle paths to pootle along on my town bike.
Glad you are ok, that could have been game over.

I too have drifted away from the road. I used to mix both road and mtb, but was averaging 1 close pass or near miss per ride. Just not worth it, and the mental benefit of the ride disappears if I end up wound up. So stick to the trails now.

I ride on roads to get places but even then I try to go as off-road as possible. I'm sure road riding is fine in less densely populated places but I'm not doing it here!

Glad you got away unscathed OP.

Unfortunately, I think a lot of this does depend on where you live. I moved from Essex to Somerset at the end of last year and the roads here are definitely quieter and my impressions whilst both riding and driving are that a lot of drivers around here are simply of a less aggressive mindset when behind the wheel.

It saddens me to say that because I grew up in Essex and am very fond of the place, but the South East is just so busy these days and a good number of people are mindlessly rushing or just itching to find a reason to have a go at other road users, cyclist or not.

This happened on what used to be a local loop for me. You couldn't find a more tranquil place. The bloke had his while family in the car!

http://metro.co.uk/2017/06/30/man-jailed-after-deliberately-driving-into-cyclists-on-way-to-childrens-birthday-party-6746108/

I tried road riding 15 years ago, 2 accidents, and one fight(I was young) and I gave up. It just ended up, every time I heard a car approaching, I'd think "is this it?" Tempted by a gravel bike though, and road riding abroad.

In the space of 5 miles the other day, a woman in a BMW pulled out of a parking space in front of me while I was doing 30 mph down hill, jammed my brakes on as she then pootled along at 20 mph whilst flouncing her hair. Then I had a bloke in a BMW beeping and swearing at me for not riding across an uphill junction fast enough for him.

I've been road riding in Hampshire for 20+ years, in all that time I've probably had 4 "incidents"

Beacon Hill is steep and tight yes, but stopping at the bottom to pick a fight with a nob end was never going to end well was it. Stay clear, enjoy your ride and if the incident had ended up badly [i]then[/i] report it.
I'm surprised you didn't get buzzed by Motorbikers at the Exton crossroad tbh.

Plenty of lanes and small roads to enjoy the countryside...

If you do give up, it means more space for folks like me.

I think you do get used to the idiot drivers you share the road with - and only the truly scary incidents make you question the sanity of road riding.

Things are not really improving either. All they have done is encourage cyclists to wear helmets ... and basically done nothing to discourage car drivers to not drive like impatient idiots.
Cycling should not be sold as a dangerous hobby/sport/mode of transport which requires you to wear a helmet at all times ... it's only the idiots in cars/vans which make it so (and also a few idiot cyclists with more ambition than ability too)

I've never even nearly crashed on Watopia!

I hire out bikes to tourists from all over the world - including the Dutch and Danish. Almost without exception they tell us how courteous the drivers in the Highlands and Islands are.

Scot believe me if I could ride the Hebridean way every week I would. Only south to north though 😉

😆

Metalheart is off up there in a couple of weeks. I've told him that it's not always a Sou'Westerly.

I'll never forget the day I rode back from Uist to Castlebay. At least twice as hard as the Bealach na Ba loop. Every mile took about an hour!

Just spent a week riding in the dordogne, no potholes, about 4 cars spotted on 60is mile rides, when the do appear they take there time and actually cheer you on. AMAZING. back here, one ride in and already disparing!

I used to live around Manchester for a decade, until moving to Aberdeenshire a few years ago. Typically would get a close/dangerous pass most rides when down there, and hated road cycling as a result.

By comparison, rarely meet any cars up here, and when I do, they seem much more courteous. I realised how quiet the roads here are on a spin on Sunday, when I stopped to take a few photos, ended up phoning MrsB about something and 10 mins later was still there stood in the middle of the same road without seeing a single car (about 5 mins from Kincardine O'Neil).

Life's too short to argue with *****.

This is one of the reasons the world still has these idiots in it. Makes for a snappy line on a forum, but only by confronting them with their behaviour can you hope to change it

weeksy - Member
I've never even nearly crashed on Watopia!

I surprised they haven't made an app so imaginary cyclists can have an imaginary near miss ... Zwift, the Nintendo Wii alternative for pretend cyclists

yep - that's why I MTB. Hate the traffic in the UK while road riding. There is zero enjoyment for me.

I rode 30 miles on the road bike to work this morning and only had a couple of mouth breathers to contend with. Mind you I left home before the masses make their dash to work and was sat drinking coffee in Milton Keynes before 8am. I am dreading the first week in September when the kids go back to school though. That will be like Death Race for a few days.

Its a real shame, I like the variety of road riding occaisonally and [saddo alert] its better for steady fitness training [/saddo alert] but the risk of cars and the percieved risk causing my wife stress isnt worth it apart from a few roads on the way to work.

On the plus side on sunday I cycled 70km entirely on cyclepaths, they were well maintained for the most part and empty of other users (I was home by 9am).

Pretty much all of my riding has been on the roads over the last year or so.

I've noticed a big difference in (perceived) danger between country lanes/back roads and fast A-roads.

I use a very bright rear light (Smart R1) set to flash mode all the time (day and night) and have started using my Exposure Strada on flash mode for daytime rides on busy roads due to having a couple of close shaves with people turning right across in front of me.
Since I've been using the light this hasn't happened.

I actually feel safer riding at night sometimes because I think people actually see cyclists, whereas sometimes I feel invisible during daylight hours.

I also ride as much cycle path/park etc as possible.

Yup,sadly it depends where you live/ride.
After years of fighting with the traffic Doon Sooth I really,really appreciate my road riding up here.

After six years of near-misses cycling out of London, some malicious, some not I too have opted for the simple life and have given up road cycling.

but only by confronting them with their behaviour can you hope to change it

Like freeagent, I've also started using a rear flasher in the day time. I'm not a road bike ninja dressed in black like many are, but you can never be too visible.

Take the point on lights and I do the same. This particular incident wasn't nothing to do with lights though. This was an entitled, arrogant, reckless idiot with zero regard for other road users and a "me first at any cost" attitude. Society doesn't accept that behaviour in any other context, yet behind the wheel of a dangerous machine it's all too readily tolerated.

I try my hardest not to react as – to completely generalise your average driver – a large number are either, a) completely unaware of their bad driving, or b) are aware but don’t give a ****.

Commuting involves as much paths/offroad/quiet residential estates for me as I can find. I’ll never own another road bike.

And lights: Exposure Trace/TraceR lights always on flash during daytime for the bits of road I can't avoid.

Had a 20km road spin yesterday to the bike shop. Didn't experience any frighteningly dangerous incidents, just a couple of inconsiderately close passes.

This is unusual, I usually average one really bad incident per ride.

I always raise the issue with drivers where possible. Taking the "it's not worth arguing" approach dehumanises drivers in the same way that we complain they don't see cyclists as real people.

Flash you're right but the driving was so terrible I really wanted to try to persuade them to think on it before they do actually kill someone. A pointless exercise though, you're absolutely right.

Just sometimes it does work & is worth it, sadly very rarely though 🙁

GavinB-

I used to live around Manchester for a decade, until moving to Aberdeenshire a few years ago.

I think location is important. Riding through Leeds years ago was a bit of a lottery with my life to be fair (looking back).
Although Aberdeen is a smaller city i also feel a whole lot safer cycling through it.
That being said though, I still prefer to get out on the road bike early in the morning to avoid traffic, or put the bike on the car and head out to the country for a loop on some quiet country roads.
I think the OP was unlucky here, I can see how it would make someone think twice about riding on the road. Do what you think us best, but don't quit road riding because of some knob in his car.

Just to give an example, I was cycling through the suburbs the other week, on a nice sunny Sunday afternoon, when a Volvo estate towing a long caravan overtook me just as I was going onto a mini-roundabout at about 22mph.

The driver then began cutting back in as the car passed me, to avoid a car coming in the opposite direction and perhaps misjudging my speed. I had to swerve into a handily placed bus stop to avoid being side-swiped.

I sprinted the next 400m and cut in front of the driver at the next roundabout, telling him loudly what he'd just done and explaining that overtaking on mini-roundabouts was a bad idea, that he should remember he's towing a huge caravan and that "not seeing me" was not an adequate excuse because if he really hadn't seen me he would have rear-ended me in the first place.

The man and his wife, both in their 70s I'd guess, were genuinely shaken up and apologetic and I told them forcefully that wasn't enough and he had to take more care around cyclists in future. I honestly think he will.

Traffic was assembling behind as we had this exchange, and the driver in the car right behind leaned out his window and said "well done mate" as I headed off for a sit down to let the adrenaline subside.

Can't give up riding on the road as it's how I get to work. Never really been into road riding for pleasure though, it's just boring, interspersed with annoying. So glad to have found a route home from work, where for about 3/4 of the ride I see only 1 or 2 cars. Not easy to do round here!

member - captainflasheart
The lanes and surrounding countryside side, however.....

I am there on Monday night...got a spare bike?

Meh. I've been riding on the road all my life and I have no intention of stopping now. Commuting, touring, shopping, social visits etc all done by bike. Rarely get any problems, just let the anger go if I do.

I've not ridden the road bike since last February, and that was a 5am Sunday morning special to avoid traffic. It's not any one instance that has put me off, just a constant grind of low-level aggression, impatience, and lack of consideration. Occasionally I feel like heading out on tarmac again, I do still like most things about road riding, apart from the cars. But then I think about negotiating the clogged-up routes out of town, and the big roads over the tops with people buzzing you at 60mph, and the dead-eyed faces of all the drivers who couldn't give a shit if you live or die, and I get on an MTB instead to sneak about the quietest back lanes linking up the trails.

Obviously I'll go back to it again sooner or later, I always do, but I can totally understand people not wanting to risk their necks dicing with the 1 in 100 idiots who would rather see you dead than give you a sliver of time and space at the edge of 'their' road. Oh well.

Interesting.

I live in SW London & my local beat is Richmond Park - getting there is no dramas (mostly) & once in the park it's pretty much hassle free. You get the odd idiot who thinks its a rat run, but it's also really quite easy to drop them if you feel the need!

Outside of the park on the roads out....I don't bother....large groups might be safer, they say.... but I feel more at threat if I'm in a gang. Not just from the motorists but also from the lack of road craft & skill of a surprising number of cyclists!

If I want a long road ride I'll load up the car & get out of town. Fortunately I can do a couple of hrs easy on the MTB from my door in the park, Wimbledon Common & the towpath.

Single track is no more than 40mins away - Tunnel Hill, Swinley etc..

But yeah, I get how some might be scared off it.

Kind of makes me more determined to ride on the road!

definatley report it.

but tales of lots of close passes is not my experience - and i'm local too. There are these idiots you meet once in a while - i like to think of them as the sort of people who pick a fight in a pub. they're agressive and i want nothing to do with them.

don't let their anger spoil your day.

I ride a fair amount of road in the New Forest, for the most part it is very safe. In fact I rode that exact junction about 7am on the Sat that rider was killed. Very confused as to how someone could get hit there....

Just avoid going out on the roads, unless you have to, when it is very busy and tempers start to flare with car drivers. That's when you find there is noticeably more close / dangerous passes. There are also certain roads (like the main one through Totton to Roger Penny) that seem to encourage idiot overtakes as drivers think the road is wide enough when it isn't really. I had a very close pass by an audi driver as he overtook and then realised the car on the other lane was also overtaking a cyclist. A mile or so further on, the car was parked in a layby and the guy got out of the car. I was fully expecting road rage / get lamped and it turns out he was mortified at what he'd done, apologised lots and was really glad I was okay

Sounds like you need to move to North Yorkshire.
Had one close pass in recent memory (12 months) from some utter ****hat in a Defender, on a blind bend with a double solid line down the middle (which he didn't cross, admittedly)... didn't touch me, didn't slow down. Didn't really affect me other than making me think "c**t".

I just got on with my ride, and enjoyed the rest of it.

Drivers seem a lot more accepting/forgiving/tolerant of other road users around me. But then I'm mostly a car driver myself and so long as there are no Peugeots in the vicinity, driving standards are mostly very good.

I love road riding around here, but it is quite quiet, and very popular with cyclist from around the area (say 25 mile radius)... Also lots of tractors and other agricultural vehicles... never really know what's around the next corner and 99% of people seem to drive with that in mind 🙂

Jeeze.

I want to know where you lot ride so I can avoid it 🙄

Get on your bikes, find somewhere nice to ride and go bust a lung. Plenty of areas without this "angst" you lot encounter, or seem to encounter.

Or definitely give road riding up.. Golf maybe a good choice.

What BikeBouy said.

Two golden rules of this life:

a) There are arseholes everywhere
b) Everyones in an intolerant rush

Just bear those in mind and all will be well.

There are arseholes everywhere

This. I remember riding past Gisburn forest a few years ago on a road bike, a car coming the other way with mountain bikes on the back drove straight towards me, forcing me to ride in the gutter as it was a single lane road, and the driver gave me the finger.

bikebouy - Member
Jeeze.

I want to know where you lot ride so I can avoid it

Get on your bikes, find somewhere nice to ride and go bust a lung. Plenty of areas without this "angst" you lot encounter, or seem to encounter.

Or definitely give road riding up.. Golf maybe a good choice.

Being nearly flattened by a horse box and actually being hit by a couple of cars is enough to start putting me off, it's not angst it's a fact that in a collision between a bike and car you're lucky if you walk away.
I drive all over the country and see plenty of awful driving, it's just more crowded in places.
You can poke your golf sticks.

Just bear those in mind and all will be well.

Yeah, erm, unless one of those intolerant arseholes actually runs you over, like. It does happen, and that's what puts me off road riding, ultimately. There's a [url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-35291159 ]ghost bike[/url] a mile or so from my house, I drive past it on the way to work every day, the guy who was killed was deliberately knocked off his bike by an angry driver.

Just dismissing these concerns like that is a bit shitty, really. People are genuinely scared for their skins, maybe don't belittle that very real fear with thinly-veiled advice to just MTFU?

Just dismissing these concerns like that is a bit shitty, really. People are genuinely scared for their skins, maybe don't belittle that genuine fear with thinly-veiled advice to just MTFU?

+1

Try to show a bit more empathy guys, you'll feel better for it I promise.

Just to swim against the tide of the idea that the Police are overworked, my neighbour, who cycles with us, is a PC and he complains that most shifts are boring and very little happens especially at night. So in the light of this gem I don't hesitate to let the Police know and we have recently reported a drug dealer who was parking in our street; we haven't seen him since then. We have also dealt with yobs and scooter raggers in our street, none of whom we have seen since as they have been served with ABCs and the scooter kids with Section 59 warnings, so it works.

Depends heavily on where and when you ride. I've ridden a fair bit in Hampshire and Surrey although I don't live there. I've done big 60 mile rides from Basingstoke and hardly seen a soul. Some of my best road rides were done down there. But also some absolutely shite roads around towns especially at rush hour.

I plan road rides mainly based on how much traffic there'll be and how angry it'll be. I won't ride at rush hour given the choice. I may head out on the A469 today, but I'll have to be out before about 3.30 otherwise I'll need to choose a different route because it's windy and has speedy rush hour gits on it.

Depends where you are. Riding the roads around Glasgow I get very few problems. I avoid one or two roads though. There were two cyclist killed on a 1 mile stretch of the A82 in 2016 - one on my avoid list - fast dual carriageway with bends and heavy traffic.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/cyclist-58-dies-after-being-9483663

http://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/police-identify-cyclist-killed-road-11844931

I haven't commuted for a little while by bike due to some close passes and general aggro for having the audacity to want to cycle on a road.

It's really sad because I love cycling and travelling into a city centre in rush hour is quicker than using my car, free, great for my health and kick starts my day just lovely. But I just can't be bothered with it at the moment.

Depends where you are. Riding the roads around Glasgow I get very few problems. I avoid one or two roads though. There were two cyclist killed on a 1 mile stretch of the A82 in 2016 - one on my avoid list - fast dual carriageway with bends and heavy traffic.

I do ride on the roads plenty though, and recently have found the police to be quite responsive - even arresting and questioning someone when no other witnesses could be found. Previously though I've found some police to very unhelpful, hopefully this is a change rather than just luck of the draw.

I think it helps that there are more cyclists, it's becoming normalised.

Don't do much on road these days, unless I'm in a hurry or don't want to turn up covered in mud.Longtime roadie, but I always avoided Friday afternoons, because the cars seemed even less patient and even more hostile.
Still, it pushed me into getting into the local hills on my ancient rockhopper,I've not really looked back, bought a modern hardtail and do all my leisure/fitness rides on it now. I enjoy avoiding the passes, smidsy's and dgaf attitudes that seemed to be happening more often in the last couple of years.

definitely worth the agro today

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Thank goodness for quiet North Cheshire lanes. I don't commute but rarely have too much bother. Or maybe my numpty filter is set differently. My friend took me on a 30 mile ride mostly on cyclepaths and it felt quite odd to me, almost as if it was cheating.

Big respect for those of you commuting by bike, I work from home do all I can to avoid riding at rush hour.

It's nothing new though, I know an ex roadie who went all Vinnie Jones on a drivers leg with his car door for endangering him. The ex roadie is in his eighties now and is only an ex roadie due to recent health issues.

Weirdly I find commuting in London a totally different experience. I must have ridden thousands of miles over the years on cheap single speeds around town and never once felt unsafe, other than the one occasion that a Ped staring at his phone and listening only for motorised traffic walked out in front of me.

Somehow missed this thread earlier, OP are we talking about the descent down https://www.strava.com/segments/3467265 ?

That isn't narrow, not if you compare it to Sailor's Lane just to the west of it, or Harvesting Lane. It's become my favourite safe way of leaving my South Downs rides in recent weeks.

But that "punishment pass" doesn't sound good at all! 👿

I've only experienced one numpty motor incident this summer up in the South Downs, with a white van speeding towards and past me me on the narrow Dundridge Lane.

On the flip side, I had a couple in a van help me out on Friday afternoon, when I understeered into the hedge on a the downhill right sweeper at the start of http://www.strava.com/segments/2751753 . Gave me some wipes for my wounds before I carried on, determined to complete the mission of ascending http://www.strava.com/segments/1239654 for the first time (one of very few cat3 climbs around here).