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[Closed] Educating non-cyclists and having it undone by the actions of cyclists!

ebennett · 2016-05-23T07:02:18Z

Was driving to the Peak District with my parents yesterday and there were a lot of roadies about. My parents live in Kintyre, so don't have a lot of exposure to roadies and were making the usual noises that non-cyclists make, e.g "shouldn't be riding 2 abreast", etc. Decided to do my best to educate them, explaining why they were doing what they were doing (safer that way, shortens the pack, etc). I'm making decent progress when we get to Snake Pass and come upon a pack of 3 roadies with a Punto waiting to pass behind. They're going at a fair rate (~30 mph) so the Punto ends up waiting a minute or 2 to pass (at a safe distance and very considerately) and we end up behind them. The Punto then comes to another roadie who is slower than this lot and is waiting for somewhere safe to pass when the pack of 3 decide to squeeze past the Punto on the left hand side - the gap was [b]very[/b] narrow, I'd have hesitated before going for it while filtering through slow traffic. The Punto then has to pass both the slow cyclist and the pack of 3 again - no punishment passes or beeps (not that it's ever justified). I found it really annoying as: (a) the only reason for them to pass was so they didn't have to slow down, but apparently it's ok for them to slow cars down. It was inconsiderate, and I'd imagine the Punto got a fright when 3 cyclists squeezed through a gap they didn't think existed. All it would have taken was for them to twitch slightly and the roadies would have been in the ditch (at best). (b) all my parents remember from that drive is that roadies are an inconsiderate bunch of eejits, despite the fact that it was the actions of 3 out of perhaps 30 that we passed that day. As a cyclist, I would love it if everyone could be more considerate of us, and I'm well aware that the inconsiderateness of drivers is vastly more likely to result in death or serious injury than that of cyclists. However, if some of us act like tw*ts, unfortunately the rest of us get tarred with that brush too. I know that isn't right, but we have to accept that we're a minority on the road, so it takes far more effort on our part to "earn" respect*. While it's difficult for us to educate motorists and "earn" respect, it's very easy to lose that respect. Rant over.

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Bez

Posts: 7441

Full Member

all my parents remember from that drive is that roadies are an inconsiderate bunch of eejits

Then give your parents a slap and remind them that three people were inconsiderate eejits. Next time one of them moans about another driver, give them another slap and ask why they're not remembering that drivers "are an inconsiderate bunch of eejits".

Posted : 23/05/2016 4:52 pm

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