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Commuting to work in a busy city isn't really road riding / being a roadie, it's just commuting. I can do 100 miles at the WE on quiet roads with pretty minimal car hassle (if any) - that's what I call being a roadie. As for cars in rush hour, some are dicks but you knew that before you set of.
Strangely enough, the A roads tend to be the ones that are the most direct, so it makes a lot of sense to use them if you are travelling under your own steam.
You know what boils my piss @v7fmp?
What boils my piss is nearly dying last week on my way to work when a car driver decided to overtake a lorry and missed me by inches head on at 50mph. The road was entering a small town in 300 metres so his 'gain' would have been non existent. My family's loss would have been irreplaceable.
What boils my piss is being shouted at from a transit van as it tries to squeeze past me on a single track road revving it's engine that people like me are effing up the roads and shouldnt be out at rush hour (whatever the **** that is) and despite the fact I was commuting to work.
But what really really really boils my piss is that I first nearly died on the roads 30 years ago and absolutely nothing has changed since then. In fact it's far worse now. That and people like you and the other idiot on this thread talking about what I should do to make your life easier.
what I should do to make your life easier
QFT
Normally the cycle lanes aren't very good round me, you're really in danger of being knocked off by people pulling out of their drives as they don't think to to stop until they reach the road, you have to stop and give way at every single minor road joining the 'main' road and the local yobs seem to think the cycle lane is for recycling glass.
So I stick to hi viz and LED lights and stay on the road.
But I still enjoy riding my bike on roads, obviously taking the quietest route reasonably possible.
And I really should get my cameras fitted...
It’s like taking drugs except with a higher probability of death
Just to boost some of the signals already:
- I haven't seen much actually useable cyclepath in the UK outside of London. Thinking about this made me sad.
- Riding one's bike on a nice quiet road (we have lots of them where I live, hooray) is one of life's finest pleasures. Doing it with a group of other like-minded individuals is excellent too. Just thinking about a good paceline makes me smile.
Also, until you try some of these “fully functioning” cycle paths, you don’t realise how shit they can be
This. Well surfaced, direct and safe cycle paths are a very rare beast.
– Riding one’s bike on a nice quiet road (we have lots of them where I live, hooray) is one of life’s finest pleasures. Doing it with a group of other like-minded individuals is excellent too. Just thinking about a good paceline makes me smile.
+1
Absolutely love going out with a good group and getting pushed really hard on a long ride.
I know it’s not for ‘fun’ as they don’t do fun,
Strange comment. Smacks of the rather odd us and them, MTB v roadie stuff. We all ride bikes, many of us on road and off road.
I too try to steer clear of A roads as far as possible and yes there are plenty of good, quiet roads available. Another thumbs up for gravel bikes - judicious use of unpaved lanes and bridleways assists in avoiding some horrible roads around here.
Also, whilst not being a dick about it, be assertive. Don't ride in the gutter as that encourages motorists to pass where perhaps they shouldn't, but conversely be prepared to make life easy for vehicles to overtake where it's safe. A little wave of thanks doesn't go amiss when a driver is courteous (and in all honesty I think most are).
Sticking with the title of the thread... I do a lot of it by extending commutes and because I enjoy all forms of cycling.
I'm still a MTB'er at heart and you can't beat it for thrills and endorphins, but I also enjoy touring, commuting and road cycling.
Despite not considering myself a roadie, I do a fair number of miles on the black stuff... albeit preferably when there's a strip of green moss down the middle. There are some fabulous roads out there that you can enjoy in all weathers and often from your doorstep. I personally recommend one of Jack Thurston's Lost Lanes series for some great routes and just general inspiration.
I think the main point is that the worst experiences and fears outlined in this thread so far are avoidable with a little planning - and that "road" riding can be a very accessible and lovely way to spend your time.
ROSPA recomend using the road over a fully functioning cycle path if you are travelling in excess of 10mph, and I am pretty sure the police do as well
As for queues of motorists , its amazing how car drivers will sit patiently in a queue for 3-4 minutes if being held up by other cars holding traffic hilst turning right, or a breakdown , roadworks etc.
The same queues of motorists fall into apoplectic rage if they have to wait 30 secinds behind a bike, then , once having cleared the bike, catch up with the next car in front 15 seconds later, and want to get all kinds of stabby , follow you home, throw things , sideswipe you
Bullys basically
Clearly not all cycles lanes are perfect, but the ones around me, from what I can tell are perfectly usable by all, as shown by the number of people using them.
Almost all are utter shit. The single biggest issue is give way as a bike on a cycle lane you often have to do it for cars emerging from left, cars coming from behind and turning left, cars coming from in front and turning right at the same time as avoiding a mother with a pram and a dog walker and the speed camera erected in the middle of the cycle lane.
Junctions are the most dangerous bit of cycling and cycle lanes increase the number and the complexity.
And thats before we consider the surface.
@winston, you appear to be another person who has mis-interpreted what I have said, or plain just cant read.
I am sorry you have had a few near death experiences and it sounds like there was no cycle path option for you to use. Its good to hear that those experiences haven't stopped you from cycling/commuting.
As we are all well aware, no matter what the subject, this world is full of dicks. Be it those who drive like idiots, as you have experienced, or those who get boozed up on a Saturday night and start fights, or those who think its ok to drop litter etc etc. Not ideal, but a fact of life.
For some reason, you and one or two others seem to have grouped my in with the 'dicks'. Let me reiterate once again..... it does annoy me if there is a perfectly adequate cycle lane, that people don't use it. Not because it holds me up, but because they are putting their own lives at risk, due to the said 'dicks' in this world.
I have very little experience of cycle lanes, maybe this is why my opinion is slightly skewed, but the one I drive parallel to everyday (which is also the one I intend to use), is wide, smooth, free from crud and crosses 3 roads, with the appropriate junctions/crossing points etc in place. Again, hence why it annoys me when people don't use it.
And to reiterate AGAIN, I am a cyclist, I respect other cyclists when in my car and have never and will never endanger them to gain a few seconds, life is too short and that aint my jam.
But please feel free to continue as you see fit, tar me with the same brush as you do others, due to the bad experiences you have encountered.
I sometimes commute by bike and have found that the less you look like a ‘cyclist’ and the more unsuitable your bike is the more room you are given. Commute in bike gear, with helmet and on a drop bar bike and get loads of close passes. Commute in jeans, t-shirt, no helmet and on a Stooge with 820mm bars and it’s a relatively pleasant experience. Bizarre considering the fact the former involves traveling at a good clip and the latter is bimbling.
you appear to be another person who has mis-interpreted what I have said,
When pretty much everyone is mis-interpreting what you have said you may need to look at the common factor.
Comments such as "nothing boils my urine more than cyclist on the road when there is a fully functioning cycle lane right next to it…… grrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaahhhhhhyooouuuidiotz" don't make you sound rational nor a considerate driver hence the reaction to your posts.
The reason you think you’ve been lumped in with “the dicks” is because of the words you used and the attitudes you displayed:
On a different note, nothing boils my urine more than cyclist on the road when there is a fully functioning cycle lane right next to it…… grrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaahhhhhhyooouuuidiotz
The other road users have a right to be there. It might not be the best choice for a cyclist to be on a busy road. But you’ve just admitted you don’t know much about cycle lanes. It *moght be a very wise safe choice.
They have a right to be there, and to obey the Highway Code - those on bikes should do that.
You have a legal and moral responsibility to make sure you don’t endanger them.
Saying you don’t think cyclists should be on *your* road and that it “boils your piss” is why people are treating your comments this way.
The (widely held) opinion that bikes don’t deserve to be in the roads is - in my opinion - at the root of the poor treatment of other squishy-bodied humans. I wish it would change, and I wish you’d alter your poor attitude. You are part of the problem with your boiling piss and the fact that you’re offended bothers me not one whit, TBF.
“Confused.
I’m the cyclist here, being cut up and close passed and pulled out on while commuting to work, on my bicycle.
Wires crossed?”
I like the HG Wells quote “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race”.
Your classing yourself as a cyclist so why slag off other cyclists?
Not far out of Cardiff, I can be on roads that have hardly ever known car use, and there is *no more wonderful feeling on Earth.
That said, I think it is Sustrans that prints them, but there is a map of Cardiff that show the best roads to use for cyclists, based on minimal traffic, availability of proper bike lanes, and proximity to non-road-based paths. I tend to plot my rides (including my commute) accordingly.
So far, touch wood, all of my cycling accidents have been self-induced.
*YMMV
As we are all well aware, no matter what the subject, this world is full of dicks. Be it those who drive like idiots, as you have experienced, or those who get boozed up on a Saturday night and start fights … Not ideal, but a fact of life.
It does annoy me if there is a perfectly adequate cycle lane, that people don’t use it. Not because it holds me up, but because they are putting their own lives at risk, due to the said ‘dicks’ in this world.
It's interesting that you bring up drunkenly starting fights as an analogy.
I used to live in a large city, and I used to go out drinking and clubbing in the town centre at weekends, from my teenage years through to my late 20s. Every so often I'd nearly get caught up in a fight. I'd never get involved, would always walk away (hell, in my teenage years sometimes I'd run), but some people who are up for a fight don't like people walking away, especially when they're a nasty bit of work with small man syndrome and the big tall guy isn't interested.
I got fed up with it. It was a big factor in me not going out in town in the evenings any more. I felt that sooner or later I'd end up with a situation I'd be prevented from walking away from, and then what?
But I'm going to bet good money that even though you say what riles you about people cycling in the carriageway is what you perceive as their disregard for their own safety, you wouldn't be remotely riled by me carrying on drinking in the city centre. Not even if I was in front of you at the bar. Maybe if I was in front of you at the bar ordering a round for a group of 20 while you just wanted to get a pint of Stella…? Would you start to be concerned about my attitutes towards my own Saturday night safety then?
You see, personally, I just don't believe you. I don't believe that an altruistic care for others' welfare is the sole factor, or even a significant one, in your piss being boiled by the people whose decisions you fail to understand.
If it genuinely is (and if so I'd love to hear some anecdotes about times your piss was boiled by people going to high street bars for a drink) then I would seriously suggest taking a step back and asking how the one leads to the other, because it's not rational.
It's nice to know a lot of you have decent cycle lanes/safer options than I have for commuting!
There's not a chance in hell of me being able to get to work on a bike safely & confidently unless I made it into about a 25 miler (It's 15 to work). The roads are twisty with a lot of double white lines & unlit & I wouldn't use them ever, apart from a mile long stretch.
Very rarely see anyone on a bike on the way to work.
I must admit (as someone drives) I’ve never pissed steam because I saw a bicycle on the road* whether other path nearby or no.
*I have been in a van with a man who does. I live in some anxiety of encountering him (or others like him) when I’m cycling on the road.
Almost all are utter shit. The single biggest issue is give way as a bike on a cycle lane you often have to do it for cars emerging from left, cars coming from behind and turning left, cars coming from in front and turning right at the same time as avoiding a mother with a pram and a dog walker and the speed camera erected in the middle of the cycle lane.
+1
I never use them and just ride on the road.
On a different note, nothing boils my urine more than cyclist on the road when there is a fully functioning cycle lane right next to it…… grrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaahhhhhhyooouuuidiotz
It boils my urine seeing people driving on the road when there is a fully functioning cycle lane / footpath / bus / tram / train
It boils my urine seeing people
drivingparked up causing traffic jams on the road when there is a fully functioning cycle lane / footpath / bus / tram / train
Thats better 😉
I live in Kent and it's great for a road bike. There is a huge abundance of country lanes that I can link up to go virtually anywhere, and any distance I want. I only really cross A roads or use them for very short distances if I need to. If I want to go somewhere different then I just make a map on Ride with GPS, taking in as many random lanes as I can, and I get great rides, with great views, on quiet roads. Load onto my gps and follow.
Something I forgot to mention above about the fighting analogy…
A few years ago I was at an event where WMP received an award for their close pass initiative. I asked the officers who came up with it how they managed to get approval for it in the context of limited police resources.
They used pretty much the same analogy: just like gangs hanging out near shops and creating fear the elderly, or people looking for fights in town centres and creating fear for people out for a harmless night out, it was a matter of dealing with behaviour that effectively prevented people from doing things that they wanted to do and which they were perfectly entitled to do. If people don't feel safe to walk along pavements then that's a police matter.
In other words, in their role of applying the law in order to uphold civil rights, their piss was boiled by the people whose behaviour was denying other people the right to ride bicycles.
That's the polar opposite of getting angry about the fact that some people choose ride bicycles—despite that behaviour—where they have every right to do so.
I'm quite sure your piss wouldn't be boiled by an elderly lady having the audacity to walk to a corner shop surrounded by a group of hooded teenagers, even if there was a "fully functioning" supermarket in the opposite direction, but in law enforcement terms it's the same thing as someone riding a bike on a road surrounded by pillocks in cars.
You wouldn't argue that a gang of youths are a reason to say the lady should have to walk to Tesco, even if there's known knife crime in the area, so why argue that bad drivers are a reason to say people should have to ride bikes elsewhere?
You wouldn't even say that "it does annoy me if [elderly ladies] are putting their own lives at risk, due to the said ‘dicks’ in this world", because you'd hopefully recognise that it's not elderly shoppers putting themselves at risk by not shopping at Tesco, but other people putting them at risk.
To the OP I ride the roadbike mainly when I need to get fitter - nice routes, b roads and smaller, to get out with mates for other than beer and also to vaguely stay in touch with the local club, and also to commute on A roads you'd really not ride for fun, though used by a few chain gangs.
It's an 18-19 mile commute with an 150m+ draggy climb in the middle and just something you want to get done so it's over. It finishes with a large comedy cycyle lane/obstacle course. I mean it's got bus stops in the middle, zigzags, kerbs, pedestrian crossings you name it. It's safer for everyone if I simply hammer along with the traffic (excuse macho language).
I assume this may annoy the odd driver. I can't say I particularly like having to keep an eye out for bikes when I drive in but whatever.
at no point in my life has it ticked me off so much that I would try and pass dangerously, cause harm or even roll down the window and share my opinion.
erm. Hooray.
If this is the first thought that comes into your mind when reading my comments, I feel sorry for the world you live in. It must be miserable.
I'll struggle along. Smiley. Unfortunately this is exactly what the even more occasional driver does do.
I never thought I'd enjoy road riding, but it turns out I do. But, right now I'm having a cappuccino in the sunshine outside a village cafe in the middle of Bowland. The birds are tweeting, I got miles of rolling country lanes ahead of me, there'll be cars... But not many.
However, the thought of riding on busy A roads, especially in the depths of winter seems like a bloody nightmare to me.
Swings and roundabouts innit, some road riding is great, some is horrendous.
@Bez I think I am just going to admit defeat on this one. I do not have the interest or energy to continue to discuss this further. I will always think someone is a fool to not use a cycle lane where available, and as mentioned many times, I will not use my frustration or annoyance in anyway to endanger or harm said cyclist. I follow the laws of the road and the highway code.
To be fair, now you have opened my eyes slightly, all things considered, I don't think I give a single toss. Everyone makes their choices in life, assess the risks and does their own thing.
much love to everyone.
Carry on...…….
I love cycling along country lanes to places I need to be, or places/things I find interesting, or sometimes just to hear the swish of tyres on the tarmac and feel the surge when you put the power down. It’s sometimes good to go far and fast. As a swimmer also, I can view MTB as ocean-swimming and road-riding as pool-laps. Touring? open-water 🧐
I also enjoy quiet urban backstreet rides and fast grocery-missions/loops by touring bike. Evening/night-riding on winter country lanes or quiet urban spots is an excellent keep-fit pursuit, which also relaxes the mind and busts depression and anxiety. In the dark there’s less traffic and you are never surprised because of lights and noises of cars are easy to detect compared to daytime. Badgers and bunnies are probably more of a collision risk than motor traffic. Night riding is safe IME especially if you yourself are well-lit and prepared to dismount/wait when fast traffic approaches on blind bends.
Hopefully tonight going to rescue a top-notch old touring bike to replace one I had to sell in recent years. If it works out then I’m very much looking forward to some misty mornings on the grey-top, hearing the gears go snicketysnick, out of the seat hauling on the hoods up The Wyche Rd, then deep in the drops swooshing down Mathon Bank and out to the miles of flat, quiet lanes. I’m not really into pelotons or lycra, but old style explorating and the joy of traditional cycling which I began doing as a kid originally as a way to get away, get out to see stuff, expand boundaries. Then the ‘love of steel bikes’ thing developed quite naturally 😋 All this jumpers and goalsignposts talk reminds me of that (great) video from British Sea Power
To be fair, now you have opened my eyes slightly, all things considered, I don’t think I give a single toss.
Splendid, that’s a big step up from boiled piss 🙂
I have a short section of cycle path on my commute where drivers who think like v7fmp (did?) have actually honked at me because I'm riding on "their" road - truth is I've [i]tried[/i] the cycle path a few times (I bet they haven't!) and not only is there no decent entrance onto it - you have to cut left halfway across a miniroundabout to a dropped kerb, but other bike riders going much slower than me, dog walkers, and pedestrians (kids) all occasionally occupy the same stretch of pathway. Not only that but it finishes! It ends, so I have had to stop and check for traffic to actually join the carriageway where I would be anywway, if I'd stayed on that road. I'm sure to those I'm inconveniencing enough for them to hoot their horn at me, it looks like a suitable and safe place for me to ride, but it just isn't. They never stop to discuss it anyway, the ****ers.
I’m not really into pelotons or lycra, but old style explorating and the joy of traditional cycling which I began doing as a kid originally as a way to get away
I really agree with @Malver Rider actually.
I've kind of "evolved" (or improved as a person), I've found a love for SOLO. It's fantastic.
I used to be quite an active part of my roadie club, even on the committee! And you speaking of a pelotons of Lycra makes me cringe a little now. I did join then recently, and mid ride just had to peel off.
Solo riding is fantastic. Being alone with my own thoughts, just being me. Stopping for a picture whenever. Stopping at a random village shop for a chunk of homemade cake. No strict plan of where I'm going. Going fast or as slow as I please (mostly, slower now tbh). Brilliant.
(Same goes for MTB too, I’ll either go with a small select group of mates, or totally happy going solo.)
Solo riding is fantastic.
I feel the same and have ridden solo for more than 20 years. More down to autism and not having friends or being able to mix with groups of people but I enjoy it anyway which is lucky.
I will always think someone is a fool to not use a cycle lane where available
It's almost as though you haven't read the many reasons given for not using one. Meanwhile, I'll continue to think you foolish for driving instead of cycling.
crosses 3 roads, with the appropriate junctions/crossing points
Who gives way at these crossing points? If it's cyclists there's your answer. Would you expect to give way every 250m while on the road in your motorised vehicle? No, it's inconvenient and as such the cyclist has a similar right to convenience.
Cycle lanes.... a cut out and keep guide.
Fully functioning cyclelane:
Not so fully functioning....:
Favourite fully functional cycle lane:
You just get use to it don't you?
3 road bikes, 2 MTB's. Haven't ridden the road bikes (other than Zwift) for almost 4 years since getting my back badly broken by a driver.
Used to commute upto 40 miles a day (25 minimum) on my fixed gear road bike (with panniers). All weathers. Knocked off twice within a year, but the second time finished my road riding. Very severe injuries, should have been in intensive care, but intensive care came to my in the spinal unit. Blood oxygen was just 70% when not on the gas.
I'll stick to MTB's now. I got back on the MTB about 4 months after the accident (6 weeks flat out on a bed in hospital), and then bought a full susser.
I stay away from roads as much as possible now - too many idiots driving killing machines.
I will always think someone is a fool to not use a cycle lane where available
Only place I've ever been hit by a car when on a bike is on a cycle path. And I do a lot of miles, very few of which are on cycle paths.
I consider the cycle path in question to be dangerous (because of the numerous blind exits from driveways) and inconvenient (because of all of the places you're expected to give way to minor roads and driveways), and yet I do sometimes use it because I cba with the aggression and abuse I very occasionally get for not using it.
I will always think someone is a fool to not use a cycle lane where available
The vast majority of cycle lanes near me are MORE dangerous than the main road. More inconvenient, slower, more hazards like parked cars, potholes etc...
I'll ride where I need to in order to make my journey safe and convenient for me and (amazingly enough) as convenient as possible for any other road users around me. If I can slow down a touch, pull in a bit and wave a truck through, I'll do so. If I can "anticipate" a traffic light by a few seconds to get me out of the way of a junction and the starting grid of cars behind me, I'll do so.
But I will not be told to use a "perfectly good cycle lane" because no driver has the slightest clue about what constitutes a "perfectly good" cycle lane.
I could just as easily shout back at you to go and use the "perfectly good" motorway.
Fully functioning cyclelane
First one's a bit empty!
[edit]actually they all are 😆
I'm a relatively new roadie (first road bike in April, done about 1100 miles). There's a road near me heading out towards Epping where I don't use the cycle lane. The road condition in the lane is terrible and the road is wide enough not to cause delays, so I'm cool with it. I'm alright with people riding how they want when I drive, provided they are considerate of everyone else.
If you've never had a road bike and just an MTB, you won't get how much the road surface makes a difference.