Nice!

In fact almost as crap as the Porchse one:

When we moved offices a few years back we had a clear out of old Secret docs, some scary sh!t:

Sorry to hear that mate, It'll be no comfort but seeing them slip away slow long and painful doesn't make it any easier.

Everyone deals with it differently but it's always good to talk to someone, as suggested above. Any family, friends who knew your mum and you that you could talk through your joint feelings with?

We had a FANTASTIC experience with an angry farmer Wednesday night. He went truly mental, state of the nation speech with much effin and jeffin. He threatened to ring the cops.

Trespass is not an arrestable offence …swearing at someone is . Tell him to ring the cops 😉

Asked him some questions about age / use and whether he had proof of purchase and received this response:

hi i do have proof ov purchase thax i am quit offended that u might sugest that this bike might be stolen im 48 year old man and i have reccently had a heartattack an thats why the bike is for sell thanx foryou queston i hope you are satisfied with your answer andrew

Interesting thread, same dilema here. New car purchase means I'm looking to swap from roof and rear to a tow bar

..can understand all the advantages but I often stick the road bike on the roof to take it to work – I've a fork mounted one – and love the ease and speed.

The tow bar means strapping it on, attaching the lights etc.

In the end I've gone for both – Witter or Pendle tow bar mounted simple straight bars AND two new Thule or Giro roof mounted fork holders.

Can you/they drive? Pass the IAM Advanced Test (£139) and go to these people:

http://www.iamsurety.com/

Agree it's partly a generation thing.

My daughter was playing 'Just Can't Get Enough' by The Saturdays in the school band the other day… most of her friends oblivious to the fact it is of course an (inferior ;-)) cover of the early (Vince Clarke penned) Depeche Mode original.

Vince has done well from his songs being covered,

Not sure it falls into the same category but Alison Moyet was well p!ssed when the Flying Pickets 'Only You' went to number one (Yazoo got it to number 2).

'Dollar' also got an Erasure song 'Oh L'Amour' much higher in the charts than Erasure did.

Strangely enough Erasure had chart success of course with their 'Abba' covers EP.

Yes they really do work, in the dark and whatever lane you enter / leave in. And yes they "really do work" – compliance is high / violation low. As I mentioned in the earlier thread, numbers are not issued for 'tactical' reasons but I've seen the numbers for the current M4 J18-19 road works and it's in the hundreds per week – not bad considering the average flow is about 60,000 vehicles a day.

Next question will presumably be what's the threshold?

Or could it be a 400 series???

No it's a 510:

750?

No sea or white chalk cliffs for a change 😉

Hi squarewheels, which Wiltshire town are you?

I'm in Bath, doing my Level 3 Bikeability Training at the moment, immersed in the aforementioned 'Cyclecraft' and more than happy to do some riding with you – give you some practical tips

From a friend in the biz:

Only applies to Trade buyers. They pay VAT on the sale price if it's qualifying or his gross profit (i.e. margin) if it's not.

MrTall – Member

We should all have a big lads ride out one day, it'd scare the sh1t out of people to see a hoard of giants pedalling towards them!!

I'd be up for that!

Remember we're not tall, they're all short 😉

6'6
22in Kona Kula
21in Spesh Stumpy
21in Trek Fuel

Have ridden 29ers (Kona's mostly) but not yet convinced about mud clearance / having to run another set of wheels.

60cm Ribble Winter
62cm Giant Crosser
25in Condor Fixie
63cm Colnago

I guess as this thread shows we're 'lucky' that at the top end we are increasing being accomodated for. 36in leg jeans, 38 in sleeve shirts, size 15/50 shoes, I find I can get stuff locally now that I'd have to spend ages searching for 10 years ago.

Vince Clarke and Martyn Ware – Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle – written and recorded in '3D' (not surround) for the Music Museum that went bust in Sheffield – you have to listen to in using cans

TooTall – Member
No – really – you shouldn't. I mean – most everyone looks up to me. There is one bloke on here who doesn't look up to me, but he really is in the minority.

Don't get me in on this.

Just remember, we're not tall, they're all short 😉

As to comments about looking down on / being looked up at, I can assure you, TooTall speaks in jest, he is very down to earth and whilst we might look down upon the rest of you minions we don't 'look down' on anyone, even if they do happen to be vertically challenged 😉

You'll be wanting this thread

In fact I was just about to give them a call.

And I did, and to be fair they've said they'll warranty it for one of the newer design brackets.

Enduro Max here, bought from Evans in Jan 09.

Last July (no rain) it stopped working completely, tap on the back of it would get it to come on but only momentarily.

Returned it to them with clear instructions that I was going to be away for 2 weeks and not to return it to me then. They did of course. Royal Mail kept it for a week and then it gots lost for 6 bloody weeks in their 'returns system' (apparently all returns now go to a shed in London rather than directly back to the sender).

Ok Exposure we're apologetic but nothing else. Lucky I had my old L&M to get me by.

I got it back eventually, they replaced a board apparently and it's been fine since but I'm worried about the long term durability – what happens after the warranty is up?

Then last weekend the red-button off the mounting bracket fell off during a ride.

Emailed them last Sunday and have yet to hear anythning.

In fact I was just about to give them a call.

I know they must have sold sheds of them, about 5 of them in the group I ride with, one failed battery and one failed LED. I was wondering if their durability was all it was talked up to be. Perhaps this thread might prove otherwise?

How can you possibly know?

Can you see their mirror? Can you see them looking in their mirror? (Head movements)? (I'm not suggesting you get that close 😉

More to the point, if you're talking about pulling me for it, how can you know that I know that they know I'm there even if you know that they know I'm there?

Comes back again to judgement, general manner of their driving not only in relation to the headlamp flash. Plus as said, if you were pulled it would not be 'just' for the flash but for getting too close for example. When you were stopped they'd ask you, "why have a I pulled you".. "You were flashing the car in front, would you like to tell me why?"

How about a Panther:

(The tyres aren't flat btw you can inflate and deflate them from within the cab).

With optional RWS (remote controlled big gun on the roof) in case flashing doesn't get the BMW in front of you to move over

No driving thread would be complete without a plug from me for The IAM[/url]

£139. Amazing value, always fun and rewarding, guaranteed to improve every aspect of your driving:

Both.

I'm often asked this by non-cycling colleagues at work, especially in relation to crossing solid white lines. (The Law allos drivers to cross them to overtake a cyclist ONLY if they are travelling at 10mph or less).

The HC is clear again:

You should give cyclists at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car.

Ergo you shouldn't overtake a cyclist in the face of oncoming traffic.

Others on here might try and justify their driving by saying they are happy to have a car overtake them at speed giving them 'just' enough room.
Others might not be, they might not be so confident, it might be windy, there may be potholes or sunken drains you can't see.

aracer – Member

It would become intimidation if I were to close the gap (especially to less than 2 seconds) and repeatedly flash them.

We're agreed then that if you keep a safe gap it's not intimidatory, so nothing to do with the flashing, just whether you're otherwise driving as a c*ck. Good – you won't be pulling me over then (at least not for that )

We're not agreed at all I'm afraid. Qualify 'repeated' for me? How many times and how often? Have they seen you and are being deliberately obstructive? How can you tell?

As already said, if you know they've seen you and are being deliberately obstructive the answer is not to sit there repeatedly flashing them, even if you are sat at what you might consider a 'safe distance'. Drop back further, into Lane 2 if it's clear and let them move over. They won't stay out in Lane 3 for ever.

B.A.Nana – Member

I'm in Lane 2 approaching a driver who's 'hogging' Lane 2 (i.e. not keeping left when Lane 1 is empty. Again, long head-lamp flash (4 seconds or so) a good distance back as I approach. Only meaning is "I am here". If they move left into Lane 2, all well and good. If they don't I move to Lane 3 to overtake.

You still have time to correct that.

Too late, and it's too late. You know what I meant 😉

TandemJeremy – Member

Is undertaking justified then?

Would take too long to explain the rare circumstances when overtaking on the left is permitted, with care, but no, 'undertaking' is not.

'Undertaking' is a very apt name for it. People don't expect to be passed on the inside and, if they do pull across, the 'undertaker' is at fault.

Far better as I already said, to hang back for a few seconds, avoid the conflict and invariably it sorts itself out.

Back to renton and his rush to get to work, he may save a few minutes (does he run from the house to the car and from the car park to his place of work I wonder?) but is it really worth it? Better to leave on time to arrive on time than leave late and never get there.

Shaving just a few mph off your speed makes a huge difference in terms of safety and your ability to control things but little real difference to journey times.

An average 35 mile commute. How much time would you save doing it at an average 80mph as opposed to an average 65mph? (Clue 6 minutes)

Back to TJs associated 'why' thread. 3,000 are killed on the roads every year, 250,000 seriously injured ('serious' means life changing). Everyone knows someone (if not themselves) who's been affected by an event on the roads. Road deaths are the biggest killer of under 25 year old males. Almost all of those deaths and serious injuries are down to the human behind the wheel (they are not "accidents") they are caused by a deliberate act or by deliberately not paying sufficent attention and are entirely preventable.

Right, and you'd correctly pull them not because of the flashing but because of their driving. Even had they not flashed you'd still pull them. Th flashing is a complete red herring.

That was the point exactly, the flashing cannot be taken in isolation but needs to be put into context. How the flash is delivered matters.

Another example then,

I'm in Lane 2 approaching a driver who's 'hogging' Lane 2 (i.e. not keeping left when Lane 1 is empty. Again, long head-lamp flash (4 seconds or so) a good distance back as I approach. Only meaning is "I am here". If they move left into Lane 2, all well and good. If they don't I move to Lane 3 to overtake.

It would become intimidation if I were to close the gap (especially to less than 2 seconds) and repeatedly flash them.

Another example: I often use a head-lamp flash as a warning when I'm about to overtake a wide vehicle / van with no interior mirror / more than one vehicle on a single carriageway road – again to help alert them to my presence.

So take a couple of examples:

I'm sat in Lane 1 in an umarked car doing 56 with the heavies, one of which has moved out to Lane 2 to overtake a slower moving vehicle.

Traffic is reasonably light, car in Lane 3 is overtaking within speed limit. I see car approaching in Lane 3 exceeding speed limit, he closes on the car ahead of him and is forced to brake, he continues to close until he is only feet off the bumper, continuing to flash his headlights.

That's intimidation. He would get a pull, words of advice and dependant upon attitude and other checks possibly a FPN, possibly a summons even dependant upon aggrivating factors (wet road, weather conditions etc).

Same situation but Lane 2 is clear, vehicle is cruising in Lane 3 at below 70, failing to keep to the left as per HC (Rule 265) vehicle approaching doing 70 in Lane 3 gives one long (4-5 second) flash to alert driver in Lane 3 who see's him in his mirror and moves to Lane 2.

If he doesn't move to Lane 2? Hang back, leaving at least two seconds, more in the wet. Look at the manner of driving, can you see them looking in their mirror? Are they being deliberately obstructive or have they not seen you? If the latter, try another long head lamp flash. If still don't move, if for some reason they are being deliberately obstructive, DON'T rise to the challenge, rise above it. Move into Lane 2 yourself perhaps, hang back and wait for them to move over.

What exactly is the difference between flashing to alert somebody of your presence and flashing to intimidate them, and how do you tell one from the other? Is there some secret code?

No 'secret code' 🙂 it comes down to the 'reasonableness' test, as set out in section 3 Road Traffic Act 1988.

"when the driving falls below the standard expected of a reasonable, prudent and careful driver in all circumstances of the case"

That 'test' is an objective one there is no 'exact' definition. Failing to observe the Highway Code (the basic rules of the road) is not an offence in itself but may constitute evidence of careless or dangerous driving.

freddyg – Member
163

Overtake only when it is safe and legal to do so. You should

* not get too close to the vehicle you intend to overtake
* use your mirrors, signal when it is safe to do so, take a quick sideways glance if necessary into the blind spot area and then start to move out
* not assume that you can simply follow a vehicle ahead which is overtaking; there may only be enough room for one vehicle
* move quickly past the vehicle you are overtaking, once you have started to overtake. Allow plenty of room. Move back to the left as soon as you can but do not cut in

Give vulnerable road users at least as much space as you would a car

* take extra care at night and in poor visibility when it is harder to judge speed and distance
* give way to oncoming vehicles before passing parked vehicles or other obstructions on your side of the road
* only overtake on the left if the vehicle in front is signalling to turn right, and there is room to do so
* stay in your lane if traffic is moving slowly in queues. If the queue on your right is moving more slowly than you are, you may pass on the left
* give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would when overtaking a car (see Rules 211-215)

taken from here: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070314

Sorry TJ, but on this occasion you are not correct.

As already said Rule 163 applies only when the traffic is moving slowly in queues. Slowly has been tested in the courts and in the case of NSL on a motorway / DC you need to be doing less than half the speed limit.

'Undertaking' in the case renton described is not a specific offence but it would immediately attract a pull and a minimum of a FPN for 'without due care'. In the case renton described quite possibly a summons for 'dangerous' especially if he had been clocked doing 100.

For the record, there are rare occasions when someone will deliberately sit out in Lane 3 at say 50 in free-flowing traffic – they too will get pulled and if they are doing it to deliberately hold people up also get a FPN for 'without due care and consideration', perhaps 'dangerous' even if they have for example deliberately slowed or 'brake checked' the one behind them.

Anyhow, back to the TJs original point, yes it's disappointing that these 'motoring' related threads do seem to degenerate into a flood of examples and supposed justification for bad driving.

It seems to be a more of a mountain biker trait, less so amongst people who ride the road regularly, even less so amongst commuters – I generalise of course.

Keep meaning to say as well & forgetting that if you learn advanced driving techniques (AIM stuff) there are times when you are positively encouraged to flash your lights to signal your presence – like overtaking on a single carriageway road.

What is this "AIM" to which you refer? ;-)?

Yes, the IAM encourage use of headlights, for one purpose and one purpose ONLY, as the Highway Code says, to alert someone to your presence, that does not include (also as the Highway Code says) intimidating other drivers by trying to tell someone "I'm behind you and you should move over".

Civil Service?

Date you are promoted (eg through an assessment centre) but not necessarily date you take up job at higher grade.

Another vote here!

Bought mine for the 3 Peaks initially (although I'd been doing 'cross on the HT before that).

Now I've got it, it get's used for all kinds of riding, from Weds nights full on off-road trying to keep up with 5in travel FS to keeping up with the local roadies on the tarmac

Budget?

The Royal Crescent[/url]is absolutely beyond this world but costs. They will negotiate though 😉

The Priory [/url]– best restaurant

The Residence [/url] is good too – free sex toys 😉

A bit cheaper, but equally as good and easily the best of the 'homely':

http://www.wentworthhouse.co.uk/Home.html

Plenty of bad but 'the worst' in terms of consequences and the effect it had on me and the family:

Heading out of Bath on the A36 a few years ago, on 'Good Friday' of all days, for those who might know it, the Warminster Road. 30 limit up-hill. Me driving, family on board, in a queue of traffic doing 30. I see a red Corsa attempting some diabolical overtakes in my off-side mirror. Pushing his way past people in the face of oncoming traffic, I move left and let him by. He looked possessed.

Ahead of us is a Landrover with another family onboard. The road narrows and he's stuck behind it.

At the end of a straight there are a series of S bends, it goes from 30 to 40 to NSL.

We lose sight of the Corsa and Landrover as they head around the bend.

I slowed anticipating the worst and sure enough around the next bend the Landrover was across the road, the Corsa on it's side and the oncoming car smashed up (I forget what it was – probably couldn't identify it front on come to think of it).

As anyone who's come across a proper collision will testify the results are not pretty.

Corsa driver was not wearing a seat belt and got thrown out of the drivers window, taking off the back of his head. He was still conscious and combative though and screamed for a good few minutes before going quiet.

Thankfully no-one else involved was seriously (physically) injured but the woman and young female passenger (daughter?) who he collided with and the family in the Landrover who witnessed his death were understandably traumatised.

I put gloves on before trying to deal with him but ended up cutting my hand on broken glass trying to cradle his head on the floor – my blood mixed with his, my suspicions confirmed, he turned out to be an IV drug user so I had an agonising wait for Hep and HIV test results.

His parents phoned me a couple of days later, he'd had an argument with his girlfriend. They wanted to know how he had died and I lied and said "peacefully".

Ride and drive carefully out there 😉

Apparently it's a new frame for 2010:

anotherdeadhero – Member
The LD1100 isn't anywhere near as bright as more modern designs like the smart. On flash mode becuase the rows are not syncronised, it dosn't appear to flash at all if you are further than 50 yards away (like most approaching traffic). Its battery life is woeful. Becuase it uses the same clamp design as the lighter units, it snaps mounts all the damn time.

I used an LD1000 and an LD1100 for quite a few years commuting. The only good thing about them is they're fairly robust, both of my self ejecting units managed to just about survive being driven over by a Ford Sierra or kicked around a NSL dual carriageway.

You forgot to mention they cost nearly £30 quid 😉

Not sure what you mean about 'not synchronised' – just push both 'on' buttons at once 😉

I like the effect of them when they're not synchronised anyway, the light appears to 'pulse' rather be merely 'on' 'off' 'on' 'off'

Know what you mean about battery life but then it's dead easy to change the batts (the side comes off, fingers only, no need to remove from the bracket even) – I use rechargeables and keep them fully topped up.

The Smart 1/2 watt is a fantastic light but like I said it's very focussed and not as good as the Cateye for all round visibility.

Like I said, you need two.

Or three. You said you already have a helmet light. If you don't, mount one of these on the back:

You need two.

The Cateye Holy Handgrenade, eyecatching, fantastic all round visibility:

AND the Smart 1/2 seriously bright but focussed: