A quiz - Angry Cyclist; Why??
Discussion
I went to Largs on the coast yesterday afternoon, and is often the case, have become much more aware of cyclists having recently become one.
One chap in particular stood out as he was making his way between Port Glasgow and Largs on the coast road.
There was an enormous queue of traffic behind him and although it was a double-white lined section, he was going so slowly that al most everyone dipped a couple of wheels over to pass him, myself included.
As far as i could see, everyone gave him loooooaaaaadddssss of room, (thought it was quite polite of everyone to ignore the lines, rather than risk upsetting him) but every time a car passed, he was sort of furiously shaking his fist and head and sort of gesticulating skyward like he'd just lost a sprint or something.
Why??
I was trying to work out what was bugging him and all i can guess is that he was pissed about people 'breaking rules' by crossing the white lines. But why would he care?? If I have a line of traffic behind me, I HATE double white lines and get really tense as I feel the frustration of the growing line behind me to the point where i just want them to nip past and get it over with.
Is there some 'cyclist' thing I'm missing that would have annoyed him somehow?
Genuinely curious...
One chap in particular stood out as he was making his way between Port Glasgow and Largs on the coast road.
There was an enormous queue of traffic behind him and although it was a double-white lined section, he was going so slowly that al most everyone dipped a couple of wheels over to pass him, myself included.
As far as i could see, everyone gave him loooooaaaaadddssss of room, (thought it was quite polite of everyone to ignore the lines, rather than risk upsetting him) but every time a car passed, he was sort of furiously shaking his fist and head and sort of gesticulating skyward like he'd just lost a sprint or something.
Why??
I was trying to work out what was bugging him and all i can guess is that he was pissed about people 'breaking rules' by crossing the white lines. But why would he care?? If I have a line of traffic behind me, I HATE double white lines and get really tense as I feel the frustration of the growing line behind me to the point where i just want them to nip past and get it over with.
Is there some 'cyclist' thing I'm missing that would have annoyed him somehow?
Genuinely curious...
Disastrous said:
There was an enormous queue of traffic behind him and although it was a double-white lined section, he was going so slowly that al most everyone dipped a couple of wheels over to pass him, myself included.
You should have done more than "dipped a couple of wheels over", you should have been positioned like this:
It is perfectly legal to cross double whites completely to pass a pedal cyclist doing < 10mph:
"You may cross the line if necessary, provided the road is clear, to pass a stationary vehicle, or overtake a pedal cycle, horse or road maintenance vehicle, if they are travelling at 10 mph (16 km/h) or less."
As long as people were giving him a decent amount of room then there's no issue with the double white lines assuming it is safe to pass him there (I suspect you'd have to come across a really grumpy police officer who took the <10mph bit into account).
No reason for the cyclist to get annoyed, but we come across strange people every day on the roads.
No reason for the cyclist to get annoyed, but we come across strange people every day on the roads.
Edited by ewenm on Monday 24th September 15:09
i have no answer to your question. however my observation about the public has been this: angry people seem to be in their mid to late 50's. i have encountered cyclists, drivers, shoppers all of this age group (more than any other age group) who outwardly show signs of intolerance, aggression, rudeness and anger towards others.
don't know why either. very strange.
don't know why either. very strange.
superkartracer said:
What you wrote there simply shows that you and most others have no f
king idea how to drive a car, glad i don't share the racetrack with people like you 
How odd. I passed him exactly as in the image posted above maybe marginally less over the lines but what's a few cm between friends?king idea how to drive a car, glad i don't share the racetrack with people like you That said, how on earth much room do you need?? I'm quite happy for cars to pass me provided they give me approx 1m to my right.
Still, appreciate the driving advice.
Without knowing the width of the road in question, dipping a couple of wheels over the white lines, does not usually constitude 'giving him looooaaadsss of room'.
It may be the case that the road is very wide, but if not, I would say you need to be well over the white lines to allow enough room, especially if it's a windy day (as coast roads tend to be).
It may be the case that the road is very wide, but if not, I would say you need to be well over the white lines to allow enough room, especially if it's a windy day (as coast roads tend to be).
Disastrous said:
That said, how on earth much room do you need?? I'm quite happy for cars to pass me provided they give me approx 1m to my right.
Still, appreciate the driving advice.
Get passed by two lorries at 60MPH with 1m clearance. Chances are, someday the first one will get passed, you'll wobble and get crushed by the second one. Still, appreciate the driving advice.
One meter is not enough.
Much the same attitude that I saw this morning.
A cyclist refused to cycle in the bellmouth of a cross junction to allow teaffic to overtake him, so much so that he effectively blocked the way through for car drivers during the early part of rush hour. Car drivers were irritated and he was getting wound up by them tooting their horns at him.
The bloke is a liability on a bike and will get run over or knocked off his bike at some point, give the cars some room to get past but don't let them take the piss, it's not terribly difficult to fathom.
A cyclist refused to cycle in the bellmouth of a cross junction to allow teaffic to overtake him, so much so that he effectively blocked the way through for car drivers during the early part of rush hour. Car drivers were irritated and he was getting wound up by them tooting their horns at him.
The bloke is a liability on a bike and will get run over or knocked off his bike at some point, give the cars some room to get past but don't let them take the piss, it's not terribly difficult to fathom.
Disastrous said:
superkartracer said:
What you wrote there simply shows that you and most others have no fking idea how to drive a car, glad i don't share the racetrack with people like you
How odd. I passed him exactly as in the image posted above maybe marginally less over the lines but what's a few cm between friends?king idea how to drive a car, glad i don't share the racetrack with people like you That said, how on earth much room do you need?? I'm quite happy for cars to pass me provided they give me approx 1m to my right.
Still, appreciate the driving advice.
?
ChrisMCoupe said:
Without knowing the width of the road in question, dipping a couple of wheels over the white lines, does not usually constitude 'giving him looooaaadsss of room'.
It may be the case that the road is very wide, but if not, I would say you need to be well over the white lines to allow enough room, especially if it's a windy day (as coast roads tend to be).
Chris, I appreciate the considered response.It may be the case that the road is very wide, but if not, I would say you need to be well over the white lines to allow enough room, especially if it's a windy day (as coast roads tend to be).
I posted the question as I'm new to cycling and wanted to check I wasn't inadvertently doing something to upset other cyclists whilst in the car. In truth, I would estimate I was about half over the lines, on a very calm day, on a normal width A-road. As a cyclist, i consider that more than ample and would thank a motorist leaving me that much room but I hadn't realised that most people would expect more so appreciate that and would leave more room in future if I can.
Your polite answer has made me wish I had been far more rude to the terrified mewling babies who apparently need an airstrip between themselves and an overtaking vehicle and responded to a genuine question like a right pair of sandy vaginas.
F500 - fair point about trucks. I'd expect them to give much more room.
ETA - Really, I just mean SKR. Inexplicably angry attitude.
Edited by Disastrous on Monday 24th September 16:10
superkartracer said:
Disastrous said:
superkartracer said:
What you wrote there simply shows that you and most others have no fking idea how to drive a car, glad i don't share the racetrack with people like you
How odd. I passed him exactly as in the image posted above maybe marginally less over the lines but what's a few cm between friends?king idea how to drive a car, glad i don't share the racetrack with people like you That said, how on earth much room do you need?? I'm quite happy for cars to pass me provided they give me approx 1m to my right.
Still, appreciate the driving advice.
?
:irrelevantquestionmark:
bigandclever said:
But how did the cyclist react to the op's overtake?
He was already waving his hands in the air like he was trying to conjure up something or other from the car in front and everyone pretty much passed him in a line so hard to tell whether he'd singled me out for any reason. Like I say, there was enough space for him to have fallen off and not hit me by some margin so I'd sort of ruled out the prospect of being too close being the thing that was bothering him but from what's posted above, perhaps not.He was wearing team colours and was fat though, if it helps?
Disastrous said:
As far as i could see, everyone gave him loooooaaaaadddssss of room, (thought it was quite polite of everyone to ignore the lines, rather than risk upsetting him) but every time a car passed, he was sort of furiously shaking his fist and head and sort of gesticulating skyward like he'd just lost a sprint or something.
Why??
if everyone was happy enough to ignore the white lines and give the guy room, he sounds like the sort who would start an argument in an empty room... or maybe he just really hates being overtaken by anything?.....Why??
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