New Highway Code Changes.

[Dave Barter]

Also agree with Stu about how idiotic (and arrogant) some people can be...

FIFY

We have to take back the definition of cyclists to not include the idiots.

[Lazarus]

Agreed and most poor and anti social cycling is done by folk who own bikes rather than actual cyclist -no idea when i last rode on a pavement

Its even longer since i did it no handed smoking a spliff chatting on my phone

[lune ranger]

Yeah, who wants to get blim holes in their top tube bag

[fatbikephil]

Its even longer since i did it no handed smoking a spliff chatting on my phone

Err, so when I ride no hands eating from a bag of haribo whilst trying to remember where the route goes, am I being irresponsible? In fact I have this terrible habit of starting to grab food out of my bike just as a huge downhill approaches.... oh and also whilst seriously sleep deprived

[redefined_cycles]

Its even longer since i did it no handed smoking a spliff chatting on my phone

Err, so when I ride no hands eating from a bag of haribo whilst trying to remember where the route goes, am I being irresponsible? In fact I have this terrible habit of starting to grab food out of my bike just as a huge downhill approaches.... oh and also whilst seriously sleep deprived

Good question. That's a whole 'nuther can of worms

[jameso]

Wheelie Kids in groups made me think a lot about this 'cycling responsibly' stuff. Easy for the red-faced types to think they're irresponsible idiots, riding dangerously etc. I often saw a bunch of kids with the confidence and boldness of youth and perhaps benefitting from the fear some have of groups of teenagers, using bikes and skills to reclaim space where they live that has been lost to cars and the self-centred attitudes of driving, and retail parks, lack of GAS about young people from govt and councils. The cars stopped as they wheelied and swerved down the road and I wished I could have that level of control of the traffic somehow when riding. Highway code means nothing to them, they simply took back space they've been excluded from. More power to them.

[RIP]

they simply took back space they've been excluded from

That's a thought provoking comment there James, I like it. On the face of it they appear to be at the rather extreme end of the push to reclaim our streets/land, but from their point of view you can understand it. We're not so far removed with our naughty bivvies are we?

[Bearbonesnorm]

Very true James. When I see a kid wheelie down the street, I find that it makes me smile because it embodies everything that's great about bikes. It also makes me remember what I was doing 40 years ago (I should just say, I wasn't alone) because as kids we had knives, guns, motorbikes and big sharp pointy throwing stars peoples dads made at work. We'd disappear for days on end, no one bothered us and we were free (to a degree) ... whenever I see a kid enjoying those same feelings (to whatever extent), it makes me happy

[Lazarus]

Roads were a tad quieter then and when I see a kid doing it ( as last night in the dark without lights towards me on the wrong side of the road I just see an accident waiting to happen. I slammed on to avoid him but what he was doing was just daft and dangerous. It was not a statement about land ownership or access rights

I am all for reclaiming the streets but i am not that keen on advising anyone to play chicken with a car when they are on a bike and ignoring the highway code .

Ps how happy are we for walkers to reclaim the bridleways with direct action ? Basically it's shared space so share it ( better obviously but we all have to look out for each other rather than it being us v them )

[Dave Barter]

Wheelie Kids in groups made me think a lot about this 'cycling responsibly' stuff. Easy for the red-faced types to think they're irresponsible idiots, riding dangerously etc. I often saw a bunch of kids with the confidence and boldness of youth and perhaps benefitting from the fear some have of groups of teenagers, using bikes and skills to reclaim space where they live that has been lost to cars and the self-centred attitudes of driving, and retail parks, lack of GAS about young people from govt and councils. The cars stopped as they wheelied and swerved down the road and I wished I could have that level of control of the traffic somehow when riding. Highway code means nothing to them, they simply took back space they've been excluded from. More power to them.

When I lived in Swindon there was a local group of 30-40 kids who used to do this as a statement that they were anti-knife crime

It was utter genius as all the scroats would join in and be part of it. So the message got to them as well, which it would not have if they'd lit candles or planted daisies.

Of course, everyone over the age of 20 in the area despised it and wrote vehement letters to the papers/MPs etc.. Each complaint/letter displaying an utter and total ignorance as to how to engage with young people who do not care about your moral code.

[fatbikephil]

Brings to mind all of the kids on skateboards who made use of all the fancy streetscape stuff that got put in in the '90's. Moves were made to ban it and then someone had the bright idea of making street infrastructure more resistant to such activities.