Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Thu Jun 16, 2022 10:16 am
Just out of interest, does anyone actually take the opportunity when presented to let cars pass on long stretches of narrow road? It's something I'll always try and do when there's a handy gate-hole, lay-by or passing place. I tend not to stop but will slow right down and move into the space. Just seems like good manners and a way of painting a better picture of cyclists.
Yep, I do that all the time, combination of good manners and I prefer to let them pass than have them hovering on my tail.
I find some/many/most road cyclists don't 'proactively' manage their relationship with drivers around them - rather than just 'reacting' to situations - which would go a long way to help protect themselves. Many rarely/never look behind for example. If I hear a driver come up behind me I'll almost always slightly raise my right hand or just my fingers to simply let them know I know they're there. Even just that can calm them down if they're feeling a bit arsey. Next would be a look behind and eye contact. Eye contact, a smile and a face turn you from "a cyclist" or "a bike" (*) into "a person" which is much harder for a driver to hassle. If I were a driver just some acknowledgment from a cyclist that I've slowed down behind would defuse a lot of situations.
(*) with reference to the slightly related story of a vehicle accident being described like "the car hit me" but if it's a cycling accident it's "the cyclist hit me" .... and of course the whole use of the word "accident", which a situation frequently isn't
Last edited by RIP on Thu Jun 16, 2022 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"My God, Ponsonby, I'm two-thirds of the way to the grave and what have I done?" - RIP
The sign outside the asylum is the wrong way round.....
Most of my riding is done on country lanes, sustran type roads. I try and avoid traffic when ever possible, even in town I prefer back lanes and short cuts. I will always stop and let a car pass rather than keep it going until theres enough space for them to legally pass.
On the other hand as a car driver nothing annoys me more than inconsiderate cyclists not using common sense and good manners, because I know there's no need.
Though to be fair it's easier to be laid back in shorts and sandles on my slow tourer than it is on fast carbon using Strava. They don't want to stop do they?
I always pull in to let people pass on narrow roads (or other situations that require it), mainly for selfish reasons that others have mentioned - having a car crawling behind is no fun for anyone. Clearly many others on here do to.
I rarely ride in groups on the road (for this sort of reason) but I often see other riders just carrying on as if oblivious rather than pulling in. I did an audax a couple of months ago and I remember a bit where I happened to be around quite a few other riders, some in small groups. Two timber waggons came up from behind (anyone who rides near commercial forestry will know what nutters timber waggons drivers all seem to be). It was a wide road, but with the odd car coming the other way, bends and cyclists strung out along the road, it was impossible for them to pass. I rode for at least half a mile with them behind before I found an obvious place to pull over, but I was the only one I saw do that. It cost me about 10 seconds and I continued on my way without 80 tonnes of Sitka spruce and steel chugging away behind me. Why anyone wouldn't do the same is beyond me.
Disco wrote: ↑Thu Jun 16, 2022 5:24 pm
Though to be fair it's easier to be laid back in shorts and sandles on my slow tourer than it is on fast carbon using Strava. They don't want to stop do they?
They mostly don’t want to say hello or even acknowledge lowly cyclists like me either. Generally an ignorant lot.
but I often see other riders just carrying on as if oblivious rather than pulling in.
That was my reason for asking Dave. I see more cyclists in these 'ere parts than ever before but there appears to be a reasonable amount who seem to forget that although the roads may seem quiet, they're still roads with other users on them inc plenty of heavy (literally) traffic which can easily take up the entire road.
