If you go back a couple of years on this blog you will find a post with the title "Cyclists are mad." It should of course been "Some cyclists are mad." sorry about that if you are a sane cyclist. It told about a cyclist I got stuck behind coming out of Brixham. Now I have no real problem getting stuck behind a cyclist on a narrow road, it happens rarely and in a bad week I am held up for at most only half a minute before the opportunity arises to over take. You can spend 5 minutes to two days stuck behind a grockel towing a caravan so cyclist are not a major problem. The one two years ago was a problem as when I finally got past him he called my a rude name and indicated with a hand gesture that he had just had the worse two minutes of his life. Then I stopped at a red light and what did our friend do, up on the pavement and in front of me so when the lights changed I was stuck behind him again. When I got past him he again suggested that my parents weren't married to each other and with a slightly different hand gesture indicated the worse one minute of his life had just occurred. Next lights were also on red and again up on pavement and in front of me. I just stopped at the next stop and counted to a hundred slowly and never saw him again.
Today's cyclist was going into Brixham and was travelling at 20 mph (down hill ) I just got 25 feet behind him and whistled a happy tune. I was in no rush and even if I had been the were too many cars coming the other way and the road wasn't wide enough to pass him. Not a problem. Like I said in a bad week I might spend a minute behind a cyclist out of 41 hours driving, so who cares. This cyclist did because instead of just carrying on he suddenly stopped without warning. Now I can not get past him when he is moving but he is just as wide stationary so i still can not get past so I had to stop, also suddenly. If you were behind me, a 12A, at about 18:27 going into Brixham round Strawberry Bends and you had to brake hard, sorry but not my fault.
So, if you are a cyclist and a bus comes behind you and can not pass just keep going. The bus driver will wait until it is safe and pass you. (I hope).
6 comments:
A large number of bus drivers up here will drive about 25 inches off the back wheel of a cyclist. Then accelerate past to stop 100yds up the road.
Mixed bus and bike lanes aren't always a good thing...
I find Bus Drivers around here (Rochdale area) very considerate when I'm cycling, although I do average around 20-25mph on the flat, and a lot of the roads are lousy with bikes so the drivers are experienced, esp. the a58 to halifax. Its generally the odd car that tries to overtake as though your not there or overtakes just to turn left in front of you, and its Skip Lorries that nearly always scare the pants off me.
It is quite frightening having a bus right on your tail, especially if there's a bus in front too, and you're all bombing down a hill with the cyclist the filling in a bus sandwich ... all well and good until the bus in front stops suddenly!
I admire the bravery of cyclists everywhere. But some of them do lack a strong survival instinct. I also know that some drivers do regard cyclists as vermin who, if not exactly wiped off the face of the planet, should be scared so much they will abandon cycling and take their bikes to the nearest re-cycling centre and get it turned into some thing useful like beer cans.
Ah the joys of the Scarlet Band drivers on Durham's Park and Ride services...they like to whizz past you in their Solos (note this is downhill, so I'm doing about 28-30 according to my cycle computer) with a small amount of gap between you and the rather large bus! Arriva drivers on the other hand, are generally ok, even though they have larger buses to play with!
Some motorists do like to see just how close they can get to the cyclist. Although I have discovered that they don't do this when I am using my 'work' cycle.
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