# Silly BMX Riders



## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

Taken from footage from a ride on the 20th July[media]
]View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abYtnpbGSK0[/media]


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## kedab (24 Jul 2011)

as they crossed your path you should have yelled, 'ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!' just to get a reaction


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

kedab said:


> as they crossed your path you should have yelled, 'ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!' just to get a reaction



I was tempted but I was rather short of breathe  It's lucky I wasn't a car.


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## Jezston (24 Jul 2011)

What were they doing wrong? Looks like they were just crossing the road while it was clear.


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## kedab (24 Jul 2011)

i see it from all sorts of different cyclists in cambridge - the other evening coming back from work, there's a middle aged lady on a BSO in front of me - she lets the traffic going our direction pass her, checks her shoulder then moves to the middle of the road - i pass her a this point wondering what on earth she's up to...she stops on the centre line waits for a gap in the oncoming traffic, chucks a 180 and sets off again  i was most perplexed i have to say


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

Jezston said:


> What were they doing wrong? Looks like they were just crossing the road while it was clear.


Jezston I am surprised at you! You cross the road by making an almost 90deg turn not by riding along wrong side of road on a blind bend.


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

kedab said:


> i see it from all sorts of different cyclists in cambridge - the other evening coming back from work, there's a middle aged lady on a BSO in front of me - she lets the traffic going our direction pass her, checks her shoulder then moves to the middle of the road - i pass her a this point wondering what on earth she's up to...she stops on the centre line waits for a gap in the oncoming traffic, chucks a 180 and sets off again  i was most perplexed i have to say


A u turn from the white line. That is class.


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## The Dwaff Family (24 Jul 2011)

Notice there was a piggy back going on aswell, very silly kids who have no idea, or care for the dangers of the road sadly.


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## theclaud (24 Jul 2011)

They are kids on BMXs, FFS! BMXs are for fun. If you're going fast enough to run them over, then you're going too fast. It doesn't look like a blind bend anyway - they can see through/past/over the railings to see what's coming round the corner.


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

theclaud said:


> They are kids on BMXs, FFS! BMXs are for fun. If you're going fast enough to run them over, then you're going too fast. It doesn't look like a blind bend anyway - they can see through/past/over the railings to see what's coming round the corner.


So fun equates to no need to be safe does it? A mini is a fun car, does that mean a driver of one can take more risks than a serious Volvo or Saab driver? To put some perspective on things it is a 30mph road and I was doing about 10mph at the time. I ride that road everyday an it is a blind bend I can assure you.


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## theclaud (24 Jul 2011)

Angelfishsolo said:


> So fun equates to no need to be safe does it? A mini is a fun car, does that mean a driver of one can take more risks than a serious Volvo or Saab driver? To put some perspective on things it is a 30mph road and I was doing about 10mph at the time. I ride that road everyday an it is a blind bend I can assure you.



I only watched it cos the title led me to believe they might be pulling some cool stunts in the middle of the road or something! As it was they were just crossing the road on a bit of a diagonal. I do it on foot all the time. I don't get what the fuss is about. The car analogy is false - BMXs aren't dangerous to others. They exist to break the rules. Were you rooting for the police when you watched _E.T._?


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

theclaud said:


> I only watched it cos the title led me to believe they might be pulling some cool stunts in the middle of the road or something! As it was they were just crossing the road on a bit of a diagonal. I do it on foot all the time. I don't get what the fuss is about. The car analogy is false - BMXs aren't dangerous to others. They exist to break the rules. Were you rooting for the police when you watched _E.T._?


Even crossing the road like that on foot is stupid. Do you have children or children in your family you care about? If so would you condone those actions and treat them as fun?

Re The Mini ref. Have you not seen "The Italian Job"? Just as valid as the E.T reference.


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## theclaud (24 Jul 2011)

Angelfishsolo said:


> Even crossing the road like that on foot is stupid. Do you have children or children in your family you care about? If so would you condone those actions and treat them as fun?
> 
> Re The Mini ref. Have you not seen "The Italian Job"? Just as valid as the E.T reference.



It's a big fuss over nothing, AFS. This is the spot, right? I'd cross the road there. Some people wouldn't. That's their call. I don't approve of those railings/barriers - they give the impression to motorists that pedestrians are being kept out of the way, and encourage them to take the roundabout faster.


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

theclaud said:


> It's a big fuss over nothing, AFS. This is the spot, right? I'd cross the road there. Some people wouldn't. That's their call. I don't approve of those railings/barriers - they give the impression to motorists that pedestrians are being kept out of the way, and encourage them to take the roundabout faster.


Yes, that is the spot. There is a safe bridge that takes you over the road or a much safer place to cross after the bridge. The barriers are there as their is a train station above the bridge and thd pavements get pretty crowded at times. You didn't answer my question about Children btw.


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## ianrauk (24 Jul 2011)

I'm with the Claud on this one. Nothing in the vids that could be called 'silly' or get all heated about.


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

ianrauk said:


> I'm with the Claud on this one. Nothing in the vids that could be called 'silly' or get all heated about.


Oh well......


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## theclaud (24 Jul 2011)

Angelfishsolo said:


> Yes, that is the spot. There is a safe bridge that takes you over the road or a much safer place to cross after the bridge. The barriers are there as their is a train station above the bridge and thd pavements get pretty crowded at times. You didn't answer my question about Children btw.



I'm not sure why I need to condone or not condone anything. People will cross where they want, and long may it remain so. If the "official" crossing point is also the most direct and convenient, they will use it. If it isn't the best way to get where they are going, they won't. That's all that matters, really. The roundabout and its approaches seem to have rather a lot of pedestrian-unfriendly features - those big round cobblestones are clearly intended to stop people walking there. I'd be pleased if my kids, or kids known to me, felt free to explore their environment under their own steam, and would focus my efforts on stopping people feeling entitled to run them over for doing so. People always have an exaggerated sense of fear for their own children, of course, and if I were shepherding a child across that road, on a bike or otherwise, I probably wouldn't do it quite like that, but there we are...


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## ianrauk (24 Jul 2011)

Angelfishsolo said:


> Oh well......




Oh well indeed. We were all kids once and all would have done exactly the same...


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

ianrauk said:


> Oh well indeed. We were all kids once and all would have done exactly the same...


Hence "Silly" not idiotic, moronic, suicidal, anarchic, crazy, et al.
Even the description of the clip is mild.


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## 4F (24 Jul 2011)

Non event, nothing to see here.


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

It must be the cycling instructor in me then.


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## ianrauk (24 Jul 2011)

Angelfishsolo said:


> It must be the cycling instructor in me then.




Indeed...


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

ianrauk said:


> Indeed...


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## gaz (24 Jul 2011)

The second cyclist (The one on the BMX) doesn't actually have any brakes and is using his left foot as a brake by pushing it against the rear tyre by the seat stays.
That is a silly thing to do, even riding a BMX on a race track or at dirt jumps without a brake is silly! But on the road / pavement?


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

gaz said:


> The second cyclist (The one on the BMX) doesn't actually have any brakes and is using his left foot as a brake by pushing it against the rear tyre by the seat stays.
> That is a silly thing to do, even riding a BMX on a race track or at dirt jumps without a brake is silly! But on the road / pavement?


Well spotted. If you want it for your site you are welcome BTW.


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## Crackle (24 Jul 2011)

gaz said:


> The second cyclist (The one on the BMX) doesn't actually have any brakes and is using his left foot as a brake by pushing it against the rear tyre by the seat stays.
> That is a silly thing to do, even riding a BMX on a race track or at dirt jumps without a brake is silly! But on the road / pavement?



When I was 14/15 I rode a bike with no brakes at all, it was a Chopper, not a BMX, so I'm showing my age but you do these things as kids. I wouldn't do it now because I don't have the reactions I had then. I wish I could still wheely a bike as long as I could then but instead I have to watch my own kids do it.


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

Crackle said:


> When I was 14/15 I rode a bike with no brakes at all, it was a Chopper, not a BMX, so I'm showing my age but you do these things as kids. I wouldn't do it now because I don't have the reactions I had then. I wish I could still wheely a bike as long as I could then but instead I have to watch my own kids do it.


So we are talking early 80's. IIRC there were a lot less cars on the road. Like I said "Silly".


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## abo (24 Jul 2011)

Kids on BMX's doing what kids on BMX's do...


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## Crackle (24 Jul 2011)

Angelfishsolo said:


> So we are talking early 80's. IIRC there were a lot less cars on the road. Like I said "Silly".



The early 80's, I wish, back a bit. Kids do 'silly' things if that's the phrase you wish to use, it's part of growing up, part of their rite of passage, which reminds me of a thread I wanted to start.


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

Crackle said:


> The early 80's, I wish, back a bit. Kids do 'silly' things if that's the phrase you wish to use, it's part of growing up, part of their rite of passage, which reminds me of a thread I wanted to start.


I am trying to remember when I had mine. It might have been in the late 1970's.


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## summerdays (24 Jul 2011)

Angelfishsolo said:


> Even crossing the road like that on foot is stupid. Do you have children or children in your family you care about? If so would you condone those actions and treat them as fun?



There is a dropped kerb on both sides of the road so presumably it is meant as a crossing point for pedestrians. Yes I probably would cross there with my children - I'm lazy and wouldn't climb a bridge to cross what looks like a two lane road.




gaz said:


> The second cyclist (The one on the BMX) doesn't actually have any brakes and is using his left foot as a brake by pushing it against the rear tyre by the seat stays.
> That is a silly thing to do, even riding a BMX on a race track or at dirt jumps without a brake is silly! But on the road / pavement?



Don't ask me why but it seems to be the cool thing to do .... talking to a Mum at school this week who allowed her son to buy a BMX when she would have preferred a different style bike, but refused to let him remove the brakes!!



abo said:


> Kids on BMX's doing what kids on BMX's do...



I often pass a skate park and see all the kids there and riding to it so come across this sort of riding frequently. Though I would say that I'm starting to see the rise of the fixed bikes amongst teenagers now!


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## kishin (24 Jul 2011)

Angelfishsolo said:


> Yes, that is the spot. There is a safe bridge that takes you over the road


I assume that you mean the pedestrian bridge leading to the Ynys over the A4059? If so, that's not really anywhere near where these kids were coming from. Besides, as it's a pedestrian bridge and not a shared use bridge, it's probably illegal for them to ride over (not that they seem too bothered about legality). 

You saying that the kids should use this bridge which, let's face it, isn't the easiest bridge in the world to negotiate, is no different in mind to drivers berating cyclists for being on the roads when there are cycle paths available, no matter how inconvenient or impractical those cycle paths are. 




> The barriers are there as their is a train station above the bridge and thd pavements get pretty crowded at times.


The barriers are there because there's a pelican crossing to the right of the roundabout and they want people to use that instead of crossing the bypass at the roundabout itself. Indeed, the direction that the kids are coming from in your video, it could well be that the kids crossed the A4059 bypass using the pelican crossing and are getting across the road there because they don't want to negotiate the roundabout which you've just turned left on - if this is the case, I can understand why they've done it and although it's not the best way to cross a road, they've avoided two roundabouts which can be tricky.


Another issue with that area is that the first turning from the roundabout shown in your video leads to the local bmx/skate park and there is no convenient and safe way for kids to get there from the town centre. They can cross the pedestrian bridge you spoke about but that's a pita. If I were 12 again, I'd take the pelican crossing and cross near where these kids crossed to get there.


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## Angelfishsolo (24 Jul 2011)

kishin said:


> I assume that you mean the pedestrian bridge leading to the Ynys over the A4059? If so, that's not really anywhere near where these kids were coming from. Besides, as it's a pedestrian bridge and not a shared use bridge, it's probably illegal for them to ride over (not that they seem too bothered about legality).
> 
> You saying that the kids should use this bridge which, let's face it, isn't the easiest bridge in the world to negotiate, is no different in mind to drivers berating cyclists for being on the roads when there are cycle paths available, no matter how inconvenient or impractical those cycle paths are.
> 
> ...


So you don't remember the problems with peds spilling onto the road before the barriers were errected?
The point of the video was to highlight bad roadcraft not to take apart the road layout of Aberdare. As I say I teach roadcraft and winced when I saw the manoever.


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## kishin (25 Jul 2011)

Angelfishsolo said:


> So you don't remember the problems with peds spilling onto the road before the barriers were errected?



No.



Angelfishsolo said:


> The point of the video was to highlight bad roadcraft not to take apart the road layout of Aberdare.



I'm glad there was a point to the video, because I couldn't see it. In fact, judging by the replies on this thread, I'm not the only person who can't see what the point of it is. 

As for the road layout of Aberdare, firstly, you brought it up by claiming that there was a safe bridge the kids could use when there isn't really and secondly, you can't separate the behaviour of these lids from the environment in which it happened, knowing the layout of that piece of road as well as I do, it makes perfect sense to cross there. Granted, the kids could have crossed the road at a bit of straighter angle but so what?


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## Angelfishsolo (25 Jul 2011)

kishin said:


> No.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The angle of crossing was the point. As for so what? "It's a dangerour move that could be easily corrected with a little training". Maybe it's better to let them learn the hard way. I have had near misses there a few times.


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## gaz (25 Jul 2011)

Welcome to the world of posting videos on cyclechat.


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## Angelfishsolo (25 Jul 2011)

gaz said:


> Welcome to the world of posting videos on cyclechat.


 I do worry about the mindset of some on here but it gives me a good laugh.


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## Rhythm Thief (25 Jul 2011)

gaz said:


> The second cyclist (The one on the BMX) doesn't actually have any brakes and is using his left foot as a brake by pushing it against the rear tyre by the seat stays.
> That is a silly thing to do, even riding a BMX on a race track or at dirt jumps without a brake is silly! But on the road / pavement?



I live on quite a steep hill. I can get up to about 25mph in the two or three hundred yards from my house to the junction without really pedalling, to give you some idea. I regularly see the local kids riding brakeless BMXs down the hill from the top, braking in just the way you describe. I wish I had the nerve to do it (ie, was 15 again) becasue it looks like great fun. I've never seen any of them appear out of control, either. Long may kids ride BMXs in the way depicted in the OP, it looks absolutely fine to me.


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## locker (25 Jul 2011)

Angelfishsolo said:


> I do worry about the mindset of some on here but it gives me a good laugh.



We all worry about your mindset but it gives us all a good laugh as well -


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## Angelfishsolo (25 Jul 2011)

locker said:


> We all worry about your mindset but it gives us all a good laugh as well -


Based upon what I know of you they were lucky as you would have run them down and screemed abuse at them.


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## locker (25 Jul 2011)

Angelfishsolo said:


> Based upon what I know of you they were lucky as you would have run them down and screemed abuse at them.



I wouldn`t have done that, they weren`t on the cycle path, I would have reported them to the police & then told a few fibs on cycle chat by saying they had been arrested.

oh! hang on! whats that knock at the door? No the police still haven`t come to take me away its only the cat wanting to come in


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## Angelfishsolo (25 Jul 2011)

locker said:


> I wouldn`t have done that, they weren`t on the cycle path, I would have reported them to the police & then told a few fibs on cycle chat by saying they had been arrested.
> 
> oh! hang on! whats that knock at the door? No the police still haven`t come to take me away its only the cat wanting to come in



Oh stop it I am laughing so much I can't breathe. Mind you I can still here the shouts of "Wannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnkkkkkkker"


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## locker (25 Jul 2011)

Angelfishsolo said:


> Oh stop it I am laughing so much I can't breathe. Mind you I can still here the shouts of "Wannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnkkkkkkker"




I`m glad I`ve made a good start to your day


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## Angelfishsolo (25 Jul 2011)

locker said:


> I`m glad I`ve made a good start to your day



Good Bye


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## Angelfishsolo (25 Jul 2011)

[QUOTE 1476624"]
Maybe you should make use of the ignore function.
[/quote]
Forgot about that. Thanks


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