# A very poor show



## Drago (31 Aug 2016)

At the weekend I drove into town to see a friend who's cat had died. Most inconsiderate for him, but very useful to me as he'd just gone banzai and bought a cupboard load of cat food that he now had no use for and my cats were to he the lucky beneficiaries.

Anyway, c.10 mile journey, country roads, no hurry. Sunny day, I started to encounter the odd roadie, then the odd 'cycle event' warning sign, then hapless chaps sat on grass verges in fluorescent tabard, before I finally came behind the main pack, the peleoton if you will.

Now, I was in no hurry, the roads are narrow and windy with few safe spots to overtake, and being a rider myself was quite happy to hang back, even if the growing queue of cars behind me were not.

But after a few miles of this I was struck by how terrible their roadcraft was. I've no objection to them being 2 or even three abreast, so long as their behaviour is steady, consistent and predictable, but this lot were weaving and wobbling all over the place like a one legged cat burying a turd on a frozen pond. Despite being on a live carriageway with dangerous stuff like cars all around, not one lifted their heads to look behind, or to scan left and right as they approached junctions etc. They really were a pith poor shower and I was becoming quite embarrassed watching them. To be so safety conscious that they wear a helmet (not having that debate here) only to be so casual with other aspects of safety seems utterly ridiculous.

All in all, a terribly poor show. These guys are serious enough about cycling to invest serious money in their rides and kit, but seem oblivious to the most fundamental techniques of using them safely. Considering how vulnerable we are on the roads you'd think that people so seriously into it would pay more heed to their own safety. They were, quite frankly, fools, and as a user group we will continue to struggle to be taken seriously while people like this don't bother to get their own house in order. I was quite angry by the time I arrived at my free Whiskas.


----------



## T4tomo (31 Aug 2016)

Were they all wearing London Dynamo jerseys?


----------



## AndyRM (31 Aug 2016)

I have seen similarly blasé behaviour myself, most notably on the Great North Bike Ride. 

Tight, unsighted bends on unclosed roads being taken on the wrong side. Some folk treating it as a training ride (it's a 60 mile fast, flat route) and absolutely hammering it through a mix of pootlers and families. Cyclists getting into needless altercations in the more crowded areas (particularly the finish). Gel wrappers all over the shop...

Embarrassing stuff to be honest and I let the organisers know my concerns a couple of times without reply.


----------



## classic33 (31 Aug 2016)

Your free Whiskas @Drago!


----------



## Wetdog (31 Aug 2016)

We've got a Cat yup he hairless


----------



## Banjo (31 Aug 2016)

"Like a one legged cat burying a turd on a frozen pond"
I think we need an emoticon for that.


----------



## Justinslow (31 Aug 2016)

What actually was the event?


----------



## Moodyman (31 Aug 2016)

Should've beeped your horn like that lady did to Jezza Whine.

That would've woken them up.


----------



## Drago (31 Aug 2016)

Alas, I don't know.


----------



## Justinslow (31 Aug 2016)

I must admit I've been on rides myself where there hasn't been a care for other road users, almost like herd mentality or power of numbers, Dunwich Dynamo springs to mind particularly in the early stages leaving London and heading up into Essex. Embarrassing really.


----------



## Pat "5mph" (31 Aug 2016)

I think a sportive gives some a false sense of security, being in a large group, signs, marshals, they forget the roads are still open to traffic.
Bet they ride differently on their own.
Btw, I would have kept the cat food, bet your pal gets another cat asp.


----------



## Cuchilo (31 Aug 2016)

I blame the book road craft or what ever its called . While there may be some good tips in it times have moved on and being aware of other road users incompetence is a massive part of riding these days .


----------



## fossyant (31 Aug 2016)

Sportive ?


----------



## Tin Pot (31 Aug 2016)

People are generally crap at everything they do, sportives are no exception.

I think the moggy died just so you would have this experience.


----------



## glenn forger (31 Aug 2016)

More terribleness:

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crim...ead-after-argument-with-cyclist-a3333721.html

It's looking increasingly clear that cyclists really are awful.


----------



## Justinslow (31 Aug 2016)

Tin Pot said:


> People are generally crap at everything they do, sportives are no exception.
> 
> I think the moggy died just so you would have this experience.


You do come out with some weird stuff, I'm generally not crap at everything I do, just saying.


----------



## dan_bo (31 Aug 2016)

Drago said:


> At the weekend I drove into town to see a friend who's cat had died. Most inconsiderate for him, but very useful to me as he'd just gone banzai and bought a cupboard load of cat food that he now had no use for and my cats were to he the lucky beneficiaries.
> 
> Blah blah blah boring blah
> 
> ...




Mercenary bastard.


----------



## Drago (31 Aug 2016)

I'm awesome at everything I can be bothered to do.


----------



## russ.will (31 Aug 2016)

The number of people completely oblivious to surrounding hazards and showing a lack of consideration to others in equal measure, always leaves me dumbfounded on these rides.

I did the Tour de Broads 40 a couple of weekends back with a younger female friend who'll torch me on an MTB, but had never so much as ridden a road bike in her life. She's fit (stop sniggering!) and not far off as tall as me, so I adjusted my RT-58 to suit her, threw on some MTB clipless pedals and off we went.

By her own admission, her biggest fear was just not really knowing what hazards the roads brings. Judging by the feet up, clipped in track stand she did at the very first junction we came to, I need not have feared for her bike handling capabilities.

However, I did find myself taking a defensive position behind her on the road to stop her continually being buzzed, not by cars and vans, but by kamikaze Stravarseholes who will slow down for literally nothing. I actually took to blocking one group of knuckleheads off completely. It was a quaint, narrow and twisting village, thronging with pedestrians, as it seemed to be a bit of a destination with a river and tea shops, etc. Alerted by the sound of a screeching Mavic rim/brake combo behind, I saw a 'club ride' bearing down on us with barely room for two abreast, but they weren't slowing down for anybody.

They didn't have much choice once I'd parked it in a wide stance, due to oncoming cars (I say oncoming - Mostly stationary due to riders overtaking on the white line) and I held them there until the road opened out a couple of hundred yards later. Exactly as I would do in a similar situation with a car behind me. I got a few choice looks as they eventually passed us, but I couldn't care less.

Don't start me on the three abreast octogenarian touring cyclists on the A149....

Ultimately, I've come to the conclusion that cyclists, like any other road users, are a representative cross-section of society and that it therefore comes with a proportionate amount of dickheads and the completely oblivious.

Great day out though and we got us a roadie convert who realised that there's more to life than threading one's way through a wall of trees.


----------



## AndyRM (31 Aug 2016)

glenn forger said:


> More terribleness:
> 
> http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crim...ead-after-argument-with-cyclist-a3333721.html
> 
> It's looking increasingly clear that cyclists really are awful.



Yeah, some are. 

You'll get it one day, maybe.


----------



## NorthernDave (31 Aug 2016)

Drago said:


> I was quite angry by the time I arrived at my free Whiskas.



I should imagine you were. After cycling all that way you'd have hoped it would be something better - like Felix pouches perhaps, wouldn't you?


----------



## glenn forger (31 Aug 2016)

An unverifiable and implausible anecdote about nightmare cyclists from a bod with a history of dangerous driving near cyclists for shoots and giggles. This thread has legs.


----------



## Tin Pot (31 Aug 2016)

glenn forger said:


> An unverifiable and implausible anecdote about nightmare cyclists from a bod with a history of dangerous driving near cyclists for shoots and giggles. This thread has legs.



Fight!


----------



## Tanis8472 (31 Aug 2016)

AndyRM said:


> I have seen similarly blasé behaviour myself, most notably on the Great North Bike Ride.
> 
> Tight, unsighted bends on _*unclosed*_ roads being taken on the wrong side. Some folk treating it as a training ride (it's a 60 mile fast, flat route) and absolutely hammering it through a mix of pootlers and families. Cyclists getting into needless altercations in the more crowded areas (particularly the finish). Gel wrappers all over the shop...
> 
> Embarrassing stuff to be honest and I let the organisers know my concerns a couple of times without reply.




Open ??


----------



## Pat "5mph" (31 Aug 2016)

NorthernDave said:


> something better - like Felix pouches


Sheba is the discerning cat's choice 
Brought home by Mum in her panniers, not in the back of a car


----------



## Drago (31 Aug 2016)

glenn forger said:


> An unverifiable and implausible anecdote about nightmare cyclists from a bod with a history of dangerous driving near cyclists for shoots and giggles. This thread has legs.


I've never driven dangerously near anyone. I'm so steady behind the wheel even my old Mum gets impatient when she's in the car with me.


----------



## Tin Pot (31 Aug 2016)

Pat "5mph" said:


> Sheba is the discerning cat's choice
> Brought home by Mum in her panniers, not in the back of a car



Im starting to suspect our flea ridden mouse torturer prefers tescos senior, surprisingly.

Whatever the brand he likes to wind me up by lapping up all of the gravy, leaving the meat, and asking for more.


----------



## glenn forger (31 Aug 2016)

Drago said:


> when i was a shiny young copper in the early nineties my favourite pastime at night was sneaking up behind cyclists with no lights and giving them a blast of the wailers. Many came close to a coronary, and one managed to fall off. Shame.



You're a dickless cheeseball.


----------



## Drago (31 Aug 2016)

Ah, that's not driving dangerously. That's whacking the wailers on dangerously. Do pay attention old chap. The driving itself was very careful indeed.

My cats seem to prefer Labrador food, which is lucky as the labrawhore like to steal the cat food, so the circle of life is complete.


----------



## Pat "5mph" (31 Aug 2016)

Tin Pot said:


> Whatever the brand he likes to wind me up by lapping up all of the gravy, leaving the meat, and asking for more.


Don't you mix your baby's food for him? 


glenn forger said:


> You're a dickless cheeseball.


You believe all you read


----------



## Justinslow (31 Aug 2016)

glenn forger said:


> You're a dickless cheeseball.


Are you "allowed" to say that on here, on the "helmet thread" that would get you 6 months in solitary with just bread and water (no gels).


----------



## AndyRM (31 Aug 2016)

Tanis8472 said:


> Open ??



Ha! I deserved that!


----------



## glenn forger (31 Aug 2016)

Is a bloke who uses a vehicle as a weapon to bully people on bikes more or less likely to invent silly cyclist stories? It's a toughie.


----------



## davidphilips (31 Aug 2016)

some cyclists are bad same as some car drivers, same as always no change there.

all of us cyclists that are also car drivers have an obligation when driving both to cyclists and ourselves to show other car drivers the way to treat cyclists. space not only when overtaking but also when behind cyclists ie not driving to close sometimes it may seem annoying when cyclists dont have good road skills but its up to us to treat them with the respect they deserve and show other car drivers the space and care that should be given.

pity help any cyclists with poor road skill or sense of danger how many car drivers pass within inchs of a cyclist yet would never even think of driving so close to a pedestrian (or a brick wall)


----------



## outlash (31 Aug 2016)

glenn forger said:


> Is a bloke who uses a forum as a weapon to post videos of 'victims' on bikes more or less likely to invent silly cyclist stories? It's a toughie.



FTFY


----------



## Drago (31 Aug 2016)

Justinslow said:


> Are you "allowed" to say that on here, on the "helmet thread" that would get you 6 months in solitary with just bread and water (no gels).


Just indulge him with a smile. Small man syndrome is a terrible thing.


----------



## AndyRM (31 Aug 2016)

Drago said:


> Just indulge him with a smile. Small man syndrome is a terrible thing.



Are we sure he's a man? His avatar would suggest otherwise. We need a poll for this.


----------



## Drago (31 Aug 2016)

Could well be a gnome. Hard to say, really.


----------



## doog (31 Aug 2016)

Justinslow said:


> Are you "allowed" to say that on here, on the "helmet thread" that would get you 6 months in solitary with just bread and water (no gels).



Helmet solitary is just that.....solitude from complete helmets


----------



## doog (31 Aug 2016)

glenn forger said:


> Is a bloke who uses a vehicle as a weapon to bully people on bikes more or less likely to invent silly cyclist stories? It's a toughie.



He used his wailers mate...big difference.


----------



## glenn forger (31 Aug 2016)

Same risk of injury. He hurts people on the roads for a laugh.


----------



## AndyRM (31 Aug 2016)

I could be wrong, but I don't think I've ever read about @Drago hurting someone on the road for a laugh.

The boxing ring however is a whole different world of pain...


----------



## Drago (31 Aug 2016)

It would seem some folk don't know the difference between...

A car...







And wailers...


----------



## glenn forger (31 Aug 2016)

It's pointing out that outliers shed very little light on anything, and dubious claims of bad cyclist behaviour from a thug don't mean very much.


----------



## Moodyman (31 Aug 2016)

[QUOTE 4444510, member: 259"]Wtf does that have to do with this thread?[/QUOTE]

Glad it's not just me. I thought I was being a bit slow not seeing the link.


----------



## Pat "5mph" (31 Aug 2016)

@glenn forger insults are only allowed on SC&P.


----------



## glenn forger (31 Aug 2016)

If someone thinks it's funny when they cause harm to people then they're a thug. Feel free to argue otherwise.


----------



## glenn forger (31 Aug 2016)

[QUOTE 4444527, member: 259"]I don't think it does, it's about something equally nasty, but only peripherally related to cycling.[/QUOTE]

The thug's tedious anecdote is offered as evidence for why cyclists aren't taken seriously. So was my Standard link. Both equally valid.


----------



## dan_bo (31 Aug 2016)

glenn forger said:


> You're a dickless cheeseball.


----------



## glenn forger (31 Aug 2016)

Both completely invalid. Was my point. It's spurious, flimsy and daft.


----------



## dan_bo (31 Aug 2016)

dan_bo said:


>




What was I saying last night? FFS.


----------



## Drago (31 Aug 2016)

Ignore him, don't feed the troll. Or the gnome.


----------



## AndyRM (31 Aug 2016)

[QUOTE 4444535, member: 259"]Sorry Glenn, but you're off on one of your own strange danders, and I can't be arsed with it.[/QUOTE]

That's an understatement!


----------



## Justinslow (31 Aug 2016)

I blame the drugs..........


----------



## glenn forger (31 Aug 2016)

The fact that a cyclist shot someone has nothing to do with other cyclists. The fact that a known thug claims to have seen silly cyclists has nothing to do with other cyclists either. It was just an excuse to claim "We will never be taken seriously because blah blah blah"


----------



## Drago (31 Aug 2016)

Justinslow said:


> I blame the drugs..........


I wish he'd take some.


----------



## doog (31 Aug 2016)

Justinslow said:


> I blame the drugs..........



Now the drugs dont work
they just make you worse


----------



## Justinslow (31 Aug 2016)

glenn forger said:


> The fact that a cyclist shot someone has nothing to do with other cyclists. The fact that a known thug claims to have seen silly cyclists has nothing to do with other cyclists either. It was just an excuse to claim "We will never be taken seriously because blah blah blah"


Not sure if you noticed but one or two of us happen to agree with @Drago. 
Go and find another cycle lane to moan about.


----------



## hopless500 (31 Aug 2016)

[QUOTE 4444535, member: 259"]Sorry Glenn, but you're off on one of your own strange danders, and I can't be arsed with it.[/QUOTE]
^^^^^^yup


----------



## Glow worm (31 Aug 2016)

Am I missing something on this thread ? A Police officer admits to trying to give cyclists a heart attack by blasting them with sirens and makes light about them falling off - and folks are agreeing with the copper? (Sorry if I've misread the thread).


----------



## AndyRM (31 Aug 2016)

Glow worm said:


> Am I missing something on this thread ? A Police officer admits to trying to give cyclists a heart attack by blasting them with sirens and makes light about them falling off - and folks are agreeing with the copper? (Sorry if I've misread the thread).



No need to apologise but that's not how the thread started, @glenn forger diverted it down that route because a few other users had the temerity to criticise the behaviour of other cyclists.


----------



## Milkfloat (1 Sep 2016)

Glow worm said:


> Am I missing something on this thread ? A Police officer admits to trying to give cyclists a heart attack by blasting them with sirens and makes light about them falling off - and folks are agreeing with the copper? (Sorry if I've misread the thread).



I would rather they did that to my kids than knock on my door at 2am to tell me they have been killed because they had no lights.


----------



## steve50 (1 Sep 2016)

Drago said:


> like a one legged cat burying a turd on a frozen pond



Pmsl, I really gotta keep a look out for that cat this winter


----------



## Shut Up Legs (1 Sep 2016)

Slightly off-topic, but I just did a Google image search for "cat on frozen pond emoticon", and was surprised by the number of CycleChat avatars in the search results!  The search must have somehow matched "cat" to "Chat".


----------



## Phaeton (1 Sep 2016)

Drago said:


> I've never driven dangerously near anyone. I'm so steady behind the wheel even my old Mum gets impatient when she's in the car with me.





Drago said:


> At the weekend I *drove* into town to see a friend who's cat had died.



ROFL I had to read the 1st post again, I missed the 1st line, I had assumed you were on your bike & there was me thinking, you'd caught these numpties up & they were holding you up, you were sat there patiently waiting for your opportunity to overtake the 'peloton' to get on your way LOL


----------



## Phaeton (1 Sep 2016)

Drago said:


> It would seem some folk don't know the difference between...
> 
> A car...
> 
> ...


These are the wailers along with Bob Marley


----------



## Profpointy (1 Sep 2016)

Phaeton said:


> These are the wailers along with Bob Marley



Was that his ill-thought-out Venice concert?


----------



## Tin Pot (1 Sep 2016)

Profpointy said:


> Was that his ill-thought-out Venice concert?



Glastonbury really was worse in those days.


----------



## jefmcg (1 Sep 2016)

Milkfloat said:


> I would rather they did that to my kids than knock on my door at 2am to tell me they have been killed because they had no lights.


 Because those are the only two options....


----------



## Starchivore (1 Sep 2016)

Drago said:


> A this lot were weaving and wobbling all over the place like a one legged cat burying a turd on a frozen pond.



That is pure poetry!


----------



## subaqua (1 Sep 2016)

glenn forger said:


> The thug's tedious anecdote is offered as *evidence for why cyclists aren't taken seriously*. So was my Standard link. Both equally valid.




you don't do too bad a job of demonstrating that yourself , with most of your posts to be fair.


----------



## dellzeqq (1 Sep 2016)

Drago said:


> It would seem some folk don't know the difference between...
> 
> A car...
> 
> ...


ahem! These are Wailers

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybmPHD7FPcQ


----------



## dellzeqq (1 Sep 2016)

[QUOTE 4444510, member: 259"]Wtf does that have to do with this thread?[/QUOTE]
The story of a cyclist shooting a youngster goes to the heart of the matter, which is that there are more (and more various) cyclists in the world than one can feel empathy for, let alone some kind of responsibility. I'm sure that Drago's right, and that cyclists on sportives do sometimes ride foolishly (although the greatest distress attends poor design of the courses by the organisers) but it's difficult to fit such foolishness in to the panorama of our considerations.

The rest of it is just handbags at dawn. Or at dusk. Which would, when you think about it, make a decent western.

Handbags at Dusk - starring Nancy Sinatra and Ann-Margaret. Directed by Roger Corman. Where's Fnaaar when you need him?


----------



## Moderators (1 Sep 2016)

Thread locked as it has got rather off topic and more like a pub squabble. Move along now.


----------

