RoubaixCube
~Tribanese~
- Location
- London, UK
Met a guy with a Brompton at work last night Before i my ride home. He had No lights, No Helmet, No Hi-Viz, or any attire with anything that can be classed as remotely reflective. This was around 9-10.30pm and it was pretty dark outside.
So heres how the convo goes down...
Me: Thats a pretty nice bike, I cycle to work myself - do you have to commute far to work?
Him: Just a bit, and I dont like taking a full on bicycle on public transport.
Me: Fair play - Even i get annoyed having to lift my bike up multiple flights of stairs when i need to go places that would take me forever to cycle to.
(we both have a chuckle)
Me: Just out of curiosity.... Do you know that its illegal to cycle on public roads without any lights?
Him: Umm, yeah I do...(the look on his face tells me he had completely no idea)
Him: Im not on the road (Absolutely clueless....)
Me: Did you also know that cycling on the pavement is also illegal?
Him: (speechless)
Me: You're lucky that im not a policeman otherwise Id be handing you two tickets. One for not having any lights whilst cycling on a public road (This is Central London - There arent any private roads near by, at least none that will take him home anyway) and Two for cycling on the pavement?
Me: Understand that im not trying to preach, but as a fellow cyclist I am trying to keep you out of trouble with the law and out of danger making sure you dont end up underneath the wheels of a vehicle whose driver didnt see you because you have no lights, no hi-viz or any reflective gear and dressed head to toe in nothing but black....
Him: Thanks, i guess....
Him (turns to leave with a worried look on his face)
Me: Thank you, have a nice evening and ride safe~
People are absolutely clueless these days. You cant just get on a bicycle and ride it on roads and pavements like you used to and some people never live to learn from their mistakes.
I dont claim to be an expert. But before I got serious about commuting to work by bike I did observe what most cyclists wore and their general behavior on the roads before I took the plunge. The first time i took to the roads i was lucky as i had a friend who was experienced, But i had an MTB at the time and that thing was a complete hippo on the road so I kind of shoved the bike into a corner and never touched it again. Then i had a second chance to get back on the road with a new bike with another friend who was vastly more experienced on and off the road.
You dont need to be able to recite the Green Cross Code with your eyes closed but understanding the basics will boost your own safety exponentially.
Obviously - when it comes to clothing though, you can wear whatever you want. There have been many threads debating Hi-viz clothing and if it really stops drivers from hitting you and its generally boiled down to one consensus - drivers with bad road awareness are going to hit you regardless of if youre lit up like a christmas tree so it doesnt matter what you wear, Just the same as helmets. There is no solid proof out there that helmets protect your noggin and emails from bloggers and other cycling websites asking for proof that the foam that manufacturers use to shape helmets will protect your noggin in case of impact are often ignored if not sent a lot of sudo scientific waffle that means absolutely nothing at all and answers no questions.
At the end of the day, its all for your own safety - Do you want to be seen by drivers or 'noticed' when they stop after going over a large random bump on a flat part of road and the sounds of bones crunching and metal being dragged/scrapped along the ground???
As always I know some of you will have some hate for me regarding my opinion but /rantover
So heres how the convo goes down...
Me: Thats a pretty nice bike, I cycle to work myself - do you have to commute far to work?
Him: Just a bit, and I dont like taking a full on bicycle on public transport.
Me: Fair play - Even i get annoyed having to lift my bike up multiple flights of stairs when i need to go places that would take me forever to cycle to.
(we both have a chuckle)
Me: Just out of curiosity.... Do you know that its illegal to cycle on public roads without any lights?
Him: Umm, yeah I do...(the look on his face tells me he had completely no idea)
Him: Im not on the road (Absolutely clueless....)
Me: Did you also know that cycling on the pavement is also illegal?
Him: (speechless)
Me: You're lucky that im not a policeman otherwise Id be handing you two tickets. One for not having any lights whilst cycling on a public road (This is Central London - There arent any private roads near by, at least none that will take him home anyway) and Two for cycling on the pavement?
Me: Understand that im not trying to preach, but as a fellow cyclist I am trying to keep you out of trouble with the law and out of danger making sure you dont end up underneath the wheels of a vehicle whose driver didnt see you because you have no lights, no hi-viz or any reflective gear and dressed head to toe in nothing but black....
Him: Thanks, i guess....
Him (turns to leave with a worried look on his face)
Me: Thank you, have a nice evening and ride safe~
People are absolutely clueless these days. You cant just get on a bicycle and ride it on roads and pavements like you used to and some people never live to learn from their mistakes.
I dont claim to be an expert. But before I got serious about commuting to work by bike I did observe what most cyclists wore and their general behavior on the roads before I took the plunge. The first time i took to the roads i was lucky as i had a friend who was experienced, But i had an MTB at the time and that thing was a complete hippo on the road so I kind of shoved the bike into a corner and never touched it again. Then i had a second chance to get back on the road with a new bike with another friend who was vastly more experienced on and off the road.
You dont need to be able to recite the Green Cross Code with your eyes closed but understanding the basics will boost your own safety exponentially.
Obviously - when it comes to clothing though, you can wear whatever you want. There have been many threads debating Hi-viz clothing and if it really stops drivers from hitting you and its generally boiled down to one consensus - drivers with bad road awareness are going to hit you regardless of if youre lit up like a christmas tree so it doesnt matter what you wear, Just the same as helmets. There is no solid proof out there that helmets protect your noggin and emails from bloggers and other cycling websites asking for proof that the foam that manufacturers use to shape helmets will protect your noggin in case of impact are often ignored if not sent a lot of sudo scientific waffle that means absolutely nothing at all and answers no questions.
At the end of the day, its all for your own safety - Do you want to be seen by drivers or 'noticed' when they stop after going over a large random bump on a flat part of road and the sounds of bones crunching and metal being dragged/scrapped along the ground???
As always I know some of you will have some hate for me regarding my opinion but /rantover
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