Doubling Up On Road

[theclaud]

That does look good.

Get a room, you two.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

This is a genuine question.

Do you think that a person who drives more often will have more sympathy with other motorists as opposed to someone such as yourself who drives as little as they need to?

I don't drive AT ALL (Banned on medical grounds, before you ask, my licence was clean and always has been. I hated driving as I found it scary!) and I understand pulling in when safe so people can get passed.

We can all assume that drivers and non-drivers will think in a certain way about this issue. And we'd be wrong. You don't need to be a driver to have empathy with a driver and consider their needs as well as your own.

Sorry, I just hate the idea that all non-drivers on bikes are road-hogging bastards!

 

[Origamist]

[QUOTE 1589111"]
You've never met any Scooby club members then?
[/quote]

Bollo is a recovering Scooby enthusiast. He still has white knuckle moments, but he's generally managed to get on with his life.

 

[Bicycle]

I rather like being thought of as a lycra missile. Thankyou

You're welcome.

When I coined the phrase it was with some poignancy that I realised I did not qualify for the description.

 

[dellzeqq]

Get a room, you two.

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Doubling up sociable and safe ? A slight contradiction would nt you say ? Chatting and controlling a moving vehicle at the same time.

What? People chat whilst driving all the time....

 

[freecyclist]

I personally think that closing all the roads would infuriate drivers a thousand times more than having to overtake some cyclists.

Fair point . In not averse to upsetting motorists perse , ie - with good cause - if the only way to hold a sportive and be able to reasonably assure the safety of cyclists (and motorists) would be to close the road for a short while then i would wiegh up all the pros and cons and make an informed decision. May be feasible subject to alternative routes for traffic, particularly on a road like bodmin that im guessing if closed for a couple of hours isnt going to bring the country any closer to economic collapse than it allready is.
(I am averse to upsetting motoristsnunecessarily just for some misguided militany cycling ideology)
Thinking about it if these sportives are 100 miles long then that would mean closing alot of roads so if might not be feasible unless it is a circuitous route like round bodmin moor.

 

[theclaud]

 

[montyboy]

I don't drive AT ALL (Banned on medical grounds, before you ask, my licence was clean and always has been. I hated driving as I found it scary!) and I understand pulling in when safe so people can get passed.

We can all assume that drivers and non-drivers will think in a certain way about this issue. And we'd be wrong. You don't need to be a driver to have empathy with a driver and consider their needs as well as your own.

Sorry, I just hate the idea that all non-drivers on bikes are road-hogging bastards!

That wasnt really what I was getting at. I was wondering if motorists would have more sympathy with cyclists if they had to get on a bike and see what it was like for themselves as well as vice versa.

For example I tow a large trailer quite a lot and you would be amazed how many people will pull into the gap in between my vehicle and the one in front of me as I approach a junction or a line of stationary traffic. Although it may seem that I am leaving quite a large gap, I need this space as my stopping distance is much increased due to the added weight and once or twice I have had to work quite hard to prevent myself running into the back of them. Also when moving out to the centre of the road, left indicator on to negotiate a tight corner has lead to some bright sparks deciding to try and pass me on the inside leaving us both stationary with nowhere to go.

I am sure that all road users have their own difficulties peculiar to their own mode of transport that might be quite so apparent to others.

 

[dellzeqq]

this is better.......

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Not a car enthusiast then?

I quite like cars, but BMW M-series cars are, well...an estate agent's car....(unless they work for Foxtons, in which case it's a BMW mini!)

 

[montyboy]

I personally think that closing all the roads would infuriate drivers a thousand times more than having to overtake some cyclists.

I think that you are right.

Many motorists would i am sure raise the point of how much they pay in road tax and why they would expect to have the first priority to use them.

 

[rich p]

Useful if your tyred.

this is better.......

 

[MissTillyFlop]

Fair point . In not averse to upsetting motorists perse , ie - with good cause - if the only way to hold a sportive and be able to reasonably assure the safety of cyclists (and motorists) would be to close the road for a short while then i would wiegh up all the pros and cons and make an informed decision. May be feasible subject to alternative routes for traffic, particularly on a road like bodmin that im guessing if closed for a couple of hours isnt going to bring the country any closer to economic collapse than it allready is.
(I am averse to upsetting motoristsnunecessarily just for some misguided militany cycling ideology)
Thinking about it if these sportives are 100 miles long then that would mean closing alot of roads so if might not be feasible unless it is a circuitous route like round bodmin moor.

Well, sportives like the London nightrider would prove tricky in that instance.

 

[GilesM]

Useful if your tyred.

Could be bad for skid marks though.