Feels weird but oddly safe...

[Stuartaw11]

I actually find that cyclists are the snobby ones while riding, I ride in baggy shorts and a hoodie type top and always get blanked by "proper" cyclists even tho I always try to make Eye contact or say hi, if I'm out with my riding bud who wears the Lycra and all the gear with his top of the range hybrid it's smiles and waves all round

 

[byegad]

I just wobble side to side occasionally so that they think a newby and give wide berth.

When I rode two wheels I used the 'professional wobble' quite a lot. I always ride with a mirror or two and any approaching car that seemed to be too close the the road edge was treated to a wobble before they got to me.

 

[Jezston]

I've ridden to work in all the gear, in casual clothes, in dark and grey and in highvis and reflective, with (unknowingly) faulty lights and with three on my back and two on the front, one a hope, and I can't say I've noticed any difference in the way traffic behaves around me.

People who close pass you, close pass because they are either staggeringly ignorant and even if you were lit up like a lighthouse at christmas still wouldn't notice you, or because they are dicks.

 

[Red Light]

I wonder if envy is a factor? :-

lycra clad, svelt, speedy and looking the part - they hate you for being something they'd like to be, ie fit, athletic and with an interest

any old clobber, fat, sweaty and looking in pain - they don't exactly love you, but they pity you which is great for their egos and they can comfortably indulge in that favoured pastime of, 'thank god that's not me'.

I've not noticed it as a clothing issue but definitely as a helmet issue. When I first abandoned mine it did feel weird at first - a bit like driving without a seat belt - but I got used to that. But the thing I immediately notices was the greater distance and consideration I got from cars in London and this was long before Iain Walker came out with his research. I have thought about how I react when I'm driving and concluded without a helmet you are a recognisable person whereas its very difficult to recognise even people you know when they are wearing one so it makes you an anonymous generic "cyclist" not a person. But of course that's just my theory.

 

[Red Light]

As I said in another thread, I dont wear a helmet. For some time now, I have been considering joining my local club for rides. I finally decided last night to give them a ring to find out about it.
One of the rules they insist on is that wearing a helmet is compulsory to join in any rides. So thats me out as I resent being told to do something which is not a legal requirement.
On the other hand, I have found a couple of members who have agreed to let me go with them, without a helmet, outside the club's normal activities.

How can they stop you following them round on public roads?

 

[MontyVeda]

As I said in another thread, I dont wear a helmet. For some time now, I have been considering joining my local club for rides. I finally decided last night to give them a ring to find out about it.
One of the rules they insist on is that wearing a helmet is compulsory to join in any rides. So thats me out as I resent being told to do something which is not a legal requirement.
On the other hand, I have found a couple of members who have agreed to let me go with them, without a helmet, outside the club's normal activities.

Just turn up and join in... if they ask about your helmet just tell them it's in your trousers and you can get it out if they really want to see it... may not make you the most popular but I'd love to see the look on their faces.

 

[girovago]

Past couple of days I've not been riding to work, but have been ferrying stuff about on the bike. Helmet was a faff so left at home, and had to be in normal clothes so I rode "Danish", if you get me.

I have to say I have noticed several things.

1. no wind noise in my ears, I could hear cars approaching a hell of a lot better.

2. It feels as if drivers went much further around me. There was a lot more consideration around junctions and when passing.

Havent ridden like that in a long while, it felt remarkably liberating and even safe.

I can fully agree with point 1, although I haven't experienced your point 2.

I wore one for years and eventually gave up through a combination of discomfort, overheating, and reading about the benefits & risks of helmets.
My first impressions were as you've described, coupled with a greater sense of awareness of what might be risky. I suppose I took more risks while wearing one. I put one on again a few months back when I bought a helmet camera (didn't really think that one through, did I!?) and found it horrible. I've since bought a bar mount so the helmet's back in the cupboard. One thing I do miss though is my helmet mirror - a great little accessory.

 

[wiggydiggy]

...................I rode "Danish".............

I've been working in London last few weekends and have been using a Boris in my civvies, I found myself wishing for shorts and a vest as those bikes are heavy and its been lovely day (sunday), next time I'm taking some casual shorts to nip into.

 

[growingvegetables]

It feels as if drivers went much further around me. There was a lot more consideration around junctions and when passing.

Personally I can't be ****d with loads and loads of epidemiological studies analysing statistics which, by the very nature of cycling's inherent safety, are unreliable (took 7 attempts to get the spelling and the vocab right on that bit ).

I've only found one study - based on simple, clean observation and measurement of actual human behaviour --- and it backs you up, and my experience. 23% more drivers overtake within a metre or less. "Drivers (are) more likely to get particularly close when the rider (is) towards the centre of the road or wearing a helmet."

 

[Emmanuel Obikwelu]

How can they stop you following them round on public roads?

+1
Just happen to be cycling the same route at the same time .
And make sure you sprint past at the end for the final victory!