road or mountain bike?......based solely on fear!

[sidevalve]

As said above don't watch [often "set up"] videos - after all nobody makes a vid about all the long trouble free miles. Don't ride like an arrogant twonk with a "It's MY road and stuff you" attitude and follow the highway code [never mind what others do - you are better than them]. Remember most motorists don't start the day with the phrase " Off to work dear I think I'll just bag a couple of cyclists on the way".
Finally as for the road/mtb thing I would go for a road bike every time - nothing too delicate [you're not in a race] and you will find it will cope with mild off road stuff quite well if you keep the speed low.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Only 99%?
The other 1% is a considerable high number of actual vehicles who are not happy yo share the road with you.​

your slip is showing, the uncut quote is 99% or more. And even the not happy are going to be 99% or more passive aggressive types who do no more than tut & huff or if terminally stupid post to Facebook to twitter some idle bull that they've never done or would never do. And of your tiny fraction of the tiny fraction who are scary a**eholes most will just hate whatever form of transport you are in.

I ride rush hour Manchester, I can be in & around 100 vehicles in a matter of minutes without 1 of them giving me even a nanosecond of concern, and encounter way way more over the course of any one journey. I can count on the fingers of one hand and still have fingers left over in all the years I've been riding it how many wrong uns I've encountered who have genuinely worried me.

@thunderlips you'll also find the odd cyclist who seems intent on highlighting the bad and picking out the nasties. Avoid twitter while you're developing your style and confidence, it seems much more of a magnet for the 'oh shoot this is the worst thing in the world, its all awful, I hate it....same time tommorrow' brigade.

 

[Saluki]

It's not that bad out there. At least it's not as hideous as the Daily Fail and the BBC with their "war on the roads" type programmes will lead you to believe. Sure there are the occasional close passes and numpties trying to harass you but then you get the same people zooming past etc when you are in a car. Some people are just natural born tw***. pure and simple.
I ride in a sensible road position, not tucked into the gutter. I take primary at junctions where appropriate, and when passing those little bollarded islands in the middle of the carriageway. I do wear a helmet, but that is by choice. I have little flashing lights on my bike, even in the day time as I ride through a lot of 'tree tunnels'. I have good lights back and front for evenings when I might get caught in the dusk, or even the dark. I wear a bright top, not hi-viz though. My rain/winter jacket is council orange with reflective bits and I have reflective bits on my shoes, shorts, helmet etc. Oh, when overtaking parked cars, I give the door zone a wide berth. Helped a lass the other day when she was hit by an opening door. The car driver didn't see her even though he was in the road opening the door and not in the car!!! What a pratt!, then again she could have given a bit more room too.

I had an incident, which really worried me the other day, when a couple of lads slowed down right next to me and shouted something. I glanced across at them, a bit worried like as it was the day after @BigonaBianchi had been deliberately hit, the lad yelled again "Is this the right road for Wymondham?" I yelled back "Yes, 3 miles straight on" back at him, and off they went.
Interestingly busses and lorries now seem to give more space as they pass, I wave my thanks when they do.
I ride on the road most days. I'm sure that there are excellent places to ride off road locally but I've not really been out looking for them as I am happy to ride on the roads. Road rage is not that common. Youtube can be a scary place to look as a cyclist but then people are not going to post videos of commutes where absolutely nothing worthy of comment happens.
Enjoy your riding, whatever bike you choose. Just ride sensibly and be aware of your surroundings.

 

[brand]

Cycled in Manchester for years. Had quite a few nutters on the road. Not sure if rush hour isn't a safer time to ride. Nobody expects to get anywhere quickly. On the other hand cycling on a rural road A road (very narrow) a car or lorry just does not want to give up the speed they have reached. Consequently takeing massive risks with your life. The norm, a lorry completely changing sides of the road and thinking he has done you a favour. Pity his front wheel was level with my back wheel when they move out and they swerve back in causing me to brake or....be side swiped.
I stick to back roads now, not according to statistics safer as obviously there are the Dickhead who have just passed there test (also called young people) who say "I wasn't breaking the speed limit and any way I never hit you!"

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Don't forget there are (tens of??) THOUSANDS of problemless journeys every day that don't get filmed & put on YouTube.

As bad as most of the uploaded ones are, they're the tip of a mainly incident-free iceberg!!!

However, my thoughts are;

1. Ride confident;
- Don't ride as though you're seeking permission to be on the road, to pull out & pass parked vehicles, etc...

2. Lights and reflectors when dark (legal requirement);
- If it all does go 'pear-shaped' after dusk, if you've not got any, this could be used against you, by a drivers insurance company (as you'd not be following the Law)

3. Helmet;
- Granted, it won't save you from a broken leg, collar-bone, etc.... But, it may save you from being fed pureed food via a spoon for life (I've worked in & around an A&E unit for 17 years, so have seen the results, helmeted & not!!)

4. Insurance;
- CTC & British Cycling both offer schemes (I've got 'B C' Silver cover) If any RTC is deemed to be your fault, they will pay any costs you are deemed liable for.
if you are the injured party, they will fight on your behalf, recovering cost of bike, personal injury, loss of earnings, etc...
Bearing in mind 'point 2'!!! (point '3' is not a legal requirement, but some companies may offer the 'culpable negligence' argument)

5. Mudguards;
- Okay, they won't stop you getting wet when it rains, but help to keep you dry after it's been raining (& stop the lines of road-filth up your chest/back)

Good post.

Nice to see some first hand experience re point 3 instead of the usual rehashed web talk of how helmets can cause you problems in a tiny percentage of accidents involving helmeted riders.

***

I think there is a lot of truth in the previous posts re drivers, who tend to get a terrible slating on cycling forums - not just this one, who are courteous/aware. IME I have found that the vast majority of drivers are considerate to cyclists and I give way more nods/waves of appreciation to drivers than curses etc.

***

I think the insurance point made is a good one. I think it should be a legal requirement for all cyclists using the road. Think: what would you do if you did cause an accident?

***

For the OP: go get your bike and get riding! It's nowhere near as bad out there as some of those videos portray it.

 

[young Ed]

as for the road rage etc one, i have been riding since i was born almost and never once experienced road rage so that is probably at least 10 years of riding on the road (i am 15 now)
although saying that since i started commuting to school i have heard from various people that there are a few bus drivers that would rather happily get me out the way as i take ages to join the A road outside the school due to the amount of traffic, but still not had anyone with big enough goolies to face me with it

myself i must be road though as i would be to dangerous off road, don't know what you are like though
Cheers Ed

 

[Dogtrousers]

It really isn't that bad out there.

It's not that bad out there.

This

It isn't.

Ride cautiously & confidently (you can do both). Ride within your capabilities.

(please don't let this thread descend into yet another repetitive helmet dirge)

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Cycled in Manchester for years. Had quite a few nutters on the road. Not sure if rush hour isn't a safer time to ride. Nobody expects to get anywhere quickly. On the other hand cycling on a rural road A road (very narrow) a car or lorry just does not want to give up the speed they have reached. Consequently takeing massive risks with your life. The norm, a lorry completely changing sides of the road and thinking he has done you a favour. Pity his front wheel was level with my back wheel when they move out and they swerve back in causing me to brake or....be side swiped.
I stick to back roads now, not according to statistics safer as obviously there are the Dickhead who have just passed there test (also called young people) who say "I wasn't breaking the speed limit and any way I never hit you!"

my commute and other riding has me on those sort of quiet roads too, still not had the same doom and gloom experience as you. Seems the rest of the thread doesn't either.

Are you sure the problem is everyone else?

 

[morrisman]

This is a silly prejudice to air, especially when the thread is about confidence in beginners.

But the original post to which I was replying which said:
But, it may save you from being fed pureed food via a spoon for life (I've worked in & around an A&E unit for 17 years, so have seen the results, helmeted & not!!)
Would make all beginners embrace cycling as a relatively risk free sport?

 

[brand]

my commute and other riding has me on those sort of quiet roads too, still not had the same doom and gloom experience as you. Seems the rest of the thread doesn't either.

Are you sure the problem is everyone else?

Yes I agree it is everyone else's fault!
But not the person who started shouting at me to get over while driving beside me. Then speeded up swerved in front of me and slammed the brakes on. I needed quite a lot of stitches but no doubt you would say that was my fault? Wil get back...dinner

 

[brand]

Not far away a couple half of wit teen car drivers came over a hill to fast had to swerve round me causing another car driver to go off road. I shouted at them they slammed brakes on jumped out of car accusing me of being in the middle of the road. Two things wrong with that
A/ I believe you are supposed to be able to stop with in the distance you can see?
B/ They would have had a head on with the other car?
Will get back Pudding

 

[brand]

Now same place car driving to fast obviously kids, over took swerved in front me because there was a car coming in the other direction which they forced to brake. Now in this case the car that braked did a 3 point turn and chased after the other car....with his blue light flashing. My fault? Police did not seem to think so

 

[brand]

Next, car coming over top of the hill wheels left the ground (teenage half wits again) saw me changed sides and drove straight at me. He did move over before he got to me. Now in this case it was me at fault...I was on his road!

 

[Mark White]

A road (very narrow) a car or lorry just does not want to give up the speed they have reached. Consequently takeing massive risks with your life.

I did a new route today and on the way back heard a very large double-trailer lorry downshifting behind me, probably from about 60kmh to the 30odd that I was doing. He gave me a friendly beep-beep, and I waved him through once the road got a little wider and I could get safely over to the gutter, and another wave to his wing mirror after he passed.

I considered myself lucky as he was bringing a load of earth down from the mountains and usually the drivers do not like to slow down at all. I see plenty go through red lights rather than stop and use up fuel to get going again. And I probably won't be doing that route again.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

@brand

In the interests of balance, perhaps when you've finished your dinner/pudding/siesta, you could list the infinite (probably) number of occasions when absolutely nothing untoward happened to you.