I like Skol
A Minging Manc...
- Location
- Sunny Ashton-under-Lyne
What an interesting commute!
Started well with the ride in to work last night and me having my preconceptions and prejudices challenged. I was riding up New Zealand in Stockport and because of heavy traffic in the rush hour was facing a continuous queue of cars in the opposite direction. This meant I had a line of cars following me up the hill, for around 1/2 a mile, unable to pass because the road is too narrow. I was pleased that the car directly behind me kept a sensible distance and there was no engine revving or pushing from them all the way up. I was somewhat surprised when the car did eventually pass me to see it was a BMW with private plate, I wasn't expecting that!
Normal service resumed this morning on the way home. Within a couple of hundred yards of leaving work had a Honda Civic pull out on me at a small roundabout. I'm sure they saw me approaching but just seemed to panic as I got there, were confused about what they should do with a bicycle so just went anyway....... Numpty!
Best bit of the whole trip was just as I nearly got home. I was hammering along the bypass/dual carriageway through Ashton when a car squeezed past, beeping and pointing at the cycle lane as he did so. When he joined the inevitable queue for the lights a short distance later I pulled alongside the drivers window to 'discuss' his issues.
His opening gambit was 'Why don't you use the cycle lane, they've spent a lot of money installing that?'
I replied that it is rubbish (I may have said Shite
) because it is bumpy, narrow, crosses side roads and tries to take me off in a direction I am not going because it goes left around a gyratory system when I am going straight on and I wish they hadn't provided it. If I had had more time and breath I would have also added that it is supposed to be one way (one on each side of the dual carriageway) but not unusual to encounter bikes being ridden in the wrong direction (did I already say it is narrow, definitely too narrow to pass another bike).It is supposed to be cycles only, no pedestrians but guess what, it's not unusual to encounter peds (and it is too narrow to safely pass them!). It is overgrown already with bushes further restricting the already narrow path after only 1 yr.
He then complained that it was there for my safety and if someone knocked me off my bike because I wasn't using it whose fault would that be? I said the person who knocked me off. I am perfectly visible so why would someone drive up behind me and hit me?
His final word as the traffic began to move again was 'Well there's no point talking to you anyway, you're not even wearing a helmet!
I congratulated him on his 1st class performance and for covering all the usual points. Unfortunately he failed because he didn't mention that all cyclist jump red lights and why doesn't anyone have lights on their bike? (I have two good but not offensive lights at each end).
Anyway, it was a bit of fantastic light entertainment with which to end the commute but I did arrive home feeling even more strongly than usual that I should write a strongly worded letter to the council and the local rag about the shite cycle lane they have wasted so much of my money on!
Started well with the ride in to work last night and me having my preconceptions and prejudices challenged. I was riding up New Zealand in Stockport and because of heavy traffic in the rush hour was facing a continuous queue of cars in the opposite direction. This meant I had a line of cars following me up the hill, for around 1/2 a mile, unable to pass because the road is too narrow. I was pleased that the car directly behind me kept a sensible distance and there was no engine revving or pushing from them all the way up. I was somewhat surprised when the car did eventually pass me to see it was a BMW with private plate, I wasn't expecting that!
Normal service resumed this morning on the way home. Within a couple of hundred yards of leaving work had a Honda Civic pull out on me at a small roundabout. I'm sure they saw me approaching but just seemed to panic as I got there, were confused about what they should do with a bicycle so just went anyway....... Numpty!
Best bit of the whole trip was just as I nearly got home. I was hammering along the bypass/dual carriageway through Ashton when a car squeezed past, beeping and pointing at the cycle lane as he did so. When he joined the inevitable queue for the lights a short distance later I pulled alongside the drivers window to 'discuss' his issues.
His opening gambit was 'Why don't you use the cycle lane, they've spent a lot of money installing that?'
I replied that it is rubbish (I may have said Shite
) because it is bumpy, narrow, crosses side roads and tries to take me off in a direction I am not going because it goes left around a gyratory system when I am going straight on and I wish they hadn't provided it. If I had had more time and breath I would have also added that it is supposed to be one way (one on each side of the dual carriageway) but not unusual to encounter bikes being ridden in the wrong direction (did I already say it is narrow, definitely too narrow to pass another bike).It is supposed to be cycles only, no pedestrians but guess what, it's not unusual to encounter peds (and it is too narrow to safely pass them!). It is overgrown already with bushes further restricting the already narrow path after only 1 yr.He then complained that it was there for my safety and if someone knocked me off my bike because I wasn't using it whose fault would that be? I said the person who knocked me off. I am perfectly visible so why would someone drive up behind me and hit me?
His final word as the traffic began to move again was 'Well there's no point talking to you anyway, you're not even wearing a helmet!
I congratulated him on his 1st class performance and for covering all the usual points. Unfortunately he failed because he didn't mention that all cyclist jump red lights and why doesn't anyone have lights on their bike? (I have two good but not offensive lights at each end).
Anyway, it was a bit of fantastic light entertainment with which to end the commute but I did arrive home feeling even more strongly than usual that I should write a strongly worded letter to the council and the local rag about the shite cycle lane they have wasted so much of my money on!
...at least I presume so due to the lack of bikes on the road today. Counted two for the first 8 miles then about five on the drag to Kensington Palace. Fair play to the hybrid who valiantly tried to maintain a 20mph speed through there but blew up around Cass Art. 
hope no-one's too hurt.
