Because this thread is about ‘Highways England to ban cycle racing on A63’ and that’s the only place they race cycles on the A63. Not that I ever see cyclists on the rest of it either, fortunately, people aren’t that daft.
Thought I'd post this here. A week or so ago I was driving in the evening after dark down a two lane, but narrow, country road with high hedge rows. I came round a bend right up behind a group of about 20-30+ cyclists out for a moonlight ride or summat - anyway they had lights and most were wearing light or reflective clothing. They were riding 3 abreast across the entire left lane. They were probably stretched out about 50 yards or so. So my choice was to either sit behind for at least couple of miles or overtake in the right hand lane. They made no move to go into single file even though they knew I was there. So I decided to overtake very carefully. Typically half way past them a car came the other way and I had to stop dead in my tracks on the wrong side of the road. The other car stopped, and with both our horns blazing basically the cyclists were forced to abandon the 3 abreast and I managed to come over to the left to get round the other car and then back out to finish going past them. It was ****ing dangerous and I was a little shaken up to be honest. I don't know if they got caught out in the dark through bad timing (although given the lights and clothing I doubt it - which means they were, imho, ****ing stupid to be riding around that area (all country roads for miles around) at that time of night. However I also don't know what the protocol is for that situation? Anyone enlighten me?
I think I know what the Highway Code would say about this situation, but you aren’t going to like it.
That is the thread title but the actual story is that they were looking to ban all cyclists on the A63 from North Cave to Daltry St roundabout (which oddly they referred to as Daltry St Interchange in their consultation) https://m.thegazette.co.uk/notice/2954064
I think you ought to be careful admitting to, what sounds very much like, an offence of dangerous driving on an open forum. The Highway Code says cyclists shouldn’t (only shouldn’t mind you, not mustn’t) ride “more than two abreast” So they ought to have only been two abreast not three, but after that they have as much, if not more, right to the whole lane as you have. Even single file there is no suggestion anyway you should squeeze to the side to help cars pass you. A single cyclist is perfectly in their rights to ride in the primary position in the centre of the lane If they had thinned our to single file, in the primary lane position the row would have been three times as long (or at least twice as long because it could well be that they were only two abreast but it looked like three from behind) so much more dangerous to pass https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/...s-ride-two-abreast-in-new-safety-video-187215 Patience is needed by drivers. They are likely to move in when it’s safe for them. Until then we’ll you can relax and have a nice slow drive
Sorry, mate. You've got to wait until it's safe to overtake, like you would with any slow moving vehicle. Even if they rode in single file, you'd be encouraged to squeeze past which is just as dangerous. You're lucky you didn't cause an accident.
I had an incident recently (last week) on my bike. On a village lane (I had lights on front and rear) this Civic driver (no lights) it was dusk and this car came careering around a corner at about 60mph on my side of the road (inappropriate speed for the location and light conditions) so as a gentleman I offered the ‘****er’ sign. The car screeched to a halt and these two big, dopey fat ****s got out of this **** car - and started shouting you’re the silly **** on the bike - get a car! I did respond with the statement ‘if you two got a pair of bikes then perhaps you wouldn’t be such a pair of fat lazy oxygen thieving ****ers’. It’s safe to say they weren’t happy with my honest assessment. It really incensed me as they were driving so completely recklessly. I sometimes have my children cycling with me on that particular route.
Yup I realise I should have probably waited but they showed no inclination of adjusting after about a minute (which doesn't sound long but is), so I did proceed extremely carefully but was aware it was maybe risky once I was in motion. I still don't understand what the **** they were doing there at that time of the evening (9.30 pm ish). Anyway lesson learned. Anyway I'm going to watch Death Race 2000 tonight to learn some more road rule tips.
So they were riding bikes at 9.30 pm and they had lights and reflective clothing ? I'm assuming this was a weekday so they'd go out after work it doesn't seem very unusual to me
Aye, I know it seems like a long time because you can cover a lot of ground in a minute. I live in an area where the number of cyclists has rocketed and I deal with them on a daily basis, sometimes following for five or more minutes. Even when you see cyclists coming toward you on the other side, I always ease off because on several occasions someone has overtaken them on a blind corner. No-one else on the road is predictable and you've got to stay hyper aware. Especially around here.
I sometimes walk to work in the morning and you notice so much more then when you are in your car . Like how many offences cyclists actually commit . The other day in my 50 minute walk I counted 9 . I'm sad enough to count as some ( not all ) are quick enough to hit you with how they have the same rights to be on the road as other vehicles , but only seem to pick and choose which of the rules they want to abide by when it suits .
I agree but all road users do just the same. Speeding, parking in dodgy places, dangerous overtaking, you name it, it's not just cyclists. Regarding the 3 abreast cyclists, yes the cars can and should wait a bit, but also the cyclists could ride single breast, spread themselves out a bit to create overtaking gaps, even pull over for a few secs to allow traffic to pass. I often see tractors doing just that when they know they're holding traffic up. It's about all road users behaving properly towards each other. Edit. And if they want to race down the A63 that's fine but put bloody cones up. It's not rocket science.
Do the same with cars. Just this morning, some arse decided they needed to move quicker than the rest of the queue, so shot up the inside, which is a cycle lane. Luckily I was watching, so could drop back to let the thick twat in before he wiped out the cyclists in the cycle lane. A **** up in a car can kills other people, a **** up on a bike tends to kill the cyclist.
I'd prefer cyclists to ride abreast, as many as they can, on a normal road. Unless it's an abnormally wide stretch of road you need to encroach onto the other side anyway so it means you don't need as large a gap in the traffic to get by safely. It's the narrower roads where it pisses me off and you usually find them riding abreast, where there's plenty of space for a car and cyclist to safely pass each other yet the ****ers decide to take up the entire road and take that opportunity to get out of first gear into their own hands. Usually just bobbing along at a slow and steady pace whilst they eat, drink and have a chat. Sometimes I rue the advances in technology. In the good old days they'd be rammed into a ditch and be done with. But nowadays everyone has a spy camera and a black box hidden up their jacksey.
