The cycling thread

[Jon Crofts]

I started working in London proper in October 2009. In my first week I witnessed a cyclist get killed on The Embankment right in front of me as I walked toward Temple, pretty much every single day I see accidents, near misses and equally appalling standards of driving & riding happening in the City from lorries, cars, taxis and commuters on bikes.

Yes there are twattish drivers out there, some who go looking for a fight so to speak, some who I'd go as far as saying use their vehicles as weapons and yes there are twattish cyclists as well who seem to deliberately put themselves in positions knowing full well they will draw a reaction and then of course there are the unfortunate innocents who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Once, about 4 years ago I rented a Boris bike and rode from Old Bailey to Covent Garden and I've never done it since because quite honestly I don't want to die on a shit bike under a lorry turning left.  In my mind the cost savings and health benefits are far outweighed by the stress, aggravation and threat of cycling to and from work I'm afraid, good luck if you do it but I'd rather save my riding for the wilds of Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire & Oxfordshire thanks. We still get twats out there, in fact on Sunday I almost got wiped out by a Parcelforce van who pulled straight out in front of me without looking.

[Simon Page]

I thought this already was the rule...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38248488

When cycling, if I'm going straight on at a junction I don't put myself on the inside of a car . It does piss me off, at any time, when a driver doesn't indicate their intention, but I assume they could be going left and don't put myself in harms way. I'd rather do that than be lying broken in the road knowing I was in the right.

[Ad@m]

Twats exist.  Nothing we do will change that.  But a twat in a truck can quite easily kill a cyclist.  A twat on a bike is less dangerous so they need more protection to even the playing field.

Like it says in the BBC article, it's about time people thought of cyclists as people rather than as obstacles.

[Simon Page]

Don't get me wrong, I don't advocate mowing down cyclists - well, not all of them - even when I'm not on the bike. I just don't think we need a different set of rules to other road users. I'm well aware of my vulnerabilities on a bike and take what measures I can to minimise them.

[JD]

I started working in London proper in October 2009. In my first week I witnessed a cyclist get killed on The Embankment right in front of me as I walked toward Temple, pretty much every single day I see accidents, near misses and equally appalling standards of driving & riding happening in the City from lorries, cars, taxis and commuters on bikes.

Yes there are twattish drivers out there, some who go looking for a fight so to speak, some who I'd go as far as saying use their vehicles as weapons and yes there are twattish cyclists as well who seem to deliberately put themselves in positions knowing full well they will draw a reaction and then of course there are the unfortunate innocents who were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Once, about 4 years ago I rented a Boris bike and rode from Old Bailey to Covent Garden and I've never done it since because quite honestly I don't want to die on a shit bike under a lorry turning left.  In my mind the cost savings and health benefits are far outweighed by the stress, aggravation and threat of cycling to and from work I'm afraid, good luck if you do it but I'd rather save my riding for the wilds of Berkshire, Hampshire, Wiltshire & Oxfordshire thanks. We still get twats out there, in fact on Sunday I almost got wiped out by a Parcelforce van who pulled straight out in front of me without looking.

Add in copious amounts of roadworks (adding more frustration to drivers) and it sounds like over here and why i gave up riding to work.   

[peter w]

Sorry to intrude on a different point but the Boris bike thing always never fails to wind me up. They were actually a Ken Livingstone idea.

[Jon Crofts]

Yesterday was a fucking nightmare in London due to the tube strike, made doubly so by the twats on Boris bikes who thought it was OK to cycle on the pavement down The Strand at 5:30 in the afternoon with packet pavements and queues for buses clogging the pavements.  It very nearly came to blows with a few of them, angry pedestrians confronting them about riding on the pavement, the excuse being well the road is gridlock and you cant get anywhere on a bike with it like that so I thought I'd cycle on the pavement.

[thick_mike]

It was murder in Watopia this morning too!

[ACVilla]

When someone with the stature of Nicole Cooke speaks out then people should sit up and take interest. Team Sky's zero tolerance policy is becoming somewhat of a joke and yet again harms the sport:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/38728410

[Jon Crofts]

Lying Lance goes to trial in Washington on 6 November accused of fraud and doping whilst riding for the US publicly funded US Postal Service race team. Good luck staying out of prison on that one Lance.

[Ger Regan]

From what I gathered from reports of a select committee hearing today, sky's story is absolutely full of holes. It stinks to high heaven.

[Jon Crofts]

From what I gathered from reports of a select committee hearing today, sky's story is absolutely full of holes. It stinks to high heaven.

Not just Sky & Brailsford but British Cycling too.

[Scratchins]

Birmingham Council has proposed cycle revolution plans available for consultation.
I have looked at the City Centre to Selly Oak plan as this would affect me daily. There is also one for City Centre to Perry Barr.
I am in favour of safer segregation of cycles and vehicles but it contains such gems as at the Bristol Road/Priory Road junction closing access for vehicles from Selly Oak into Priory Road in either direction and no right turn into Priory Road from the direction of town. This affects access to the cricket, Mosely etc. in one direction and Edgbaston Old Church,Priory Hospital, tennis and golf etc. in the other. It also suggests that the surrounding residential areas would become busy routes.
https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/50016/sustainable_travel/564/birmingham_cycle_revolution

[UK Redsox]

From what I gathered from reports of a select committee hearing today, sky's story is absolutely full of holes. It stinks to high heaven.

Not just Sky & Brailsford but British Cycling too.

The doctor is on his way towards being struck off as well

[Ger Regan]

He was too sick to even Skype in, wasn't he? Poor lamb, hope he's ok. With that and losing the only laptop with wiggins' medical records on it, he's having a fierce run of bad luck.