cyclists on the dundalk to castle'bham road

whelan1 · 17-05-2012 8:43pm #1

i am not against cyclists, i am one myself , but every thursday its the same dodging cyclists:mad: seriously some one is going to get hurt, i have lost count of the near misses i have had trying to pass them out... are they not supposed to keep as close to the hard shoulder as possible?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 17-05-2012 9:15pm

whelan1 wrote: »

i am not against cyclists, i am one myself , but every thursday its the same dodging cyclists:mad: seriously some one is going to get hurt, i have lost count of the near misses i have had trying to pass them out... are they not supposed to keep as close to the hard shoulder as possible?

Are these just recreation cyclists or CuChulainn Cycling Club holding there league races or training. If the club then contact them.

whelan1 · 17-05-2012 10:40pm

seems to be races ... every thursday.. i go to the fairways on a thursday night to a group meeting... its deadly dangerous on the road there due to the cyclists

locum-motion · 17-05-2012 11:06pm

whelan1 wrote: »

i am not against cyclists, i am one myself , but every thursday its the same dodging cyclists seriously some one is going to get hurt, i have lost count of the near misses i have had trying to pass them out... are they not supposed to keep as close to the hard shoulder as possible?

A cyclist is a road user, same as you the driver.

They're entitled to be on/in the roadway, and while it makes sense to stay as far to the left (close to - but not in - the hard shoulder), it is not always practical to stay very far left as the surface can be dodgy.

They're also entitled to ride 2 abreast, but not more, I think, although I'm open to correction. I'm basing that on someone I heard talking to Matt Cooper on the radio today.

If you (as a driver) are approaching behind a cyclist or cyclists, you have to stay behind them until it is safe to pass, same as you would if it was a car. If that means slowing down to 25-30 km/h because there's a truck coming the other way, then so be it.

If you are 'dodging cyclists', and having 'near misses' as you try to pass them, then you, Sir, need to have a long hard look at your own driving.

lucernarian · 18-05-2012 12:58am

I always cycle in the hard shoulder as a matter of courtesy. I rarely see a situation where I must use the driving lane but I will do so if there's potholes in the hard shoulder.

I think excercising my right to cycle in the driving lane at all times is a little impractical in reality. And for the most part the C'Bellingham to Dundalk road has an okay hard shoulder, though I've never cycled it.

whelan1 · 18-05-2012 6:02am

locum-motion wrote: »

A cyclist is a road user, same as you the driver.

They're entitled to be on/in the roadway, and while it makes sense to stay as far to the left (close to - but not in - the hard shoulder), it is not always practical to stay very far left as the surface can be dodgy.

They're also entitled to ride 2 abreast, but not more, I think, although I'm open to correction. I'm basing that on someone I heard talking to Matt Cooper on the radio today.

If you (as a driver) are approaching behind a cyclist or cyclists, you have to stay behind them until it is safe to pass, same as you would if it was a car. If that means slowing down to 25-30 km/h because there's a truck coming the other way, then so be it.

If you are 'dodging cyclists', and having 'near misses' as you try to pass them, then you, Sir, need to have a long hard look at your own driving.

so its ok to weave in front of a car thats trying to overtake you! thats the dangerous part . There is nothing wrong with my driving, its the split second movements of the cyclists thats dangerous , all i ask is for them to realise they are not the only ones on that road... obviously its a big ask

working fool · 18-05-2012 6:39am

I noticed this carry on last Saturday
I was approaching a group of cyclists
Some where traveling two abreast wich as someone said earlier is perfectly legal .
But as I started to overtake them one cyclist then swung out further while looking back talking to his mate and forced me out further onto the hard shoulder on the other side of the road .

**Timbuk2** · 18-05-2012 6:57am

The Dundalk-Castlebellingham road has (except for one section) a wide hard shoulder, so they should (as a matter of courtesy) be cycling in that, or at least partly in that. However, they are perfectly entitled to cycle on the road if they want (although as it's a 100km/h road, I'm not sure why they'd want to).

Having said that, it's a very straight, wide road, with plenty of overtaking opportunities so if you do come across a group of cyclists, just hold back until it's safe to pass them!

MugMugs · 18-05-2012 8:09am

I do that run myself during the summer and I have to say, as a full time driver some of the people overtaking me are dangerous and should be taken off the road. It's all well and good scalping a cyclist when overtaking by staying as close to them as possible but drivers really need to take on board that a close pass by a car could have massive consequences to cyclists.

In saying that and in keeping with the tone of me being an utter bastard and prejduiced to everybody and anything on the roads, I equally dislike cyclists.

Anyway,

Rules of zee road for your debate on Two "Abreast" *giggle*

Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations, 1997.
...
Pedal Cyclists
47. (1) A pedal cyclist shall not drive a pedal cycle on a roadway in such a manner as to result in more than two pedal cyclists driving abreast, save when overtaking other pedal cyclists, and then only if to do so will not endanger, inconvenience or obstruct other traffic or pedestrians.
(2) Pedal cyclists on a roadway shall cycle in single file when overtaking other traffic.

Mugs

kormak · 18-05-2012 8:57am

They might be following "the rules" set out for them but in my opinion some cyclists like to push these rule to the limit quite simply to irate other road users...
I had the pleasure of meeting a lone cyclist (man in his 50s) literally cycling around a foot in from the white line, in the middle of the road. Perfectly wide and smooth hard shoulder not to mention the near perfect road condition!!
I f*cking blew him out of it (car horn in-case anyone gets any ideas!

).. out of sheer frustration of nearly killing the man from driving 100km per hour around a slight bend.

Again, fair enough cyclists have a right and all that... but have a bit of sense for your own safety and well-being when cycling on a main road.

locum-motion · 18-05-2012 2:01pm

whelan1 wrote: »

so its ok to weave in front of a car thats trying to overtake you! thats the dangerous part . There is nothing wrong with my driving, its the split second movements of the cyclists thats dangerous , all i ask is for them to realise they are not the only ones on that road... obviously its a big ask

Agreed, the cyclists shouldn't weave out in front of you. But you didn't specify that that's what you were worried about in your OP; you just said that they weren't close enough to the hard shoulder and you were having to weave past them.

callmekenneth · 18-05-2012 2:31pm

god i hate cyclists

whelan1 · 18-05-2012 2:57pm

i come off the motorway and turn at the xerox junction... the cyclists seem to set off fromthe junction just before the fairways... so you have to have your wits about you when turning into the fairways that theres not a cyclist on your inside... then when i am finished in the fairways i have to meet someone in kilsaran so have no choice but to go the old road where all the cyclists are

MugMugs · 18-05-2012 7:21pm

whelan1 wrote: »

i come off the motorway and turn at the xerox junction... the cyclists seem to set off fromthe junction just before the fairways... so you have to have your wits about you when turning into the fairways that theres not a cyclist on your inside... then when i am finished in the fairways i have to meet someone in kilsaran so have no choice but to go the old road where all the cyclists are

So you have an issue with all cyclists? Not just a specific group?

Mugs

whelan1 · 18-05-2012 8:29pm

no just the thursday night cyclists on this road!

MugMugs · 18-05-2012 9:24pm

whelan1 wrote: »

no just the thursday night cyclists on this road!

Apologies, so misread your OP as Blaney for some reason

Mugs

Kwak.ie · 05-06-2012 9:35pm

A small press on the horn would be nice to alert the cyclists. Not a crazy long blow on the horn, the small hello i'm coming behind type. that's a good way to stop the drifting and winding and a nice way to alert the guys and gals that something is coming, we've no rear view mirrors u know.
And remember ur driving on big fat ass tires, these bikes are usually pumped up to 120+ psi and as wide as ur thumb. Small holes for cyclists on these tires is like motorists going over a manhole with no lid. So everyone be nice and enjoy the sunny day, even better get out for a spin urself and see why we love cycling :-)

And again like others said if u can't pass safely then don't pass at all. Same goes for driving around bends when u cant see the far side of. Take ur time. It's ur driving skills that come into question if a overtaking goes wrong. Expect the unexpected!

Also no road in Louth is good enough to cycle in the hard shoulder. Dirt/glass/small stones to tree branches overgrown and bumps/holes are all galore!!

ShiverinEskimo · 07-06-2012 1:20pm

There's regular meetings north of Dundalk too where the cyclists do a loop around Ravensdale via the Ballymac roundabout.

Driving around the roundabout heading out to Carlingford one evening I was stopped my marshalls on the roundabout to clear the way for the cyclists. They were at least 500m down the road approaching the roundabout and the marshall would not let me pass (I'd have been at the ballymac hotel by the time they arrived at the roundabout had I been let pass.

Took me 50 minutes to drive to Carlingford as a result because they were riding up to 5 abreast and were such a large and long group (including what appeared to be a pace-car) over-taking was impossible. By the time they turned off the road at Fitzpatricks there was a queue of traffic a mile long behind us.

Knowing someone who lives in Annaloughan and drives home at the same time each night apparently this happens at least every fortnight and so it takes 40 minutes to drive home because the road apparently becomes their property for the duration of their meet. This person contacted the club and was told they had a right to use the road and the reason they don't use the hard shoulder is because the hard shoulder may contain debris that could cause punctures.

Cyclists are welcome to have their meets but until they are paying road tax they can fúck right off with essentially closing a road at will. I've never been so infuriated behind the wheel in my life. Complete and utter disregard towards the fact that all road-users are SHARING a road.

I wish nothing but frequent punctures and grazed knees for the lot of those obnoxious cúnts.

hardCopy · 07-06-2012 1:24pm

whelan1 wrote: »

locum-motion wrote: »

A cyclist is a road user, same as you the driver.

They're entitled to be on/in the roadway, and while it makes sense to stay as far to the left (close to - but not in - the hard shoulder), it is not always practical to stay very far left as the surface can be dodgy.

They're also entitled to ride 2 abreast, but not more, I think, although I'm open to correction. I'm basing that on someone I heard talking to Matt Cooper on the radio today.

If you (as a driver) are approaching behind a cyclist or cyclists, you have to stay behind them until it is safe to pass, same as you would if it was a car. If that means slowing down to 25-30 km/h because there's a truck coming the other way, then so be it.

If you are 'dodging cyclists', and having 'near misses' as you try to pass them, then you, Sir, need to have a long hard look at your own driving.

so its ok to weave in front of a car thats trying to overtake you! thats the dangerous part . There is nothing wrong with my driving, its the split second movements of the cyclists thats dangerous , all i ask is for them to realise they are not the only ones on that road... obviously its a big ask

Split second movements of cyclists are exactly why you should give adequate clearance. 1.5 metres MINIMUM. If you're having frequent close calls then you're probably to blame. Really you should leave the lane completely to overtake, same as if you were passing a caravan.

kormak · 07-06-2012 2:01pm

ShiverinEskimo wrote: »

Driving around the roundabout heading out to Carlingford one evening I was stopped my marshalls on the roundabout to clear the way for the cyclists. They were at least 500m down the road approaching the roundabout and the marshall would not let me pass (I'd have been at the ballymac hotel by the time they arrived at the roundabout had I been let pass.

Can someone clear something up for me...
I was always under the impression that only Gardaí & lollypop ladies are legally allowed to stop/direct traffic. No one else!
On a separate note, I had one such incident recently where even though my light was green, a workman decided to stop me and allow redlight traffic through.
With absolutely no understandable reason why he was doing this I just ploughed passed him and his stupid hand signals!! :eek:

ShiverinEskimo · 07-06-2012 2:44pm

Yea the marshall had no right to stop me and in fact had I been distracted at all I would have ran him over fairly easily. He stepped off the roundabout itself into the right lane (nearest the cente of the roundabout).

By the time I had stopped 3 more had stepped out to close the other lanes on the roundabout. Despite my protests he wouldn't move and completely ignored me. I couldn't run him over so I had to sit there. That's when the rage began to flood up.

By the time I passed Fitzpatricks I had turned into the Hulk. As you can see from my last post I still haven't come to terms with it.

feck sake lads · 07-06-2012 4:01pm

let's face it folks when people get into cars trucks tractors or whatever something strange happens to them jeckyll and hyde syndrome:D:D thats a fact they see a cyclist as a target a nuisance on there road how dare they hold me up riding a bloody bike on a public road shocking state of affaira altogether:D
i have been a cyclist most of my life i seen it all believe me ,
i'm also a motorist and yes i#ve seen some freds out there ,but club cyclists are mainly if not fully car conscious we know your there please be patient it only takes a few minutes for cyclists to give way not hours as some might think but it's the usual when your in a car your always in a hurry ,and remember it's a human on a bike cars can kill would you like that on your CV

furiousox · 07-06-2012 4:03pm

I can accept being stuck behind a large group of racing cyclists can be frustrating but there seems to be a widespread intolerance of cyclists in this country, especially compared to the Continent.
What is it about cyclists that drive some motorists crazy?
People will happily slow down and wait for tractors, horses, wide loads and slow moving vehicles but cyclists seem to bring out total impatience and irrational rage in some.
Not just groups but pairs or even single cyclists seem to be a red rag to some drivers.
There's no such thing as road tax btw, it's motor tax.

Wishbone Ash · 07-06-2012 4:13pm

kormak wrote: »

I had the pleasure of meeting a lone cyclist (man in his 50s) literally cycling around a foot in from the white line, in the middle of the road. Perfectly wide and smooth hard shoulder not to mention the near perfect road condition!!
I f*cking blew him out of it (car horn in-case anyone gets any ideas! ).. out of sheer frustration of nearly killing the man from driving 100km per hour around a slight bend

Sounds like you were driving too fast if you nearly killed him. It could have been a tractor or livestock. The cyclist may have been intending to make a right turn and therefore would be obliged to take up a position about one foot from the white line.

kormak wrote: »

I was always under the impression that only Gardaí & lollypop ladies are legally allowed to stop/direct traffic. No one else!
On a separate note, I had one such incident recently where even though my light was green, a workman decided to stop me and allow redlight traffic through.
With absolutely no understandable reason why he was doing this I just ploughed passed him and his stupid hand signals!! :eek:

What you did was illegal as a person in charge of roadworks is entitled to stop/direct traffic. Customs officials and persons in charge of animals are also allowed to stop/direct traffic.

Beasty · 07-06-2012 4:33pm

Marshalls at cycling races can ask motorists to stop, but have absolutely no power to force them to do so (unless they are guards themselves, which can sometimes be the case with organised races)

However if a driver has been made aware of the cyclists and chooses to ignore the warnings and an accident ensues, it is much more likely that they could face prosecution for dangerous/careless driving or the like.

ShiverinEskimo · 07-06-2012 4:35pm

furiousox wrote: »

I can accept being stuck behind a large group of racing cyclists can be frustrating but there seems to be a widespread intolerance of cyclists in this country, especially compared to the Continent.
What is it about cyclists that drive some motorists crazy?
People will happily slow down and wait for tractors, horses, wide loads and slow moving vehicles but cyclists seem to bring out total impatience and irrational rage in some.
Not just groups but pairs or even single cyclists seem to be a red rag to some drivers.
There's no such thing as road tax btw, it's motor tax.

When cyclists and their marshalls completely take over a lane of traffic in the early evening then of course there will be intolerance. Riding 4/5/6 abreast while a stream of cars is held up at 20kmph for 20/30 minutes shows a total and utter lack of respect for other road users.

If there was a row of tractors, horses and wide loads blocking an entire stretch of road every fortnight you would find people fairly intolerant of those too. It's the insistance of the cyclists to block an entire lane of traffic while refusing to use the hard shoulder every other week that causes the infuriation.

It's also worth bearing in mind that tractors and wide-loads are not holding up traffic for recreational purposes. Single cyclists going to and from work etc. are fine by me and I have all the patience and courtesy in the world for them. But this business of ruining other people's evening so you can enjoy yours is bollox.

alphabeat · 07-06-2012 4:44pm

whats with the ' until they pay road tax ' b0ll0x ?

you dont think 'road tax ' goes on the roads do ya ?

all tax is used on the roads - road tax is just a tax like PAYE .

so we all pay the ' de rode tax '

just suck it up and stop moanin about cyclists like a little ho

ShiverinEskimo · 07-06-2012 4:47pm

alphabeat wrote: »

whats with the ' until they pay road tax ' b0ll0x ?

you dont think 'road tax ' goes on the roads do ya ?

all tax is used on the roads - road tax is just a tax like PAYE .

so we all pay the ' de rode tax '

just suck it up and stop moanin about cyclists like a little ho

Thanks for your well-written and insightful contribution to the discussion.

It's a real pleasure to decipher your opinions on the subject.

shamwari · 07-06-2012 4:50pm

ShiverinEskimo wrote: »

When cyclists and their marshalls completely take over a lane of traffic in the early evening then of course there will be intolerance. Riding 4/5/6 abreast while a stream of cars is held up at 20kmph for 20/30 minutes shows a total and utter lack of respect for other road users.

If there was a row of tractors, horses and wide loads blocking an entire stretch of road every fortnight you would find people fairly intolerant of those too. It's the insistance of the cyclists to block an entire lane of traffic while refusing to use the hard shoulder every other week that causes the infuriation.

It's also worth bearing in mind that tractors and wide-loads are not holding up traffic for recreational purposes. Single cyclists going to and from work etc. are fine by me and I have all the patience and courtesy in the world for them. But this business of ruining other people's evening so you can enjoy yours is bollox.

Patience and courtesy my ass. If the people of Kerry and Wicklow can tolerate thousands of cyclists for a whole day then whats wrong with a smaller number over a smaller time scale in Louth, or for that matter, anywhere else?

tayto lover · 07-06-2012 4:54pm

These cyclists from Cuchullain Cycling Club are a regular hazard on the Dundalk / Carlingford Road and are a complete nuisance. They think they own the road and put their enjoyment ahead of the needs of any other road users. I've had many a near miss with them.

Tonyandthewhale · 07-06-2012 4:58pm

ShiverinEskimo wrote: »

Thanks for your well-written and insightful contribution to the discussion.

It's a real pleasure to decipher your opinions on the subject.

He's not exactly eloquent but he is right (about the road tax thing, not necessarily about you being 'a little ho.'

There's no such thing as road tax, you pay motor tax and the proceeds from it go into a general fund just like any other tax so someone who pays the high rate of PAYE is just as likely to be making a greater than average contribution to paying for the roads as someone paying a high rate of motor tax.
Also, most of those fellas blocking up the road probably drove to the start of the race and will drive home. So they are paying motor tax, or 'road tax' if you want to call it that.

cyclists on the dundalk to castle'bham road

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