Absolutely nothing happened!!

brayblue24

I left my house in Bray this morning, crossed the N11 and went over Sally Gap via Glencree and back by Roundwood-over 2 hours in the saddle. No big deal I know but here's the rub.

During this whole cycle not one person tried to kill me, nobody drove out in front of me, no dog chased me, in fact the only thing of note was a jeep pulling over to give me right of way on a narrow bridge on the way down from Sally Gap.

Has anyone else ever experience this phenomenon? I'm a long time cycling and it's the first time it's ever happened to me. Natrually I'm a bit shaken by the experience. When I came home my wife was very good, even offering to hide in the estate and drive across my path as I rode by before screeching to a halt at the last minute to roar unprovoked obscenities at me in a misguided attempt to disguise her lack of driving skills but I had lost my will to cycle. She told me I needed to get back in the saddle, that tomorrow is a new day and perhaps then a bin lorry and its crew would roam aimlessly across the street in front of me causing me to career into a ditch or a council lorry would throw random piles of gravel around blind corners in my path.

I feel better having written this but wonder if anyone else has ever experienced this issue

pprendeville

brayblue24 wrote: »

I left my house in Bray this morning, crossed the N11 and went over Sally Gap via Glencree and back by Roundwood-over 2 hours in the saddle. No big deal I know but here's the rub.

During this whole cycle not one person tried to kill me, nobody drove out in front of me, no dog chased me, in fact the only thing of note was a jeep pulling over to give me right of way on a narrow bridge on the way down from Sally Gap.

Has anyone else ever experience this phenomenon? I'm a long time cycling and it's the first time it's ever happened to me. Natrually I'm a bit shaken by the experience. When I came home my wife was very good, even offering to hide in the estate and drive across my path as I rode by before screeching to a halt at the last minute to roar unprovoked obscenities at me in a misguided attempt to disguise her lack of driving skills but I had lost my will to cycle. She told me I needed to get back in the saddle, that tomorrow is a new day and perhaps then a bin lorry and its crew would roam aimlessly across the street in front of me causing me to career into a ditch or a council lorry would throw random piles of gravel around blind corners in my path.

I feel better having written this but wonder if anyone else has ever experienced this issue

In the immortal words of Victor Meldrew:

"I don't believe it".

CramCycle

brayblue24 wrote: »

I left my house in Bray this morning, crossed the N11 and went over Sally Gap via Glencree and back by Roundwood-over 2 hours in the saddle. No big deal I know but here's the rub.

During this whole cycle not one person tried to kill me, nobody drove out in front of me, no dog chased me, in fact the only thing of note was a jeep pulling over to give me right of way on a narrow bridge on the way down from Sally Gap.

Has anyone else ever experience this phenomenon? I'm a long time cycling and it's the first time it's ever happened to me. Natrually I'm a bit shaken by the experience. When I came home my wife was very good, even offering to hide in the estate and drive across my path as I rode by before screeching to a halt at the last minute to roar unprovoked obscenities at me in a misguided attempt to disguise her lack of driving skills but I had lost my will to cycle. She told me I needed to get back in the saddle, that tomorrow is a new day and perhaps then a bin lorry and its crew would roam aimlessly across the street in front of me causing me to career into a ditch or a council lorry would throw random piles of gravel around blind corners in my path or the Gardai would screech through a red light without blue lights or a siren while on te phone.

I feel better having written this but wonder if anyone else has ever experienced this issue

Sorry I couldn't help myself i'd say they all know who you are and are scared you'll get them done for dangerous driving.

brayblue24

CramCycle wrote: »

Sorry I couldn't help myself i'd say they all know who you are and are scared you'll get them done for dangerous driving.

Ha ha wouldn't that be nice....

(by the way, can't argue with your edit either-the truth hurts!!)

mloc123

I don't know, I rarely have 'run ins' while out on the bike. Maybe the flatlands of Kildare and Meath are different or maybe I don't look for the smallest things to complain about.

Cookie_Monster

I think the massively increased volume of cyclists over the last few years has improved everyone road manners, motorists deal with them daily all over the country now and are just more used to cyclist and how little time they actual cost even if stuck behind them for a while

cdaly_

Ye had the wrong helmet on...

spyderski

You built up all your near misses with that cnut coming down the hill into Enniskerry on the Orwell randonee last year. On the law of averages you had to have one clear run! You should deffo bring the black book out with you on your next spin tho'. These things don't last forever

brayblue24

spyderski wrote: »

You built up all your near misses with that cnut coming down the hill into Enniskerry on the Orwell randonee last year

Ha ha I remember that clown alright. He won't come down south for his holiers again any time soon. I'd say he learnt a few new words from us that day!!

Jawgap

This wasn't you, was it?:)

JacksonHeightsOwn

i must be the only one that rarely seems to have any bother from motorists

in my 2 years cycling i could count on one hand the amount of incidents ive been involved in

no offence lads, i think you'se blow it all out of proportion.

Peterx

Yep, letting it go often makes for a grand commute.

A lad ahead of me spent the whole journey cycling into town taking offence at perceived slights and random acts of motion with his hand in air gesturing at unobservant fellow commuters as they didn't give him enough space.
We basically had the same commute and I'm pretty sure he had an awful stressful dangerous trip whilst I didn't.

Don't get me wrong though, fluffy love and road sharing is all very well but when I am actually nearly mown down I get fairly agitated:D

Diarmuid

chrisbonnie wrote: »

in my 2 years cycling i could count on one hand the amount of incidents ive been involved in.

In the past 2 years I have had no major close call until Sunday.

I was within 2m of going under the wheels of a car at the weekend.

It's not the frequency of the incidents that causes people to complain loudly, it's the potential outcome

poochiem

best post in ages OP

brayblue24

poochiem wrote: »

best post in ages OP

Just thought I'd throw in a bit of light banter

kona

Im ashamed to admit OP that my commute has become very mundane lately too. I miss the adrenaline and the chance to practice my verbal abuse at some half wit.

Im actually considering running red lights just to Troll on the roads. :pac:

kona

Diarmuid wrote: »

I was within 2m of going under the wheels of a car at the weekend.

IMO thats not even close Youd be 2m away from moving traffic waiting at traffic lights.

Altho If its enough to scare ya its close enough i suppose!

doozerie

I headed out for a spin on a weekday myself a couple of weeks back. On part of the same route too, out through Roundwood and Laragh and back via SallyGap. There wasn't much traffic around compared to a Sunday spin on the same route, but of the few cars that I did encounter at least two drivers gave me a friendly wave which was a pleasant surprise.

Left me wondering whether modern Sunday spins in a car are generally a bit like those of my youth where my father was tired after a week of work but got landed with entertaining an army of children for the day at the weekend - we were piled into the car and taken for a spin and we were all expected to enjoy it "or by god there'll be trouble!". There's nothing quite like a forced sense of joviality while cocooned in a metal tin with your family to make for an incredibly stressful day out for everyone concerned and particularly for the driver - running the odd cyclist off the road must be a mood lightening distraction for some of them.

Jabel

Great post OP, made me smile.
Does that include any maniac cyclists????

brayblue24

Jabel wrote: »

Great post OP, made me smile.
Does that include any maniac cyclists????

Not a cyclist of any description did I meet

Coronal

doozerie wrote: »

- running the odd cyclist off the road must be a mood lightening distraction for some of them.

I find that a big problem here in Germany. I have been told that this is probably due to the presence of "Sunday drivers" who apparently don't really know how to drive very well. It should abate here a little, now that the law says we don't have to use the cycle paths

I have very few cycles where a motorist doesn't beep, or where I'm not cut off. It's pretty bad in the city where there's poor visibility of the bike lanes from the road due to parked cars. Always nice to hear of somebody having a nice spin, though. Great post, made me smile

pprendeville

Diarmuid wrote: »

In the past 2 years I have had no major close call until Sunday.

I was within 2m of going under the wheels of a car at the weekend.

It's not the frequency of the incidents that causes people to complain loudly, it's the potential outcome

what happened?

JacksonHeightsOwn

Diarmuid wrote: »

In the past 2 years I have had no major close call until Sunday.

I was within 2m of going under the wheels of a car at the weekend.

It's not the frequency of the incidents that causes people to complain loudly, it's the potential outcome

true Diarmuid, but the closest time ive come to an accident between a bike and a car was when i was driving my car, when some stupid cow cut right across me without looking, blatantly never looked, but who was the scapegoat that evening when she was telling the story?

im just saying road manners work both ways,

i just think its as easy for me to cycle a little closer to the left than it is for a car to over take me, thats just my opinion

xz

doozerie wrote: »

I headed out for a spin on a weekday myself a couple of weeks back. On part of the same route too, out through Roundwood and Laragh and back via SallyGap. There wasn't much traffic around compared to a Sunday spin on the same route, but of the few cars that I did encounter at least two drivers gave me a friendly wave which was a pleasant surprise.

Left me wondering whether modern Sunday spins in a car are generally a bit like those of my youth where my father was tired after a week of work but got landed with entertaining an army of children for the day at the weekend - we were piled into the car and taken for a spin and we were all expected to enjoy it "or by god there'll be trouble!". There's nothing quite like a forced sense of joviality while cocooned in a metal tin with your family to make for an incredibly stressful day out for everyone concerned and particularly for the driver - running the odd cyclist off the road must be a mood lightening distraction for some of them.

Most of the local traffic that you would encounter on those roads during the week would bd well used to cyclists and are, on the most part very tolerant to sharing the road

CramCycle

chrisbonnie wrote: »

i just think its as easy for me to cycle a little closer to the left than it is for a car to over take me, thats just my opinion

The problem is that cycling a little closer to the left often gives drivers the impression that it is safe to overtake you when it is not. I only pull in close to the left when I know that there is no immediate danger or risk from the car overtaking me. If I can't tell if its clear up ahead I don't give them any reason to think I am inviting them to overtake, I'll often even signal not to overtake so they don't risk it (not that it stops all of them).

monument

I think cycling is a good bit nicer here in Dublin than it was nearly five years ago when I moved up here first.

But, sadly, at the same time, I've had to report two drivers recently.

One was when a van driver swung at me because he wanted to use an active bus lane to undertake a line of cars (he was driving straight on, not turning at the next left or anything) and I was cycling in the middle of the lane (mostly because I was overtaking another cyclist, partly for positioning). I wrongly gave him the finger when he kept pointing to the side of the road while driving closer to me, but I hardly think that gave him the right to swing at me with the van!

And the second was last week when a taxi overtook me closely coming up to College Green, not so close to care, until... he then quickly tried to undertake me so close we both had to stop, he seemed to let me go and then on Westmorland Street a few seconds later he passes me the very close at speed.

Not sure if anything will be done about those, but plan to follow them up. Thankfully I had a camera on the bike for the latter one, sadly not for the first one.

How long before these types of things are entered into the system or should I expect a call back?

Oldlegs

I was enjoying the original topic of the thread - about how nothing happened, and that a lot of the time nothing does happen. Unfortunately, we are back to the bad stories which always get more deadlines than the good.

So back on topic ...

I was out 2 weeks ago with my 12-year old son taking the easier way across from Kippure to Glenmacnass. ( The easy way is to drive up & park above Lough Bray ). I was using the spin as a chance to let him get used to smaller roads and sunday motorists etc., while I was acting as a defensive blocker (in front or behind). In EVERY instance where cars came up behind us, they held back and waited until I waved them through. In almost EVERY case I got a polite wave back.
No-one drove too close to us.
No-one beeped us to move in.
No-one behaved in a dangerous way.

Where is the road-rage gone ? Where is the national angst ? Are we all just lambs to the NAMA/IMF slaughter now


{Also saw a few Garda cars cruising the area as a deterrent to car break-ins, so can't even complain about that either}

CramCycle

Oldlegs wrote: »

I was out 2 weeks ago with my 12-year old son taking the easier way across from Kippure to Glenmacnass. ( The easy way is to drive up & park above Lough Bray ). I was using the spin as a chance to let him get used to smaller roads and sunday motorists etc., draft someone all morning

Fixed for honesty

brayblue24

Oldlegs wrote: »

Also saw a few Garda cars cruising the area as a deterrent to car break-ins, so can't even complain about that either}

What I didn't mention was that the jeep that allowed me to continue on was a Grada jeep (didn't want to be accused of bias you see)