Wrong way up the Cork n25?

corblimey

Coming home on the n25 yesterday afternoon, and getting a pain in my neck from checking behind for oncoming traffic at every access and filter road, I wondered about going the wrong way, ie cycling against the flow of traffic. The access roads would be facing me, and I'd be able to see traffic coming at me a lot easier. The only issue I can think of is if I meet other cyclists coming down the hard shoulder, one of would have to veer into oncoming traffic, but sure I get passed often enough on the outside, I don't think this would be major.

Could I get done if a cop car drives past? Is there any danger I'm not thinking of?

penexpers

Illegal and potentially quite stupid.

Hail 2 Da Thief

God help you if you really don't see the stupidity in this!

HivemindXX

I think it's a bad idea from a safety point of view. Yes, it will be a lot easier to see the vehicles joining the N road at high speed but they are still going to be difficult to deal with and you will be doing something unexpected, and unexpected things are very bad when fast moving traffic is concerned.

In my opinion you'd certainly be pulled by the cops for doing this as well.

It's very frustrating but lots of N roads are pseudo motorways with entry and exit points that are designed to facilitate vehicles maintaining their 80+ speed without regard for slow moving traffic.

corblimey

Ok, illegal I can take. But stupid? Rather than making general statements, why not point out the specific stupidity? People walk on that side of the road and ok, on a faster bike you'd need to react more quickly than a ped, but if you're aware (which you should be), why the heck not? On a wide road with a good hard shoulder, there should be no need to 'step off the road' as pedestrians would need to do on a narrow country road.

ETA: Tks, Hivemind, that's what I was looking for. I think you're right, from other drivers' point of view, you're not where you're supposed to be, so it could cause problems, hadn't really considered how it would appear to oncoming traffic.

TinyExplosions

corblimey wrote: »

Ok, illegal I can take. But stupid? Rather than making general statements, why not point out the specific stupidity? People walk on that side of the road and ok, on a faster bike you'd need to react more quickly than a ped, but if you're aware (which you should be), why the heck not? On a wide road with a good hard shoulder, there should be no need to 'step off the road' as pedestrians would need to do on a narrow country road.

Mostly because anyone joining the road, or leaving the road would be heading straight for you, not expecting you to be there, leading to a far higher chance of accidents, whereas on the correct side of the road, cars are coming up behind you so should be better placed to see you and slow down to go around you.

If you're having problems looking back at junctions where cars are joining the road, maybe you shouldn't cycle on it at all

tomasrojo

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/traffic/wrong.htm

seamus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Target_fixation

As a cyclist moving against the flow of traffic, you will stand out to all oncoming drivers as a serious hazard. This in turn can cause people to do one of two things:

1. Take unneccesarily severe corrective action by swerving out into another lane without looking
2. Accidentally "fixate" on you as above, and actually veer towards you.

As you will be coming home, it will be evening, drivers will be tired, which increases the likelihood of either things happening.

It's good to "stand out", but not to represent a major hazard.

Ardennes1944

i can understand the OPs point, i have cycled that road a few times and it is extremely frustrating and annoying to be constantly watching over your shoulder and the one way i found i got around this (thank you boardsie) was cutting my route a tiny bit and instead go up each or most exits and back down again. it also puts in a few hills to very your route

Connorzee

Fix a set of mirrors onto your bike... cant be that hard.

corblimey

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

i can understand the OPs point, i have cycled that road a few times and it is extremely frustrating and annoying to be constantly watching over your shoulder and the one way i found i got around this (thank you boardsie) was cutting my route a tiny bit and instead go up each or most exits and back down again. it also puts in a few hills to very your route

Thanks for that, it's a good idea alright, particulaly on the Midleton to tunnel stretch where each exit is matched to an entrance.

xz

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

i can understand the OPs point, i have cycled that road a few times and it is extremely frustrating and annoying to be constantly watching over your shoulder and the one way i found i got around this (thank you boardsie) was cutting my route a tiny bit and instead go up each or most exits and back down again. it also puts in a few hills to very your route

Not knowing THAT particular, road, the advice is sound, and is exactly what I do. There is a particular filter lane on the northbound N11 just after Kilmacanogue, where traffic coming from the Bray/Greystones area filters onto the N11, rather than stay ON the N11 as I am passing this direction, I will take the slip road off the N11 and come down the filter lane, I find it a lot safer, especially with the speeds you can reach on this downhill stretch of road.

desertcircus

Reaction time is drastically reduced as well. If you're clocking thirty and the traffic is going at eighty, relative speed is 50 with the traffic and 110 if you're going against. You've less than half the time to react...

doozerie

The estimation of the degree of "safety" of using the wrong side of the road varies depending on your perspective. For example, I encountered an auld fella driving his car the wrong way along a motorway a year or two ago, in the outer lane. Like pretty much everyone else travelling in my direction who scrambled out of his way, I flashed my lights and blew the horn, neither of which snapped him out of the happy daze he seemed to be in as he ambled past. From his point of view everything was perfectly fine as he had the outer lane entirely to himself, though he must have wondered why there were so many oncoming idiots in "his" lane who were swerving into the neighbouring lane to get out of his way.

From my perspective I'd rank the degree of safety of his actions as quite low not least because people swerving urgently from the outer lane into the other lanes created a significant degree of risk to me, and I'm sure the rest of those people on the correct side of the motorway felt likewise, but hey, what do we know...

tomasrojo

Deutschlandfürimmer7 wrote: »

i can understand the OPs point, i have cycled that road a few times and it is extremely frustrating and annoying to be constantly watching over your shoulder and the one way i found i got around this (thank you boardsie) was cutting my route a tiny bit and instead go up each or most exits and back down again. it also puts in a few hills to very your route

Very clever.

07Lapierre

corblimey wrote: »

Could I get done if a cop car drives past? Is there any danger I'm not thinking of?

Yes and very YES! :eek:

thebouldwhacker

OP that road is nuts enough already without cycling down the wrong side, I'm not having a go at you, I do empathise but cycling on the other carriageway really isnt an option.
There are routes you could change to for variation, turn off at Carrigtwohill and enter the city via Glountain/Glanmire or try spinning to Cobh, get the ferry and enter the city via the old railway or by Rochestown/Blackrock.
It is a horrible road even to drive and I have only cycled it a few times as there is just no pleasure in it what so ever, there was a cyclist killed on it last year at a slip road so just be careful on it!

cantalach

I posted this route suggestion in response to a similar question a few months ago. It's a bit lumpier but a lot safer.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/26249772/

abbeyside1

thebouldwhacker wrote: »

OP that road is nuts enough already without cycling down the wrong side, I'm not having a go at you, I do empathise but cycling on the other carriageway really isnt an option.
There are routes you could change to for variation, turn off at Carrigtwohill and enter the city via Glountain/Glanmire or try spinning to Cobh, get the ferry and enter the city via the old railway or by Rochestown/Blackrock.
It is a horrible road even to drive and I have only cycled it a few times as there is just no pleasure in it what so ever, there was a cyclist killed on it last year at a slip road so just be careful on it!

Was there,when?I travel that road most days and don't remember it?
And to the guy who started this thread,you would be mad to do it!

cantalach

cantalach wrote: »

I posted this route suggestion in response to a similar question a few months ago. It's a bit lumpier but a lot safer.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/fullscreen/26249772/

I second this. This route is practically flat, very quiet, sheltered from the wind and overall soooo much nicer than using the main road.

Cycling is always more enjoyable off the beaten track.

thebouldwhacker

Hmmm, not sure, I just checked on line and found nothing but I remember hearing about it. I just asked my gf and she remembers it too, apparently he was on the road, a car came out of a slip road (either Cobh or Little Island) and hit him, happened about 2 years ago!?! Perhaps he died in hosp therefore being less 'news worthy' if you don't mind the term.

Plastik

I must try that back road between Midleton and Fota. I usually come up the side of the dual carriageway, I gave up travelling up a backroad between Midleton and Carrigtwohill as it was so riddles with potholes.

el Bastardo

The N25 is treated as a motorway by many motorists. Cycling on it is certainly dangerous when it comes to avoiding the slip roads: No matter how much high vis you're wearing, some cars won't slow down to let you pass by safely (You could do with eyes in the back of your head!). As for going contraflow: Well, that's just madness, not genius.

The back roads are ****e: Unless you go well out of way, it's bumps, hills and white van men trying to beat the 'traffic'. So, take your pick.