Other cyclists overtaking too close

joeperry

Does this happen to anyone else?

I cycle in to Dublin city centre everyday, i keep left as much as i can and i know all the bumps, dips and ridges to avoid so when i have to move 6 inches to the right to miss them quite often i get somebody passing me out very close, any closer and we will hit. I check over my shoulder quite often but its harder to spot a cyclist coming than a car or bus.

It's always the guys who think they are mega cyclists on their 2 grand bikes:rolleyes:

Is there anyway to stop this happening?

Wishbone Ash

joeperry wrote: »

when i have to move 6 inches to the right to miss them quite often i get somebody passing me out very close

Don't cycle so close to the left. It's bad practise to have to move out and in. Read the road ahead and take up a more appropriate position.

Darkglasses

It has happened occasionally to me, but always completely by accident and they usually give me a wave or a sorry or something, so that's fine with me, sometimes it's partly my fault too.

morana

joeperry wrote: »

Does this happen to anyone else?

I cycle in to Dublin city centre everyday, i keep left as much as i can and i know all the bumps, dips and ridges to avoid so when i have to move 6 inches to the right to miss them quite often i get somebody passing me out very close, any closer and we will hit. I check over my shoulder quite often but its harder to spot a cyclist coming than a car or bus.

It's always the guys who think they are mega cyclists on their 2 grand bikes:rolleyes:

Is there anyway to stop this happening?

sometimes its a balancing act between the cyclist and the car...I try to give as much room as I can when OTing but sometimes I get a little close..

dancecatz2000

did it happen going down swords road Drumcondra, if so sorry somebody looked to there right when i passed them, thinking myself it was a bit close.

Keep_Her_Lit

joeperry wrote: »

It's always the guys who think they are mega cyclists on their 2 grand bikes:rolleyes:

Phew! That's me off the hook then.

Is there anyway to stop this happening?

Yes. Increase your speed to match theirs.

Stark

That's a problem with cycling in busy traffic when the cycle lanes are too narrow. I have to admit to doing it deliberately to the guys you keep overtaking only to have them shove their way in front of you at every traffic light though.

Chartsengrafs

joeperry wrote: »

Is there anyway to stop this happening?

Yes, become a 'mega cyclist' yourself. Trust me, it's totally worth it.

rab!dmonkey

In all seriousness, while you may 'know all the bumps, dips and ridges to avoid', other road users may not and your attempts to avoid these imperfections will appear as unpredictable weaving to them. The easy solution is to ride far enough to the right (perfectly legal: you don't have to cycle so far left as to inconvenience/endanger yourself) that you avoid these surface imperfections while cycling in a straight line. You may initially feel like you're holding up motorised trafffic, but if you're in the city centre you'll only delay them from queing at the next red light.

Mongfinder General

Stick to the foot path. There's very little enforcement of the law. Cops aren't really bothered unless you're knocking people down. Also, there's not much chance of you ending up under a car.

joeperry

HaHa a lot of ye take it personally, i will try the keep further out to the right method. Will probably get undertaken now

Unfortunately the weather is getting warmer so i don't cycle as fast now to avoid sweating, hence, i get overtaken a bit more often.

joeperry

dancecatz2000 wrote: »

did it happen going down swords road Drumcondra, if so sorry somebody looked to there right when i passed them, thinking myself it was a bit close.

No wasn't me, i'm on the Malahide road North Strand route in.

Tonyandthewhale

Mongfinder General wrote: »

Stick to the foot path. There's very little enforcement of the law. Cops aren't really bothered unless you're knocking people down. Also, there's not much chance of you ending up under a car.

Actually, if anything, you're more likely to end up under the wheels of a car if you cycle on the footpath. This is because cars pulling out of side-roads and drive-ways won't be expecting to have to deal with anything faster than a pedestrian before they hit the road so they hit you.

Chartsengrafs

Seriously though, some good advice here. Give youself plenty of space, hopefully you'll see less of this.

nomdeboardie

Stark wrote: »

That's a problem with cycling in busy traffic when the cycle lanes are too narrow. ...

You stay within the painted on-road lane when passing another cyclist Surely it should be a case of look behind, signal if safe and move out into the main lane?

Stark

I would normally. But if you're cycling along say the canals in busy traffic then it can be a tricky business as traffic is backed up for ages and not moving so there are no gaps to merge into. So you end looking out for places where the cars are stopped a little bit away from the cycle lane lines for an overtaking opportunity. I tend to avoid that route most of the time though.

nomdeboardie

Stark wrote: »

I would normally. But if you're cycling along say the canals in busy traffic then it can be a tricky business as traffic is backed up for ages and not moving so there are no gaps to merge into. So you end looking out for places where the cars are stopped a little bit away from the cycle lane lines for an overtaking opportunity. I tend to avoid that route most of the time though.

Passing while filtering is a dodgy business, but I suppose if done slowly and carefully no harm; take your point about the "shoalers", though - maybe they deserve a bit less respect :pac:

WAPAIC

As other posters have said, move out a little so that you're not weaving in and out unpredictably. If you see a clear stretch and there's someone behind you, feel free to let them past by moving in again, assuming it's safe to do so.

If you use a pannier, stick it on the right side rather than the left side.

When I overtake other cyclists, I generally say something to warn them like "on your right" or "excuse me". The grand canal is a bit of a nightmare in the morning but hopefully that new cycletrosity on the other side will take some of the slower cyclists over to that side.

nomdeboardie

WAPAIC wrote: »

... The grand canal is a bit of a nightmare in the morning but hopefully that new cycletrosity on the other side will take some of the slower cyclists over to that side.

:pac:
Meanwhile, over in Commuting & Transport...
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056582201

WAPAIC

To be fair, they're not finished it yet so I shouldn't give out. It seems like they've been at it for about a year now, on the stretch near the Hilton down to Leeson st. I'll be sticking to the road either way, I'd imagine.

check_six

I don't mind people overtaking too close when I'm rolling, one can always start dealing out the sprint leadout man style headbutts if you're feeling lively.

I don't like people overtaking closely when I stop at red lights, and they choose not to. I don't care if they go through the light, but when they don't seem too competent in the first place I would rather they give me a wider berth.

I've bumped shoulders with a motorcyclist going round St. Stephen's Green, and I've had a cyclist run into my back wheel when I was stopped at a red light. To be honest, in the split second of each incident I was probably more annoyed at the cyclist.

Seve OB

I'm pretty sure I seen a guy a few weeks ago going down Sth Circular at Islandbridge with what appeared to be some sort of a mini rear view mirror hanging from his helmet.

It looked no bigger that the size of a mirror that a dentist sticks in your gob... heck, maybe he was a dentist!

Anyway, a quick glance in something like that before you swerve should sort your problems out!

seamus

While riding in a cycle lane I'll always ride out to the right-hand edge of the lane. This seems to make people think twice about overtaking. Not that I get overtaken much

I'm that annoying cyclist who refuses to squeeze through a tight gap between another cyclist and a car, while at the same time blocking the lane preventing anyone else from doing the same thing. I'm not actually blocking the lane, just waiting for my opportunity to overtake.