Self righteous biker who annoyed me this morning....

Ninap

Small vent:

Commuting to work this morning (in the pissing rain, as it happens). Stillorgan dual carriageway. Bikelane is closed (repairs), and, even when open, is full of leaves, bus stops etc. I'm in bus lane. Motorcyclist (who shouldn't be in bus lane) passes me shaking his head and gesturing for me to get off the road. I gesture back. He thinks he's in the right (totally unaware of recent law change re mandatory use of bike lanes). Sort of everyday thing, but annoying nonetheless...

Hmmzis

Well, at least he wasn't in the cycle lane.

RacoonQueen

Someone beeped at me last week because I was holding him up from joining the line of traffic at the red light (same happened this morning actually).

I waved as I passed by when the bike lane rejoined the road, it's separated by a broken white line on the path anyway. Second time thats happened on that stretch of road in the last few months and I've been doing that route for over 5 years. Both times aggressive people who look like scumbags in big cars(I've told everyone drug dealers but I shouldn't be so discriminatory on the internets)

Ninap

Lots of needlessly aggressive drivers out there. On a positive note, there were a couple of street sweeping vans collecting leaves from the bike lanes this morning

Canis Lupus

RacoonQueen wrote: »

Someone beeped at me last week because I was holding him up from joining the line of traffic at the red light (same happened this morning actually).

I waved as I passed by when the bike lane rejoined the road, it's separated by a broken white line on the path anyway. Second time thats happened on that stretch of road in the last few months and I've been doing that route for over 5 years. Both times aggressive people who look like scumbags in big cars(I've told everyone drug dealers but I shouldn't be so discriminatory on the internets)

It's always wonderfully satisfying when a driver gives you grief for being in his way then getting to wave to him/her a bit up the road when they're stuck in rush hour traffic.

feck sake lads

when people get into there cars or motorbike they become a different person aggresive/ rude /danderous :eek: what the hell happens to them.
just be carefull and keep alert at all times.

Beasty

feck sake lads wrote: »

when people get into there cars or motorbike they become a different person aggresive/ rude /danderous :eek: what the hell happens to them.
just be carefull and keep alert at all times.

Maybe you live in a completely diferent place to me:rolleyes:, but I find the vast majority of drivers and motorcyclists courteous and safe. As with all road users (including cyclists) there are a minority that are not

rp

Beasty wrote: »

Maybe you live in a completely diferent place to me:rolleyes:, but I find the vast majority of drivers and motorcyclists courteous and safe.

You are right - but who notices them?

VanhireBoys

Beasty wrote: »

Maybe you live in a completely diferent place to me:rolleyes:, but I find the vast majority of drivers and motorcyclists courteous and safe. As with all road users (including cyclists) there are a minority that are not

Me too.. Ive been commuting this past 2 or so years and I could count the amount of incidents I had on my hand with 3 fingers missing ...!

Ok Ive had 2 unpleasant experiences.. Its the 1% of car drivers that give the rest a bad reputation ...

I seem to remember an advert with people walking along the street shouting and roaring at each other and the tagling was "You would never act like this when you are walking - Why do it when you are driving"
Did I imagine that.....

godtabh

Ninap wrote: »

Small vent:

Commuting to work this morning (in the pissing rain, as it happens). Stillorgan dual carriageway. Bikelane is closed (repairs), and, even when open, is full of leaves, bus stops etc. I'm in bus lane. Motorcyclist (who shouldn't be in bus lane) passes me shaking his head and gesturing for me to get off the road. I gesture back. He thinks he's in the right (totally unaware of recent law change re mandatory use of bike lanes). Sort of everyday thing, but annoying nonetheless...

Any links to this for my own reference?

seamus

Motorcyclists are generally pretty tolerant if you cycle like a motorbike and ride with a rudimentary sense of courtesy. From my days on a motorbike, I can recall a sense of cameraderie with decent cyclists, since our modes of transport aren't that different. Even recently I've had a couple pull out of my way when they're riding in the cycle lane, aware that cyclists can actually go faster than motorbikes in the cycle lane.

There are some (usually riding a honda 50 and wearing wellies and a high-vis) that seem to think they're back cycling a bike and the law doesn't apply to them and couriers often take needless risks, but overall I don't recall ever being in conflict with your everyday "real" motorcyclist.

buffalo

godtabh wrote: »

Any links to this for my own reference?

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2012/en/si/0332.html

"EXPLANATORY NOTE" at the bottom of the page is rather useful.

bambergbike

seamus wrote: »

From my days on a motorbike, I can recall a sense of cameraderie with decent cyclists, since our modes of transport aren't that different.

As I cyclist I've also come to realize that motorbikes are ridden by people who have the same addiction as I have (corkscrew hills!) and similar problems (invisible to many road users, unstable, no crumple zone).

On my last long cycle, I was quite shaken when I encountered a motorcyclist who had overtaken me earlier lying unconscious in a field with police cars in attendance and an ambulance and a rescue helicopter on the way. It was a dry, sunny day and visibility on the straight stretch of road was perfect, so I was at a loss as to what might have happened until I checked the papers a few days later and found out that a car driver had pulled out to overtake the vehicle ahead without being aware that he himself was being overtaken by the motorcyclist at the time.

DirkVoodoo

Vlad and myself saw something similar during the summer, coming from the Wicklow Gap towards Hollywood. Motorbike and Car collision, quite unsettling to see.

positron

I am a motorcyclist (who want to be cyclist some day) for nearly 2 years now and I have seen a lot of interesting stuff on the roads.

I am not ashamed to admit that I do take my motorcycle on to the bus lane time to time to filter past the backed up traffic. It's quicker, and often safer, and I always make make sure that I am not going to block a bus or a taxi in the process, which is easy because I can get thru gaps in stopped traffic and keep moving, most of the time.

Now about motorcycle on the bike lane - there are a couple of bottlenecks in my commute route where I skip the traffic by taking the bike lane for 10 - 20 meters in each instance. I know I am not making any friends here by saying that, but if there's a cyclist on the bike lane, I always let them go first, and then I will stay well behind them so as to not to frighten/annoy them. If I am on the bike lane ahead of a cyclist, I am usually pulling away rapidly anyway. However there was this one instance where I entered the bike lane one evening in the craziest of the bottlenecks on Drumcondra Road Lower (you know the area, just after the canal and turn off to N2 and before the rail line overhead), moving up at around 20-30 kmph as I knew there was a left turn just a few meters ahead and cars going in the opposite direction turns in there and may not have a chance to notice me if I go too fast. And this annoyed a cyclist who came flying up behind me - he must had had to slow down to my speed for about 10 seconds, which I am sure he should have done anyway as it was a dangerous spot. But it annoyed him so much, that 50m ahead at the traffic lights he pocks me on the shoulder and points at the road markings, and shouts "see that? stay on the road for f€cks sake", and bombs thru the red lights shaking his head. It was broken white line over there I think, but anywhoo, I don't have time to waste for the likes of him. Thankfully his kind is a minority in the biking fraternity from what I have seen.

/Sorry about the wall of text.

manwithaplan

I find motorcyclists to be a very decent bunch on the whole. The only small gripe I would have is that they do plug gaps that I would like to ride through. Then again I am as guilty as they are of hunting for gaps when I might be better advised to stay in the traffic flow.

Krusty_Clown

I'm a motorcyclist and sometimes cyclist too. I will happily use the bus-lanes (though it does contravene the law), but in my opinion, cycle lanes are sacred (even those with broken white lines). It just isn't safe enough to have a 30 stone motorcycle + rider in the same space as a cyclist. In a traffic build-up, I'll use the middle of the road, or sit and wait. It does raise an interesting point though as the same safety concerns are applicable when cyclists (like myself) progress through traffic in the middle of the road, sharing that space with motorcyclists and on-coming traffic.

I'm just returning to doing some cycle-commuting, and have been horrified that despite being lit up like a Christmas tree, some car-drivers fail to see me at all in the evenings when they are joining roundabouts, as they seem to be focused on looking out for large vehicles. In the interest of self-preservation, do you dismount at a roundabout and treat it as a pedestrian would? Do you yield to your left as well as right? I find motorcycling much safer at night!

RacoonQueen

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I'm just returning to doing some cycle-commuting, and have been horrified that despite being lit up like a Christmas tree, some car-drivers fail to see me at all in the evenings when they are joining roundabouts, as they seem to be focused on looking out for large vehicles. In the interest of self-preservation, do you dismount at a roundabout and treat it as a pedestrian would? Do you yield to your left as well as right? I find motorcycling much safer at night!

They see you on roundabouts. They just don't like to wait for you.

No idea how many times I've nearly gone over the handlebars because someone decided that they could enter the roundaout while I was on it and I've had to pull on the breaks so as not to go into the side or back of them.

The fact that a pedal cycle can generally navigate a roundabout quicker than a car seems to escape them.

The only roundabout this has never happened to me on, shockingly, is the walkinstown roundsabout but I'm generally in the centre lane there so they really have no choice but to yield to me.

Hungrycol

I motorbike when my bicycle is too tired and find overall no problems between cyclists and bikers. I always motorbike in the bus lane even though I'm not allowed to but am concious of what I am doing and that I shouldn't be there in the first place therefore I shouldn't impinge on a bus, taxi's or cyclists right of way. I never like flitering traffic on the inside (in the cycle track) anyway and avoid it when I can and filter down the outside or between traffic if I can.

When I cycle I find bikers very concious of their surroundings and who's behind them. IMO 100% of the time they'll let you by than hold you up. If they're in a cycle track with a broken while line then it's fair enough they were there first and it's all part of the road and as much as I try I can't keep up with then for slipstream anyway! I rarely see them in track separated with a solid white line but there aren't a lot of those on the road on my route anyway.

Feel the love people.

n-dawg

I would 100% agree with the comments on the awareness of motor bikers about cyclists. They are coming from the same position as a cyclist, they are equally vulnerable road users and must be aware of there surroundings or they wont survive very long.

Plus sometimes they give you a draft into town.

I guess the guy giving the OP a hard time is the exception...

Cleaver99

feck sake lads wrote: »

when people get into there cars or motorbike they become a different person aggresive/ rude /danderous :eek: what the hell happens to them.
just be carefull and keep alert at all times.

I have to say it’s the opposite, I've discovered thatwhenever I drive it is cyclists who turn aggressive/rude/dangerous.
I don't mean to generalise but it seems mostly to be thetrendy, fixie, no lights crew who are the worst. Yesterday a case in point, onesauntering down the middle of two lanes on Merrion Square, another cut rightacross me on Gardiner Street and a third veered out off a footpath and acrossthe junction front of me as I was turning left.

If I was not a regular cyclist I would not have been lookingout for them, or seen them and in fairness if I had knocked any of them over Iwould have given them a kick while they were on the ground for being dickheads.:D

Hungrycol

Cleaver99 wrote: »

I have to say it’s the opposite, I've discovered thatwhenever I drive it is cyclists who turn aggressive/rude/dangerous.
I don't mean to generalise but it seems mostly to be thetrendy, fixie, no lights crew who are the worst. Yesterday a case in point, onesauntering down the middle of two lanes on Merrion Square, another cut rightacross me on Gardiner Street and a third veered out off a footpath and acrossthe junction front of me as I was turning left.

If I was not a regular cyclist I would not have been lookingout for them, or seen them and in fairness if I had knocked any of them over Iwould have given them a kick while they were on the ground for being dickheads.:D

If you going to make this your first post at least say something nice.

Beasty

Cleaver99 wrote: »

I don't mean to generalise

Don't do it then. In fact, troll the forum again with such generalisations or attacking/threatening posts and you can expect your posting privileges to be removed

Thanks

Beasty

Cleaver99

Sorry, being a bit tongue in cheek there, but I was pretty annoyed about the carry on yesterday and seeing it from the inside of the car I can see why motorists get a bit hacked off with some cyclists.

Beasty

Cleaver99 wrote: »

Sorry, being a bit tongue in cheek there, but I was pretty annoyed about the carry on yesterday and seeing it from the inside of the car I can see why motorists get a bit hacked off with some cyclists.

You will normally not get any leeway with a first post like that. We have no posting history to go on, and if you make general attacks on the people you can expect to frequent this forum (ie cyclists) and then threaten to knock them off their bikes and kick them, even if dressed up with a smiley, we have to assume this is not the forum for you

Cleaver99

Like I said, I apoloise for the tone of my first post, I was responding to the generalisation of the quote above about how the behaviour of motorists. I of course would not kick anyone who had been involved in a road traffic accident, regardless of the cause.

However as a cyclist who also uses a car from time to time I feel that there is a duty of care on all road users to be aware not only of themselves but also of other users.
My point (however poorly made) is that as cyclists are more vulnerable than motorists we have to be even more aware of our own safety and if we are not visible and manouver safetly there will be accidents. The fact that I had to brake twice to avoid a colliding with cyclists, who were both cycling with no lights was on a pretty miserable winters night is a case in point.
As a driver in both of these instances I would not have been injured but my car could have caused serious injury to both of these individuals the consequesnces of which I would have had to live with.

feck sake lads

Cleaver99 wrote: »

Like I said, I apoloise for the tone of my first post, I was responding to the generalisation of the quote above about how the behaviour of motorists. I of course would not kick anyone who had been involved in a road traffic accident, regardless of the cause.

However as a cyclist who also uses a car from time to time I feel that there is a duty of care on all road users to be aware not only of themselves but also of other users.
My point (however poorly made) is that as cyclists are more vulnerable than motorists we have to be even more aware of our own safety and if we are not visible and manouver safetly there will be accidents. The fact that I had to brake twice to avoid a colliding with cyclists, who were both cycling with no lights was on a pretty miserable winters night is a case in point.
As a driver in both of these instances I would not have been injured but my car could have caused serious injury to both of these individuals the consequesnces of which I would have had to live with.

ah worry not i understand bith sides to be honest i suppose i should have said WHEN SOME PEOPLE not all all drivers are pratts;)