Car Down / Car Up calls - which is which??

Sikpupi

Hi... When cycling in a group and we see a car approaching - I use the call CAR DOWN!!

But I hear others call it as CAR UP???

so - which is it???

ratracer

I'm not sure if I'm right, but if a car is approaching me from the front I call 'car up' to let others behind me know about it, or if a car approaches from the back I'll call ' car back' to the riders in front of me.

greenmat

Up your arse, Down your mouth.

Car up front=Car down, Car behind= Car up

ROK ON

Car on/Car back is more straightforward.

cython

As the OP said, i've heard both used and I can see the logic behind both (one of which greenmat's quote below explains). i think for a lot of cases it depends on the club convention that people were brought into, but greenmat's explanation that I quoted also serves to perfectly highlight the lack of clarity in using "Car up" for cars coming from the back, in that the word up is actually in the explanation of the opposite call!

greenmat wrote: »

Up your arse, Down your mouth.

Car up front=Car down, Car behind= Car up

ghogie91

Easiest way to remember is Car Up means a car coming up your hole

The other is the opposite down your neck

Sikpupi

Car up front=Car down, Car behind= Car up

Ya.... that's my understanding. Was on Rebel tour yesterday and heard the odd 'Car Up' especially on the Caha climb...but the damn car was in front of me and with the bends on that road it could mean life or death if you were not listening!

I guess we should standardise same and be consistent. ! now that I have checked here on Boards - I'll correct anyone going forward for the wrong call!!!

morana

"Car up" from behind and "Car" if in front for the Ravens

Dermot Illogical

It was explained to me as "car up" means the car is moving up the line of cyclists, and "car down" obviously being the opposite.

g0g

Good to know I'm not the only one who wondered! I was originally convinced (god only knows why) that it related to the current gradient and "car up" meant a car on it's way up the hill, which might mean either in front of the group or behind the group. I hadn't quite figured out what to say when on the flat!

bellinter

How I wish it could just be an agreed upon shout wherever you go!! Yesterday on the rebel if a car was coming towards the group there were overlapping calls of "car down (your throat)" and "car up (ahead)". Got very confusing!

greenmat

cython wrote: »

As the OP said, i've heard both used and I can see the logic behind both (one of which greenmat's quote below explains). i think for a lot of cases it depends on the club convention that people were brought into, but greenmat's explanation that I quoted also serves to perfectly highlight the lack of clarity in using "Car up" for cars coming from the back, in that the word up is actually in the explanation of the opposite call!

Sorry about that, never read post back to make sure I had it right, it does make it more difficult to understand. "Up your Arse" and "Down your mouth" was how it was explained to me, easy to understand. You often get people say the wrong call by accident, no harm, making the effort is what matters.

doozerie

I learned it as "car up" = car moving up the group, "car down" = car moving down the group, which always made sense to me as it's the same phrase that I'd think of if it were a rider that was moving up or down the group.

I've occasionally heard "car up" used to represent "car up front" too but I find that very ambiguous - is it a stopped or slow moving car up front on the left, or a car up front driving down the bunch? I guess everything else other than they way you've learned it may seem ambiguous in some way or other though.

The other one I find very ambiguous is "car right" as it doesn't tell you whether the car is parked/stopped or moving - the latter of course likely means you'll encounter the car sooner and having some inkling of how quickly you or others need to react is very useful.

cantalach

"Car on!" (oncoming) and "car back!" are more obvious...

Lumen

Car front, car back.

But that would have been far too easy.

doozerie

Sempahore. It's the only option. With flags, obviously.

doozerie

Or simply tweet it, if only the information of which direction the car is coming from could be conveyed in 140 characters, which seems unlikely.

Darkglasses

Better yet, say it in French.

voiture devant, voiture derrière.

longshanks

I just say 'Car' and then let the folks look around for that badboy.

However....

Darkglasses wrote: »

Better yet, say it in French.

voiture devant, voiture derrière.

I like this idea, probably cos I'm a sucker for things French. But if I was the fellow in charge of stuff I'd be signing this here article into the constitution. Or something along lines similar.

GlennaMaddy

Darkglasses wrote: »

Better yet, say it in French.

voiture devant, voiture derrière.

Or in Garda, VEH-I-KEL