Buffalo & Doozerie - The mild musings of two grumpy old men!

cdaly_ · 19-11-2018 11:53AM

I reckon the pedals would stay attached so you could carry your bike with you ready for a quick getaway after...

CramCycle · 19-11-2018 12:07PM

This morning I had looked behind, car about 250m back, cyclist in front of me, indicated out and started overtaking. Nearly finished the overtake when the car pulled alongside, to beep the horn and start gesticulating out the window. I slowed down after this because I felt that rush of adrenaline I imagine a MMA fighter feels before they let civility slide from their minds and batter someone. Thankfully we never seen each other again but I just don't get it. The path was clear, I indicated, the car actually had to speed up to do what he done. Even then, the road was empty so he was not obstructed.
It was a 50kmph zone, I was doing north of 30kmph, back of the envelope calculations tell me that had the car being doing the speed limit, it should have been at least 45seconds to catch me if neither slows. He caught me in less than 15. This means, again no calculator involved, he was probably, at least, 30kmph above the speed limit.
So he was speeding, overtaking another vehicle that was already overtaking, beeping his horn when there was no need, driving without due care and attention (took his hand off the wheel and stared at me as he passed, drifting quite a bit).
Do you know how much time I took from his journey? Nothing. Do you know how much I obstructed him? Not a bit. I mean FFS.

nomdeboardie · 19-11-2018 02:31PM

CramCycle wrote: »

This morning I had looked behind, car about 250m back, cyclist in front of me, indicated out and started overtaking. Nearly finished the overtake when the car pulled alongside, to beep the horn and start gesticulating out the window. I slowed down after this because I felt that rush of adrenaline I imagine a MMA fighter feels before they let civility slide from their minds and batter someone. Thankfully we never seen each other again but I just don't get it. The path was clear, I indicated, the car actually had to speed up to do what he done. Even then, the road was empty so he was not obstructed.
It was a 50kmph zone, I was doing north of 30kmph, back of the envelope calculations tell me that had the car being doing the speed limit, it should have been at least 45seconds to catch me if neither slows. He caught me in less than 15. This means, again no calculator involved, he was probably, at least, 30kmph above the speed limit.
So he was speeding, overtaking another vehicle that was already overtaking, beeping his horn when there was no need, driving without due care and attention (took his hand off the wheel and stared at me as he passed, drifting quite a bit).
Do you know how much time I took from his journey? Nothing. Do you know how much I obstructed him? Not a bit. I mean FFS.

Don't you know that what you did was an irrestable provocation to that most primitive part of his brain, the cyclopasshimmust :rolleyes:

CramCycle · 20-11-2018 02:15PM

A conflict of sorts this morning , mainly in the vestibules of my mind. So on my typical commute, I use the bus lane for parts as the cycle lane is dire. This is widely accepted without issue by most buses in recent times. This morning the traffic was pretty awful, to the point where the bus lane at several points was blocked by cars turning left a km too early,and blocking in buses.

Anyway, a white transit starts using the bus lane when its quieter, and continues to use them for a few km. Its weird though, I was annoyed with the driver for being a cheeky sh1t but when I had to jump out and indicated, he slowed and let me out. Stayed behind me when I used the bus lane without giving aggro. In fact other than being in the bus lane, he was an example of a good driver. I am so confused.

aldark · 20-11-2018 02:55PM

CramCycle wrote: »

Anyway, a white transit starts using the bus lane when its quieter, and continues to use them for a few km. Its weird though, I was annoyed with the driver for being a cheeky sh1t but when I had to jump out and indicated, he slowed and let me out. Stayed behind me when I used the bus lane without giving aggro. In fact other than being in the bus lane, he was an example of a good driver. I am so confused.

that's cos he knew he was taking the piss. moral compensation or something like that. if he wasn't breaking any law he'd be close passing, breaking the lights and otherwise driving like the entitled white van driver he is!

eeeee · 20-11-2018 07:49PM

aldark wrote: »

that's cos he knew he was taking the piss. moral compensation or something like that. if he wasn't breaking any law he'd be close passing, breaking the lights and otherwise driving like the entitled white van driver he is!

I once had a car in illegally in the bus land going up the Drumcondra road (traffic was busy) from Drumcondra to the turn off for DCU. The driver and his passenger beeped, shouted, gesticulated the whole way pretty much, then went by me at some lights just at the turn off to DCU, shouting that I should have been in the cycle lane. I was dumbfounded, and the motorbike driver who witnessed the whole thing began giving out to the lads in the car for being so aggressive with me and driving in the bus lane. They could not see, for love nor money, anything wrong with their driving behaviour. The mind boggles. They were absolute pricks.
Moral compensation should be compulsory. I want some!

aldark · 20-11-2018 08:23PM

nee wrote: »

They could not see, for love nor money, anything wrong with their driving behaviour. The mind boggles. They were absolute pricks.
Moral compensation should be compulsory. I want some!

"the unexamined life is not worth living" - those guys obviously didn't know what they didn't know! There must be a typology of ignorance for road users with this particular one being at the bottom.

CramCycle · 22-11-2018 11:31AM

So this morning I am heading for a pedestrian lights with my son (we are walking) and the green man is there. As we are about to cross, the car, that is almost on the crossing, starts rolling forward. We stop and step back as she is staring at the little green man on the other side and not looking anywhere else. It has just started to flash, our feet are on the crossing though. Regardless, I pull back and pull the kid back, the driver from the other side looks confused and waves me on. I smile and wave a polite no thanks. The girl now realises what she has done and starts reversing and waving me across. I Just shrug and mutter, you may as well go now. She looked at me with such a look of confusion, as in why would I be annoyed. She stopped 12 feet later at the rear of the next car.

Funnily, I would have had more of a backbone if my son wasn't there, but now I am annoyed I am teaching him to let people away with that ****.

Leroy42 · 22-11-2018 11:36AM

CramCycle wrote: »

Funnily, I would have had more of a backbone if my son wasn't there, but now I am annoyed I am teaching him to let people away with that ****.

You are teaching him to pay attention to other road users and not simply assume that they are aware of what is going on around them.

A far more valuable lesson than teaching him how to get annoyed.

CramCycle · 23-11-2018 12:27PM

Lungs are getting a good workout this week, all were seen in time and avoided but the number of drivers I have had to wake up to my presence has been annoying.

Coming past Topaz this morning and a truck had pulled out to block the cycle lane. I was in the bus lane but I knew he hadn't looked and couldn't see me unless he moved his head forward. Anyway, just as I am a few metres short, he decides to roll out further. I let a roar, he stops but it must have been loud enough as the driving lanes on the N11 lit up like a Christmas tree with all the brake lights coming on as everyone for 100m wondered was it them I was calling to attention.

magicbastarder · 28-11-2018 09:40AM

there is something deeply frustrating at shouting minor profanities at idiot motorists who have just nearly driven into you, and seeing an obvious '**** did i do?' look of puzzlement on their faces, and they just toddle off in their asshole cars none the wiser as to what they've done.

Leroy42 · 28-11-2018 11:01AM

magicbastarder wrote: »

there is something deeply frustrating at shouting minor profanities at idiot motorists who have just nearly driven into you, and seeing an obvious '**** did i do?' look of puzzlement on their faces, and they just toddle off in their asshole cars none the wiser as to what they've done.

Yeah, I vary between trying to point out the error of their ways and not even bothering. You certainly get the impression that there is no point. Just this morning I had a guy stopped at the lights but almost touching the kerb, so no space to pass on the bike. I knocked on the window and told him to be more considerate and that there was loads of space.

He was quite nice but simply said that that he had to give the cars on the right (there was two lanes) space so tough! (He was wrong as there is ample space for two cars and a bike to fit in that junction).

Anyway, it just seems that it never makes any difference. Every so often you get an apologetic wave, but you know that they will do it again and only sorry a bike was there at the time.

magicbastarder · 28-11-2018 12:01PM

was a weird one for me this morning - coming up the leopardstown road, behind the microsoft bus and a car. the bus indicated left to take the swing into the estate, and the car pulled out as if to pass the bus, so i picked up pace slightly, and then next thing the car is pulling in on top of me. not sure if the driver realised at the last minute 'actually, this *is* my turn'.

magicbastarder · 28-11-2018 12:29PM

that's a lifetime ban.

eeeee · 29-11-2018 11:42AM

Was heading up the Leopardstown road the other evening towards the n11. It was dark and wet. I was at the bit where the lanes divide at the top, traffic was heavy, I was filtering along by all the stopped cars.
A pedestrian on the other side of the road starts shouting 'you're not a cor, you're not a cor, YOU'RE NOT A COR' in the finest of D4 accents.
I was bemused at what exactly I was doing that was 'cor' like, I was going by them all.
The mystery shall remain unsolved.

Ray Bloody Purchase · 29-11-2018 12:59PM

nee wrote: »

Was heading up the Leopardstown road the other evening towards the n11. It was dark and wet. I was at the bit where the lanes divide at the top, traffic was heavy, I was filtering along by all the stopped cars.
A pedestrian on the other side of the road starts shouting 'you're not a cor, you're not a cor, YOU'RE NOT A COR' in the finest of D4 accents.
I was bemused at what exactly I was doing that was 'cor' like, I was going by them all.
The mystery shall remain unsolved.

This is what you should have shouted back at him.

magicbastarder · 29-11-2018 01:02PM

i'd say nearly half my 'interactions' with motorists (on my commute) are on the leopardstown road.

eeeee · 29-11-2018 02:12PM

magicbastarder wrote: »

i'd say nearly half my 'interactions' with motorists (on my commute) are on the leopardstown road.

Yeah. I think mainly cos the cycle lane is completely unusable, motorists expect you to be in it and are muchly aggrieved that you're not.
It's an excellent example of how not to build a cycle lane.
Aside from its grand national bumpage and straight ahead impossibility, and of course firing you into left turning cars, people just pull out of their houses in cars straight over the cycle lane to the road to see if anything is coming.
It's quite the piece of work!

magicbastarder · 29-11-2018 03:03PM

don't forget the several traffic light poles/signage poles in the middle of the cycle lane.
plus the sign that if you're quite tall, you'd prbably have to duck to avoid.

JMcL · 29-11-2018 03:17PM

Weepsie wrote: »

He maybe realised that he had to update the Microsoft driver.

Gets coat and flees

But the driver just crashed....

Can I borrow your coat?

magicbastarder · 29-11-2018 03:20PM

JMcL wrote: »

But the driver just crashed....

Can I borrow your coat?

it'll be alright if you power cycle the system.

Mc Love · 02-12-2018 06:18PM

On my cycle home the other night and despite multiple motorists flashing their lights at and me signalling to the driver she had no lights on, i knock on her window and she nearly ejects out of her seat and then turns on her lights.

Some people do be off in their own world

nomdeboardie · 10-12-2018 08:15PM

Some sort of bus comes out of a side road in front of me, but shure it's all OK as I didn't have to brake too hard to avoid being squashed. Besides, it was Santa himself driving. Apparently. Shure, maybe it was a sleigh in disguise (albeit not in the skies, unfortunately) :P

magicbastarder · 11-12-2018 10:24AM

one of my favourite junctions - outbound from fairview towards clontarf approaching the alfie byrne junction, in the right-turning lane. there was a car in front of me and one behind me. the lights went red when we were still (at a very minimum) 100m away. the driver in front drove straight through them. i pulled up at the lights, and the car behind pulled in behind me for a second or two, then pulled out around me and gunned it through the lights.

it's kinda comical how common it is.

Ray Bloody Purchase · 11-12-2018 11:27AM

Weepsie wrote: »

A fellow cyclist today was annoying me. Stopped at lights at Ballymun Rd/Collins Avenue. Rolls on ahead of me. No problem here, happens all the time. I pass. Next set of lights, same thing again. Further up the road, same again.

Get to bottom of Whitworth road and they do it one last time, and position themselves as if they were turning left, bike pointing that way and their gaze fixed.

Lights change and they swing right without signalling, trying to occupy the space I am already in. They then got in a huff with a taxi who was already in other space they wanted to be in!

Happens at every fcuking set of lights for me. I'm no speed demon, but it annoys the sheeeeeite out of me when i pass someone along the road, then at the next set of lights they sail to the top of the queue and i've to go by them again or stay stuck.

Are they totally oblivious? I don't get their thinking at all.

cdaly_ · 11-12-2018 11:42AM

magicbastarder wrote: »

one of my favourite junctions - outbound from fairview towards clontarf approaching the alfie byrne junction, in the right-turning lane. there was a car in front of me and one behind me. the lights went red when we were still (at a very minimum) 100m away. the driver in front drove straight through them. i pulled up at the lights, and the car behind pulled in behind me for a second or two, then pulled out around me and gunned it through the lights.

it's kinda comical how common it is.

On the right turn?

I so often see multiple cars running that red light when there's a green for straight ahead. I usually ride up to the top of the queue and stop and wait in front with a big hand signal...

CramCycle · 11-12-2018 11:44AM

Coming down the N11 today where the cycle path is closed. Traffic is light. I look, it's clear, indicate, still clear and I move out. As I pass the closed section I am doing 63kmph. The lights turn amber as I pass through them. I stay in the lane as there is another traffic lights ahead and there is no point hopping a kerb. All of a sudden I get a beep. I am still doing north of 50, heading to a red so starting to slow but nothing crazy. I am tired and emotional and simply don't get it, so I pull right, wait at the lights and ask what the issue was. Bike lane was closed, I was doing north of 60kmph, we were approaching a red light.

He looks shook by my calm but fair assessment. He says sorry but he was worried he was going to hit me.

HE WAS WORRIED HE WAS GOING TO ****ING HIT ME.

I simply replied maybe you should sit further back, the irony of the statement was too much for my small mind to take. Maybe, just maybe, if he was going to hit me, he should back the **** off. Mother of God their wasn't even a hint of irony in his voice. He remained only 50m ahead of me for the whole trip into town.

nomdeboardie · 11-12-2018 11:48AM

magicbastarder wrote: »

one of my favourite junctions - outbound from fairview towards clontarf approaching the alfie byrne junction, in the right-turning lane. there was a car in front of me and one behind me. the lights went red when we were still (at a very minimum) 100m away. the driver in front drove straight through them. i pulled up at the lights, and the car behind pulled in behind me for a second or two, then pulled out around me and gunned it through the lights.

it's kinda comical how common it is.

Yeah, bloody cyclists always stopping at red lights :rolleyes:

magicbastarder · 11-12-2018 11:53AM

cdaly_ wrote: »

On the right turn?

I so often see multiple cars running that red light when there's a green for straight ahead. I usually ride up to the top of the queue and stop and wait in front with a big hand signal...

yes - this morning, i did a very obvious right turn signal, and sat pretty much dead centre in the lane, but he still swung out and straight through a clear red. would have been red for about 10 seconds at this point.

magicbastarder · 11-12-2018 11:55AM

CramCycle wrote: »

He says sorry but he was worried he was going to hit me.

<physics hat on>maybe he was hoping that the extra energy the pressure waves of the sound of his horn, as they hit you, would add to your momentum and increase your speed marginally, but just enough that it would create a bigger gap and reduce the likelihood of him running into you<physics hat off>

makes as much sense as his explanation?

Buffalo & Doozerie - The mild musings of two grumpy old men!

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