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

Ray Bloody Purchase · 11-12-2018 02:20PM

The cops are giving out free sh1te for cyclists on O'Connell bridge ATM.

Edit: A Garda handed me a set of lights and a hi-vis armband.

They seemed to be filling goodie bags on the spot. It would have made more sense to have them pre-filled. It created a bit of a hazard for pedestrians as it was forcing people out on the road, to get around the line of people who were queuing to get the freebies.

magicbastarder · 13-12-2018 06:34PM

at the risk if igniting a tired debate, the sheer number of cyclists i pass these days with no or completely inadequate lights on their bikes, but sporting hi-vis covers for their bags is amazing.

RayCun · 13-12-2018 06:51PM

magicbastarder wrote: »

at the risk if igniting a tired debate, the sheer number of cyclists i pass these days with no or completely inadequate lights on their bikes, but sporting hi-vis covers for their bags is amazing.

I see a fair few with some variety of high vis instead of lights, but plenty with nothing at all.

CramCycle · 07-01-2019 02:08PM

magicbastarder wrote: »

at the risk if igniting a tired debate, the sheer number of cyclists i pass these days with no or completely inadequate lights on their bikes, but sporting hi-vis covers for their bags is amazing.

Interestingly the last few days of commuting the number of motorists, both numbers and percentage wise with no lights/parking lights or busted lights, compared to cyclists with no/inadequate lighting was heavily skewed towards motorists.

Anyway, about 10 minutes from my front door, black Volvo pulls up alongside me and moves over. I can't pull into the edge of the track as there are kids to my left walking to school. Not sure why they attempted an overtake as traffic stalled right in front of them. Needless to say I struck out at the car as I couldn't shout in case the kids at the side of the pavement got a shock and fell out towards me.

i hate that the schools are back

CramCycle · 08-01-2019 03:32PM

Hands up I made a mistake this morning. I thought a car beeped at me for no reason.

Looked at my camera when I got into work, wasn't them beeping. The car merged right to overtake but merged right on top of another car who was beside them, who obviously beeped to wake them up as they dropepd anchor to avoid a collision.

magicbastarder · 08-01-2019 03:43PM

wasn't you who made a mistake though?

Fian · 08-01-2019 04:12PM

magicbastarder wrote: »

wasn't you who made a mistake though?

I imagine that depends on how he reacted to the car that beeped "him" for no reason. On a good day I would just let that go, a bad day would involve me taking the lane, turning around, large hand gestures and possibly even a bit of roaring. Though that would probably only happen if my blood sugar was tanking, so unlikely on a commute.

But maybe I am only projecting my own intemperance onto him and in fact his mistake was no more than tut-tutting internally.

CramCycle · 08-01-2019 04:29PM

magicbastarder wrote: »

wasn't you who made a mistake though?

I raised my arms in a quizical fashion and if the light hadn't went green as I came alongside them I would have asked what that was about. Not in an aggressive way but in a condescending way.

I looked a bit like this in their rearview mirror:

Mc Love · 08-01-2019 07:18PM

CramCycle wrote: »

Hands up I made a mistake this morning. I thought a car beeped at me for no reason.

Looked at my camera when I got into work, wasn't them beeping. The car merged right to overtake but merged right on top of another car who was beside them, who obviously beeped to wake them up as they dropepd anchor to avoid a collision.

Something similar happened me last friday. White Van overtook me as I was moving into a lane having crossed a junction from a two way street to a two lane one way. Managed to catch up to him at the lights, fair thick. And he couldn't have been nicer. Felt like a right thicko

CramCycle · 09-01-2019 10:44AM

Left early this morning, all grand until Shankill when a taxi decided to overtake right as I was about to enter the mini roundabout on the Bray side of the Village. Thankfully copped it and slammed on. Met the taxi returning through Shankill, looks like they were doing laps, front light on the right completely gone.

I was not civil in my voicing of letting him know that his light was out.

magicbastarder · 09-01-2019 10:47AM

CramCycle wrote: »

Interestingly the last few days of commuting the number of motorists, both numbers and percentage wise with no lights/parking lights or busted lights, compared to cyclists with no/inadequate lighting was heavily skewed towards motorists.

the commute home last night was remarkable for the number of motorists with no lights, busted lights, or DRLs.

CramCycle · 09-01-2019 10:49AM

magicbastarder wrote: »

the commute home last night was remarkable for the number of motorists with no lights, busted lights, or DRLs.

The irony of people giving out about all cyclists having no lights (my commute in South Dublin would put it at well under 5% of commuters, though this will sky rocket when the University students return). There is at least an equal percentage but realistically a far higher percentage doing one of the above in regards motorists during lighting up hours.

CramCycle · 09-01-2019 12:38PM

Feel free to criticise my cycling here, at the time it felt like they pulled in on top of me but the video doesn't make it look nearly as bad, perspective is a funny thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq4trrLfkxQ

From 1min 20sec

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg-cz9uMlPU

From 25seconds

Leroy42 · 09-01-2019 12:59PM

No, you were right. Look how far the vehicle is out on the rear view, before he moves in on you.

So they know you are there, they were giving you plenty of room prior to that. But when faced with oncoming traffic decided to sqeeze the room rather than slow down and wait.

This happens all the time and is incredibly dangerous and scary for the cyclist. The driver thinks nothing of it though.

I always ask would they do the same if it was a horse instead of a bicycle.

buffalo · 09-01-2019 01:13PM

Leroy42 wrote: »

No, you were right. Look how far the vehicle is out on the rear view, before he moves in on you.

So they know you are there, they were giving you plenty of room prior to that. But when faced with oncoming traffic decided to sqeeze the room rather than slow down and wait.

This happens all the time and is incredibly dangerous and scary for the cyclist. The driver thinks nothing of it though.

I always ask would they do the same if it was a horse instead of a bicycle.

+1 on that. Also, where are they going in such a hurry? Straight onto the end of a tailback. :rolleyes:

CramCycle · 09-01-2019 01:15PM

Leroy42 wrote: »

No, you were right. Look how far the vehicle is out on the rear view, before he moves in on you.

So they know you are there, they were giving you plenty of room prior to that. But when faced with oncoming traffic decided to sqeeze the room rather than slow down and wait.

This happens all the time and is incredibly dangerous and scary for the cyclist. The driver thinks nothing of it though.

I always ask would they do the same if it was a horse instead of a bicycle.

The weird thing is that while the road pinches in ahead, it doesn't there and there really is no need too. I also have two rear lights, a Lezyne strip (supposedly 150Lumen although I am doubtful) and a Cree one from Aldi which is twice as bright.
The thing that actually panicked me was the kids to the left, in the video it looks like we have passed them but when I seen the car first move in, they were ahead of me and I was freaked I would clear them out of it.
As you say though, stationary traffic ahead, they cannot honestly believe there is a benefit to the overtake as I have a bike lane for the next 400m and they have a traffic jam.

Leroy42 · 09-01-2019 01:29PM

It is not that they think there is a benefit, IMO drivers simply don't care. You are in their way. The road is made for cars and as such you are merely getting in the way of the real traffic. And real traffic is dangerous and if you have a problem with that get off the road.

The amount of times I have had friends complain to me about being held up by cyclists (I am one so therefore am the spokesman for them all apparently!) but when I ask them why they don't rage about being held up by other traffic, traffic lights, having to wait because of parked cars on skinny roads they simply say that that is part of traffic.

nomdeboardie · 09-01-2019 08:20PM

Leroy42 wrote: »

No, you were right. Look how far the vehicle is out on the rear view, before he moves in on you.

So they know you are there, they were giving you plenty of room prior to that. But when faced with oncoming traffic decided to sqeeze the room rather than slow down and wait.

This happens all the time and is incredibly dangerous and scary for the cyclist. The driver thinks nothing of it though.

I always ask would they do the same if it was a horse instead of a bicycle.

+1 again

This sort of crap is why I have it on my to-do list to ask the RSA to remind drivers that seeing themselves at a safe distance through their front window as they pull level with a cyclist is not enough - their vehicle extends behind them for a few metres AND the cyclist is usually (/hopefully) still moving forwards also!

Definitely a call for giving that car a nice clip on the paintwork in passing with an iron-shod hoof :P

CramCycle · 09-01-2019 09:00PM

nomdeboardie wrote: »

+1 again

This sort of crap is why I have it on my to-do list to ask the RSA to remind drivers that seeing themselves at a safe distance through their front window as they pull level with a cyclist is not enough - their vehicle extends behind them for a few metres AND the cyclist is usually (/hopefully) still moving forwards also!

Definitely a call for giving that car a nice clip on the paintwork in passing with an iron-shod hoof :P

I see on the local facebook page someone put a dent in their passenger door to wake them up. A polite word would have probably done more but alas whoever done it probably just reacted to the moment.

nomdeboardie · 09-01-2019 09:14PM

CramCycle wrote: »

I see on the local facebook page someone put a dent in their passenger door to wake them up. A polite word would have probably done more but alas whoever done it probably just reacted to the moment.

? Same car?

CramCycle · 09-01-2019 09:23PM

nomdeboardie wrote: »

? Same car?

I presume so, I recognised it from the description of the cyclist who hit it.

Mc Love · 09-01-2019 11:00PM

CramCycle wrote: »

Feel free to criticise my cycling here, at the time it felt like they pulled in on top of me but the video doesn't make it look nearly as bad, perspective is a funny thing.

The Volvo SUV definitely closed in on you for no reason. Nice front camera btw

CramCycle · 09-01-2019 11:01PM

Mc Love wrote: »

The Volvo SUV definitely closed in on you for no reason. Nice front camera btw

Cycliq Fly 12, the rear one is normally alot better but I some how changed the settings and also loosened the mount, all at the same time.

Mc Love · 09-01-2019 11:11PM

Holy crap - no wonder its that good for the price!!

CramCycle · 09-01-2019 11:34PM

Mc Love wrote: »

Holy crap - no wonder its that good for the price!!

Mine was 140euro, comes with a fairly decent light (although not shaped well so I don't like that). So that took some of the sting out. A full charge with the light on a lower setting will last a few days unlike many other cameras. It is bigger than others though and you could not wear it as a helmet camera.

Thud · 10-01-2019 12:38PM

Where they fiddling with their headlights (1.29 in first video they flash on then off)?
Possibly looking down and distracted:rolleyes:

CramCycle · 11-01-2019 05:40PM

Thud wrote: »

Where they fiddling with their headlights (1.29 in first video they flash on then off)?
Possibly looking down and distracted:rolleyes:

Well spotted, missed that, doesn't make me feel better about it other than it wasn't intentional.

magicbastarder · 15-01-2019 06:26PM

based on an extremely limited sample size, i have reached the conclusion that people driving northern reg cars are angrier than people driving southern reg ones. in the context of a cycling drawing their attention to an issue with their driving.

cdaly_ · 15-01-2019 06:51PM

OTOH, I've felt so comfortable in busy, bank-holiday weekend country road traffic in NI. Much more so than in ROI.

Nobody felt the need to overtake me unsafely, everyone appeared happy to wait until they could cross the centre line of the road first, even as I crawled uphill to Spelga Dam...

CramCycle · 15-01-2019 07:39PM

magicbastarder wrote: »

based on an extremely limited sample size, i have reached the conclusion that people driving northern reg cars are angrier than people driving southern reg ones. in the context of a cycling drawing their attention to an issue with their driving.

They are on edge because they haven't paid their VRT, and they are worried you will highlight them to revenue. Seen a few local businesses, living local, based out of nearby, and they have .ie websites on the van but running english plates for months. Absolutely crazy they get away with it, makes me foolish for paying mine.

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

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