Hit and run .

[Mark Bolam]

3 minutes ago, benedmonds said:

Assuming this is this stretch of road.  There will be more gravel in that cycle lane and there are definitely drains and other road furniture, you don't want to hit them on your 25mm tyres.  The cyclist might have to weave and dodge...  It goes back to the defensive riding, if you are in the blue section the cars, trucks busses are going to pass you no matter what, if something big is coming the other way that means they will squeeze though the gap, there is a cycle lane, they certainly won't leave the safe distance required in the highway code....   

 

Also it looks flat the "pro lycra" riders will be doing about 35mph down that section, even us Mamils will be in the 20's... It's a 30mph zone, sat behind them it only adds seconds to your journey..

Why would they be doing 35mph in a 30?

Oh yes, rules don’t apply.

[Stubby]

7 minutes ago, benedmonds said:

Assuming this is this stretch of road.  There will be more gravel in that cycle lane and there are definitely drains and other road furniture, you don't want to hit them on your 25mm tyres.  The cyclist might have to weave and dodge...  It goes back to the defensive riding, if you are in the blue section the cars, trucks busses are going to pass you no matter what, if something big is coming the other way that means they will squeeze though the gap, there is a cycle lane, they certainly won't leave the safe distance required in the highway code....   

 

Also it looks flat the "pro lycra" riders will be doing about 35mph down that section, even us Mamils will be in the 20's... It's a 30mph zone, sat behind them it only adds seconds to your journey..

Thats not the stretch of road .  That is poker strait . The stretch of road I am referring to is undulating and twisting and the cycle track is not part of the road . It is separated by a 3 meter wide verge with trees on , as I said .

[Squaredy]

46 minutes ago, benedmonds said:

I seem to be the only cyclist here.. I don't know the section of cycle track, but many are completely unsuitable for cycling on..

They are covered in road debris and gravel and might have bumps for pedestrian access.   Your never going to get a strava segment on there...

I am not really a cyclist any more but I have a lot of sympathy for cyclists, as I see they are the victims of a lot of unjustified anger from car and lorry drivers, and let's be honest it is almost certainly the cyclist who will get hurt by the car or lorry not the other way round.  

 

Of course cyclists are sometimes inconsiderate and even arrogant, and I don't defend this.  But in my experience these are qualities displayed by car and lorry drivers on a grand scale.  So why do cyclists get attacked so much?  Are they really such a colossal problem on our roads?  Or is the biggest problem over-crowding and poor driving from lots of different road users?

 

And by the way, cycle tracks a few metres away from the road are a good idea, but they are not suitable for serious cycling.  They are often shared with pedestrians, so going at more than about ten miles an hour would be dangerous and often the surface is poor meaning a serious cycle ride is really only possible on the road.  

 

I am glad it is not my hobby as frankly it is risky and with the attitude of some vehicle drivers and over-crowding on some roads it is getting more dangerous.

[Mark Bolam]

That’s a very sensible post Squaredy.

[Matthew Storrs]

Personally I think it’s absolutely mad that a cyclist with no real protection can share the same few square meters of space with potentially 30 tons of speeding metal trying to squeeze past  only feet away- bonkers IMHO.

 

i used to cycle a bit on the road- not in a Lycra high powered kind of way, normally on a mountain hike getting from A to B, it’s been 8 years since I last cycled on the road and I can honestly say it won’t happen again and I won’t be encouraging my daughter to either as she grows up untill proper dedicated cycle lanes are in place and cycling on the road is outlawed.

[bluebedouin]

1 hour ago, Mark Bolam said:

Why would they be doing 35mph in a 30?

Oh yes, rules don’t apply.

They don't actually.Unless a particular bye law is in place to the contrary,speed restrictions don't apply to cyclists.

[kevinjohnsonmbe]

1 hour ago, dig-dug-dan said:

You from my neck of the woods?

I’m in Kernow, my neighbour is ex-wife of that bloke who’s up before the beak. I think he lives Bovingdon way but not sure. 

[benedmonds]

3 minutes ago, Matthew Storrs said:

 it’s been 8 years since I last cycled on the road and I can honestly say it won’t happen again and I won’t be encouraging my daughter to either as she grows up untill proper dedicated cycle lanes are in place and cycling on the road is outlawed.

The current trend for middle aged men (and now women) to take up cycling and the benefits to their health is thought to be saving the NHS a significant amount in the reduction of weight related diseases.. Even after you take into account the accidents.. Although my 3 broken collar bones won't have helped those statistics... 

[htb]

You need to land softer lol

[Squaredy]

1 minute ago, benedmonds said:

Although my 3 broken collar bones won't have helped those statistics... 

You have no idea how lucky you are, most of us only have two.....