Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Many cyclists on here?

I've been a bit slack this year but drove along one of my favoured cycling routes today and decided I gotta give myself a kick up the ass and get cycling again. I was putting in about 150+ miles a week but can't seem to get going lately.
I almost considered selling the bike after what seems like an eternity of horrible weather but I'd regret it if I did.

I wish. My city hates bikes.

I trail ride. I refuse to take my bike on public roads, because doing so would make me an donkey-cave.

I have a bike, but I don't ride enough. My twitter recently lit up with things about the Lekker Jordaan and it's made me think I should be cycling more.

There was one thing I tried: riding to the FLGS. There's actually a pretty good route from here to there, going through the bike trails and such rather than on roads for the most part, but army transport was a bit dubious. I normally use those gigantic Games Workshop cases, and they're much too big to go on the bike. To get around it I tried wrapping the models individually in tissues, like Christmas ornaments, and putting them in tupperware containers. It seemed to work okay, but they were plastic models and I don't know that I'd want to try it with metal ones.

 azazel the cat wrote:
I trail ride. I refuse to take my bike on public roads, because doing so would make me an donkey-cave.

Does Canada have little roads? Here, most of the small to middling roads have enough clearance for a bike and certainly don't slow the traffic down (though it's not so much clearance that they're delightful to ride a bike on) but the larger ones can have some issues with the leftmost lane being too small, and it's illegal to ride on the pavement - even the ones that nobody walks on ever. I did hear from someone once (an American) about how he hated cyclists because in the inner city they'd constantly block the lanes and cause all other traffic to have to go at their speed. Here I'm pretty sure you'd get arrested for obstructing the flow of traffic if you did that.

Because of the law making it illegal to ride on the footpaths, the limitations of the bike networks and some of the roads not being wide enough for it to be safe, riding around here isn't always very practical. It depends on where you are and where you're going, though. The bike networks are getting better as time goes on, if slowly.

HiveFleetPlastic wrote:

 azazel the cat wrote:
I trail ride. I refuse to take my bike on public roads, because doing so would make me an donkey-cave.

Does Canada have little roads? Here, most of the small to middling roads have enough clearance for a bike and certainly don't slow the traffic down (though it's not so much clearance that they're delightful to ride a bike on) but the larger ones can have some issues with the leftmost lane being too small, and it's illegal to ride on the pavement - even the ones that nobody walks on ever. I did hear from someone once (an American) about how he hated cyclists because in the inner city they'd constantly block the lanes and cause all other traffic to have to go at their speed. Here I'm pretty sure you'd get arrested for obstructing the flow of traffic if you did that.

Because of the law making it illegal to ride on the footpaths, the limitations of the bike networks and some of the roads not being wide enough for it to be safe, riding around here isn't always very practical. It depends on where you are and where you're going, though. The bike networks are getting better as time goes on, if slowly.

You've generally got the right of it. I make a point of not using the roads, because cyclists do not need to purchase insurance the way motorists do, and I am a firm believer that they should. Thus, it would make me quite hypocritical to use public roads. Additionally, while there are some designated cycling lanes, typically they are few and far between.

See, my primary form of transportation around town is my bike, so I have to use the roads. The real ass holes are the motorists who treat law-abiding cyclists like gak scraped off their shoes. You would not believe some of the abuse I've had hurled at me when biking to and from work, the grocery store, school, etc.

rubiksnoob wrote:See, my primary form of transportation around town is my bike, so I have to use the roads. The real ass holes are the motorists who treat law-abiding cyclists like gak scraped off their shoes. You would not believe some of the abuse I've had hurled at me when biking to and from work, the grocery store, school, etc.

To be fair, you're on their roads, and you likely did not have to purchase auto insurance for your bike.

Do you obey traffic signals, signs and all other rules of the road when cycling? If you answer anything less than "yes, absolutely, all of them" whilst cycling in traffic, then their hatred is justified.

They're not "their" roads. Bikes are legally classed as vehicles. You're not even allowed to ride them on the footpath - you have to use the roads. And of course as a cyclist you should follow all the road rules, though it's weird that you don't actually get tested on that at all like you do with other vehicles.

HiveFleetPlastic wrote:They're not "their" roads. Bikes are legally classed as vehicles. You're not even allowed to ride them on the footpath - you have to use the roads. And of course as a cyclist you should follow all the road rules, though it's weird that you don't actually get tested on that at all like you do with other vehicles.

That's partly what I mean by "their". Also, in BC, Canada, auto insurance is mandatory to be able to drive on public roads, yet cyclists are not required to purchase it.

 azazel the cat wrote:

rubiksnoob wrote:See, my primary form of transportation around town is my bike, so I have to use the roads. The real ass holes are the motorists who treat law-abiding cyclists like gak scraped off their shoes. You would not believe some of the abuse I've had hurled at me when biking to and from work, the grocery store, school, etc.

To be fair, you're on their roads, and you likely did not have to purchase auto insurance for your bike.

Do you obey traffic signals, signs and all other rules of the road when cycling? If you answer anything less than "yes, absolutely, all of them" whilst cycling in traffic, then their hatred is justified.

I don't know about the laws/ordinances in Canada, but in North Carolina it's actually my road as well. And correct, I do not have auto insurance for bicycle.

And yes, I do obey all traffic laws, something which no motorist I've ever observed or encountered does. Unless they never roll through stop signs, never fail to signal, never blow through lights as they change to red, never speed, never tailgate, never cross the double yellow lines, never make illegal u-turns, and never violate a million other laws, their hatred is not justified, it's fething hypocritical.

rubiksnoob wrote:

 azazel the cat wrote:

rubiksnoob wrote:See, my primary form of transportation around town is my bike, so I have to use the roads. The real ass holes are the motorists who treat law-abiding cyclists like gak scraped off their shoes. You would not believe some of the abuse I've had hurled at me when biking to and from work, the grocery store, school, etc.

To be fair, you're on their roads, and you likely did not have to purchase auto insurance for your bike.

Do you obey traffic signals, signs and all other rules of the road when cycling? If you answer anything less than "yes, absolutely, all of them" whilst cycling in traffic, then their hatred is justified.

I don't know about the laws/ordinances in Canada, but in North Carolina it's actually my road as well. And correct, I do not have auto insurance for bicycle.

And yes, I do obey all traffic laws, something which no motorist I've ever observed or encountered does. Unless they never roll through stop signs, never fail to signal, never blow through lights as they change to red, never speed, never tailgate, never cross the double yellow lines, never make illegal u-turns, and never violate a million other laws, their hatred is not justified, it's fething hypocritical.

Perhaps. However, they are accountable for their trespasses. Cyclists often are not. I suppose the hatred would be less justified if a cyclist was required to take a licensing test for road safety in the same way that automobile drivers are.

Yeah, I've gotten bad about it here, the area I live in (clarksville, TN) is filled with a-hole military types that don't grasp the concept of a bike lane.. they seem to think that all solid white lines are merely an improperly painted turn lane.

I really could go on and on about how bad motorists are around here, but I'll just say that to ride on the same roads as motorists around here is tantamount to suicide. The only real safe places to go are at LBL, if you have a mountain bike.

Ensis Ferrae wrote:Yeah, I've gotten bad about it here, the area I live in (clarksville, TN) is filled with a-hole military types that don't grasp the concept of a bike lane.. they seem to think that all solid white lines are merely an improperly painted turn lane.

I really could go on and on about how bad motorists are around here, but I'll just say that to ride on the same roads as motorists around here is tantamount to suicide. The only real safe places to go are at LBL, if you have a mountain bike.

This is also my secondary reason for only trail-riding: where I live, people seem to consider red lights to be more of suggestions than commands.

HiveFleetPlastic wrote:
I normally use those gigantic Games Workshop cases, and they're much too big to go on the bike

lol I know the feeling, I used to strap all my fishing gear to my old workhorse cycle (and to myself) and cycle 15ish miles to a lake, then the same trip back except in the uphill direction.

 azazel the cat wrote:

rubiksnoob wrote:

 azazel the cat wrote:

rubiksnoob wrote:See, my primary form of transportation around town is my bike, so I have to use the roads. The real ass holes are the motorists who treat law-abiding cyclists like gak scraped off their shoes. You would not believe some of the abuse I've had hurled at me when biking to and from work, the grocery store, school, etc.

To be fair, you're on their roads, and you likely did not have to purchase auto insurance for your bike.

Do you obey traffic signals, signs and all other rules of the road when cycling? If you answer anything less than "yes, absolutely, all of them" whilst cycling in traffic, then their hatred is justified.

I don't know about the laws/ordinances in Canada, but in North Carolina it's actually my road as well. And correct, I do not have auto insurance for bicycle.

And yes, I do obey all traffic laws, something which no motorist I've ever observed or encountered does. Unless they never roll through stop signs, never fail to signal, never blow through lights as they change to red, never speed, never tailgate, never cross the double yellow lines, never make illegal u-turns, and never violate a million other laws, their hatred is not justified, it's fething hypocritical.

Perhaps. However, they are accountable for their trespasses. Cyclists often are not. I suppose the hatred would be less justified if a cyclist was required to take a licensing test for road safety in the same way that automobile drivers are.

I see where you're coming from, but how would you go about doing that? At what age would you have to get a license? Three? Would kids with training wheels need permits? Would 12 year olds riding their bikes around have to have their ID on them at all times?

I cycle as much as is possible, but it's difficult to find the time to. Usually I try to commute to work but lately I have been taking a half hour and just seeing how far I can get up the local mountain roads. So far, so good, and it's a great condensed workout.

Car drivers are generally quite rude, and don't act appropriately. Hey, cyclists are people too. I don't cut you off, you don't try to kill me with your 5000 pound deathmachine while you panic about someone riding a bike. :/

SBG wrote:


Car drivers are generally quite rude, and don't act appropriately. Hey, cyclists are people too. I don't cut you off, you don't try to kill me with your 5000 pound deathmachine while you panic about someone riding a bike. :/

Sad thing is, here where I'm at, motorcycles are about as plentiful as cars, but still face the same sorts of dangers as normal cyclists.

Then you get bike riders treating pedestrians like donkey-caves.

I used to cycle everywhere, but ever since I saw a bike rider crash into a wheelchair user and not even apologise, I've been embarrassed too much to ride. Also, why do people not use their bells on the bikes anymore?

I appreciate cyclists not using cars, and exercising. But do you have to be snooty about it?

 Doctadeth wrote:
Then you get bike riders treating pedestrians like donkey-caves.

I used to cycle everywhere, but ever since I saw a bike rider crash into a wheelchair user and not even apologise, I've been embarrassed too much to ride. Also, why do people not use their bells on the bikes anymore?

I appreciate cyclists not using cars, and exercising. But do you have to be snooty about it?

I have bells on both my commuters. . .

 Doctadeth wrote:
Then you get bike riders treating pedestrians like donkey-caves.

I used to cycle everywhere, but ever since I saw a bike rider crash into a wheelchair user and not even apologise, I've been embarrassed too much to ride. Also, why do people not use their bells on the bikes anymore?

I appreciate cyclists not using cars, and exercising. But do you have to be snooty about it?

you guys use bells???

Honestly man, on my road bike, a bell is too many grams of weight But then again, when I last rode my road bike in my home town, I was going faster than the car traffic (because I was downtown, the speed limit is 25, which i can fairly easily maintain for around 10 miles)

Well, if you're on a shared footway then you should always alert pedestrians to your passing them, and the best way to do that is a bell. You can go retro and just call out to them, though.

I've just moved to Oxford and the number of cyclists I have seen in just a short time going through red lights into junctions, hopping from road to pavement to get round red lights, going from pavement to road to get round walkers, pulling across traffic without looking or signalling, riding without lights at night, riding without helmets, riding in pedestrian areas, etc is quite staggering.

Though I have started repairing my bike after about 8-10 years of it sitting in the garage - where I lived before was not a cycle friendly place at all. Luckily there are lots of shared footpath/cycle lanes around my house, and lots of the roads closer to Oxford have dedicated cycle lanes (that actually run along the whole road, rather than being 5mm of cycle lane, then 20m of car filled death, then 6cm more cycle lane).

Every Friday, everyone who reasonably can do it is asked to come to the office via bike...it's a company thing, lead by model etc. It's cool because I like riding the bike

 SilverMK2 wrote:
I've just moved to Oxford and the number of cyclists I have seen in just a short time going through red lights into junctions, hopping from road to pavement to get round red lights, going from pavement to road to get round walkers, pulling across traffic without looking or signalling, riding without lights at night, riding without helmets, riding in pedestrian areas, etc is quite staggering.

Though I have started repairing my bike after about 8-10 years of it sitting in the garage - where I lived before was not a cycle friendly place at all. Luckily there are lots of shared footpath/cycle lanes around my house, and lots of the roads closer to Oxford have dedicated cycle lanes (that actually run along the whole road, rather than being 5mm of cycle lane, then 20m of car filled death, then 6cm more cycle lane).

Lots of silly cyclists is Oxford! That's not far from me and when I've been out there shopping or something and seen what some of them get up to, as a cyclist, it makes me cringe.
Especially having been taken off my bike by a car (rear ended, guy was speeding and not aware of surrounding at all) in my much quieter town, dunno why the Oxford cyclists are so keen to it themselves in the firing line!
Still, each to their own I guess.

I now live in the country side so I got miles and miles of quiet back road right on my door step, joining to A-roads which I don't mind when I've got a destination in mind.

Not a lot round here for the trail guys though lots of flat single track but nothing exciting without driving first

I'm the same as you this year Xiorell. I started cycling last year to work on my fitness for the 3 Peaks Challenge. Only did short 5-6 mile rides but that was every night after work. I do 15 miles on a Sunday morning.

This year I've been out four times, partly because the weather has been rubbish and also because I need to give myself that kick up the butt.

Boggy79 wrote:
I'm the same as you this year Xiorell. I started cycling last year to work on my fitness for the 3 Peaks Challenge. Only did short 5-6 mile rides but that was every night after work. I do 15 miles on a Sunday morning.

This year I've been out four times, partly because the weather has been rubbish and also because I need to give myself that kick up the butt.

I was going out with cycle clubs and tracking my rides on GPS and all sorts. Just can't do it this year

Weather wise, if I am out and it begins to rain, no problem I can only get wet once, but when you pull open the curtains and the sky is black and the wind is howling it kinda seems more like I'd be going out on a ride as punishment than for leisure :(

Plus I'm one of these "every part must be shiney clean and 100% perfect" people, so when its grim outside I know I'll spend 2 hours cleaning the thing when I get back lol

6 kilometers to and from school every day.

I use a folding bike during the week to get partway to & from work - about 4 - 6 miles in total. Not bad, but pricey when something breaks.

I would also like to cycle more at weekends, and have a mountain/all terrain bike that I could use, trouble is I hate the bloody thing. It's a full suspension Saracen Ikon, and it's the first suspension bike I've ever owned, and I just hate the 'feel' of it - it seems 'squishy' and unpleasant.

I'd love to ditch this & get a Hybrid or something, but that'll have to wait a while yet.

I started using it as the bus fee started raising 50%+ and my salary was kept as it was xD I combine it with train (we have on each train a wagon dedicated to cyclists).

Saving money while making exercise? Was a no brainer for me (specially that I take the same if not less time to reach work from the train station than on a bus.

 Xiorell wrote:

 SilverMK2 wrote:
I've just moved to Oxford and the number of cyclists I have seen in just a short time going through red lights into junctions, hopping from road to pavement to get round red lights, going from pavement to road to get round walkers, pulling across traffic without looking or signalling, riding without lights at night, riding without helmets, riding in pedestrian areas, etc is quite staggering.

Though I have started repairing my bike after about 8-10 years of it sitting in the garage - where I lived before was not a cycle friendly place at all. Luckily there are lots of shared footpath/cycle lanes around my house, and lots of the roads closer to Oxford have dedicated cycle lanes (that actually run along the whole road, rather than being 5mm of cycle lane, then 20m of car filled death, then 6cm more cycle lane).

Lots of silly cyclists is Oxford! That's not far from me and when I've been out there shopping or something and seen what some of them get up to, as a cyclist, it makes me cringe.
Especially having been taken off my bike by a car (rear ended, guy was speeding and not aware of surrounding at all) in my much quieter town, dunno why the Oxford cyclists are so keen to it themselves in the firing line!
Still, each to their own I guess.

I now live in the country side so I got miles and miles of quiet back road right on my door step, joining to A-roads which I don't mind when I've got a destination in mind.

Not a lot round here for the trail guys though lots of flat single track but nothing exciting without driving first

Ye. I don't know what it is, but the cyclists in Oxford are a f***ing menace. It's not all of them, but a big proportion. I would say about 1/3 ride with no regard at all for other road users. I cycle in my home town but would never do it in Oxford. They are a danger to themselves and others. Only place I have been shouted at for having the gall to walk on a pavement... The worst bit is, Cyclox, the police and the council refuses to see cyclists as anything but the victim.

Anyway, back on topic, it looks like the weather is picking up in the UK now, so I can get the bike back out (Ye, I'm a fair weather rider).