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Vigilante Cyclists

I had a disconcerting experience today. I was driving behind a cyclist on a mountain bike on the road. He was cycling slowly but all was ok. I waited to pass then overtook giving him room but then there was crossing furniture ahead and I had to turn in a little before I would have liked but not dangerously as I took account of the speed of the cyclist and the other hazards around. I stopped in a queue and he tapped on my window. He told me I'd cut him up dangerously and had it all on his camera. I said I thought I'd been ok and not cut him up but I apologised if he thought I had. His response was to call me a c**t and I was to apologise 'to the fine' when I receive it. I checked my dash cam which was inconclusive so maybe I'll get to see his version one day. The thing was when I thought about it after I now think he was deliberately encouraging a situation where he had to be overtaken and was looking to be cut up or have someone overtake too closely. I'm all for safety and I cycle a lot and am for ever getting cut up etc (six stitches in hand after car door opened on me late last year) but I think we (cyclists) have to be careful not to fuel the bike v car debate by acting in such a way. Today I was a driver and tomorrow a cyclist - we're all in this together and both drivers and cyclists must learn that we all make mistakes (I don't think I did but we shall see) so we mustn't assume that the other party is a c**t just because we're in the other transportation category. He certainly didn't help the cause of the rest of us cyclists by being so abusive. Comments or views?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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50 comments

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Kirk Patric | 1 year ago
6 likes

Maybe when he reviews the footage He'll decide it wasn't as close as he thought, if not, and you did leave enough space, the police will.

What the cyclist was doing is irrelevant, you're the one in control of a deadly weapon.  You have to give him enough space, whether you approve of his cycling or not. You don't say how fast you passed him, maybe technically you left just enough space but he still got a blast from your wake, that can be frightening & annoying even if it wasn't enough to be dangerous, the faster you pass, the more space you should leave. If you were as polite as you say then that's the right thing to do and accept that, whether he assessed it correctly or not, he was a vulnerable road user who had just received a fright.

If the nature of the road was such that you didn't see the street furniture until after you pulled out, you could always slow down and slot back in behind him rather than "turn in a little before I would have liked"

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hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
3 likes

Squirrels are not dumb
They keep away from humans
They know what we’ve done

(by Jared Brace, 10, Springfield, Virginia)

//i.pinimg.com/originals/0f/c5/87/0fc587b464084e32e4c65a6b9d4391b0.jpg)

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Fignon's ghost | 1 year ago
4 likes

You might think yourself a proper cyclist. But it doesn't seem to have sunk in that.
The rider didn't have a metal safety cage.
The rider will obviously have had an adrenaline spike.
The rider believed you had caused unnecessary danger to his welfare.

If you fuck up. Be responsible. Accept the consequences and do better next time.
And move on!

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Flintshire Boy replied to Fignon's ghost | 1 year ago
0 likes

.

Closed mind?

.

That's you, by the way.

.

Sure looks like.

.

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BalladOfStruth replied to Flintshire Boy | 1 year ago
8 likes

.

Why

.

do you

.

format your comments

.

like that?

.

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brooksby replied to Flintshire Boy | 1 year ago
3 likes

No - you've got it all wrong.  A haiku should be in a 5-7-5 pattern (you've only done 2-5-3).

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mdavidford replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
7 likes

It's an austerity haiku - cost-of-living crisis and all that.

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chrisonabike replied to mdavidford | 1 year ago
6 likes

A haiku you want?
You'll wait until the snow comes!
Austerity, see?

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brooksby replied to chrisonabike | 1 year ago
4 likes

Oh god what have I done...?  2  3

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mdavidford replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
5 likes

Take care what you ask.

As the old saying has it,

You might just get it.

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hawkinspeter replied to mdavidford | 1 year ago
8 likes

A problem that I
have with haikus is that I
always run out of

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Fignon's ghost replied to Flintshire Boy | 1 year ago
5 likes

Just as the driver should've done.
.
Think outside the box.
.
That's it!.
.
End
.

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jh2727 | 1 year ago
5 likes

> when I thought about it after I now think he was deliberately encouraging a situation where he had to be overtaken

> I stopped in a queue and he tapped on my window.

I'm a little confused, he had to be overtaken, but then caught up with you in a queue? So why did he *have* to be overtaken?

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peted76 | 1 year ago
10 likes

@TRIDODDYTRI  -  I get that this encounter has knocked you a bit and I get that being called a tnuc might not have been the most polite of exchanges. 

What you need to understand is that clearly the cyclist was 'in that position' regardless of whether it was concious or unconcious (no-one in their right mind would purposfully put themselves in the way of a car). Also regular cyclists are reguarly put into danger, their level of tolerance for being greviously harmed may be lower than other road users (surprisingly).

Regarding the language, 1) some people swear like it's normal, 2) some don't 3) the cyclist would have likely had an adrenaline spike so I tend to be a little more forgiving in those circumstances.

 

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John Stevenson | 1 year ago
9 likes

You ain't no cyclist, bruv.

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hawkinspeter replied to John Stevenson | 1 year ago
2 likes

John Stevenson wrote:

You ain't no cyclist, bruv.

Did you just assume their gender?

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chrisonabike replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
4 likes

Would "fam" be better?  (I'm "so unhip it's a wonder my bottom doesn't fall off").

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hawkinspeter replied to chrisonabike | 1 year ago
3 likes

chrisonatrike wrote:

Would "fam" be better?  (I'm "so unhip it's a wonder my bottom doesn't fall off").

"Fam" sounds gender neutral to me. More of a question is if "guys" is a gender neutral term as I've often heard it used to address mixed genders (I think that common usage has changed its meaning).

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chrisonabike replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
2 likes

Reminds me of overhearing some Americans debating whether "y'all" had become dual purpose plural and singular and if so to clarify should they use "all y'all" or "y'alls".

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brooksby replied to chrisonabike | 1 year ago
3 likes

chrisonatrike wrote:

Would "fam" be better?  (I'm "so unhip it's a wonder my bottom doesn't fall off").

Doesn't matter what the situation or circumstances or subject of conversation, there is always an appropriate Hitchhikers Guide quote available...  4

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hawkinspeter replied to brooksby | 1 year ago
1 like

brooksby wrote:

Doesn't matter what the situation or circumstances or subject of conversation, there is always an appropriate Hitchhikers Guide quote available...  4

Very deep... You should send that in to the Reader's Digest. They've got a page for people like you.

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John Stevenson replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
5 likes

No, I repurposed a well-known quote, changing only what was essential to apply to the situation.

That said, what are the odds yonder troll is anything other than male? Microscopic, I'd say. 

Looking at the email address attached to that username, it starts with a male forename, and another member of the site team has already banned him anyway.

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hawkinspeter replied to John Stevenson | 1 year ago
2 likes

John Stevenson wrote:

No, I repurposed a well-known quote, changing only what was essential to apply to the situation.

That said, what are the odds yonder troll is anything other than male? Microscopic, I'd say. 

Looking at the email address attached to that username, it starts with a male forename, and another member of the site team has already banned him anyway.

You should add a gender selection box to the account sign-up:

//compote.slate.com/images/6762f5d7-ae11-45f8-aafe-033507cca503.png)

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chrisonabike replied to hawkinspeter | 1 year ago
1 like

I don't see "troll" in your list?

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hawkinspeter replied to chrisonabike | 1 year ago
5 likes

chrisonatrike wrote:

I don't see "troll" in your list?

That's to stop them signing up for an account!

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jh2727 replied to chrisonabike | 1 year ago
1 like

chrisonatrike wrote:

I don't see "troll" in your list?

That's "agender".

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mdavidford replied to jh2727 | 1 year ago
3 likes

jh2727 wrote:

chrisonatrike wrote:

I don't see "troll" in your list?

That's "agender".

Is that a hidden agender?

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chrisonabike replied to mdavidford | 1 year ago
0 likes

Never hidden on here...

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AlsoSomniloquism replied to John Stevenson | 1 year ago
1 like

Surprised on the banhammer. Other people have done a lot worse then post the above and stayed on multiple times. I genuinely think the person had posted in good faith but from a wrong initial view that they did nothing wrong. 

(especially as the same username is associated to a Twitter account and is probably a triathlete). 

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John Stevenson replied to AlsoSomniloquism | 1 year ago
5 likes

AlsoSomniloquism wrote:

Surprised on the banhammer. 

So was I to be honest and I'm usually the most enthusiastic advocate of its use, along with deleting everything the troll's ever posted.

But the world would be a duller place if everyone agreed with me about everything. I mean, it'd be much better, obviously, but still duller  3

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