Cycling UK Forum

When I was a child way back in the dark ages (wartime so lights were non existant and it really was dark) we were taught to walk on the right hand side of the road facing towards any oncoming traffic. This we were told gave us the opporunity to see traffic coming towards us and gave to opportunity to jump out of the way if necessary. Obviously pavements were used when available but this was largely rural roads.

Thanks Hexhome. Got something right at last. Must check my speedo since it would tally as many lorries on this road seem to me to hover just under 60,ie exceeding the limit but not by enough to be conspicuous tho' it would show on their tacho.Your downhill theory could be right in some cases but some are on the flat and vanish into the distance still going and overtaking all their brethern.Must stop going off topic

Just out www.scottishcyclingmag.co.uk.The editor is not a cyclist generally and I dislike some of his views but hey lets be a bit tolerant (at least until his next antimy views outburst). Leslie Riddoch has done some reasonable touring cycling and her views may be more realistic.

Hexhome (did I spell that right?) should be able to answer this for me. A friend of mine who has just retired but was an owner/driver for many years maintained in the recent past that speed limiters were a menace and could be dangerous as they cut in unexpectedly sometimes and caused safety issues. He may of course just be a rotten driver but I have no way of knowing this.He did have an exemplary non accident record. Incidentally I frequently drive the A90 Perth/Aberdeen road in both directions.Usually I do about 58 mph which is where most of the LGV's are and it suits my now motorhome but sometimes even when I rise to the giddy heights of 60mph I am overtaken by LGVs at a considerable margin.They must be doing at least 70 or more. How is this possible in modern looking artics mostly fully loaded?

There have been several posts recently where people asked for and were given advice on camping in general and wild camping in particular. One piece of advice missing I think involves ticks which can carry Lyme Disease. Ticks are becoming much more widespread then in the past and are now getting to be a serious menace.In one of my regular offroad runs I usually pick up at least a couple. Therefore when wild camping it would be a good idea to carry a tick remover (there are 2 sizes) and/or a pair of needle point tweezers to remove any ticks promptly. It is recommended that this is done within 36 hours to minimise the possibility of infection. If you cannot reach the offending tick and you are on your own most rural areas have a District Nurse or similar who should be able to help. The nurses in my local health centre tell me they have a regular procession of tourists all summer needing to have ticks removed so they are not likely to be surprised by such requests. While your chances of actually catching Lyme Disease are pretty remote and I would not like to cause unnecessary alarm there remains the possibility and more people are catching it every year. Check out Google and you will find plenty of information on this subject. As a sort of PS nobody mentioned Clegs also known as Horseflies which are bloodsuckers a bit like mosquitoes but do not I think carry disease. They can be a nuisance sometimes but nothing like midges.

Don't worry about it too much. I have had an enlarged prostate since about 1980 which was discovered when I lost a kidney to cancer. I had the "telescope" test ( cannot remember the proper medical term offhand now) every 6 months for 10 years then reduced to annually for 5 years before being abandoned but supposed to self monitor. ( In those days we had a general anaesthetic - much less fraught).I do not use a B17 any more but not for prostate reasons,just less comfortable overall than most others.Just use common sense observation and consult your doctor if in doubt. Early detection of any serious problem is important tho'!

While a folder with hub gears may be good in theory in practice it will not be "cool" or whatever the current phrase is and would not be a popular choice. When my first grandchild was 6 I got him a Dawes Rocket from a well known NI mail order firm. This was left in one gear until he got wise enough to use the gears reasonably. Now that the next one is approaching 6 another of the same has been ordered as the first one has been trouble free so far. The choice depends to some extent on the size of the child and this bike with 20" wheels is verging on being too big for some small children but being able to reach the brakes and use them properly is of prime importance. When I was a child in the early 1940's we often rode sideways with one leg under the crossbar on large adult bikes without any mishaps which I can remember.

I use a smear of washing up liquid then leaving for a few minutes to dry a bit then polishing with a dry cloth. Seems to work reasonably tho' nothing is perfect. RainX depends on vehicle (at least 50mph) speed so unlikely to be much good on specs anyway

I live in a tourist town. The main street is not pedestrianised but the majority of tourists do not see it this way and wander around in a kind of daze without any consideration for anyone else. I used to cycle along the half mile several times per day and regularly had people wander in front of me with their backs to me who never looked before stepping out sideways. I developed brakes which squealed loudly when applied suddenly. Once they had recovered from the shock they always apologised profusely (I also muttered loudly several appropriate swear words) but I bet they always looked behind for quite a long time after. Evil I know but satisfactory all the same.

Probably Carradice right enough. I always mend a puncture out on the road with the bike upside down! How else do you do it?

If a driver is considerate I give an acknowledging wave if possible and I have sometimes e-mailed a company to compliment a drivers behaviour even when driving a motorhome and a tour coach pulls over for me (which is most unusual).I think a compliment goes a long way to thank for considerate behaviour.

I think we are getting too pally Hexholme,need to bring this to an end and agree that the problem really is too much traffic.No doubt we will find something else to argue about

Nice cover pic this month. Girl looks like a "real" cyclist as opposed to a model (despite wearing a helmet). But! Does that undone saddlebag pocket not grate a bit? What is going to fall out very soon? Somebody should tell her.

Do you drive for Tesco Hexhame? I know they use contract drivers. Some replies are sensible enough but they refer to occasional delays which we all have to put up with.The complaints are from hauliers and bus operators and from my own experience they may (MAY) have some validity. We are talking here specifically about the A82, A83 and A85 which are regularly used by large groups of cyclists. How regularly I do not know since I only travel now about once or twice a month on those roads. I was recently stuck behind a group of about 20 from Inveruglas on Loch Lomondside (the main road to the whole of the western islands and west coast of Scotland as well as Inverness) for about 4 miles. A long way in first gear! Having admitted that I should point out my complaint is not personal but merely to ilustrate that these unnecessary delays do actually happen. What to do about it? I have no idea but I still fear legislators may be tempted to get involved.

Pauldesjour puts a point I totally agree with and this is one of my points in another post on this forum. I have had the same problem more often recently due to the large increase in cyclists doing end to end runs and this in a much smaller vehicle. Pleas for courtesy and common sense seem only to generate hostilty or at best ridicule. Perhaps My skin is getting thinner as I get older.