Car up or Car down?

[Pompey Monkey]

Having recently returned to cycling (for the nth time...) I have been trying out some local clubs for Sunday group rides that I feel most comfortable with.

A few weeks back I ventured forth with a local club, that has a bias towards racing, on one of their "introductory" rides. Whilst going along the country roads, if I was at the front of the group and a car was oncoming, I'd call out "Car* down!", just like we all used to when I took up cycling on the eighties. Conversely, a car approaching from the rear would be announced as "Car up!".

However, I was soon made clear about the error of my ways when I was referred to the club rules that apparently say that an oncoming car is "Up" and one from behind is "Down". And That Was Final.

Now I'm so unsure of myself that I am almost to scared to venture forth on my trusty steed in case I inadvertently ride backwards into an oncoming tractor!

Can anyone enlighten me as to the generally received directional alert?


* Or even "Oil", as they were oft alluded to.

[pedalsheep]

We always use the same calls that you remember - 'car down' approaching from the front 'down your throat', 'car up' approaching from the rear 'up your backside'.

[gaz]

+1 for down and up, however "Car" was usually "Oil"*.

*Perhaps a form of rhyming slang.

[[XAP]Bob]

Frankly - "car" or "oil" should be sufficient. Not really that much need to describe direction - if it's the ride leader calling then it's from the front, if it's the tail calling then it's from behind.

[Brucey]

I think those lads/lasses you are riding with have got it wrong, but any call is better than none.

cheers

[jezer]

We say car up from behind and car down from the front. It was always thus

[Mark1978]

Agreed your group was wrong. You think of a group of riders and those at the back are always at the bottom and those ahead at the 'top'. Therefore a car approaching from behind is going 'up'. Perhaps their thinking is the way the car is approaching from, rather than where it's going.

[[XAP]Bob]

Agreed your group was wrong. You think of a group of riders and those at the back are always at the bottom and those ahead at the 'top'. Therefore a car approaching from behind is going 'up'. Perhaps their thinking is the way the car is approaching from, rather than where it's going.

And a north wind - naming convention is more established - but it makes no more/less sense.

[andrew_s]

car Up = from behind
car Down = oncoming

Just to keep Mark1978 happy
We also sometimes specify the vehicle type

The justification in our club was that you spent more time going up (a slope) than down, so the regular meaning of up & down was correct most often.

[Mark1978]

Up = from behind
Down = oncoming

The justification in our club was that you spent more time going up (a slope) than down, so the regular meaning of up & down was correct most often.

Or you could use "car behind"

[Vorpal]

All of the British clubs & cyclists I've ridden with have used the convention described...

oil up = from behind
oil down = from the front

In the US, and sometimes on charity or beginners rides, I've heard 'car back' and 'car front', which I think is more understandable to those who aren't accustomed to riding with others.

[deliquium]

We always use the same calls that you remember - 'car down' approaching from the front 'down your throat', 'car up' approaching from the rear 'up your backside'.

^ That's how learned it too

[mjr]

I think "car back" means the car is waiting at the back and making no attempt to pass, used rarely, on narrow roads with good drivers, to let the leader know that slowing when the road widens would be helpful.

I agree with the above up (your bum) / down (your throat) directions, but British Cycling has published the up (ahead) / down (your neck) directions in guides like http://www.britishcycling.org.uk/insigh ... oup-ride-0 (and it has then been copied by lots of new/growing racing clubs) so it is good to make sure everyone in a group is the same way around before you set off.

[[XAP]Bob]

We always use the same calls that you remember - 'car down' approaching from the front 'down your throat', 'car up' approaching from the rear 'up your backside'.

^ That's how learned it too

You're all cycling backwards - get a proper cycle:
http://venturecyclist.blogspot.co.uk/20 ... bents.html

[The Mechanic]

+1 for up behind and down from ahead. It seems also to fit with everyday use such as "a car came up behind me".