Inconsiderate club cyclists

[robing]

Why didn't you say or shout anything to them at the time?

[whoof]

A couple of years ago I was out on a club run and there were 9 of us and one 'guest'. We tend to call out if we are turning, I was leading and said left at the lights. As we approached the traffic lights they went red and we slowed and then stopped except the visit who turned left. This was followed by a chorus of 'stop' followed by at least three people taking turns to tell the person if they rode like that in future they could go and do it on their own.

The incident you witness was indeed inconsiderate as the title says but the fact that they were cyclist and club cyclist was as incidental as if the were tall or short.

May I ask if you have ever been a passenger in a car that was travelling faster than the speed limit? If so did you shout at the driver to slow down and report them for their actions?

[Tangled Metal]

You really think they had time to reply?

My partner's been at the end of abuse by a member in a club run with most riders in full club kit. They weren't fast and I could have caught up with them had I realised what was said. However she was too surprised to respond. Besides if she had it would have been a shout at disappearing cyclists.

No the only response is to contact the club. I wish we had with our case (although it wasn't dangerous more abusive or intimidating behaviour).

+1 on cyclists not being a homogenous grouping, but also +1 on the perception people get when they see cyclists showing bad, dangerous or antisocial behaviour.

<inappropriate term removed>

PS try not snarling at a mother and young cycling child about her not wearing a helmet on a very quiet road without many cars then riding away quickly. If you have a comment make it and wait for a reply or don't make it and don't sound aggressive making comments.

Then again a more important point is to poverty 2 the highway code (if the op's story is true. My criticisms are more about politeness, better to get the safety right with club runs.

PS of you are in a club I'm not criticising you, I haven't met you whilst on a club run (I don't think so, not Kendal and middle age + are you?).

[AjJay]

No, I am not prejudiced against clubs.
Yes, I did call out. "You should have stopped!"
No chance of catching them, too fast.
Not going to contact the club. I said "probably" because although the jersey colours matched the club outfits, I did not eyeball the name, it was my friend who said it was them and without a working camera, I cannot corroborate that.
I have seen plenty of negative generalisation from anti-cycling persons and I was indicating that there are those who are not slow to accuse us all for the sins of the few. Not sure what one respondent meant in his reply when referencing this; I hope it was not flaming.

Thank you, I have said all I want to.

[TrevA]

The opening post is the equivalent of walking into your local supermarket and shouting at the top of your voice " Which idiot has parked their car in a dangerous place! ". It might make the shouter feel better and there's a small chance that you will find the person responsible, but most will listen, shrug and carry on with what they were doing. Completely pointless really!

[The utility cyclist]

I think she will remember and describe the law-abiding cyclists too

It would be good if she did but I’d be surprised if her overriding feeling wasn’t “*&£*#£& cyclists”.

How do you know this, what clues/evidence do you have to have a certainty as to this persons "overriding feeling"?
is it because you're an angry person too over something that in the grand scheme of things like waiting a few extra seconds for someone to get past wasn't actually that big a deal.
Was it wrong of those on the bikes to 'blast' through absolutely but yet again we are making a mountain over a molehill, the reasoning by some that the lady would have been killed is a fantasy not born out in statistics anywhere and with not a shred of evidence, if she had been on the crossing already the likelihood is they would either have stopped or gone around her.
Basically she didn't want to cross at that juncture, waiting a few seconds very likely would not have bothered her any, there's no evidence to prove that but then neither is there any to prove the hysterical reactions she is absolutely going to have going by the above

Again, I don't condone not stopping but this is again another over-reaction to a minor incident that without the OP making a massive deal out of it would go down as a non event to the person that was put upon.

[Cyril Haearn]

It is possible, not likely, that she could have been killed, the racers might have come round the corner at 40 kph and suddenly panicked
Were I the OP, I would revisit the spot and try to identify and talk to the victim to find out what she thought
Certainly something has come of this, it has got us thinking, Plus One

[meic]

I dont think that it is worth going back over the specific incident because it is a systemic problem.
Motorists have established the practice of taking priority over pedestrians at these crossing through might, hardly surprising if they ride their bikes that way too.

It is a recognised problem and rather than attempting to educate road users that actually it isnt an OK and minor thing to do, they are phasing out zebras and using more light controlled crossings because vehicular traffic is more obedient to them (and they give much more priority to vehicles over pedestrians).

[feefee8]

I think she will remember and describe the law-abiding cyclists too

It would be good if she did but I’d be surprised if her overriding feeling wasn’t “*&£*#£& cyclists”.

How do you know this, what clues/evidence do you have to have a certainty as to this persons "overriding feeling"?
is it because you're an angry person too over something that in the grand scheme of things like waiting a few extra seconds for someone to get past wasn't actually that big a deal.

I have no clue what this woman was feeling. Maybe she shook her head with a rueful smile while muttering “Playful scamps” as they tore past.

Also, I’m not an angry person. I wait when I ought to, I feel frustration at other people and their questionable decisions on the road but I also recognise that I’ve probably caused some of those moments for others.

What I do recognise locally is a massive anti-cycling sentiment usually stemming from this type of incident. I am not responsible for ANY other road user’s actions but it would be naive not to realise that people stereotype. We all know we should not but it happens a lot and much of the ire is directed at people on bikes. Even more than at tourists’ driving in this part of the world, and that’s saying something!

[Cyril Haearn]

Tourists up there? I imagine they do a lot of good by generally keeping below the maximum speed limit and forcing other drivers to do the same, Plus One!

[feefee8]

Tourists up there? I imagine they do a lot of good by generally keeping below the maximum speed limit and forcing other drivers to do the same, Plus One!

Hmmmmm, driving at 30 to 35 mph for more than 5 miles on roads where driving up to the national speed limit is safe, is generally considered to be causing an obstruction, not to mention queues of up to 30 vehicles. Police have pulled people over for NOT pulling over before now.

[gaz]

I am not responsible for ANY other road user’s actions but it would be naive not to realise that people stereotype.

Yes.

We all know we should not but it happens a lot and much of the ire is directed at people on bikes.

When it happens, call it out. Otherwise people's prejudices will just be reinforced.

[Cyril Haearn]

What, do the cops stop them and tell them to go faster? If they are so far inside the maximum limit they should be easy to overtake

[The utility cyclist]

What was the speed of the 'blasting' through 15mph/20/30/50/100mph? How does this compare to the many hundreds of thousands of motorists that do this every single day? Here's an example, were the pedestrian's overriding feeling must be “*&£*#£& MOTORISTS" how much potential harm would they have done HAD they struck them, we already know that not a single death in the last 6 years at least on pedestrian crossings were at fault people riding bikes, we do know that isn't the case with motorists driving their weapon of choice https://twitter.com/abperson_cycle/stat ... 5165749249

[feefee8]

We all know we should not but it happens a lot and much of the ire is directed at people on bikes.

When it happens, call it out. Otherwise people's prejudices will just be reinforced.

I do and continue to. That in itself reinforces another stereotype that people have - cyclists think they are always right - and I've seen people throw abuse at each other online because of it. I'd rather not get into that as I get enough aggro at work!

What, do the cops stop them and tell them to go faster? If they are so far inside the maximum limit they should be easy to overtake

If you are the driver of a car directly behind a car proceeding at that speed and you have a safe space to overtake, it would seem a perfectly reasonable thing to expect, no? Tourists also don't like to overtake. And once you have a car behind a car, that can escalate pretty quickly into a long queue. Even when you have a good long straight, the roads are busy enough that they aren't clear enough to give a safe run at 20 cars. And due to frustration or just poor driving, people don't leave enough gap to allow an overtaking car in so it cannot be completed in sections either.