i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Commuting, Day rides, Audax, Incidents, etc.
jawaka
Posts: 558
Joined: 6 Dec 2007, 2:46pm

i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by jawaka »

I have started driving again in my 60s having not driven for 20 years.
I've always been confident on the road but seeing things from a driver's perspective and also seeing some of the sort of driving nowadays I'm uneasy.
I've always hated and avoided busy A roads so use B or unclassified roads. these often have tight, blind bends and although I am aware of cyclists it is clear that some cars are barrelling round as if nothing could be there. ok I've not really had any issues but this different prespective nevertheless leaves me uneasy.

I stay wide to enter left hand bends to give drivers behind a moment's extra time to see me and then resume normal road position. R hand bends don't have a manoeuvre to prolong the time of being in view.

I use the smart trainer mostly anyway, as Alpe d'huez in 1 1/2 hours at home for example is easier to fit in than 3 hours plus when I am a 3/4 parent to a grandson.

How do other cycling drivers feel ?
Grandad
Posts: 1448
Joined: 22 Nov 2007, 12:22am
Location: Kent

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by Grandad »

On the bike I avoid main roads, in the car I avoid the lanes.
roubaixtuesday
Posts: 5801
Joined: 18 Aug 2015, 7:05pm

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by roubaixtuesday »

jawaka wrote: 26 Oct 2021, 12:48pm I use the smart trainer mostly anyway, as Alpe d'huez in 1 1/2 hours at home for example is easier to fit in than 3 hours plus when I am a 3/4 parent to a grandson.

How do other cycling drivers feel ?
How do I feel? Risks are objectively low, and indoor trainers are the work of Beelzebub and worse than sleet and darkness.

Don't let the [rude word removed] grind you down.

But that's all personal preferences - each to their own.
bjlabuk
Posts: 63
Joined: 9 Jul 2021, 1:44pm

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by bjlabuk »

Well, if you haven't driven for 20 years you are going to notice a significant difference in just about everything about vehicles and drivers, too numerous to mention here, as well as a significant change in your alertness, reaction time, etc, etc. That is obviously going to affect you as a cyclist riding on the roads too. Have you retaken a Theory and Practical Driving Test again?

I am 61years young and usually cycle on rural roads, adopting the primary road position and making myself as visible as possible with LED lights on my bike and person during the day. I don't cycle at night. I also cycle on a National Speed Limit dual carriageway where I take the secondary road position and keep my fingers crossed !
tatanab
Posts: 5030
Joined: 8 Feb 2007, 12:37pm

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by tatanab »

Aged 70, so I have grown with it. I like cycling in the lanes in darkness, and at other times too. I do not like narrow A roads which so often seem busier than they should be. e.g, why is the Axx quieter than the Axxxx. Very aware that some of the roads I use have sharp bends with limited visibility, so I do not hang around at those points. Usually when cycling, I am going somewhere with a purpose - be it to the café or on tour.

I cannot imagine being confined to an indoor trainer, if I had one. That is not cycling (regardless of what Rapha types say) it is exercise.
Postboxer
Posts: 1929
Joined: 24 Jul 2013, 5:19pm

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by Postboxer »

Turbo trainers can be good though as you can jump straight on them. I'm in a built up area so it takes a while before I'm anywhere nice to cycle. Also good if there are any time constraints, such as a school run, to do, a puncture or mechanical issue doesn't matter, as long as you aren't needing the bike for it.
Pete Owens
Posts: 2440
Joined: 7 Jul 2008, 12:52am

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by Pete Owens »

As a cyclist and driver what I always notice is how much easier cycling is. (mentally rather than physically)
OK, for long distances cycling is simply too time consuming, but for short trips, particularly in town, driving is a miserable experience. The constant concentration and frustration involved is draining - whereas when cycling I can take in the view, relax and clear my mind.

I can't be doing with indoor trainers either. When I was recovering from a knee operation the physio recommended short sessions on a trainer (and I mean VERY short - 5 minutes). I set the bike on a stand and started pedalling but the boredom set in very quickly - I was already looking at my watch by 3 minutes.
Pete Owens
Posts: 2440
Joined: 7 Jul 2008, 12:52am

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by Pete Owens »

Postboxer wrote: 26 Oct 2021, 5:36pm Turbo trainers can be good though as you can jump straight on them. I'm in a built up area so it takes a while before I'm anywhere nice to cycle. Also good if there are any time constraints, such as a school run, to do
I'm not sure I understand the logic here.
Sitting on the turbo trainer just wastes time and effort - whereas riding a bicycle can get you to the school gates.
And if you are in a built up area using a bike will normally be the quickest door-to-door mode of transport.
Psamathe
Posts: 17618
Joined: 10 Jan 2014, 8:56pm

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by Psamathe »

I'm being a bit slow (tired maybe) but is OP no longer comfortable behind the wheel of a car or not comfortable on a bike?

Ian
jawaka
Posts: 558
Joined: 6 Dec 2007, 2:46pm

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by jawaka »

I didn't realise a bike trainer was a bit of a hornets' nest, just that I don't have time for long rides, as i am a grandparent doing a 3/4 job as parent, so back to school runs, getting tea, taking him to friends etc.

I still use the bike for going to shops and short local runs and I also take a bike on holidays, mostly Northumberland and Scotland. Northumberland is usually fine but overrun this year so even the twisty B roads were busy with a fair share of close passing and the twisty roads caught a couple of drivers out, coming round left hand bends and coming over the white lines. Still I managed to change route to roads with not much more than tractors. Now driving, I can see drivers taking bends far too fast and going into corners as though there is never going to be anything there.

No problem on long journeys on the A roads and motorways or B roads in the car and have had some lessons with the IAM who weeren't troubled with my driving, reactions,anticipation etc. also read the Highway Code which plenty of drivers don't seem to know.

Also been out with my son's brother-in -law a former armed response police driver. So I'm comfortable with driving, it's seeing as a driver the way some other people drive, not something I took much notice of when my wife was doing the driving. I now see how much driving is a skill, anticipation,observation etc and i wouldn't expect everybody to have those skills. And I admit that I drove pretty fast everywhere when
I drove before, so I'm not sure I would like to meet my younger self at 19 on the bike. Really Incredible the things the police driver anticipated, pointing out a cyclist way,way ahead on a twisty hilly road when there was only one fleeting moment to see him ahead
ANTONISH
Posts: 2958
Joined: 26 Mar 2009, 9:49am

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by ANTONISH »

It seems to me that people are driving faster since being released from the covid lockdown. I also notice that it's not unusual to see motorists straying over the white line on bends.

I try to avoid A roads and busy B roads but in my experience even very narrow lanes can have their share of idiot drivers.
My partner recently signalled an approaching motorist to slow down on a narrow lane - he did slow momentarily to point out that he was entitled to do 60mph if he chose - national speed limit as is designated for many of these lanes - so in a sense he was right.

I came as near death as I've ever been on a very narrow lane ( a designated National cycling route ) when a speeding van emerged from tree cover - no slowing on a road the width of one car - I just managed to get to the verge as he passed with a couple of inches to spare - fortunately I only ended up in a ditch badly stung by nettles.
I had my Edelux dynamo headlight on which he must have ignored.

Going on a ride now I'm uncomfortably aware that there is always a risk of death or serious injury - fortunately most drivers are reasonable but there are enough on the road who are indifferent to the safety of vulnerable road users to take the edge off the enjoyment.
Postboxer
Posts: 1929
Joined: 24 Jul 2013, 5:19pm

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by Postboxer »

Pete Owens wrote: 26 Oct 2021, 6:06pm
Postboxer wrote: 26 Oct 2021, 5:36pm Turbo trainers can be good though as you can jump straight on them. I'm in a built up area so it takes a while before I'm anywhere nice to cycle. Also good if there are any time constraints, such as a school run, to do
I'm not sure I understand the logic here.
Sitting on the turbo trainer just wastes time and effort - whereas riding a bicycle can get you to the school gates.
And if you are in a built up area using a bike will normally be the quickest door-to-door mode of transport.
I mean if you want to get 30 minutes exercise, you can jump on the turbo trainer, maybe watch TV or listen to something whilst you do it, get some exercise, not have to worry about punctures etc, enjoy those 30 minutes, whereas if you live somewhere built up, those same 30 minutes might not get you anywhere nice to cycle, it might just be endless traffic, traffic lights and junctions. You have missed the end of my post off in your quote, my point about having to be somewhere is if you're going out for a ride for leisure, but then have to be somewhere, you don't want to be worrying about not making it home in time if you get a puncture or have a mechanical issue, so you then have to allow for that in your plans and either finish your ride early, or circle around very near to your house. On a turbo trainer you are at home the whole time so nothing to worry about.

I'm not sure a bike is normally quicker door to door, as so much time is lost at the ends, getting it out of the garage etc, then locking it up at the other end, whereas I could go and jump in the car and be on the road in under a minute. My children's school has nowhere to park cycles, so you could cycle to the gates to collect them, but would then have to walk home.
User avatar
mjr
Posts: 20297
Joined: 20 Jun 2011, 7:06pm
Location: Norfolk or Somerset, mostly
Contact:

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by mjr »

Postboxer wrote: 27 Oct 2021, 1:57pm
Pete Owens wrote: 26 Oct 2021, 6:06pm [...]
And if you are in a built up area using a bike will normally be the quickest door-to-door mode of transport.
I'm not sure a bike is normally quicker door to door, as so much time is lost at the ends, getting it out of the garage etc, then locking it up at the other end, whereas I could go and jump in the car and be on the road in under a minute. My children's school has nowhere to park cycles, so you could cycle to the gates to collect them, but would then have to walk home.
I don't think it is normal to take more than a few seconds getting a bike out of the garage (and I am unsure what "etc" signifies) and, in my case, I am pretty sure that "open door, bike out, close door, ABC check, ride" is quicker than "open car, disconnect charger*, close door, reset controls**, start engine, check instruments, drive" and even more so if the last user of the car parked it nose-inwards or if weather means it needs demisting. If there's a car queue somewhere along the route, or if it needs refuelling, the bike is almost certainly quicker, even from 5 miles outside town (3 miles from the edge, only about 1 mile not built-up though).

I think it is still normal for schools to have cycle parking but I realise many schools disobey and discourage healthy travel.

* - the car gets used so rarely that it is usually connected to a trickle charger else the battery discharges completely on standing and is wrecked sooner;
** - I share a car so I have to check each time.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
All the above is CC-By-SA and no other implied copyright license to Cycle magazine.
MikeF
Posts: 4336
Joined: 11 Nov 2012, 9:24am
Location: On the borders of the four South East Counties

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by MikeF »

ANTONISH wrote: 27 Oct 2021, 9:52am
My partner recently signalled an approaching motorist to slow down on a narrow lane - he did slow momentarily to point out that he was entitled to do 60mph if he chose - national speed limit as is designated for many of these lanes - so in a sense he was right.

Well, he was wrong, he wasn't. Your partner was also entitled to being passed in a safe manner.
"It takes a genius to spot the obvious" - my old physics master.
I don't peddle bikes.
Mike Sales
Posts: 7860
Joined: 7 Mar 2009, 3:31pm

Re: i'm no longer comfortable on the roads

Post by Mike Sales »

How can this be?
We have the safest roads in Europe, and they get safer every year.
We are told.
It's the same the whole world over
It's the poor what gets the blame
It's the rich what gets the pleasure
Isn't it a blooming shame?
Post Reply