There's good and bad in all road users in this overpopulated/congested country (cities mainly) we are all too cramped and living in each others spaces. No wonder tensions rise.
I'm an ex cyclist, used to ride to work, for fun etc etc. I used to be a manic on my mountain bike, on and off pavements, pushing buttons at lights so they change and then I could cycle across. No helmet, light, I could Jump traffic lights, wear a walkman blasting out some fast paced house and trance, pick up the pace swerving in and out of traffic. I would ride aggressively or is that defensibly.
Wicky's explanation describes it perfectly to me.
It becomes a mad dash to keep up, get ahead, and to the front. Whenever I've been up to London you get sucked into riding like a demented despatch rider unless you can consciously override the surrounding influences. But London riding, as it is even for pedestrians , is like falling into white water river to go with the flow which is at a faster pace than compared to riding outside the city.
And I'm quite at home riding like a demented despatch rider at times if I have to.
Loved riding a pushbike, I was so fit back then....wish I could ride one now but because of motorbike injuries I can't
. One of the best things about a pushbike is the freedom....the freedom to ride around unidentified and at only the cost of pedal power. Nothing else. It will be a sad day when tax and insurance are required to monitor cyclists. Look how hard it is for the youngsters to buy and afford and insure/run their first motorbike at 16. Why make them pay for their tricycles when they are 3
Next we will have to insure ourselves to walk down the street in case we bump into someone or run into them. I'm sick of the blame and claim culture. When are people going to take responsibility for their own actions and surroundings.
I will treat other road users the way they treat me. I will give a little bit more respect to cyclists as they are fellow 2 wheelers out fighting the elements in the same battleground. Actually who's pissing me off more recently is the Learner moped riders and pizza bikes. A month back I was getting pissed of cyclists, then it was bus drivers, then cab drivers and so on. There's always going to be a knob on the road somewhere. We all have to work hard at not getting pissed off with them as it then starts to affect oneself and the way you ride drive, cycle or whatever. I have seen so many idiots on the roads that I now just look in astonishment shaking my head and say to myself "there's another one" "knob". Well.... I try my best to. There are times when I loose it, but that's normally brought on by previous stresses brought on by other idiots earlier and letting them get to me in the first place.
And it's not Callams fault for starting this thread. It's the media's fault for making issues out of cyclists and cycling at the moment and planting it inside his brain. Yeh there are Bradley wiggins wanabe's about since the Olympics and I bet the Gov are loving that, as it's caused a huge increase in cycling bringing the behaviour we are moaning about and a hatred towards them. This then causes more incidents which will get into the media, then discussed and......wait for it.....the gov will bring out a new law for tax and insurance to be a requirement for all cyclists. It's on the cards. Lets give them more money
The only winners are the gov, the insurance companies and law people.
(:-})
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