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^arg!^
Drain access covers are trouble 3 fold. You get a proper jolt, they're slippery, but also they're a size where steering round them can take you into the path if overtaking or oncoming traffic.
I hate having to panic-steer round them without having time to glance over my shoulder.
I know all cyclists know this... but perhaps there should be a push to get the covers coated with tar and grit, so they aren't a 'certain fail' if you hit one in the wet.
This has been discussed by councils and I think they have them somewhere.
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What the shit? This is stupid. If it's not man-holes or road markings it'll be oil or ice or some other shit. Just learn to look at the road surface. I'm actually amazed this has even come up.
I should start a thread 'hey guys, darkness decreases your visibility' then maybe we could petition the city to flood light the whole place.
Seriously, just learn how to ride a bike.
Peace
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I would recommend the Royal,they have a very good orthopaedic/fracture dept.
My mum had three of her four hip replacements there, so obviously she liked the service so much she kept going back.
The worst hazard of this kind I've encountered is the edge of drains/manhole covers/etc. when riding a Brompton. The tiny wheels have absolutely no ability to ride over even very small ridges and so will just skid along the edge, causing a sphinctre-clenchingly awful moment of fear. Interestingly I've never noticed any problems cycling over road paint.
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I was going round a corner t'other day and thinking 'Inever realised I could go round this corner this fast, why have have I been slowing down so much?' then i hit the black ice, then i hit the floor. good job all the cars had stopped for traffic....
won't be going round that corner so fast again for a couple of weeks....or until my hip recovers.the guy I had just overtaken passed me by and smiled at me while i was on the floor too. smug get....
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scaryeire you didn't get a reaction to your 1st post because it basically reads 'whatever'.
Your second post reads 'fuck off & die... or give me some attention'.
Just don't bother in future.
First reply was mild disbelief, second reply was absolute shock that people are riding bikes in London without the most basic knowledge or riding.
What's next? "Watch out for hills guys, I discovered that riding up them is tough and cycling down them can cause unwanted acceleration."
The reason I'm posting in this thread is to hopefully focus in the minds of people that if the fact that "the road has a variety of tractions and isn't just uniformly grippy" is new to you then you really shouldn't be doing 20 mph in London.
Furthermore, what or who are you tailgating that you need to "panic-steer round them without having time to glance over my shoulder".
It just sounds like people are cycling too fast for their abilities. People who haven't rode a bike in years jump on a track focused, essentially slick tyred bike and go whizzing around London. These same people don't ride in a manner conducive to keeping proper grip (obviously given this thread) or giving themselves time to navigate the obsticles they inevitably counter (causing them to "panic-steer round them without having time to glance over my shoulder").
So, thank you for your advice Miro_o and the OP, JimboJones, but my advice still stands. If you're panic stearing in traffic, and the fact that there are different frictions on the road then I don't think you should be cycling as fast as you are, or as close to whatever obstructs your view of these oncoming obsticles.
Given the proof that you have to panic steer and that people are slip sliding on the road (the road is made up of a vareity of surfaces) suggests that you guys are going too fast. Simple.
As a fellow cyclist I'd hate to see you guys get hurt, or to be killed under a truck, or to panic steer into another cyclists path and for you to kill them.
As for "scaryeire you didn't get a reaction to your 1st post because it basically reads 'whatever'.
Your second post reads 'fuck off & die... or give me some attention'.
Just don't bother in future."
How much is the going rate for pseudopsychobable these days? My posting history is definately an indication that I need some good psychological help for my atetntion seeking ways, you're obviously an expert on the subject since you can diagnose via the interweb. Good luck with that.
Peace
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It just sounds like people are cycling too fast for their abilities.
+1
Not only that, but also potentially too fast for the ability of others to get out of the way.
'Gerrt orrrf the rahd'--familiar refrain to anyone?
Get cycle training, everybody.
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JimboJones; why were you riding so close to the curb as to be going over the yellow lines in the first place?
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scaryeire your not wrong regarding speed. Slower is safer. But then so is staying in bed in the morning.
Furthermore, what or who are you tailgating that you need to "panic-steer round them without having time to glance over my shoulder".
My experience cycling in cities is if you leave 3+ car lengths between yourself and the car in front... it tends to get filled with another car. I personally try to cycle with a route past the car in front in the event of it slamming on the brakes, rather than just slower than the traffic (the only other option). This does make me vulnerable to manhole covers if they're on my line through a corner.
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Get cycle training, everybody.
Get training. Bah.
That seems to be the answer to everything in the good old dumbed down UK these days lol. Training from who though? Better not be yet another wet behind the ears 'trainer'. And 'training' is a double edged sword. Can make you *too defensive *a rider. Best way to train? Get out there.
Here's my crash course (forgive the pun):
-Get a bike.
-Ride it often.
-Go wherever the frig you want on it, in order to get safest and quickest from a-b. Why? Because you can. It's called the joy of cycling. We have no need for road signs, highway 'codes' etc. Well, I never have anyway..
-Stay out of the way of fast moving heavy metal objects, and pedestrians.
-Never make eye contact with: police officers, anyone 'official' looking, anyone in hi-viz...fk it don't make eye contact with anyone (except if you need to intimidate a motorist, of course).
-Talking of motorists, don't take any shit from them whatsoever. Obvious.
-Keep your wits about you. It REALLY IS dangerous out there, wherever you are.
-The rest is common sense too, eg. look out for ice, don't go too fast/slow, watch your distances etc etc. Reminds me of that old saying. The problem with common sense is that it isn't too common. ;)
30 years on bikes, the last 15 minus a car, mostly city riding. Still here to tell the tale. Never needed any 'trainer' to tell me how to ride a bloody bicycle. It ain't rocket science, as they say.
I can picture the scene in the 'training' school. "Right everyone, place the helmet on your head, and here's how we tie the strap.......now everyone unfold your hi-viz vests......."
Stay safe all.
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antman, if people followed your advice, we would unfortunately be set back quite a number of years. If you want to get up to speed, search here on the forum for 'National Standard for cycle training' or 'Bikeability', or Google more generally. The CTUK site is also a good place to look: http://www.cycletraining.co.uk/
You've clearly got the right idea in a couple of places, but you're very far off in others, e.g. here:
-Never make eye contact with: police officers, anyone 'official' looking, anyone in hi-viz...fk it don't make eye contact with anyone (except if you need to intimidate a motorist, of course).
Tongue-in-cheek or not, this is 100% wrong.
-Keep your wits about you. It REALLY IS dangerous out there, wherever you are.
This makes it quite absurd for you to advise that:
-Get a bike.
-Ride it often.
Why on Earth would anyone do this is if it's so dangerous? It's simple common sense not to do dangerous things. The truth is that cycling is a low-risk activity that still requires some skills.
It does look as if cycle training would be a good idea for you, as it would lead you to a more realistic risk assessment.
30 years on bikes, the last 15 minus a car, mostly city riding. Still here to tell the tale. Never needed any 'trainer' to tell me how to ride a bloody bicycle. It ain't rocket science, as they say.
Time spent does not necessarily amount to the decisive experience required to re-invent the wheel. A lot of work has been done on this issue in recent years of which you're unaware, and that of course is entirely a good thing, as it addresses all your concerns.
But it's also clear to me where your point of view comes from. You grew up around cycling proficiency. While still looked back on misty-eyed by many people, it probably served to put a multiple of times as many people off cycling as it got into cycling, precisely because of this:
I can picture the scene in the 'training' school. "Right everyone, place the helmet on your head, and here's how we tie the strap.......now everyone unfold your hi-viz vests......."
Cycling proficiency has always been intimately tied to the UK's 'Road Safety' culture, one of whose aims has been to put people off cycling and walking. Let me reassure you that cycle training of the modern variety works in exactly the opposite way (e.g., no helmet compulsion, mostly no hi-viz, with a positive message saying that 'you can ride'), and I can assure you that you'd learn a lot. Every cyclist, no matter how experienced, will benefit from it. It's not rocket science, but that still doesn't stop people from getting elementary things wrong, like your advice above not to make eye contact. FYI you could also read 'Cyclecraft' by John Franklin--essential reading. Have fun! -
Nothing to see here, move along please...
Sorry, constable. I ain't seen nuffink.
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antman, if people followed your advice, we would unfortunately be set back quite a number of years. If you want to get up to speed, search here on the forum for 'National Standard for cycle training' or 'Bikeability', or Google more generally................ .........You've clearly got the right idea in a couple of places, but you're very far off in others!
Just telling it as I see it bro'. Thanks for the all advice and helpful links etc, but you've got nothing for me. Peace out. Mwah.
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Just telling it as I see it bro'. Thanks for the all advice and helpful links etc, but you've got nothing for me. Peace out. Mwah.
You are full of contradictions.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/4768887.stm
Dude that was 2006! Does anyone know what the feedback from the trial was?
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COUGH!
rusty
hippy
miro_o
scaryeire
LondonSLGSS
n3il
Oliver Schick
mick_skinner
antman
Sharkstar
Donut!
Shannonball
markoner
Greasy_Slag-
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Watch out for those slippery lines on the roads
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@JimboJones
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bristol/somerset/4768887.stm