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@BringMeMyFix
Another anecdote/opinion seeker - kind of relevant to some of VeeVee's tales:
I was riding up Gray's Inn Rd today, approaching the junction with Theobalds Rd/Clerkenwell Rd. My route would see me turning left to enter Clerkenwell Rd (and not taking the Rosebury Ave Lane).
Anyway, the lights were red, and ahead of me were a small van and a motorbike. I don't generally filter up the left in the godawful must-always-get-to-the-front-of-the-queue manoeuvre that's so popular these days, so I took 3rd spot in the queue in the left-hand lane.
Positioning: to the (rear and) left of the motorcyclist, so that I was more in his peripheral vision, and also firmly in his left-hand mirror; away from the kerb, but leaning enough with outstretched leg to block undertaking.
In the approach to this, I'd ridden past another cyclist - about 50 yards before stopping.
Before the lights change, the other cyclist, who's been waiting behind me, suddenly makes a move to wobble round me on my right, heading for the gap between me and the motorbike, I suppose.
Maybe it's because I've been responsible for a 3-year-old who's gone a bit mental for the past 5 days, but as soon as I was aware of the slow-speed wobble starting to my right, I put my right arm out, and said in a very firm parental tone "stay back!"
It didn't feel aggressive, and the cyclist complied. I simply wasn't prepared to allow anyone (but particularly someone I'd perceived as a less-than-competent rider) to fuck with the 'junction scenario' I'd engineered. It's a sketchy junction at the best of times (particularly due to the Rosebury Ave situation).
Was this too much? It proved extremely effective, but does the end justify the means?
There was no element of 'clotheslining' them with my arm. I just instinctively made the 'stay back' gesture with my hand and arm as soon as I noticed them twitch before pushing off. I've done it to other types of vehicle before, but is it flirting with conflict?