Is it time to start calling out bad cyclists?

Dozy noddist in green bobble hat with black glasses and a dark coat who pulled out from st Katharines Way onto tower bridge southbound this morning (9.20 ish). Wake up! You didn't even glance up, you just sailed right on out. I was right there and accelerating onto the bridge with traffic. You forced me into the path of a very angry van. Thanks for that! Tit.

Today I saw a cyclist undertake a skip truck that was already indicating and halfway through executing a move into a lane to the left.

I asked him if he was aware of what he had just done, and he was.

I explained that I was actually concerned for his safety, as it was a very dangerous move to make, the lorry had no way of seeing him, and that someone had only been killed yesterday by what sounds like a left turning skip lorry.

He suddenly looked ashen and was very thankful for my pointing it out.

It's a shame that we need such truly appalling examples to help explain to people what the risks are.

this morning going through the surrey quays one way system at this bit with myself and 5 other cyclists having just followed a bus through the lights in the bus lane.

the bus was pretty much where the cones are indicating right to merge with a line of slowly moving traffic in the right hand lane. because of the buses angled road positioning there was no traffic at all in the left hand lane but until he moves another half a foot you couldn't get between him and the kerb

so what do all five of the other cyclists do, they ride around him on the right, into the half a car length he's already began merging into then cut back across the front of him and then back onto the left of the queue of traffic. I was waiting for the gap to widen which took about 5 seconds, 4 of those were because the bus had to brake to stop squishing the impatient idiots trying to push round him.

in spite of being held up when the bus couldn't move forward without squashing them when he did move I was already back on the rear wheel of their little pillockton so they risked all that to save themselves about 3 seconds.

Pulling away from a set of lights on OKR last night I evacuated a large amount of sputum from my mouth toward the curb on my left.. Just as a trek hybrid nodder happened to undertake me at speed.. He started to mouth off at me for spitting on him. I calmly explained that I spat to the left as I never expect anyone to undertake on the left as this is my safety zone and catching my oyster served him fucking well right.

If Velocio had not removed my rep/nerg ability the pillockt

If Velocio had not removed my rep/nerg ability the pillockton would be repped.

I rode behind a truck the other day, it was very mucky and someone had drawn on the back doors:

<--- :'( SUICIDE ........ PASS THIS SIDE :) --->

I thought that was quite clever.

Left a little later than usual yesterday & noddergeddon was in full swing on the Chelsea embankment - all moved away with a little jostling between them and then 400yds ahead, a car was trying to make a right turn and was already at a standstill in the road ahead - a group of x5 nodders made no effort to slow until they were within 5 ft of the car and then two of them took each other out trying to go round the front of the car. With such complete disregard for their own safety & others, made me wonder how there aren't more serious accidents each day.

watched a guy get wiped out by a bus yesterday.

can't remember exactly where I was, one of the local towns, driving along, cars length between me and the bus infront, narrow street, just enough for 2 buses to pass.

Guy undertook me, swerved infront (pretty normal TBH) right out around the bus into the direct path of on oncoming bus.

Thankfully it wasn't going very quick, it was coming to a halt for a stop, maybe 10mph.
Still the guy cracked the windscreen of the bus with his face, then nearly got his bike run over by the rear axle of the bus I was following.

Notes...
he was on the pavement side from at least 10cars back, he had no prior view of oncoming traffic what so ever.
he had a helmet, it probably saved him from glass cuts and '*exploded brain all over the front of the no.300' *syndrome
his bike survived
the clearance between the two bus's was less than 18", and thats with one running the kerb and the other with maybe 12" down its inside.
the bus driver went into shock as had not even seen the cyclist until it had already hit her bus and was down on the ground (again, thankfully the bus was stopping over wise he would have gone squish).
the guy is a grade a pillock and TBH hiting a bus will probably wake him up to the dangers of riding like a total cock.

I think a lot of cyclists ride like cocks as they simply do not understand how little visibility a car/bus/truck/van HAS for cyclists, especially in tight traffic and being approached from behind at speed. I've seen so many near misses with bikes undertaking left turning trucks and very very nearly go under*

*almost exclusively young girls on shopper bikes, or older women on shopper bikes.

Its like when you pick up a motorbike for the first time, you very quickly gain a huge amount extra respect for the road, and the other users of it, or at least, how you can best avoid THEM.
HGV's as well, its like driving a small house and with about as much diagonal rear visibility.

anyways, /rant over, the guy probably survived and probably won't learn the error of his ways, and the bus driver woman will probably have a stern telling off and be sent home for a few days, despite doing nothing wrong.

I think a lot of cyclists ride like cocks as they simply do not understand how little visibility a car/bus/truck/van HAS for cyclists

Come on, he was obviously doing her a favour by inserting his head through her windscreen, the most visible approach path possible, no?

#withsuncomesfuckwits

#withsuncomesfuckwits

Ha, is this the OED definition of Australia.

#IoMnotinOED

It's true. I'm from a place with more sunlight hours than the gold coast in QLD. That proves it nicely.

/rant

Dunno if this is the right place for this but I stopped at a zebra crossing today and some twat on a baby blue bike went right into me and destroyed my rear mech which I discovered only after he trotted off... Argh fucker! The worrying thing is if he hadn't been stopped by me he would have been stopped by the mother and childern's faces crossing in front of us...

/rant off

3 people undertaking at speed this week, all in really busy traffic - all replying to my polite explanation of why its dangerous with a version of 'fuck off'. I think im just gonna cut them up and pull a big skid in front of em next time, Im just sick of being told where to go by nodders in the wrong grrrrrr

watched a guy get wiped out by a bus yesterday.

can't remember exactly where I was, one of the local towns, driving along, cars length between me and the bus infront, narrow street, just enough for 2 buses to pass.

Guy undertook me, swerved infront (pretty normal TBH) right out around the bus into the direct path of on oncoming bus.

Thankfully it wasn't going very quick, it was coming to a halt for a stop, maybe 10mph.
Still the guy cracked the windscreen of the bus with his face, then nearly got his bike run over by the rear axle of the bus I was following.

Notes...
he was on the pavement side from at least 10cars back, he had no prior view of oncoming traffic what so ever.
he had a helmet, it probably saved him from glass cuts and '*exploded brain all over the front of the no.300' *syndrome
his bike survived
the clearance between the two bus's was less than 18", and thats with one running the kerb and the other with maybe 12" down its inside.
the bus driver went into shock as had not even seen the cyclist until it had already hit her bus and was down on the ground (again, thankfully the bus was stopping over wise he would have gone squish).
the guy is a grade a pillock and TBH hiting a bus will probably wake him up to the dangers of riding like a total cock.

I think a lot of cyclists ride like cocks as they simply do not understand how little visibility a car/bus/truck/van HAS for cyclists, especially in tight traffic and being approached from behind at speed. I've seen so many near misses with bikes undertaking left turning trucks and very very nearly go under*

*almost exclusively young girls on shopper bikes, or older women on shopper bikes.

Its like when you pick up a motorbike for the first time, you very quickly gain a huge amount extra respect for the road, and the other users of it, or at least, how you can best avoid THEM.
HGV's as well, its like driving a small house and with about as much diagonal rear visibility.

anyways, /rant over, the guy probably survived and probably won't learn the error of his ways, and the bus driver woman will probably have a stern telling off and be sent home for a few days, despite doing nothing wrong.

I would have struggled to not go up to the cyclist and ask them if they realised how potentially lethal their actions/stupidity had been.

Going east from Old Street Roundabout, just at the split with Great Eastern Street.

The traffic in the lane going left was stopped for a red light, and at the front of the queue, was a broken down bus being pulled by a large bus rescue vehicle. So between the two of them a very large, long, dangerous vehicle.

I overtake the cars, then park myself just behind the bus, it would be dangerous to overtake or undertake it, as a vehicle like that is so unpredictable, and there was less than a foot space on either side.

4 or 5 cyclists wizz past me, all undertaking the bus/rescue vehicle, and jump the red light. Then a couple come along. The guy says "why the fuck is he [me] in my way", loud enough for me to hear. I don't react. The woman says "maybe he's stopped for a reason" (she's the clever one). Then he squeezes past me, gets about 2 metres down the inside of the bus, she unwillingly starts to follow, when the light goes green, the space between bus and kerb suddenly lessens, and he absolutely shits himself.

Girl (who is just next to me at this point) lets out a bit of a scream and gets to see that the guy is a massive cock, and that I was right. As I cycle past them (once the bus is gone), I hear her having a go at him.

was it DJ?

Girl (who is just next to me at this point) lets out a bit of a scream and gets to see that the guy has a massive cock...

.

pussyfiller

BJ is the person who pushes past to get to the front at red lights, not DJ! (see the nob jockey incident on spotted)

.

And bibs smeared in man chutney

I generally wait in queues of traffic now, primary(ish) position. An example is Clerkenwell Rd, heading east, waiting at the Farringdon Road lights. 99.9% of other riders will filter down the left in a desperate bid to be at the front. What's the fucking point?

Usual outcome: a couple of mind-bendingly slow riders with fuck-all riding skill are at the front of the bike queue (more of a gaggle), and people start doing insane evasive manoeuvres to get around them, without looking or signalling to the traffic behind. I'm part of that traffic behind, know what to expect, get in the middle of the lane, and calmly follow the rest of the traffic I've queued behind, passing the majority of knobends who had to get to the front.

Once again. What is the fucking point? Why do it if you're not 100% confident of accelerating away from the lights faster than any of the other must-get-to-the-front riders, which means you've been using some sick observation skills in the stretch of road preceding the lights.

And whilst we're talking about undertaking, don't expect me to shift my line outwards if you've got the gall/disrespect to pass me on my left. I'm not going to punch you or push you, but I'm not going to fucking move. If I have to lean on you, and you crash, fucking good, you idiots.

yah. I almost never head for the ASL box, as usually the vehicle at the front will accelerate from the lights faster than me, and if they don't, it's hardly gonna hold me up. so much less stressful just to get in the middle of the lane where ever you happen to be.

I generally wait in queues of traffic now, primary(ish) position. An example is Clerkenwell Rd, heading east, waiting at the Farringdon Road lights. 99.9% of other riders will filter down the left in a desperate bid to be at the front. What's the fucking point?

Usual outcome: a couple of mind-bendingly slow riders with fuck-all riding skill are at the front of the bike queue (more of a gaggle), and people start doing insane evasive manoeuvres to get around them, without looking or signalling to the traffic behind. I'm part of that traffic behind, know what to expect, get in the middle of the lane, and calmly follow the rest of the traffic I've queued behind, passing the majority of knobends who had to get to the front.

Once again. What is the fucking point? Why do it if you're not 100% confident of accelerating away from the lights faster than any of the other must-get-to-the-front riders, which means you've been using some sick observation skills in the stretch of road preceding the lights.

And whilst we're talking about undertaking, don't expect me to shift my line outwards if you've got the gall/disrespect to pass me on my left. I'm not going to punch you or push you, but I'm not going to fucking move. If I have to lean on you, and you crash, fucking good, you idiots.

+1 to this. I do the same now.

Since getting involved with this forum I've met and riden with some really talented cyclists. People who really know how to safely and quickly ride their bikes in traffic without putting the shitters up peds and drivers. I'm nowhere near in this league and can only dof my helmet to them.

However, I am constantly suprised by the risks taken by people who aren't anywhere near as good as even me. Which is really saying something about their lack of ability, trust me.

Its a commute, not a race...its a commute, not a race....

^^this. other cyclists look at me like I'm insane when I pull in a few cars back at the lights rather than squeeze through that non-existent gap to get to the hallowed grounds of the ASL. but when the traffic starts moving it's much easier to get up to speed at the same time as the cars in front and unless the traffic piles up again shortly after and you have to go back to filtering you make much better (and safer) progress. then you hit another set of lights and you have to go through it all over again. only problem is you have to keep passing the same oblivious fuckwits over and over again.

I don't think the nodders realise the risk of pedal strike if you're riding fixed through a tiny kerb side gap too.