Is it time to start calling out bad cyclists?

my girlfriend has been riding now for about 8 months, and I have just built her up quite a nice new bike. She has received comments from cyclists about her bike every day since she has been riding it, including a 'nice bag' comment when using my bagaboo. I have NEVER been spoken to by another cyclist in my 2 years of riding in london. I am beginning to develop a sever and deep inferiority complex leading to an expensive habit of buying nicer and nicer bikes in the hope I may be noticed one day. If i don't it will lead to a sex change...

but yes, girls do get more hassle/attention than men, even when riding with their boyfriend.

How would one know if someone is racing you and not just doing it for their own fitness?

They're always racing you

my girlfriend has been riding now for about 8 months, and I have just built her up quite a nice new bike. She has received comments from cyclists about her bike every day since she has been riding it, including a 'nice bag' comment when using my bagaboo. I have NEVER been spoken to by another cyclist in my 2 years of riding in london. I am beginning to develop a sever and deep inferiority complex leading to an expensive habit of buying nicer and nicer bikes in the hope I may be noticed one day. If i don't it will lead to a sex change...

but yes, girls do get more hassle/attention than men, even when riding with their boyfriend.

It could be that people assume girls appreciate comments about how they (or their bike) looks and that guys maybe don't often compliment each other's looks or bikes. Bet there will be plenty of people admiring your bike (and bag) though.

Occasionally I have flowers stuck in various ways to my bicycle (although I don't have a basket anymore having replaced it with a front porteur rack) but I've had times when groups of drunk guys outside pubs have shouted "Oi, nice basket..." at me - I could live without that...

One pleasant older guy stopped me at the lights and told me he loved my bicycle and it reminded me of how bicycles 'used to look'. It's a Gazelle Tour Populair so looks quite Dutch but guess he thought it looked 'old'.

my girlfriend has been riding now for about 8 months, and I have just built her up quite a nice new bike.

I built up a bike for my wife so we could go on rides together but she was an absolute fuckin liability and a hazard to all road users. I had to get her pregnant to get her off the road. now we have a sprog she has to stay home and look after it while I coast round the streets of south london without a care in the world, knowing that it's a safer place...

incasethewifereadsthissomeofitismeantinjest

Mine can't ride either she fell off when she tried to hop up a kerb without hopping and now has the fear so luckily won't ride anymore

nice article corny, but agree, the Cat-6 paragraph had me completely lost/meh.

perhaps the existence of this thread actually helps calm the city streets, all the spleen-venting in here, a little more grace and cheer out there...

After having a week or so off from commuting on bike because of my back, I have again been enjoying the amount of people who speed up to overtake a girl and then slow back down again.

"LOOK AT ME PRETTY GIRL! I AM REALLY FAST AND FIT. I WOULD MAKE A SUITABLE MATE."

This drives me mad. Last week I was aggressively cut off by a dude who I'd overtaken as he was pootling along about 40 feet back. Asshole.

Three weeks ago I caught up to a girl who undertook a bus turning onto Long Lane from Clapham High street just where the island is in the middle in order to explain that she had just done something REALLY dangerous. She was under the impression that she was in the turn lane. I didn't realize until later in the commute that she literally thought that the lane that should continue straight was the turning lane. OMG.

I know I may be construed as the bad cyclist in this scenario but...

To the lycra bellend cycling behind me from Surrey Quays to Greenwich.

Your disproportionate and blood curdling scream of "RED!" as I roll through a pedestrian crossing with no peds to be seen is frankly ridiculous.

At first I thought you had been hit and was concerned.

But then it happened twice more.

You are not in charge of the road and it's users.
You are not the police.
Fuck off.

Red!!!

Whilst I rarely go through reds (not any more anyway) and think cyclists that do are knobs, I think people that shout at cyclists that do are bigger knobs. I don't know why.

They may be bigger knobs but just read any comments section where there's been an incident involving a cyclist including death: They lack any kind of empathy or humanity.

I saw a "courrier" RLJ on (south side) London Bridge where it was green for peds, with a woman crossing the road, This bellend semi stops rolls in a circle then decides to just go causing no end of confusion and passes so close to her that she almost fell trying to avoid him. He showed no acknowledgement but a total disregard for her safety and sullied the image of anyone choosing to ride a bike with that action*. Now if no one says anything, what would compel him to address this behaviour?

We've all seen the lemming like action of our peers whom already stationery think, "fuck it! I'll go too".
It just takes one irrational, irate motorist to see this in his white van and think: fuck em I'm not going to give that little bit of space that they could do with...

• I just wished motorists/peds would see 1 prick and 10 others sat at the lights.
  

I know I may be construed as the bad cyclist in this scenario but...

To the lycra bellend cycling behind me from Surrey Quays to Greenwich.

Your disproportionate and blood curdling scream of "RED!" as I roll through a pedestrian crossing with no peds to be seen is frankly ridiculous.

At first I thought you had been hit and was concerned.

But then it happened twice more.

You are not in charge of the road and it's users.
You are not the police.
Fuck off.

RED!
RED!
RED!
RED!

got it?

Oh, and well done for joining the ranks of dullards who judge others for what they wear on a bike. I've ridden in full flourescent waterproofs, combats and walking boots, a three piece suit, but normally, in lycra like a bellend. who gives a fuck

They may be bigger knobs but just read any comments section where there's been an incident involving a cyclist including death: They lack any kind of empathy or humanity.

I saw a "courrier" RLJ on (south side) London Bridge where it was green for peds, with a woman crossing the road, This bellend semi stops rolls in a circle then decides to just go causing no end of confusion and passes so close to her that she almost fell trying to avoid him. He showed no acknowledgement but a total disregard for her safety and sullied the image of anyone choosing to ride a bike with that action*. Now if no one says anything, what would compel him to address this behaviour?

We've all seen the lemming like action of our peers whom already stationery think, "fuck it! I'll go too".
It just takes one irrational, irate motorist to see this in his white van and think: fuck em I'm not going to give that little bit of space that they could do with...

• I just wished motorists/peds would see 1 prick and 10 others sat at the lights.
  
  

this, a hundred times this.

RED!
RED!
RED!
RED!

Are you from the police...?
No?

Oh right.

The sanctimony.

Are you from the police...?
No?

Oh right.

The sanctimony.

Point taken. Hypocritical of me. Self righteousness only breeds indignation.

But look at it this way- when I see a car about to pull out infront of me, I yell at them, often obscenities, to make sure they see me. It happens so often I yell sometimes when there is no need, just to be sure. It makes drivers think Im a cunt, which is a shame. But I'm an alive cunt. Perhaps your lycra bellend has just ended up with a kneejerk response after seeing too many near misses.

I know I may be construed as the bad cyclist in this scenario but...

To the lycra bellend cycling behind me from Surrey Quays to Greenwich.

Your disproportionate and blood curdling scream of "RED!" as I roll through a pedestrian crossing with no peds to be seen is frankly ridiculous.

At first I thought you had been hit and was concerned.

But then it happened twice more.

You are not in charge of the road and it's users.
You are not the police.
Fuck off.

Just a thought; if this happened 3 times then either this 'bellend' is a lot quicker than you or jumping red lights doesn't actually get you where you are going any sooner.

Patrick Field's talk on cycling contains many wise words and starts @15:00

http://thebikeshow.net/team-gb-rules-the-track-and-patrick-field-tells-it-like-it-is/

I have noticed a phenomenon this summer which I like to call Lycra Clad Syndrome. Please bear in mind that I have no aversion to lycra, in fact I thoroughly enjoy kitting myself out on the weekend for proper rides. I just happen to commute in normal clothing with a (depressingly) hipster pinch roll in my jeans. The number of times I overtake cyclists who then overtake me 100 yards later is remarkable. I duly overtake again continuing at my constant speed. Its like they feel like they have to justify their cycling kit...

#sweatingwhilsthammeringthecommuteisforgirls

#sweatingwhilsthammeringthecommuteisforgirls

whatevs. I love my commute. I live on one of the biggest hills in London, and I ride the fuck out of it. sometimes I get up to the top and go back down again just for shits and giggles. doesn't mean I can't also be a polite road user.

#sweatingwhilsthammeringthecommuteisforgirls

Sometime I like to take it easy, just to get to my destination.

Other time, I want to have fun, some people idea of fun is to simply ride, other is to cane it.

like William above me said, it doesn't mean I can't be a polite road user when hammering it.

[QUOTE=william1984;2481999] I love my commute. I live on one of the biggest hills in London. Sometimes I get up to the top and go back down again just for shits and giggles. QUOTE]

I have thought about leaving home for work a bit earlier just for shits and giggles but I've not got round to it yet.

#solongasit'snothreattoyourmasculinitythenyoubulb

#tonedoesn'ttranslateontheinternet

I was being self-depracating...I never 'hammer' my commute.

whatevs. I love my commute. I live on one of the biggest hills in London, and I ride the fuck out of it. sometimes I get up to the top and go back down again just for shits and giggles. doesn't mean I can't also be a polite road user.

I don't understand. I never said anything about politeness...

I don't understand. I never said anything about politeness...

I took your description of someone who overtakes just to prove a point as seeming quite rude. I might overtake someone on a hill, and look like Im trying to prove a point, when infact I am in my own sad little world of sweat drenched, quad-burning joy.