Is it time to start calling out bad cyclists?

I was cycling, reluctantly, behind a cyclist all the way from Camberwell to the end of Walworth Road, not once did he look over his shoulder and quite frankly he either didn't want to or couldn't cycle straight. I attempted to over take him again, again and again, but due to his rather funky way of cycling, I failed.

He had a couple of close calls with cars because he didn't look over his shoulders to check before cutting into a different lane...

South of the river?

Could have been Mashton heading home after falling back into old habits again.
If it was you did well to steer clear v

Why, you, Grrrrr....

Waiting at Wellington St/Strand cycle crossing in rush hour last night heading south at front of full peloton waiting to cross over to Waterloo Bridge when a lady of a certain age on a hybrid with a child seat on it happily rolls around us all to the front using the northbound lane (obstructing the people heading north off the bridge) and proceeds to zig zag through the still moving traffic out towards the island in the middle, leaving a trail of boggled minds in her wake.

She pauses, looks at the traffic turning left on to the bridge and spying a gap launches herself towards the cycle lane on the bridge completely missing the double decker bus turning right on to the bridge from behind her.

He has to slam on his brakes and an argument ensues just as we all roll across the junction to the red light now holding her and the bus.

Driver had the door open and seemed to be telling her (quite rightly) what a stupid fucking move she'd tried, whilst she was accusing him of driving dangerously around cyclists (!) She went apoplectic when I asked if she also rode as stupidly when her child was in the seat and reminded her that if she had obeyed the lights she would have been no where near the bus in the first place. She could not believe anyone on two wheels wouldn't have her back against an evil bus driver. Cretin.

Bravo Dubtap.

I am angry with myself for not saying anything to the lady pootling up College Road, Dulwich last night. She was towing a kiddie trailer with no lights on her, the bike or the trailer! She had a reflective cycle clip on her right leg though, so sure she and her kids will be fine.

I kept forming what to say to her in my mind, but there were too many expletives.

Theres been an influx in child seats on my commute recently, complete with no increase in children, is it a thing now to have one so that people give you more room thinking you have a kid?

theyre always just filled with a bag or empty

They probably did originally contain a kid but it's fallen out somewhere and the riders haven't noticed because they don't look behind.

Theres been an influx in child seats on my commute recently, complete with no increase in children, is it a thing now to have one so that people give you more room thinking you have a kid?

theyre always just filled with a bag or empty

heh did it not occur to you that people drop off their kids at nursery on the way to work?

These people are often very young, not that they couldnt have kids, more than the amount that i see at that age i feel its unlikely..

It also possible that they take the child out in the weekend as well, or simply borrowing a bicycle.

it also possible that they take the bike out in the weekend as well, or simply borrowing a child.

ftfy...

There isn't really a thread on this, I think, so it'll go in here--I don't really get surprised much in traffic but tonight was a new one on me. Heading south from Dalston Junction along the A10 Kingsland Road, I was going at about 88mph (as usual) when a white upright stripe at the side of the carriageway, partly hidden behind a tree, suddenly swung out into the carriageway to become a large double-bed mattress (or probably kingsize) with two fairly clueless mattress-carriers attached to it. I and two drivers had to brake sharply to avoid the sudden obstacle and we all had to laugh. The carriers did a pretty good impression of an elephants' ballet as they somehow tried to decide if they should continue crossing or try again later.

#csb

Movember is broadly a good thing, I think. I've actually been a recipient of cancer-based funding before so I can't really be angry about the thing as a whole, but it irks me that for an entire month I can't tell who is being a wonderful fundraiser and who is being a dickish, atavistic fey little throwback year round, and it just happens to be november. I'm going to shoot for the latter with my friend on Regents street today, riding a blue charge with badly taped drop bars. If you want to run pedestrian crossings, red lights, undertake me, that's fine, but at least SPEED UP after you've done it. Pootling through reds at 10mph is salt in the wound of shitty riding.

Also on Regents street - to the dude wearing a mish-mash of cycling/general sports gear on a creaking red Scott road bike. Dude, got to a Doctor. If you're spitting up so much lung butter that it looks like someone discarded a jellyfish on the road, something ain't right. Whilst that's my main advice - PLEASE spit to the kerb, rather than hocking your significant puck of phlegm to your right and seeing how many lanes you can cross. I am directly behind you and to your right and I never want to feel that comet trail across my face at 8:30 in the morning again.

Surely spitting is fine on your left?

Suppose it depends on whether you're in the left lane or not. If you're in the right hand lane and spitting left when you've got the curb on your right, that's just antisocial :(

South of the river?

Could have been Mashton heading home after falling back into old habits again.
If it was you did well to steer clear v

It was a black guy with a sportdirect bag, you know those plastic bag you can sort of use as "backpack" on an ill fitted road bike.

Just because you're clomping along on the road at a snails pace with your swooshy tail and the potential to kick me in the face, doesn't mean you can ignore the fact that you are on a road and would be considered traffic. You a lone horse and rider, can't just stop in the middle of the intersection for no reason.

Meanwhile, don't get me started on the Winter Wonderland pedo's all over the bike lanes.
[/west_rant]

Alie Mands!

But purposefully skidding in piles of horse shit is fun.

I think police consider themselves mobile traffic cones- they stop wherever they want, it is your job to see the high vis and take avoiding action. The idea is they can stop immediately they see an incident/hazard and use their vehicle to redirect traffic. It is annoying when they do it for apparently no reason, though. I have often given cops the arms raised 'wtf you doing' gesture, but i dont think they really give a fuck.

^^Hai! Probably seen your skidmarks all over west carriage drive then eh!
^ Yes. For. No. Apparent. Reason. I'd gonna have to practice my "wtf you doing" gesture without the habit of including the finger. Maybe wearing mittens might help.

Mands, if you see some nike tick looking marks on the white arrows on Maida Vale/Edgware road then that's me practising whip skids.
I'll probably see you out some time.

Reckon I'll try make some improvements on your tag :)

^ Yes. For. No. Apparent. Reason. I'd gonna have to practice my "wtf you doing" gesture without the habit of including the finger. Maybe wearing mittens might help.

is the wtf you done gesture with 1 or 2 hands ? as this could be tricky

Reckon I'll try make some improvements on your tag :)

:P