Say hello to a taxi driver day

So I was taking my time on the way in this morning and didn't bother filtering. This left me alongside a taxi for some stretch of Euston road, and as it was fairly sunny, dead slow traffic thought I'd say hello to the taxi driver.

Mentioned something about the olympic route network and how the road will be like this everyday... He responded with a smile and the sage advice that it wasn't worth getting stressed about.

As my usual dealings with taxi drivers usually involve someone calling someone else a cunt this interaction felt refreshingly pleasent. As we moved off I reckon a little positive dialogue with a cyclist might just keep his eyes a bit more focussed next time someone on two wheels is in front of him...

So, why not try a friendly chat with the next taxi you're alongside? You might just be surprised that they aren't a raving homicidal racist, and help London take a small step to better cycling conditions.

A propos of nothing, a cabbie I was alongside the other day told me his fare had offered to pay him 'in kind' rather than in cash. He said he refused.

Nobody says 'hello' to taxi drivers. You have to say 'Oowite mate?'

i'll just leave it here

I always chat to cabbies when I stop by them, either to pass the time of day or to join forces and laugh at other road users e.g. a popo wagon who cut both me and a cabbie up to get to McDonald's. We spent a pleasant two minutes hypothetically tearing them to shreds before leaving with a warm sense of camaraderie.

This is probably quite controversial, but I find cabbies to be the best drivers in London most of the time, considering how many miles they do and how many tossers they must deal with every shift.

try leaning on their windows / roof while waiting at lights they soon get fucked off

They really don't seem to like it do they!

I saw that "FUCK TAXIS" man in Tesco's Covent Garden the other day.

I agree that black cabs are generally good road users. Generally. Addison Lee on the other hand...

try leaning on their windows / roof while waiting at lights they soon get fucked off

Very true.
I find that suggesting you were only giving it a bit of a polish only exacerbates things.

try leaning on their windows / roof while waiting at lights they soon get fucked off

And rightly so... if some lose-lord held onto my handlebars while waiting at lights I'd no doubt be fighting an instinctive urge to ram my fist up their colon.

my track standing skillz are so awesome taxi drivers lean on my top tube at lights

today on the way back from HoP i blitzed it up from kentish town to parliament hill as it was last part or my journey.
There was a taxi behind me.
At the lights he stopped next to me, put his window down and i expected the usual abuse but instead he told me that he clocked me going at 28mph. He then said that is was impressive and that he really wants to get into cycling because he is jealous of all the cyclists he sees all day when hes in his cab.
Very nice chap, then he offered if i wanted to hang onto his window and he would pull me up highgate west hill. I had to decline.

Nice guy. Not all cabbies are cunts

Coming back toward southwark bridge today, flash flare playing up finally got it working and got a grin from the cabbie next to me who kept a safe distance all across the bridge and didn't attempt to slip past on the roundabout after. Nice guy

i'll just leave it here

Probably being prejudiced but this fellow seem a bit cuntish. Reebok classics, no foot retention, shellsuit, insults as tattoo's

today on the way back from HoP i blitzed it up from kentish town to parliament hill as it was last part or my journey.
There was a taxi behind me.
At the lights he stopped next to me, put his window down and i expected the usual abuse but instead he told me that he clocked me going at 28mph. He then said that is was impressive and that he really wants to get into cycling because he is jealous of all the cyclists he sees all day when hes in his cab.
Very nice chap, then he offered if i wanted to hang onto his window and he would pull me up highgate west hill. I had to decline.

Nice guy. Not all cabbies are cunts

blitzed / 28mph / impressed

pics or it didn't happen

On the crabon roadrig

Pics . Or . It . Didn't . Happen .

you know the rulez

Hang on, i'll just take a photo of my cateye with my phone while doing 28mph, easy

Of course not all cabbies are cunts, but they have a higher proportion than other road user demographics

Just had some cabbie overtake me dangerously closely, at the lights I asked him why he did it, and he blatantly lied about not knowing. I politely asked him to be a bit more careful next time, and he started whingeing about how cyclists should be careful as we jump red lights all the time etc. Throbber.

Pics or it didn't happen.

EDIT - ah shit beaten to it. Great minds and all that, even if Dicki managed it 9 hours ago. OSR fail.

today on the way back from HoP i blitzed it up from kentish town to parliament hill as it was last part or my journey.
There was a taxi behind me.
At the lights he stopped next to me, put his window down and i expected the usual abuse but instead he told me that he clocked me going at 28mph. He then said that is was impressive and that he really wants to get into cycling because he is jealous of all the cyclists he sees all day when hes in his cab.
Very nice chap, then he offered if i wanted to hang onto his window and he would pull me up highgate west hill. I had to decline.

Nice guy. Not all cabbies are cunts

but instead he told me that he clocked me going at 28mph.

Pfft, boast post

Cambridge Heath yesterday afternoon, familiar black cab engine noise behind me as I was about to start moving right to go down Old Ford. As soon as I started indicating, the cabbie backed right off, gave me loads of room and waved me over. Dont know why I was so surprised by this, but he really was super aware of what was going on on the road. Think that's the first time Ive indicated with a thumbs up too.

Pics . Or . It . Didn't . Happen .

you know the rulez

Pics or it didn't happen.

EDIT - ah shit beaten to it. Great minds and all that, even if Dicki managed it 9 hours ago. OSR fail.

Pfft, boast post

World's fastest cyclist! - YouTube

.

Riding home on the Sarf Circular last night along the Park Lane stretch and was being given LOADS AND LOADS of time & room by this one taxi driver. Eventually he lost me down the road, but I was given, again, loads and loads of time & room by another black cab a while later and when I turned round to thank him it turned out it was exactly the same guy! Lovely stuff. Didn't stop to say hello, because, y'know, Sarf Circular, but we did have a chuckle about it on the road. Top work.