LFGSS
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
As I was sitting at the front of some traffic lights at Knightsbridge, a motorcycle sidles up beside me
“Aren’t you putting your bike in a strange place?” he asks me.
I look at him curiously. “What?”
“You’re blocking the car behind you” he said, gesturing at the white SUV waiting to my rear.
This was my chance. A way to convince a non-cyclist that we’re not trying to be dicks! That, in-fact, we do it for our own safety! It’s not to slow other road users down!
“It’s a lot safer to stop at the lights in the middle of the lane. It allows the car driver behind to see you and means they won’t pass too close when pulling away” I replied.
“So you want to slow down the car behind you?”
I looked at him despairingly - my arguments drowning in his apathy.
“No… I just don’t want to die”
And the traffic light turned green and he sped off. The car behind safely overtook me and went on its merry way.