Most recent activity
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no.1 Pedestrians suddenly appearing in my path especially in the west end
no.2 Car doors
(they say it is a matter of positioning but no-one told me that when I first started cycling and it nearly happened very early on. I still fear it although I usually cycle in such a way that it won't happen.
Similarly with lorries.
The very size of them when they pass me can make my stomach flip over. Even if you position yourself right, the fact that the thing could mangle you in a couple of seconds should give you some level of fear. Not to feel it is a bit daft really. Fear makes us alert to things.
And analogy: if I stand on the edge of a cliff I can feel fear of the jagged rocks below and the crashing waves even if I know I am not going to step dangerously close to the edge.no.3 (it scares me just as much as car doors but is infrequent hence the rank) ice.
no.4 in snowy weather, kids throwing snowballs. Got a hit at almost point blank range in the upper arm once - arm went dead and if I hadn't seen it coming and gripped with the right arm I'd of gone under in traffic.
no.5 when I see a police car. No they don't make me feel safe, they do the opposite, and it's not really specific to cycling...they just make me feel bloody uncomfortable.
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Done. I thought it worth linking in case anyone is hunting for a bike that matches the description.
He didn't sound that bright to be honest. I doubt he'd have the nous to do that.
Just emailed cycle task force on the address given. Cheers.
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Yesterday my friend managed to retrieve a stolen bike that a fellow lfgss member spotted on gumtree. The following advice is based on what worked for us (and is mainly a repost from the stolen bikes thread):
If you see your stolen bike for sale online this is what to do:
Arrange to meet the seller by text message in a busy public place, during the week, and in daylight hours. (eg; a tube station).
Then contact the police station nearest to where you have arranged to meet the seller, and explain the situation.The police don't have the authority to pose as buyers, so in arranging the meeting yourself, you will be bypassing a lot of red tape, and allowing the police to act far faster than they would otherwise be able to.
DO NOT go to meet the seller yourself; it is more than likely not worth the risk. The police will take care of everything once they know the meeting place / time.
They go in, pose as buyers and make the arrest, whilst you stick around to give statements / get your bike back.
So;
ARRANGE THE MEETING YOURSELF VIA TEXT MESSAGES.
THEN CALL THE LOCAL POLICE AND LET THEM DEAL WITH IT.I have been looking for a bike secondhand on Gumtree and Ebay. Been doing quite well so far in finding sellers who have all the requisite info to prove it's theirs and they came by it honestly. Unfortunately for me the frame sizes always turn out too big.
I've just rung the guy about a ridgeback velocity advertised on gumtree. It's got a stock photograph. info in the title includes that it's 15" is a ladies frame and gives the retail price and it's age.
and I'm pretty sure it's a stolen bike...
I asked him if he had proof of purchase - "yes yes of course"
I said can I ask the reason for selling - "i don't think you are a real buyer" and hung up immediately!What can I do?
It's not my bike which I'm suspecting is stolen, and I'm not in a fit state to go and meet him.
Any ideas, I'm pretty sure from his responses and his general shifty demeanor that he's moving someone's stolen bike on. -
^^ I really dislike the handling of the cycle superhighways around T junctions. A lot of times drivers trying to join the main road are already fully in the blue lane when I come down cs2 or continue to roll forward despite cyclists approaching in the lane. This is fine if you have space, but a lot of the time there are cars overtaking on the outside, completely blocking you in.
To be honest I found cycling that way a lot easier before CS2 was put there, because it was a lot easier to take the lane, meaning that drivers rolling past the stop line were a lot less of an issue.
That's cos all they did was paint a blue stripe on the road.
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- I didn't make my second point clear, I was giving an example of traffic flowing from a side road turning right into a major road- all on a green light. A cyclist bombing along that major road RLJs and now is jockeying for a position with the flowing traffic from the right lane. I know drivers that are very considerate and conscientious around other road users that get the fear when presented with this. What argument could you give for the cyclist's action- even though 99% of us could perform that manoeuvre all day without incident?
Ah and for the other drivers who after the first one have to maneuver around you - it's no different than if they'd caught up with you anyway. There could of been a cyclist coming slowly along that road before the light changed, could of been one at the red light coming from the right that they were waiting behind etc etc... If drivers can't deal with overtaking cyclists safely they shouldn't be on the road, it should be a compulsory part of the test.
- I didn't make my second point clear, I was giving an example of traffic flowing from a side road turning right into a major road- all on a green light. A cyclist bombing along that major road RLJs and now is jockeying for a position with the flowing traffic from the right lane. I know drivers that are very considerate and conscientious around other road users that get the fear when presented with this. What argument could you give for the cyclist's action- even though 99% of us could perform that manoeuvre all day without incident?
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james have you ever cycled in a country that has proper cycling lanes? where cyclists have some degree of priority? It's a different world. There's no guarantee that what priority we're accorded will be respected by drivers...or is the "rider down" section 100% down to cyclists not behaving themselves?
I guess you might be making the point again for readers, but in context of what I'm saying, there's no cause to comment on the stupidity of running a red light when pedestrians are crossing. Maybe you're confused because I just said I feel that righteous anger when someone does something that could cause an accident - I didn't actually specify 'cause an accident to a cyclist' and I do consider pedestrians to be human, too. ...most of the time...
- to use Multi's example - ok you might make it through the crossing without hitting anyone but that's not a helluva difference to when, say, another cyclist does some wankhead maneuver that could knock me off but luckily didn't - it pisses me off because it endangered my life - same deal speeding through the red light at a pedestrian crossing would make massive potential for an accident - see above for what I think about that.
Thanks for clarification on the second example, Multi... I have been known to do that maneuver, but I slow down and make eye contact with the driver I'll be coming alongside before I join the new line of traffic. I kinda like having both legs working and a life free from brain damage, so it makes sense to know they're prepared to give way before getting near. I'd pull over and wait if it was too hectic or they weren't making eye contact and looking happy about it. (and if they're not getting pissed off about it, why should anyone else?)
- to use Multi's example - ok you might make it through the crossing without hitting anyone but that's not a helluva difference to when, say, another cyclist does some wankhead maneuver that could knock me off but luckily didn't - it pisses me off because it endangered my life - same deal speeding through the red light at a pedestrian crossing would make massive potential for an accident - see above for what I think about that.
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Aha! thank you that's perfectamente!
I'm not au fait with navigating these forums yet. Sometimes the search function works, sometimes it doesn't. Mind you my browser keeps crashing at the mo, probably doesn't help.
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Can anyone recommend a good solicitor's to go to if I want to make a claim about an accident that happened a couple of months ago? (in London)
I've seen that Shoosmith's are recommended on LCC but somehow am a bit nonplussed about choosing them before looking around for other good firms; they seem a bit pushy. Not that that's a bad thing but I'd go with a personal recommendation over some kind of deal any day. Anyone had good experiences with them?
Any tips on getting my bike back off of the police would be useful too. Apparently it's in the property store, I've been ringing them over n over and they just never pick up. A mate went in person with all the requisite ID's and was told some mumbo jumbo about only one officer being able to release it; no information as to when that officer would be available, and no response by phoning them either. I'm not in a fit state to fetch it myself just yet either. I'm getting antsy about that 3-month thing. (apparently they auction stuff off after 3 months and it's been 2 already eeeeeeeeek!)
Also if this is in the wrong place and should be a new thread or in a different place please let me know and I'll remedy it. I'm new, but out of the 'nursery' so creating a new thread is fine if that's appropriate.
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Please tell how it's correct to swan through a red with peds crossing please. Also why it's fair for drivers to have to adjust for someone swaning through a red when they waited for their green.
Check my post again, I said it's not cool to cycle in a way that's likely to cause an accident. That would apply to going through a red with pedestrians crossing your path. D'oh!
Your second point, I don't really get. What are they having to adjust for? The fact that you're now ahead of them and the poor dears have to overtake you again? The road layout in this country massively overprivileges drivers rather than cyclists. And you're talking about fairness? I'd argue that them having to maneuver around you because you're pace is different is a tad insignificant given that for most of the time we've got no allocated road space in the first place.
oh and when the sky is looking a certain way, getting soaked because I didn't pack waterproofs..