Captain Slow Posted February 22, 2009 Share So there was this article in the Sunday Times today! "RAGE & ARROGANCE FIT BICYCLE RIDERS LIKE LYCRA" We, as cyclists, really need to start making a concerted effort to make 'things' right with our fellow road users. We need to start respecting the rules of the road and respecting our fellow road users. If we can all start by 'doing the right thing', then maybe, just maybe, we can stop the carnage on our roads. I know there are thousands of motorists that break the law every day, but that does not give us cyclists the right to do as we please. I hereby appeal to all of you to start behaving out there and pray that the Lord keeps you all safe!! Come-on hubbers, I know we can all stand together!!' Captain Slow2009-02-22 12:11:39 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted February 22, 2009 Share Start by taking the apostrophe away from "hubbers" it's a plural. Apart from that, I fully support you, CS - we have got to start changing the way we ride. Before we can take the motorists to task, we need to make sure that our camp is fully in the right. IE: no red-light jumping. Single File riding at all times... And most of all - COMMON COURTESY. Smile, wave, and not just the middle finger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windbreaker Posted February 22, 2009 Share Looks like tonight we are stuck on the old topic. Guys. doing the considerate thing is obviously good for the reputation of cyclists. Following some rules blindly is not the way to go. "Single file no matter what" is really not helping the cause of cyclists because it is not always practical or safe or even reasonable. It's all been said many times. Our guidelines should be a) Don't be inconsiderate b) Try to be safe c) Be courteous to motorists - especially those that are inconvenienced by your actions. d) Try to get as many motorists as possible to see our point of view . It really is as simple as that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minion Posted February 22, 2009 Share Without detracting from the seriousness of the topic, did you read the quote at the end article? The one from the cyclist talking about 'purple fumes of rage' coming out of his ears whenever he rides up a hill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
porky Posted February 22, 2009 Share It's all been said many times. Our guidelines should be a) Don't be inconsiderateb) Try to be safec) Be courteous to motorists - especially those that are inconvenienced by your actions.d) Try to get as many motorists as possible to see our point of view .It really is as simple as that. Thats very broad based Windbreaker, "inconsiderate" could be not wearing a light or riding 6 abreast, depending on your view. These are my personal two pet hates regarding cyclists, perhaps if everyone posts there personal gripe, it will be more specific. - e)If a motorist has to sit at a red light / stop street, so should the cyclist, it is immaterial if there is oncoming traffic or not. The light is red. Cyclists have this habit of just turning left or slowing down looking for cars and going through - not acceptable, motorists want to see you adhere to the rules too. f)Dont swarm all over intersections forcing your way to the front, friday morning on my way to Hartebeesport at an intersection about 20 cyclists swarmed all over the place. Motorists had to stop and wait for the cyclists to clear and go through, even though they were AHEAD of the cyclists in the que - wait in line like every other road user.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted February 22, 2009 Share well said porky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alfeldo Posted February 22, 2009 Share Maybe we should start something like David Zabriskie has in the US? See http://yieldtolife.org/ I think it is the way to go, but I have my doubts whether it'll work in SA or up here in NAM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bustthesickness Posted February 22, 2009 Share You're making it sound like rage and arrogance are bad qualities. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Slow Posted February 22, 2009 Share Maybe we should start something like David Zabriskie has in the US?See http://yieldtolife.org/I think it is the way to go' date=' but I have my doubts whether it'll work in SA or up here in NAM.[/quote'] Alfeldo, have a look here www.sign-up.co.za David has agreed that I start a Yield to Life chapter in SA. Just waiting to Iron-out the finer details!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulvs Posted February 22, 2009 Share see - that is why I ride in baggies and stick to the dirt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sammajoor Posted February 22, 2009 Share Allow me a few thoughts. 1. We as a cycling club cycle two abreast, not 3 not 4 not 5 ---2 abreast. 2. We have a vehicle behind us, hazards on sometimes even a beacon light on the roof. 3. Even then you will get a motorist who tries to push cyclists off the road. Yes we are sometimes a large group, but there is safety in numbers. we stop at all intersections sometimes we will get to a traffic circle and a motorist will wave us through. We always wave and thank him / her. The problem is that other cycle clubs do not have the same ethos, and think they own the road. Which then gives all cyclists a bad name. The best is to name and shame and have the club sort the individual. If possible get as much detail of the rider, club bike helmet cycling shoes bartape groupset. Wheels. Then the club has something to work off. Don't just say club xyz or club abc are this or that, rather say i saw rider rst from club abc doing this. This is what he rode and what he looked like. The club will address the problem as it gives them a bad name. But to say club this did that is stupid and iresponsible (spelling?). My 50AFD worth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreZA Posted February 22, 2009 Share Picture this. I'm in my car in a que waiting for the light to change so that I can cross. I'm in the left hand lane and the lane to my right is only for turning right. Out of the blue two cyclists on MTBs come on the outside (right hand side) of the the turning row. At the front they then cut infront of the first car and stand on it's left. I think to myself "why did they do this, why did they not ride through the middle where there was tons of space and they would have been in the right place from the beginning". When the light changed they did not turn right. They continued straight and had to cross infront of the first car in the "going straight" line. When they got to the other side they were still riding next to each other and all the cars slow down before they could past them. If any of you know the two riders, one on a Scalple and the other on a Specialized, please tell them to go back to school and learn how to use the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulvs Posted February 22, 2009 Share they are mamparras man ... give them a few slaps next time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Slow Posted February 22, 2009 Share they are mamparras man ... give them a few slaps next time That just made my day!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowpoke Posted February 22, 2009 Share saturday morning i marshalled the Club100 training ride - i think it was the C bunch, coulda been the D's. huge bunch. really huge. now with their past history and rep i was thinking that i was gonna end up being embarrased to be there. but no. i was PROUD to be a cyclist as well as a TB marshal. the bunch sat 2 abreast when safe to do so. not 3 or 4 or 5. their "marshals" (ie the members in charge of the bunch while riding) simply gave a hand signal and/or call for single file when needed. cars driving past were smiling and waving. at red lights they stopped at most 2 abreast to the left of the leftmost lane going in the direction they needed to go. if i'd had a camera on my bike (ok 2 - one forwards and one backwards) it would have made the perfect training video for how a training ride should be. WELL DONE CLUB100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slave Posted February 23, 2009 Share CS. I agree. It is very easy for us to say that motorists are also agro and arrogant. Let's face it, it is pretty much a South African phenomenon right now. Road rules are there "only for the law aiding citizens" is another. We all need to stop pointing fingers at each other and recognise the areas where we are wrong and work on correcting those. It is utterly irrelevant who is in the wrong or the right when you have a high speed meeting between a bike and a motor vehicle. We come second every time. We are the ones at risk. Those are indisputable facts. We want respect, we gotta earn it. Period. It matters not at all who else is wrong. We need to be right and we need to behave like humans, not animals. (Sometimes, I think animals bahave better than us. They go according to their instincts. We have the power of reason, or do we?) Then maybe, when we have some respect, we can start to make things better. When our doorstep is clean, we can approach law enforcement and get them to try and help us clean up the roads and get rid of the hooglians. We will never achieve anything until we get our sh!t together. We need to do this immediately, if not sooner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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