cycling & driving: THE FEAR (1 Viewer)

[magicbastarder]

i haven't cycled to work in over four years. the free staff bus service (i.e. lots of reading time) kinda put paid to that. plus, being knocked down (sprained ankle) and having to put a load of time into renovating my house didn't help.

 

[classic seanc]

classic left hook. if anyone tries this, slap the side of their car. then cycle on blissfully as they get all enraged.

You know, I hate this. Truly.
I hate how drivers overtake you so they can cut across you. CUNTS. Some prick did it today. Drove alongside me for 300m and then tried to kill me. And he had a bike in the back of his car so you’d think he’d know better. CUNTS.

you tried to reason with a guy driving a bin lorry? i hope you were wearing your good helmet.

In fairness, binmen are very reasonable. They have to deal with every sort of asshole and all of their rubbish, literally and figuratively. Though Dublin binmen are lazy by country standards.

 

[Pantone247]

I got hit by a motorbike at five lamps, I was at the junction turning right onto Amiens Street. The Trick here is to go the minute the lights turn green and get round before some ass plonks him self in the yellow box and sits there waiting for a chance to turn while everyone else freaks out and misses their chance to go.

Anyhow, light goes green I'm off like a shot and the next thing I know I'm on the ground and my shoe had come off. First thing I did was get up and run into the middle of junction to get my shoe... idiot. Turns out a biker had broken the red light, at an insane speed, thinking he'd clear the junction, he went right through the front wheel of my bike (if I had been 6 inches further he'd have hit me... OHMYGOD!!!, etc, etc,) folded the wheel in two and hit a honda scooter... I was grand, went to hostpital and was fine, the guy on the scooter brike his leg and the dude on the motor bike was totally fucked up. I remember seeing him and all, total mess... very bizzare...

I was given the chance to take a civil case against him and his insurance company, which was interesting... at the time I was a bit of flake and decided "well I didn't get hurt, so I guess it'd be bad Karma to take his money" but now I sometimes think I should've gone for the bastard as a) it's only his insurance company who'd pay and they're bastards, b) teach the bastard a bastard lesson about breaking bastard lights c) I really could've done with the cash at the time too... but whatever, live and learn...

Main thing I took away from it all was how random stuff is, there was nothing I had done or could've done that would've stopped him hitting me, no matter how safe you think you are, you can never account for the random asshole factor.

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

Whats the fastest anyones ever done on their bike?

 

[magicbastarder]

48mph. i know a guy who hit 98kph, coming down off the connor pass.

 

[classic seanc]

Whats the fastest anyones ever done on their bike?

There's a thread about that on boards. I think I've hit 60kph coming into Marino, impossible to tell for sure though, it was probably less. It’s often safer to cycle as fast as the traffic.

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

48mph. i know a guy who hit 98kph, coming down off the connor pass.

Haha, wow. I bought a speedo when i got the bike mainly as a odometer but i once hit 40 mph coming down the hill near the railway bridge in rathmichael.

 

[magicbastarder]

said mate was taking part in the milk ras at the time, btw. not a speed i'd recommend on that road if there were cars on it.

 

[cookiemonster]

You know, I hate this. Truly.
I hate how drivers overtake you so they can cut across you. CUNTS. Some prick did it today. Drove alongside me for 300m and then tried to kill me. And he had a bike in the back of his car so you’d think he’d know better. CUNTS.

got hit this morning by a guy doing this.
if anyone sees a black van belonging to cavs.ie, please give it a kick.

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

got hit this morning by a guy doing this.
if anyone sees a black van belonging to cavs.ie, please give it a kick.

I know a guy who works for them. I'll deal with the bastard.

 

[classic seanc]

There’s a guy that drives a grey jeep, he parks it on Wexford street regularly. He’s tried to hit me in this way. If anyone wants to….you know…..have a word with him, go ahead. thanks.

 

[Pantone247]

There’s a guy that drives a grey jeep, he parks it on Wexford street regularly. He’s tried to hit me in this way. If anyone wants to….you know…..have a word with him, go ahead. thanks.

understood

"this time, finish the bastard off"

 

[Squiggle]

got hit this morning by a guy doing this.
if anyone sees a black van belonging to cavs.ie, please give it a kick.

Ah no! Are you and the bike ok?

 

[Lefty Frizzell]

Ah no! Are you and the bike ok?

He's posting from a hospital bed.

 

[plug]

Another time a car drove me off the road in Bray, and a courier pulled up to see if i was ok, buzzed off up the road, and came back a while later. Apparently he had booted the shite out of the car for me. I appreciated that.

that's amazing! reminds me of when someone slagged my uncle in a pub one night and he went outside and kicked in all the lights on their car.

I've only been properly knocked off a bike once. in limerick getting a bar into town from college off a friend; we were cycling along a long straight street, this hiace came parallel with us, and then pulled over, ramming straight into us and knocking us across the road onto the footpath. I jumped up and ran over to the passenger which was already being rolled down... I came face to face with a particularly scary weather-beaten wahface who informed me: "that was your fault". then they drove off. my fault indeed!

 

[cookiemonster]

Ah no! Are you and the bike ok?

yeah i'm grand, he wasn't going too fast when he turned in front of me.
was wearing my helmet and hi-vis too. guess i'd better get a siren or something so drivers can see me better...

 

[ann post]

i had a loan of a super proffesional racing bike for a few months once, you could regularly get up above 40 on that thing..28 inch wheels and stuff. the yoke i use now i'd genuinely worry over about 25, as it weighs a ton with all the saddlebags and tools and paraphernalia.

been thinking about some kind of handlebar mounted death laser that you could charge at night and would be good for one death per day, as it pisses me off how easy it is for dickehead drivers to give you braindead 'advice' and zip off rolling up an electric window, not giving you time to quote* the rules of the road at them. just as they pulled about 100 yards away you could cut their face in two and watch them aimlessly saunter into the road side.

*the old rules of the road was about 2-3 pages on cycling, so endlessly quotable.. is the new one longer?? is it on the web??

 

[flashback]

You are comfortable enough on a decent bike around 40mph. I clocked the big 50 coming off the Wicklow gap a few times. I was small though, I would have to sit in behind another lad to get up to that sort of speed.
Once you are doing above 45 the bike starts floating a little bit, just bouncing along the road sort of. It feels like its slippery underneath you, and you basically cant turn.
50 feels incredibly fast when you are one 100psi road tyres, and no suspension. You feel like a missile, you are angling your body like a wing to move the bike. It's great.

If you came off at that speed you'd just be a rasher though. A red streak on the road.

Some of the lads on the Tour will be hitting 60mph apparently... that;s what did Casertelli in. That and a big concrete bollard to the head.

 

[La La]

I know a guy who works for them. I'll deal with the bastard.

There’s a guy that drives a grey jeep, he parks it on Wexford street regularly. He’s tried to hit me in this way. If anyone wants to….you know…..have a word with him, go ahead. thanks.

understood

"this time, finish the bastard off"

unite!!
CRITICAL MASS!!!!!!

actually, when is the next one?

 

[magicbastarder]

50 feels incredibly fast when you are one 100psi road tyres, and no suspension. You feel like a missile, you are angling your body like a wing to move the bike. It's great.

yep, and you tend to bunnyhop potholes, rather than steer around them.