The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

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silentC
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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby silentC » Wed Jan 07, 2015 3:46 pm

Yes. What if there was a branch across the path just around the corner?
Yeah that's what I thought. He was right on the centre line and there was myself and another cyclist ahead of me going the opposite direction. I felt the breeze of his right hand drop on my elbow as he went by.

I've seen a video on here, probably in this thread, of a guy flipping because he was on the aero bars and had to hit the brakes suddenly.

Hopefully it was a visitor. Not because I wish visitors any harm, but because he will be going home soon and become somebody else's problem again, probably someone in Melbourne or Canberra, sorry about that :)
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g-boaf
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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby g-boaf » Wed Jan 07, 2015 5:01 pm

silentC wrote:Never having used aero bars myself, can someone tell me if hurtling downhill around a blind corner on a shared path with your arms on the aero bars constitutes being a dumb cyclist? I kinda feel it is but maybe I'm over reacting.
Yeah - it is VERY silly. No brakes on the aero bars. You don't have the ability to get on the brakes quickly enough. Gentle open corners it might be okay, but it could be said using those bars on open roads or even shared paths is bad, depending on how you view the risks...

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby Xplora » Wed Jan 07, 2015 6:56 pm

I found the aero bars aren't too different to the tops, and it is not guaranteed misery if you take a corner with them even at speed. There is a time and a place for everything, there are people who think cruising at 30kmh is the limit of wisdom, we don't let them decide how fast a bike can go :idea:

You'd want to be damn good trying to survive such a move though. I wouldn't :lol:

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silentC
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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby silentC » Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:07 pm

He looked pretty comfortable. The corner isn't very tight, more of a sweeping bend, but it goes through a section of bush which is right up against the edges of the track, so you can't see very far around it. It's one of those places I always cut the speed right back because if you come around the bend and there's someone or something in the middle of the track, there is nowhere to go but into the trees. It's not unusual to come around there and have a couple of joggers or cyclists two abreast and not much time or room for anyone to move out of the way.
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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby Mulger bill » Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:15 pm

CXCommuter wrote:Why did I just get the mental image of the next door neighbour from Something About Mary
Because you're spot on. Years of harsh dieting, obsessive exercise and way too much Sun exposure has fried every form of attractiveness from body and soul.
Waccofozzy wrote:Don't most disasters start with "Hey watch this"?
Often uttered in the same sentence as "'Ere, hold my beer"
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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby Percrime » Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:31 pm

silentC wrote:He looked pretty comfortable. The corner isn't very tight, more of a sweeping bend, but it goes through a section of bush which is right up against the edges of the track, so you can't see very far around it. It's one of those places I always cut the speed right back because if you come around the bend and there's someone or something in the middle of the track, there is nowhere to go but into the trees. It's not unusual to come around there and have a couple of joggers or cyclists two abreast and not much time or room for anyone to move out of the way.

Its a rule that if you just once go around a blind corner on the wrong side of the road in the middle of the night in outer mongolia there will be another vehicle exactly where they should not be. (from your point of view)
Dont believe me? Try it and see.

Having said that ... when I was doing ITTs in the 80s it predated aero bars. When I came back to it 20 years later I did a bunch without them. Then I taught myself how to use them. Umm... on bike paths. Just gotta be really bloody careful. But a lot of it IS practicing the transition.

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby silentC » Thu Jan 08, 2015 9:20 am

Next time I'm in Mongolia, I'll give that a shot :)

Had a good one this morning. I'm riding along a suburban street approaching a right hander which borders a small reserve. It's downhill but I'm covering the brakes and going slow because the reserve is a well known kangaroo hang out. Sure enough, a couple hop out onto the road in front of me. Then I hear a couple of plovers going mental.

As I round the corner, I see a woman walking through the centre of the reserve, swinging something over her head, presumably to ward off the plovers, and flinging a tennis ball from one of those stick things with the other hand (fantastic coordination, it has to be said). The thing she is swinging over her head turns out to be a dog leash which should be attached to that medium-sized black dog that was the object of the tennis ball.

There are about a dozen kangaroos standing about. The dog notices them and forgetting all about the ball (some dogs have very poor concentration) it goes after the kangaroos, which scatter. She's calling the dog but it ain't listening, most of it's brain cells consumed with the task of determining which roo to chase first. All of a sudden I have 3 large kangaroos on the road in front of me and they are starting to get that panicky "which way do I hop" look in their eyes. I have to take evasive action to avoid a particularly large one as the others hop across the road and onto the verge on the other side.

I may have sworn, I may have called her a stupid woman, I definitely asked her to please tie the dog up.

Some people really should be cryogenically frozen until they find a cure for stupid.
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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby Percrime » Thu Jan 08, 2015 9:32 am

I can give an example of my thesis. A woman I know was talking about the accident her sister had. A few years ago. About 500 Km from Alice on a single lane gravel road. Crossed a crest right in the middle and hit another 4 WD head on. Both vehicles disabled. It was an hour before another car came along. (It was a road... not a $WD track) She claims unavoidable accident. I thought it was a sure thing.

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby burger » Thu Jan 08, 2015 11:31 am

silentC wrote:Some people really should be cryogenically frozen until they find a cure for stupid.
Pretty sure we dont have the space to store that many 'items' . .. :wink: :shock: :lol:
The world is round, so what seems like the end may actually be the beginning.

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby Lukeyboy » Fri Jan 09, 2015 12:55 am

It was alot darker than the video makes it out to be but on the unlit pathway at night.... with red lights on the front??? Got a bit of a surprise when I swapped my garmin screen only to look up to see two cyclists approaching.

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby Percrime » Fri Jan 09, 2015 2:35 pm

Red lights on the front. Right up there with wrong way pedestrianism s sure sign of stopid. Im looking forward to meeting my first wrong way cyclist with red lights on the front. And his justifications as to how its actually safer

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby jasonc » Fri Jan 09, 2015 2:39 pm

don't argue with stupid. they take you down to their level and beat you with experience

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby Scott_C » Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:40 pm

Not exactly a pedestrian but I almost smeared a small dog across the road this morning. I was riding along Rutland Ave just past Vic Park train station at ~18kph with my daughter in the child seat on the back and my wife following. Going past a building site I see a small dog in the shade under a tradies ute parked against the curb, watching as we approach. Just as we come up level with the ute the dog runs out across the road to say hello, crossing in front of my front wheel. I slam on the anchors and get a foot down and miss it by less than 5cm.

Me plus flatbar bike, baby seat and baby would weigh ~150kg and the dog would be lucky to weigh 1kg so we probably would have rolled right over the top of it.

If you haven't trained your dog to not run out onto the road then perhaps you should leave it on a leash.

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby fat and old » Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:46 pm

All the cyclists who would rather ride in 37 degree sunshine rather than 20 degree drizzle....losers :P Empty roads this morning :D

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby Robinho » Thu Jan 15, 2015 1:18 pm

Dumb cyclist this morning was at least 50% me, heading north on the PSP between My Henry bridge and Canning bridge, followed my buddy through passing a slower rider on a partially blind bend when I should have hung back, was confronted by 2 cyclists side by side coming the other way. Fortunately the guy I was passing was hard left so I was able to pass on my side of the path, albeit closer than I would have liked, and the 2 coming g the other way, after initial shock, we're able to organise themselves to squeeze past. I was able to apologise to the guy I was passing , for the unnecessary close shave, but the 2 heading south were gone, after a bit of a shout of "woah!" at me, which was well deserved, even if they should not have been 2 abreast round a blind corner. My buddy also apologised to me for instigating the initial move to pass heading into the corner, but if you were the 2 heading south, one female in what I recall was a blur of black and red, my apologies for the move.

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby skull » Sun Jan 18, 2015 5:02 pm

If this was anyone that posts on these forums, well done pin head. Not only will you most likely kill yourself but will also possibly cause panic driving from any cars around and kill innocent people.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=84 ... =2&theater" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby g-boaf » Sun Jan 18, 2015 10:35 pm

skull wrote:If this was anyone that posts on these forums, well done pin head. Not only will you most likely kill yourself but will also possibly cause panic driving from any cars around and kill innocent people.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=84 ... =2&theater" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Well, just a good thing I'm having a few days off the bike - that will surely have the car drivers angry with us... Punishment passes for sure. And because of that rider, we will all just have to live with that too. :roll:

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby greyhoundtom » Mon Jan 19, 2015 5:18 am

The guy on the bike was certainly stupid in regard to his own safety, and no doubt gave at least three car drivers a bit of a "what the" as whipped past them.

But fair is fair he did no more than I see car driver do all the time, and that is pass a vehicle on double lines.

Definitely Tour de France material. :mrgreen:

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby g-boaf » Mon Jan 19, 2015 6:57 am

The difference is that it is okay for car drivers to do that. But we are held to a much higher standard by the holier than everyone else car drivers. Not excusing the bike rider either, but I've seen car drivers do similarly idiotic moves, especially one Scirocco R VW in peak hour traffic with cars coming towards him in the distance.

If I had a camera going, I'd post the footage as a counterpoint to the bike rider footage.

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby skull » Mon Jan 19, 2015 7:46 am

g-boaf wrote:The difference is that it is okay for car drivers to do that.
No one has said it is ok for cars to do that. You are pretty much justifying that riders actions because there are cars that drive like idiots, yet more than happy for a motorists to be called out. Hypocrites.

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby g-boaf » Mon Jan 19, 2015 7:49 am

Indeed none of you said it was okay, but I'll bet some of those car drivers commenting on it have done similar things.

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby find_bruce » Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:00 am

What I find interesting is that the Highway Patrol Officer thought it was worth the effort of posting on Facebook, but not in stopping the rider at at the time and having a chat to the cyclist about their behaviour
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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby foo on patrol » Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:09 am

The rider is a Corkhead :twisted: and the Cop should have known better than to post it up instead of pulling the retard up and booking him! :wink:

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby g-boaf » Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:14 am

find_bruce wrote:What I find interesting is that the Highway Patrol Officer thought it was worth the effort of posting on Facebook, but not in stopping the rider at at the time and having a chat to the cyclist about their behaviour
Perhaps he did, a bit later. I've not ridden through that area, but forgive me if I'm wrong, it's not a place that you stop on.

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Re: The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

Postby ningnangnong » Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:23 am

find_bruce wrote:What I find interesting is that the Highway Patrol Officer thought it was worth the effort of posting on Facebook, but not in stopping the rider at at the time and having a chat to the cyclist about their behaviour
foo on patrol wrote:The rider is a Corkhead :twisted: and the Cop should have known better than to post it up instead of pulling the retard up and booking him! :wink:

Foo
g-boaf wrote:
find_bruce wrote:What I find interesting is that the Highway Patrol Officer thought it was worth the effort of posting on Facebook, but not in stopping the rider at at the time and having a chat to the cyclist about their behaviour
Perhaps he did, a bit later. I've not ridden through that area, but forgive me if I'm wrong, it's not a place that you stop on.
I'm guessing that is just some dash cam footage from a motorist they've had sent it, rather than actual footage from a police camera.

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