The Dumb Cyclists and Pedestrians thread...

[casual_cyclist]

I ride shared paths a lot, so I have learned to slow down for peds. I had a drunk ped staggering along the shared path who almost lurched into where I was about to be. I hung back until the path was clear and then floored it outta there. Drunk peds are unpredictable so I certainly wasn't hanging around. I did think that 9 AM was rather early to be that drunk!

[herzog]

Recumbent with a death wish.

[chriscole]

Recumbent with a death wish.

Maybe it's just me.... but I'm thinking that video would make a lot more sense if there'd been a recumbent bike in it somewhere... ?

[Robinho]

I think I saw (on the 3rd attempt) a recumbant opposite the junction, approaching and then turning left up onto the pavement as the bus comes through. It might look like he runs the red and goes up the inside of the bus, but I think he went up on the pavement, not really much to see here

[WarbyD]

yeah, watched it full screen - definitely goes up onto the pavement at the intersection. Guessing the issue is that he was (prior to getting onto the pavement) going wrong way on what looks to be a busy 1 way st?

Edit... watched it again - He's only on the road briefly, while he crosses diagonally.. maybe 20-30m or so? Hardly worth getting excited about IMO..

[herzog]

yeah, watched it full screen - definitely goes up onto the pavement at the intersection. Guessing the issue is that he was (prior to getting onto the pavement) going wrong way on what looks to be a busy 1 way st?

Edit... watched it again - He's only on the road briefly, while he crosses diagonally.. maybe 20-30m or so? Hardly worth getting excited about IMO..

Yeah it's a bit hard to see (always a problem with recumbents)

He's opposite me. It's a two lane, one way traffic sewer in the direction I'm facing.

What he did may look pretty innocuous, but the cross street is George St, Sydney CBD. 6 lanes of mayhem.

Cars coming from the right of screen turn into there at speed, as they try to slip through gaps in the traffic. Like the 4wd at the start, but faster.

Similarly, cars coming from the left will turn into that street pretty frequently.

Moments before he did this, several cars did just that. Also - reviewing the video, a few seconds after his salmon run, a cab turns the corner - unusually cautiously for a sydney cab driver!

It's just good luck that he didn't have a head on. It's a lot harder to bail out off a recumbent...

[rdp_au]

Ah, on fourth viewing I saw what was going on. Agree, that’s probably not the wisest place for such a manoeuvre. However, as a long time recumbent rider, I do have to rub my beard and respond to the recumbent references. In my experience, riding two different recumbent bikes over the last seven years on regular commuting trips across Sydney, they are not harder to see. I think being a different shape may help people register that I’m there, and as a bonus, generally they give me better clearance when passing. That said, I ride like I do on any bike – including a motorbike – assuming that I have not been seen until conclusively proved otherwise. Also, having done it on both, I can vouch for the fact that it is just as easy to bail off a recumbent as a conventional bike, and less painful. In a head-on collision, heaven forbid, I’d prefer to hit feet first, rather than go OTB and head first into the car.

So there

[outnabike]

]

Maybe it's just me.... but I'm thinking that video would make a lot more sense if there'd been a recumbent bike in it somewhere... ?

Hi Chris,
I thought the same thing and wasn't game to say as I thought I must be blind..I reckon a member couldn't wait to try the new camera....

[MisuVir]

I nominate myself. Turned right onto a multilaned road and somehow ended up salmoning between two lanes of traffic. Managed to nope my way out of there, but what a crazy brainfart. Backstreet route for me tonight. :O

[AP81]

Twice in the past week I've been stopped at a light when a hipster (messenger bag, d-lock on pants, keys attached to belt, hipster helmet) has made a point of getting to the front of the pack and scooting off as fast as they can. In 200-300m they run out of puff and are left in the dust.

What's the point? They just end up looking pathetic. Most hipsters only ever ride a few blocks, so they can't ever hold 30km/h+ for more than a minute.

Anyway, I say if you want to do this then go for it, but you should be able to back it up with maintaining your pace.

/rant

A while ago a similar thing happened when a guy decided to put the hammer down and overtake all of us climbing a hill. The group of us (commuting) where pacing pretty hard when this guy rocketed past. I happened to turn left at the top of the hill, while the rest of the group continued on. About 100m down the road, the guy that blasted past us was sitting on the side of the road dry-reaching...pushed himself pretty hard. I was laughing so hard I almost rode into the back of a parked car.

[human909]

Twice in the past week I've been stopped at a light when a hipster (messenger bag, d-lock on pants, keys attached to belt, hipster helmet) has made a point of getting to the front of the pack and scooting off as fast as they can. In 200-300m they run out of puff and are left in the dust.

What's the point? They just end up looking pathetic. Most hipsters only ever ride a few blocks, so they can't ever hold 30km/h+ for more than a minute.

Anyway, I say if you want to do this then go for it, but you should be able to back it up with maintaining your pace.

/rant

A while ago a similar thing happened when a guy decided to put the hammer down and overtake all of us climbing a hill. The group of us (commuting) where pacing pretty hard when this guy rocketed past. I happened to turn left at the top of the hill, while the rest of the group continued on. About 100m down the road, the guy that blasted past us was sitting on the side of the road dry-reaching...pushed himself pretty hard. I was laughing so hard I almost rode into the back of a parked car.

It seems somebody here thinks cycling is a competition and it certainly isn't the hipster nor the guy who was ill on the side of the road.

Do you also heap scorn on town bikes who trundle along at 15kph? Beach cruisers? Recumbent who take forever to get moving but when they do they over take you?

I take off quickly at lights. It is how I've always ridden whether it is peak hour or empty streets at 3am. Also I find it safer to get across the intersection and out in front before everybody else has realised the lights are green. But why does it matter?

Each to their own really, I don't see what your issue is. (Well apart from hipsters.)

[yugyug]

Twice in the past week I've been stopped at a light when a hipster (messenger bag, d-lock on pants, keys attached to belt, hipster helmet)
.

True hipsters dont wear helmets (unless it's stackhat apparently, maybe that's what u meant) but anyway in defense of the kind of guys that race past other cyclists up hills, it may be just a function of time management - I don't have much time to go on long rides myself at the moment, so when I do ride I'm always sprinting, trying to get the best workout I can in the short commutes I have time for. I know a lot of the guys I pass are fitter than me, and it probably irritates them too, but my ride time is shorter.

[herzog]

I don't see what your issue is. (Well apart from hipsters.)

Sounds like his issue was the "shoaling" and not simply the fact that Mr Hipster was slow.

How fast can you ride in skin tight jeans anyway?

[human909]

I don't see what your issue is. (Well apart from hipsters.)

Sounds like his issue was the "shoaling" and not simply the fact that Mr Hipster was slow.

Then where did the disdain for the cyclist who was ill at the side of the road fit into the equation?

How fast can you ride in skin tight jeans anyway?

Do you really need to join the game too?

[herzog]

Dude I was having a joke. I didn't even mention the buddy holly spectacles or the ironic beard yet...

[human909]

Dude I was having a joke. I didn't even mention the buddy holly spectacles or the ironic beard yet...

Fair enough.... I suppose I was just on edge after the previous comments. I can giggle at stereotypes too.

I just get sick of the way people get their kicks looking down on others or feeling that they are more worthy because they can ride faster. When I ride I try to smile at people. I enjoy the diversity of people on bikes.

[outnabike]

Crikey there just went my illusions of grandeur .....I just looked and I am a hipster... Is it wrong to tuck your tracky dacks into your socks?

[CXCommuter]

Twice in the past week I've been stopped at a light when a hipster (messenger bag, d-lock on pants, keys attached to belt, hipster helmet) has made a point of getting to the front of the pack and scooting off as fast as they can. In 200-300m they run out of puff and are left in the dust.

What's the point? They just end up looking pathetic. Most hipsters only ever ride a few blocks, so they can't ever hold 30km/h+ for more than a minute.

Anyway, I say if you want to do this then go for it, but you should be able to back it up with maintaining your pace.

/rant

A while ago a similar thing happened when a guy decided to put the hammer down and overtake all of us climbing a hill. The group of us (commuting) where pacing pretty hard when this guy rocketed past. I happened to turn left at the top of the hill, while the rest of the group continued on. About 100m down the road, the guy that blasted past us was sitting on the side of the road dry-reaching...pushed himself pretty hard. I was laughing so hard I almost rode into the back of a parked car.[/qu

It seems somebody here thinks cycling is a competition and it certainly isn't the hipster nor the guy who was ill on the side of the road.

Do you also heap scorn on town bikes who trundle along at 15kph? Beach cruisers? Recumbent who take forever to get moving but when they do they over take you?

I take off quickly at lights. It is how I've always ridden whether it is peak hour or empty streets at 3am. Also I find it safer to get across the intersection and out in front before everybody else has realised the lights are green. But why does it matter?

Each to their own really, I don't see what your issue is. (Well apart from hipsters.)

I don't see the OP's comments as competitive I see it as a comment on peoples rudeness- jumping queues etc. I see all types doing it. Today a guy did it on a carbon roadie and alsmost crashed by riding into the garden bed.

Otherwise, it was probably me on the side of the path dry retching

[nezumi]

I just get sick of the way people get their kicks looking down on others or feeling that they are more worthy because they can ride faster. When I ride I try to smile at people. I enjoy the diversity of people on bikes.

My take on it - the disdain wasn't for people riding slow. The disdain was for hipster who essentially had a MGIF attitude and didn't take his place in the queue, sprinted off once the lights changed but couldn't maintain it.

I make no bones about the fact that I will pass queued up people and actually use the bike boxes as they are intended, but I am also confident in my ability to ride away from most of the people assembled at the lights on my commute.

With the second guy, I read it as he was trying to show the bunch how super-awesome he was by zooming past them, and got his comeuppance by over-doing it and ended up dry retching.

[AP81]

I think you guys took what I said out of context a bit. I want as many people to ride bikes as possible. I don't care what you ride out how fast you ride.
I do think it's a bit silly to shoal if you know you're going to hold up the pack, as it can make things more dangerous for everyone.

[Mulger bill]

Crikey there just went my illusions of grandeur .....I just looked and I am a hipster... Is it wrong to tuck your tracky dacks into your socks?

True hipsters roll the right cuff to just below the knee...

[g-boaf]

Twice in the past week I've been stopped at a light when a hipster (messenger bag, d-lock on pants, keys attached to belt, hipster helmet) has made a point of getting to the front of the pack and scooting off as fast as they can. In 200-300m they run out of puff and are left in the dust.

What's the point? They just end up looking pathetic. Most hipsters only ever ride a few blocks, so they can't ever hold 30km/h+ for more than a minute.

Anyway, I say if you want to do this then go for it, but you should be able to back it up with maintaining your pace.

/rant

A while ago a similar thing happened when a guy decided to put the hammer down and overtake all of us climbing a hill. The group of us (commuting) where pacing pretty hard when this guy rocketed past. I happened to turn left at the top of the hill, while the rest of the group continued on. About 100m down the road, the guy that blasted past us was sitting on the side of the road dry-reaching...pushed himself pretty hard. I was laughing so hard I almost rode into the back of a parked car.

Commuting isn't a race. That's how you get seriously injured when you treat it like one and something goes wrong.

One day, someone will surprise you by going a lot faster than you expect.

I'm way too slow to get involved in the commuter racing.

[AP81]

People surprise me all the time. All I'm saying I'd if you deliberately want to race people at every opportunity, then back it up with your ability to do so.

[bychosis]

Commuting isn't a race.

But it so much is. Maybe not a traditional race, but I enjoy the challenge of 'racing' all of the few bikes I see, when I feel like it. Lots of others do too. For most the challenge of the race does not outweigh the responsibility to ride safely and it's just a bit of fun.

[silentC]

It's funny when it happens. There aren't all that many cyclists around here but when you get one in front of you, the instinct takes over.

I've had it happen to me a couple of times too. I was on my way back from a ride, taking my time up the second last hill when this bloke on a flat bar comes screaming up the hill behind me, flies past and then takes a right-hander at the top of the hill. I'm sure when he saw me he decided to show the MAMIL how it's done. I went straight ahead and when I looked right, he was on the side of the road looking a bit unwell.

Another bloke tried to do the same thing to me but I saw him out the corner of my eye. So I called out 'ah it's a race!' and upped the cadence a bit. As he sank back behind me, he calls 'it's a bit hard on this old thing' (referring to his bike). It was all right a minute ago!

I have no doubt these guys see me all kitted up and think "look at this tosser, I'll give him a run for his money". Let's see you sustain it for an hour though boy