Orang Utan said:I enjoy the thrill of being in heavy traffic too.
Orang Utan said:You can't if their are parked cars unless it's a really wide road.
Or you'd be mad to.
I just think it's too fast on a side street. I would only go fast on a main road.Just go in the middle of the road - what's the problem?
Orang Utan said:I just think it's too fast on a side street. I would only go fast on a main road.
Orang Utan said:So you would cycle down a quiet side street at 25-30mph?
I much prefer the busier roads to the quiet streets and all the parked cars on either side of the road.
I don't want to slow down - part of the enjoyment of riding is the sprinting on the long flats and you can't do that on quiet streets or cycle paths.
I enjoy the thrill of being in heavy traffic too.
I get a real sense that car drivers and pedestrians (who don't cycle) do not consider that cyclists have the right to the road; that they are in some way trivial.
if car drivers took umbrage the way cyclists do when it is pointed out that some of their number are a positive menace there'd be umpteen threads on the issue here. as Sue says, a bit more consideration for pedestrians might see cyclists earn the respect they believe they deserve.I get a real sense that car drivers and pedestrians (who don't cycle) do not consider that cyclists have the right to the road; that they are in some way trivial.
yeh because no one has ever used a side street as a rat runI personally find "20MPH" limits outrageous in many side streets.
I would say 10MPH in a car, perhaps 15MPH on a bike.
I'm a pedestrian who doesn't cycle. Of course cyclists have 'the right to the road'. Of course they should have more cycle lanes, improved road design and whatever else will make cycling safer and easier. I'm a big fan of cyclists.
However, in the same way that other road users should show cyclists more respect, so cyclists must show more respect for pedestrians. That means not cycling on the pavement, not riding through red lights at top speed when people are trying to cross at the green man, not shouting at pedestrians they perceive as being in their way when they're crossing perfectly properly at zebra crossings/green men. I see these things every single day. Unfortunately, a lot of cyclists deny these things happen or play them down as being unimportant presumably because they're not that concerned about the pedestrians involved. I really don't think that helps anyone. If cyclists in general treated pedestrians with a bit more respect, I think pedestrians in general would have a bit more respect for cyclists.
littlebabyjesus said:tbh I think this society has become rather inured to the annual carnage caused by cars. It seems natural, inevitable, barely worth commenting on. But it isn't. And it is the real issue here.
Yes Waterloo Bridge, the view is glorious and different every time.
I love my cycle commute, it keeps me sane. I have discovered a route on Bike Hub, the mobile app that uses the Cyclestreets mapping system. It means I am going along quiet side streets pretty much all the way from Brixton Hill to Euston (except Waterloo Bridge).
The Bike Hub app has revolutionised my journey planning in London. I pretty much always choose the quiet routes and thus my cycling has been transformed from being a risky but exhilarating stop-start weaving in and out ride, to a nice chilled amble.
The great thing about the sidestreets = no traffic lights, no inexperienced cyclists wobbling along the superhighways......