Interesting discussion on this on LBC, if anyone's still interested
What's LBC Karl?
I, like the more mature people on here have seen the various changes in everything in life from mum using an iron heated on the gas stove for getting the creases out of my Levi jeans and Ben Sherman shirts through to now having WiFi in our houses, and the internet being brought to us country dwellers by microwave systems (better than direct satellite), and of course being a motorist have also watched the changes in how our roads are used and by who uses them.
First I must point out I am 99% against cyclists, there it's been said! Let's look at why.
I took the 'Cycling Proficiency Test' at school, this was a program run by the government, that little piece of paper and a badge showing I had passed meant the world to me and other schoolmates, hand signals, traffic awareness, you name it we were taught it, back then I don't recall there was a need for a crash helmet though? Nowadays I no longer hear of the CPT still being taught, is it?
As a youngster I used to ride with a group of friends, and being aware of the danger of being hit by a vehicle we always rode in single file....and I mean always! As I moved into cars (I had no interest in motorbikes and still don't), so now a driver I saw a cyclist on on the road and overtook them, they were sort of 'there' but never given a second thought but why? All that mattered was you must pass safely and that was it, this was an automatic thing and it was what you did. 99% of them had lights on at night, and often you would see the rear mud guard (remember them) were painted white, they had mirrors, those cyclists were aware of you coming up behind them in your Ford Cortina or whatever was your ride back then long before they heard you, and when they heard or saw you they held their line making it safer for all involved, they were aware as was you, and you always passed them with care, in other words we were all 'road users', we took the care to look out for each other.
So, time moves on and of course there are more cyclists, whether it be to commute to and from a place of work, or just out for exercise and and recreation, but the transition was a steady one and motorists adapted to it, and then there was the rise of cyclists in sport, and then it all changed. Faster bicycles, some with 20+ gears or more, then the cycle races became home grown and no longer restricted to the track, next the fashion of wearing Lycra and the coloured glasses none of this bothered me and then came head protection, at last something useful!
So why did I become to loath cyclists? The reason is simple, audacity!
The riders of cycles pay hundreds and often thousands of their well earned cash for cycles however they, no longer see any reason to have mirrors or lights...pff who needs them, perhaps a bell (a legal requirement in Spain) or some other way of warning a pedestrian that they will be passing them at considerable speed, a warning, now you really are taking the piss!
Riding two (and more) abreast, meant a gentle 'toot' from someone letting them know they wish to pass safely is often met with the internationally recognised hand signal, hey who gives a feck? Ear plugs and listening to music, that's great now I can no longer hear a vehicle let alone see them! Weaving in and out of traffic at speed, often catching your mirrors with their handlebars, hooking the edge of your front bumper with a pedal, jumping red lights, going across pedestrian crossings when people are trying to cross, cutting out in front of you at roundabout and junctions, of course no way of identifying these assholes, the fact that they pay no road tax, and are not insured (a safe bet?), whilst that annoys me, it is what it is. Now the there is a minimum of two metres gap to be given to a cyclist to pass them, so what are we saying vehicle drivers who have had to pass a test are no longer competent, or is it to allow for a cyclist not paying attention to the drain he has just seen so he swerves to miss it?
I say 99% of cyclists, because there is that 1% who I respect, they will be a mix of older more mature adults, perhaps popping into town, to pick up some shopping, or out for exercise, and of course there is the more serious Lycra clad group practicing for one of the local races, they have paid out a small fortune on their rides, and are not going to be weaving through traffic at speed like a pratt for sure, you often come up on them on the bypasses, there is a rule here in Spain to limit a group size, I think anything more than I guess about 8 or 10 cyclists? Anything more and the group are following by an escort vehicle with an orange flashing light warning other road users. If the group is smaller and there is no escort, then the rearmost cyclist will let the riders ahead of him know you are there, and almost as one they go into single file, allowing me and other road users to pass them, a friendly toot of thanks from me, often met by a wave wave as I check my mirror that I am completely clear of them and accelerating very gently away, the diesel 80 exhaling through the exhaust not the cleanest if you put your foot down.
Thankfully Spain is now doing more about 'controlling' cyclists, and making rules more clear not only for them but for motorists as well. A few examples:
A cyclists must give way to traffic on a roundabout as would any another vehicle, but what is not understood is if there are two or more cyclists, the same rule about traffic on a roundabout applies but, if the lead cyclist legally and safely enters a roundabout the following cyclist and any others in a group effectively become one unit, so now the vehicle on the roundabout must stop allowing the cyclists to enter and leave the roundabout as if they were roped together.
Another rule is if a road is not wide enough to allow to two vehicles to pass in either direction then the two metre rule no longer applies, the cyclist must yield to the vehicle and pull off the road if it is safely possible.
A reflector like a working bell is mandatory, and of course wearing earphones/buds and using a mobile phone are not allowed, fines can run into hundreds if caught, and jumping a red light will get you a two hundred euro fine with zero leeway about not seeing it and so forth.
So, to the stupid 99% of cycling assholes (of course not on this forum) you have been warned, will it become 98% versus 2%? I doubt it in my lifetime.
Now where is my coat?
Regards,
Dave.