Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Having recently moved from Colchester to Dulwich, I was pretty excited to move to an area nationally renown as a hub of road cycling. However, I have never come across such a bunch of unfriendly riders in my life. I don't know how many times I've said hello just to be ignored. What it is? Essex and Suffolk riders are friendly! Is it that hard to say hi or nod? Seriously, if you're one of then - get over yourself!
Link to comment
https://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/topic/19602-calling-all-road-cyclists/
Share on other sites

When I'm out and about Harry in Ed I always find fellow one legged people to be quite friendly even if they are strangers. Maybe the cyclists are concentrating on not being run down by cars and vans. When I'm driving (my automatic) I've never yet been able to get one and I've got a bunch of Marty Feldman's unused stickers stashed in my glove compartment.

I know the feeling - I quite often smile and nod at a fellow cyclist going the other way to absolutely no response.


And I used to try to strike up a conversation if I was waiting at the lights... but I've virtually given up. Lots of cyclists wear headphones these days so I guess that doesn't help.


Of course, if you're on a BSO in normal clothes then of course all the Rapha roadies will blank you...

Er....I think you'd have to be a reaaaaallllly stupid cyclist to wear headphones when you've got a far greater chance of injury if you're involved in an accident than any car driver listening to their stereo.


Unless, of course, your name is Wolverine and your bones are made of adamantine.

Where's the evidence of that? I can listen to headphones at a safe volume and cycle perfectly safely....done it for 20+ years without any accident that was my fault. A cyclist has a far greater chance of injury because they are on a cycle, that's all.

There is no evidence. The claim was made by the president of the AA but was later rescinded to that of any road user being distracted.


At the end of last year, the president of the motoring organisation the AA, Edmund King called for a campaign warning riders not to listen to iPods or personal stereos whilst they are cycling. His comments featured in the Times newspaper, alongside warnings that earphones were one of the factors behind a rise in the number of cyclists being injured on the roads, or colliding with (and injuring) pedestrians.


The AA later qualified these remarks made by its President as a more general attack on road users who don?t pay enough attention to what is going on around them. The distraction doesn?t necessarily have to be music through your headphones; crossing the road whilst wearing a hood was also mentioned as increasing your risk of being involved in an accident, as was using a mobile phone whilst driving ? something which has been illegal in the UK since December 2003.


Wearing headphones, listening to a car stereo or wearing a full face crash helmet (through which you can hear nothing) doesn't cause an accident. Poor attention to what is going on around you does.....

Now that the evenings are drawing in, please can I call on all road cyclists to wear lots of bright and reflective clothes, while we're at it? I usually travel around ED in a bus or a car, and it's scary how invisible dark-clad cyclists with only a small light are.

Harry, feel free to come along to our Sunday Cycle group - its FREE!


The main thread is on 'Whats on in ED', but in short we cover typically 30-miles on a Sunday morning, and once a month (like yesterday) we did 60-miles, with the option of taking a train back at certain locations. We wait at the top of hills for the rest of the team (as we take it at an easy pace), and once out of Croydon, we take to the lanes. Mountain Bikes & Road bikes - all ages, all abilities attend.


9-15am start on Sunday mornings, meeting at the Dulwich Tollgate / College Road..... the first 5-mins is up to Crystal Palace.


As a bit of fun yesterday, we decided to ride up Box Hill on the way back from Gatwick.


And I agree with Moos, lights and bright clothing even during the day during low light / drizzle or rain.





McC

DJKillaQueen Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> There is no evidence. The claim was made by the

> president of the AA but was later rescinded to

> that of any road user being distracted.

>

> At the end of last year, the president of the

> motoring organisation the AA, Edmund King called

> for a campaign warning riders not to listen to

> iPods or personal stereos whilst they are cycling.

> His comments featured in the Times newspaper,

> alongside warnings that earphones were one of the

> factors behind a rise in the number of cyclists

> being injured on the roads, or colliding with (and

> injuring) pedestrians.

>

> The AA later qualified these remarks made by its

> President as a more general attack on road users

> who don?t pay enough attention to what is going on

> around them. The distraction doesn?t necessarily

> have to be music through your headphones; crossing

> the road whilst wearing a hood was also mentioned

> as increasing your risk of being involved in an

> accident, as was using a mobile phone whilst

> driving ? something which has been illegal in the

> UK since December 2003.

>

> Wearing headphones, listening to a car stereo or

> wearing a full face crash helmet (through which

> you can hear nothing) doesn't cause an accident.

> Poor attention to what is going on around you

> does.....


Yes, poor attention does cause accidents. But at the end of the day, wearing headphones and listening to music potentially deprives you of one of your senses on the road and may impact on your concentration. The fact that a full face crash helmet impairs hearing is nothing to the point - you need to stack the deck in your favour when cycling and it's not as if motorcycling is a low risk pursuit.


Whilst it's a matter of personal choice, I wouldn't do it - cycling is already dangerous enough.

i cycle every day and wouldn't dream of wearing headphones.


In a car you have mirrors to help with spatial awareness- on a bike you have to rely on a quick turn of the head or your ears to see/hear any vehicles (especially motorcycles) approaching from the rear.


I wouldn't feel safe at all.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • Perhaps like Malumbu they compost their food waste?
    • Obviously, but they may be wrong. Not only are we coming up to another population renewal drop after the continuing effects of the baby bulge generation enter a trough,  - secondary schools are closing across many boroughs - but birth rates in the UK continue to fall (not just absolute births which are also falling as a function of the bulge unwind, but births per head). And foreign student numbers are also falling. Additionally the costs of being a student are rising, which encourages more students to go to universities close enough that they don't need accommodation but can live at home. Bubbles burst, and this may be one of them.
    • Exactly. There's also a much easier way to find out how demand and supply are interacting for student housing: look at how goddamn expensive it is! It's a huge barrier to entry for students who want to study away from home. If the price of student housing cratered, this would be great news for everyone except property developers because it would cut housing costs for students and reduce some demand on "mainstream" housing in the wider market (because students won't be looking for houseshares). These property developers (and their financiers) aren't shovelling millions of pounds into student housing because they think the market is going to crash and they're going to lose money! And if they do, it's not really my problem...
    • Just a quick question- We’re on Crystal Palace Road, backing onto Darrell Road, about midway between The Great Exhibition and The Actress, and both my daughters (late teens/early twenties) are complaining about an intermittent, very high frequency noise that they find very uncomfortable. It’s worse for the older one as she’s trying to study for the finals of her degree coming up in May, and she’s already having hospital treatment for an ear condition. The sound can even be heard from indoors with the windows closed. Neither my wife or I can hear it but it’s been going on for a few days now and I wonder if it’s one of those ultrasonic cat/dog/fox repellents, maybe connected to a movement sensor, that only registers with animals and younger people with much more sensitive hearing?    If that is the case would you mind turning it off please as it’s causing a very real problem.    Many thanks.
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...