Post by Dave on Aug 12, 2014 12:03:51 GMT
I picked up my six week old bike from the repair shop yesterday; sadly I was knocked off it just over a week ago. I was on a cycle path that had a wall running along it and I spotted a car parked on it some 400 yards ahead.. There was enough room between the car and the wall to cycle past, but just as I got along side the car the passenger car door flew open. The result was two badly bruised arms and a very bent bottom crank set.
The bike is back in full working order again and I have had no problems getting back on it and riding on the roads again, but I have come to realise over the last four or five months, just how dangerous cycling can be.
You ask most motorists their pet hates and they will tell you its cyclists, to a degree I can understand that and even once felt the same way, but that has changed now. I think a lot of drivers are just so afraid they will knock a cyclist off his bike as the person on the bike would be likely to get badly injured if that happened.
You do see some motorists too afraid to even over take a cyclist when there is clearly enough room, but I suppose its better to be safe than sorry, but it can only add to the frustration some motorists feel, especially if you are the car behind said motorist.
Cyclists riding along any road have to have a lot of faith in motorists travelling in the same direction; they can play their part by keeping in as close to the kerb as possible, but that is not always possible. Drains, potholes, bramble sticking out of hedgerows and rubbish on the edges of roads are just some of the things cyclists try to avoid to prevent themselves from coming of their bikes.
Because I drive for my living and encounter many cyclists, I try myself to be as considerate as possible to other road users when I’m out enjoying a ride. But despite that fact I have nearly been knocked off my bike on at least six occasions. Its either been a car coming out of a junction that has not seem me, or a car pulling off from the kerb as I was overtaking it. On three occasions I have been on Paignton seafront in the cycle lane and have had cars driving straight at me as they have not realised where I was riding was a dedicated part of the road for cyclists.
I personally find pedestrians are often far more dangerous to cyclists that car drivers, how many have just stepped off the path right in front of me without even looking? A good number I can tell you and they always give you that look like you are the one in the wrong. Where I live there are a number of paths split in two, one side for pedestrians and the other side for cyclists. While I always make sure I use the side I’m supposed to, it’s often the case pedestrians are walking along the wrong side. Once again dare and ring your bell and you get those looks again and yet they would be quick to moan at any cyclist riding on the pedestrian side of the path.
It makes you wonder why anyone would even want to go out on a cycle, its very dangerous and likely to result in some form of abuse or other or possible injury or even death. I have jet to come home from a ride where something did not happen that could have been dangerous to me or someone else.
But the thing is bike riding can be so much fun and also very good for your health. Some of the rides I have been on such as the Plym valley route and the Exe cycle route that are all mainly off road and been such a pleasure. But both rides do require you having to drive some distance in your car to do them, so it’s a case of having to pick rides around here that I think are going to be the safest for me.
I gave up the lifetime habit of smoking over eight months ago and took up cycling just over four months ago. I have far more energy that I ever had and have already lost over a stone in weight, ( just two more to go lol) so I have seen the real benefits my lifestyle choices have made, its just a shame that something so good for you has a number of dangers attached to it.
The bike is back in full working order again and I have had no problems getting back on it and riding on the roads again, but I have come to realise over the last four or five months, just how dangerous cycling can be.
You ask most motorists their pet hates and they will tell you its cyclists, to a degree I can understand that and even once felt the same way, but that has changed now. I think a lot of drivers are just so afraid they will knock a cyclist off his bike as the person on the bike would be likely to get badly injured if that happened.
You do see some motorists too afraid to even over take a cyclist when there is clearly enough room, but I suppose its better to be safe than sorry, but it can only add to the frustration some motorists feel, especially if you are the car behind said motorist.
Cyclists riding along any road have to have a lot of faith in motorists travelling in the same direction; they can play their part by keeping in as close to the kerb as possible, but that is not always possible. Drains, potholes, bramble sticking out of hedgerows and rubbish on the edges of roads are just some of the things cyclists try to avoid to prevent themselves from coming of their bikes.
Because I drive for my living and encounter many cyclists, I try myself to be as considerate as possible to other road users when I’m out enjoying a ride. But despite that fact I have nearly been knocked off my bike on at least six occasions. Its either been a car coming out of a junction that has not seem me, or a car pulling off from the kerb as I was overtaking it. On three occasions I have been on Paignton seafront in the cycle lane and have had cars driving straight at me as they have not realised where I was riding was a dedicated part of the road for cyclists.
I personally find pedestrians are often far more dangerous to cyclists that car drivers, how many have just stepped off the path right in front of me without even looking? A good number I can tell you and they always give you that look like you are the one in the wrong. Where I live there are a number of paths split in two, one side for pedestrians and the other side for cyclists. While I always make sure I use the side I’m supposed to, it’s often the case pedestrians are walking along the wrong side. Once again dare and ring your bell and you get those looks again and yet they would be quick to moan at any cyclist riding on the pedestrian side of the path.
It makes you wonder why anyone would even want to go out on a cycle, its very dangerous and likely to result in some form of abuse or other or possible injury or even death. I have jet to come home from a ride where something did not happen that could have been dangerous to me or someone else.
But the thing is bike riding can be so much fun and also very good for your health. Some of the rides I have been on such as the Plym valley route and the Exe cycle route that are all mainly off road and been such a pleasure. But both rides do require you having to drive some distance in your car to do them, so it’s a case of having to pick rides around here that I think are going to be the safest for me.
I gave up the lifetime habit of smoking over eight months ago and took up cycling just over four months ago. I have far more energy that I ever had and have already lost over a stone in weight, ( just two more to go lol) so I have seen the real benefits my lifestyle choices have made, its just a shame that something so good for you has a number of dangers attached to it.