Bicycles and automobiles- can’t we all just get along? @Kah writes about this universal (do aliens have this issue also?) problem of us co-existing with humans in cars. We all drive cars too and have cursed the occasional cyclists for some good reason. Cars are our greatest threat. We can crawl away from our own bicycle crashes, thanks very much. We always lose when a car is involved. Thanks for contributing @Kah.
Yours in Cycling, Gianni
High-visibility jackets offend me. I’m not in the position to judge fashion really, and generally don’t care what other people wear, but something that tarnishes an entire mode of transport as unsafe and dorky is not okay. These garments misinform the general public that cycling is an unsafe activity (look, that cyclist looks like a lit up flare and a Christmas tree had a baby!), they make all other cyclists look like dorks.
Now, I’m not picking on genuinely introverted people, but people who are just less comfortable interacting with other vehicles on the road. As someone truly in love with spinning pedals on the road, I don’t see why there is this reticence to spend time on the road. The footpath is by far the worse option: congested with pedestrians, littered with signs, and unpredictable in its ebb and wanes.
There’s a spectrum of how happy you are with sharing the road: going from very uncomfortable to exuding quiet confidence before becoming attention-seeking and finally there is a thin line to obnoxiousness.
Uncomfortable, more introverted cyclists tend to hug the kerb, trying to stay out of everyone’s way. Every potential interaction is exaggerated; every passing car becomes a danger. Confident cyclists who are experienced know when to draw attention to their intentions, when to back off while negotiating between quickly moving cars, and how to tell the difference between a passing maneuvere that is actually dangerous and one that is not even worth commenting on. This comfort around other road users is something you can cultivate, but not one you can fake.
Attention-seeking cyclists and obnoxious cyclists tend to feel more self-entitled. “I’m a vehicle/road user too!” is the common mantra of these cyclists who don’t feel inclined to offer the same courtesy they demand to the other road users. To be fair these rolling douchenozzles tend to be the same regardless of vehicle.
My problem is, the introverts are trying to make up for their meekness with the artificial posturing afforded by the YJA. Their mistaken assumption of course is that this magical garment bestows visibility, and thus invincibility in traffic, leading some to jump to the illogical conclusion that they have automatic right of way in every circumstance by virtue of the highly visible jacket.
Magic jackets are not the answer to safer cyclists. Learning to share the road on a bicycle is the answer. Anticipation, not hindsight.
Fucking cyclists.
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god, is that George Bush with his pantlegs rolled up?
Notice how the YJA's gather together for safety. Even off the bike they congregate lest something terrible happen. Club-kit boys seem to be off to the side.
There is literally nothing I hate more than those stupid high visibility jackets and the undue air of invincibility that it gives people. Just because you are glowing doesnt mean you can blow through every red light and then get mad at cars for honking at you.
Well there it is -- good article. One day we should get together in our Black jerseys, Black bibshorts, Black socks and Black helmet and shoes to go ride. Bike is Black too. I do mount a small Black SIGMA light directly on the Nobi number bracket when needed in the evening. Or even might wear a dominantly "white" jersey.
@wiscot
There ought to be a broad Yellow line painted around that designated area -- STAND HERE TO BE SEEN.
A timely article and I agree completely with the view that encouraging the wearing of hi viz and up to a point, a helmet, gives the impression that cycling is unsafe. Pedal on Parliament in Edinburgh on Sunday (www.pedalonparliament.org) is encouraging 1000's of cyclists into the city centre without cycling gear, helmets and hi viz to promote that cycling is safe and you don't need special clothing to do it alongside seeking to improve cycling infrastructure in general.
Bang on the money with the invincible and holy attitude of the YJA and their car driving bretheren. A dash of orange to complement the black of the V kit is acceptable, no?
Other colours only exist to show just how black black is.
YJAs suck, if for no other reason than it makes you look like a douchenozzle. When I am riding, I want to be like the perfect waiter at a restaurant: never seen, but always appreciated. My sole mission on a bike is to stay the fuck out of everyones way.
Fine, fine article.
@mbarston
Red light jumping certainly isn't the preserve of the YJA alone. Not a day goes by without me seeing numerous dickheads, ranging from besuited city types on their uprights to club riders doing it. Makes me seeth.
Gotta get me one o those! (Not).
See how they bestow the wearer with God-like strength, the guy in the middle demonstrating this by holding the entire balcony aloft so lesser mortals may take shelter from the elements beneath it...