Neville's Breakfast
Well-known member
That’s a very generous and rarely bestowed NSC return incentive. Use your new power wisely.
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[Misc] "Single file you lycra clad twats"
- Thread starter Bozza
- Start date
That’s a very generous and rarely bestowed NSC return incentive. Use your new power wisely.
Definitely this - the road from B/Hill to Hurst College is a bloody nightmare at school run time with speeding Range Rovers taking Hugo and Tabitha to/from school. I think the same drivers speed to and from their livery stables on Underhill Lane at the weekends too.
RandyWanger
Je suis rôti de boeuf
People who hate cyclists tend to be fat lazy twats who can't fit on a bike or poor twats who wish they had 10k in the bank, let alone a spare 10k to spend on a bike, then another 10k on accessories and cycling holidays. Jealousy.
highflyer
Well-known member
- Jan 21, 2016
- 2,553
I do.
On another note Devil's Dyke was carnage yesterday
As I was leaving there was a long queue waiting for a parking place and some enormous 4WD decided they didn't want to wait. So decided to reverse (incompetently) half a mile down the hill to try and find a place with enough space to turn the gaz guzzling monster around. Having to stop each time a car was coming the other way (and there were a lot of cars coming the other way) causing yet more confusion and chaoes as they blocked most of the road and the new arrivals had no idea WTF was going on.
Bikes were not the problem.
TBH if you're local you should know better than to go anywhere near DD on a sunny BH weekend, it hasn't moved and there are 350+ other days of the year to visit.
Lycra . . . don't get me started. No need
I got overtaken this morning, super hero, carbon bike, lycra head to toe, on the A259 over the Norfolk Bridge holding up the bus , I was on the path, then onto cycle path, I know that section is a pavement but its the lesser of 2 evils.
He was probably going 2-3mph faster than me . . .unless he's 'training' he's commuting, will need a shower and a change of clothes when he gets to work . . . . thats 10 minutes . . . but he'll get to his destination 2 minutes earlier. . . .
Lycra . . . don't get me started. No need
I got overtaken this morning, super hero, carbon bike, lycra head to toe, on the A259 over the Norfolk Bridge holding up the bus , I was on the path, then onto cycle path, I know that section is a pavement but its the lesser of 2 evils.
He was probably going 2-3mph faster than me . . .unless he's 'training' he's commuting, will need a shower and a change of clothes when he gets to work . . . . thats 10 minutes . . . but he'll get to his destination 2 minutes earlier. . . .
- Aug 24, 2020
- 7,095
Here's a moral maze to ponder.
My wife and I have just been to Falmer farm shop to stock up on fruit n veg. As is customary, we drove round to the pond to check out the ducks.
We had to wait for a line of geese to get out of the road and waddle slowly onto the grass verge beside the pond. But we were both happy to wait for them to take their time, rather than run them over, in a storm of feathers and honking. The clincher was probably the fact that there isn't a car wash nearby to wash off the roadkill.
The question is, would you have been so accommodating for a line of cyclists poncing about in lycra?
My wife and I have just been to Falmer farm shop to stock up on fruit n veg. As is customary, we drove round to the pond to check out the ducks.
We had to wait for a line of geese to get out of the road and waddle slowly onto the grass verge beside the pond. But we were both happy to wait for them to take their time, rather than run them over, in a storm of feathers and honking. The clincher was probably the fact that there isn't a car wash nearby to wash off the roadkill.
The question is, would you have been so accommodating for a line of cyclists poncing about in lycra?
1. That area is on the edge of the Hangleton and Knoll local constituency
2. There is a new candidate selected for the Tories for next years' local elections for H&K who doesn't like cyclists
3. It is often foggy up there
Coincidence ? I think not !
2. There is a new candidate selected for the Tories for next years' local elections for H&K who doesn't like cyclists
3. It is often foggy up there
Coincidence ? I think not !
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This isn’t strictly true (as a Lycra clad **** myself). In busy urban roads two abreast is safer to cycle as it forces cars to wait until the road is clear overtake rather than trying your luck and forcing a cyclist into the gutter, but going up a steep twisting road like Ditchling Beacon, two abreast is not necessary especially when you will inevitably be at different fitness levels and speed and generally not as quick as me.
….but that creates precisely the issue I had a few days ago. Cyclist A a few yards ahead of cyclist B, only enough time for me to overtake 1 but not enough space between them to safely pull in
Thunder Bolt
Silly old bat
The Highway Code, you say?
Rule 66: Be considerate of the needs of other road users when riding in groups. You can ride two abreast and it can be safer to do so, particularly in larger groups or when accompanying children or less experienced riders. Be aware of drivers behind you, and allow them to overtake (e.g. by moving into single file or stopping) when you feel it is safe to let them do so.
Rule 213: On narrow sections of road, on quiet roads or streets, at road junctions and in slower-moving traffic, cyclists may sometimes ride in the centre of the lane, rather than towards the side of the road. It can be safer for groups of cyclists to ride two abreast in these situations. Allow them to do so for their own safety, to ensure they can see and be seen. Cyclists are also advised to ride at least a door’s width or 1.0m from parked cars for their own safety.
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/c...derate of,children or less experienced riders.
….but that creates precisely the issue I had a few days ago. Cyclist A a few yards ahead of cyclist B, only enough time for me to overtake 1 but not enough space between them to safely pull in
Ah, I take your point which I didn’t consider. I think steep hills like Ditchling Beacon though are not ideal for two abreast though as invariably one cyclist will be slower than the other and cars coming downhill round corners in the middle of the road.
Don’t think there is an ideal on the Beacon Road…….best avoided completely in a car (especially on a Sunday morning)
Badger Boy
Mr Badger
- Jan 28, 2016
- 3,658
….but that creates precisely the issue I had a few days ago. Cyclist A a few yards ahead of cyclist B, only enough time for me to overtake 1 but not enough space between them to safely pull in
What's the answer here though? Other than wait patiently for a gap to open between the cyclists to pass one by one? There's no perfect solution when it comes to the Beacon.
DB is a disaster area pretty much any day. a while back I was out on my scooter riding in a small group, a few of the riders were very much sunny Sunday only . . . heading down the Beacon a car coming up swerved round a cyclist, completely on the wrong side of the road and forced the lad on the scooter into the verge and a crash . . . nominal damage to rider and bike, car driver didn't stop. which is not uncommon.
Close it to cyclists except one 'Have a go hero' weekend a month when you close it to cars/motorbikes?
So IMO ... a lot of UK roads (anything B or smaller, and even many of the A roads) are not suitable for carrying both cyclists and motorised vehicles. partly because the edges of the road are so broken up, partly because of space available, but actually mostly because visibility through corners is very poor.
Even after being a motorcyclist and driver on UK roads for many years now, I still find myself mentally comparing the differences in how I rode a motorcycle on country roads in Australia vs here in the UK (and even urban roads for that matter!). Here in the UK, outside the urban areas it's all about assessing forward visibility and adjusting speed and road positioning to maximise your ability to avoid that suddenly appearing oncoming traffic safely. In Australia, the forward visibility is almost always so much better that it's all about getting speed and positioning right to maximise the enjoyment of flowing through the corner profile. In Australia it's a lot rarer to have vegetation (and especially not hedges) growing right to the road edge, and you definitely don't get the massive overhanging canopies that create vegetation tunnels in some places.
Beyond that, in the urban setting the Aussie road planners long ago clearly considered "does the driver have time and capacity to read that sign?" when determining where to put signage such as changes in speed limit around junctions. Result: the signs are all far away from the junction that the driver is no longer having to concentrate on the junction itself. Which also means those new-fangled cars that read speed limit signs for you are far less likely to get confused by accidentally picking up the signs for a side road you don't actually use.
Anyway, bringing this back to cyclists: there are a lot of roads in the UK I wouldn't go anywhere near on a bicycle. Purely because I deem it too dangerous for my own personal safety. The Beacon is one of those (heck, I avoid it on the motorcycle if I have the option!).
Even after being a motorcyclist and driver on UK roads for many years now, I still find myself mentally comparing the differences in how I rode a motorcycle on country roads in Australia vs here in the UK (and even urban roads for that matter!). Here in the UK, outside the urban areas it's all about assessing forward visibility and adjusting speed and road positioning to maximise your ability to avoid that suddenly appearing oncoming traffic safely. In Australia, the forward visibility is almost always so much better that it's all about getting speed and positioning right to maximise the enjoyment of flowing through the corner profile. In Australia it's a lot rarer to have vegetation (and especially not hedges) growing right to the road edge, and you definitely don't get the massive overhanging canopies that create vegetation tunnels in some places.
Beyond that, in the urban setting the Aussie road planners long ago clearly considered "does the driver have time and capacity to read that sign?" when determining where to put signage such as changes in speed limit around junctions. Result: the signs are all far away from the junction that the driver is no longer having to concentrate on the junction itself. Which also means those new-fangled cars that read speed limit signs for you are far less likely to get confused by accidentally picking up the signs for a side road you don't actually use.
Anyway, bringing this back to cyclists: there are a lot of roads in the UK I wouldn't go anywhere near on a bicycle. Purely because I deem it too dangerous for my own personal safety. The Beacon is one of those (heck, I avoid it on the motorcycle if I have the option!).
Ditching Beacon has the “ challenge “ appeal but Bostal Hill near Steyning is a bit shorter but much steeper and a lot quieter for cars etc. Quite a good Spring challenge for me just to check my ticker will hold out each year.
Bold Seagull
strong and stable with me, or...
Why not close it to motorists every Sunday? Create a dead end top and bottom for cars so they can still park up, or use Underhill along the bottom and still get to the Beacon car park at the top.
Motor vehicles have no issue using the A23 / A27 to get around to the bits Ditchling Rd leads to.
As for cycling clothing - I don't really care but I do use back pockets in the rear of a cycling shirt for various bits and pieces, and can't do any more than 10miles without a decent seat pad in my shorts!!
Ironically, on the descent it's cars that hold me up!!
