Boomer's Bizarre Bicycle, A - Z Compendium

Just a quick one today, more later to come. Hedgehogs, either living or dead, I wonder how common it is for these spiney creatures to puncture tyres.

Highway Code
Anyone who has passed a driving test should have decent knowledge of this but I witness a certain degree of freestyling on a daily basis. I suspect that learner drivers will be the most clued up & then on passing their test only a fraction of the information is retained.
In January 2022 9 sections were updated, 50 rules added or amended. The publicity around this seemed low-key for something of such importance, & went largely unnoticed. An AA survey of 13,700 people found 33% were unaware of the changes & 4% said they had no intentions of reading them.
An obvious area to highlight is the new road user hierarchy, with pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, motorcyclist in that order considered the most at risk & should be prioritized ahead of larger vehicles who have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat they may pose to others.
I would've thought that this is all very much common -sense, but common-sense is not as common as it b should be.

Horny, Horny, Horny
Nothing to do with Mousse T. This is a mounting problem, which was at one point a rare occurrence. Now it is becoming all too common for motorists to sound their horn while they are in the process of overtaking me while cycling. I'm talking when they are literally on top of me. Rule 112 of the Highway code states that a horn is only to be used in order to warn another road user of your presence. It is to be used as a warning of imminent danger, guess what, the action of overtaking a cyclist often too close & fast when also accompanied by a very late in the day honk of a horn, will almost certainly put a cyclist in more danger by startling them causing them to lose balance & fall off.
This is a case of blatant misuse of your horn, it's an offense which could result in anything from £30 fine, up to £1000 & 3 penalty points on your license.
Just stop acting like wankers, if your feeling horny behind the wheel may I suggest pulling over, access some porn & knock one out, it might ease your frustrations.

As it's just cropped up today & in my thought I'll do another H before I move on. Only a quick one anyway, you all know those hatched road markings, well the dude on a motorcycle clearly didn't. They where bordered by solid white lines, so do not enter except in an emergency. But no he couldn't wait could he, on a blind hill he overtakes. Dumbfuck.

Indicate Idiots Its Important ....I'm Invisible Indubitably
This came to mind only the other day, & by chance another prime example today. As I approached a roundabout I was pleased to see it was empty apart from this one car that had just pulled on. I was ready to stop, but was hoping for some indication as to whether they intended to exit before he reached me. Didn't bother, just turned off, I had to slow down & almost stop, which would've been unnecessary had they indicated.
Indicating is not optional, it's mandatory, yet so many are dangerously not doing so when appropriate. In the case today it was purely the annoyance factor, but that is not always the case. Had there been more traffic an indication would've given me enough time to get on & off the roundabout safely before the vehicles behind. It's a nightmare joining a roundabout on a bike from a stationary position you don't have the same acceleration or speed to stay safe unless others are aware & courteous enough to slow to let you join safely.
Not indicating is obviously a thing to all motorists, but I have found there's more of a lack of it when I'm on a bike than when in a car. It's as if you don't even exist, invisible it would seem. I know that some motorist think that cyclists shouldn't exist.

Junction Juxtaposition
Instead of moaning quite a bit about all the bad stuff, I have to say that there's been a slight improvement, I've been given the right of way at junctions within the laws. It can be intimidating on a bike on a straight road, but junctions provide all sorts of challenges & dangers. There is room for bikes & motor vehicles to safely coexist in this environment by applying a little common-sense & respect.
On the down side for some not bothering to signal to a cyclists is still a problem, don't leave me hanging, I don't want to have to guess what your intentions are.

(06-07-2024 11:46 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  I'm going with the tenuous link of agriculture. Most of my regular routes are on B roads, although many of these can be busy at peak times, with close links to motorways & no bypass routes away from the towns & villages.
Farm vehicles can be quite imposing to a cyclist, given the size of some of them, especially the ones with gigantic tyres & the noise they make. Farmers are a breed apart & obviously have their own agenda in terms of cracking on with their work, often at the expense of other road users. There is a degree of a
"fuck you" attitude. At times it makes me laugh with a stream of traffic held up behind a monster farm vehicle unable to pass, their frustration & annoyance is palpable. On a recent ride I added to their chagrin by utilizing a very badly maintained cycle-path & in effect undertook the whole line of traffic, to eventually re-join with nothing but open road ahead. Sometimes you can gain a lot of pleasure from the little things in life.

I know a guy with a 6r215 (google it) and a 20t trailer who pulled in at a quiet road junction to let a queue of traffic past. Half way down the line of traffic was a police van, who pulled in behind him and gave him a warning for obstructing a junction. His attitude to a tailback now, is very much 'fuck you'...

Also, what cyclists often can't seem to grasp, is a tractor, especially pulling a load, doesn't have anything like the acceleration, or speed, of a car or lorry. They need a loooooong stretch of clear road to pass. In the absence of that, the cyclist either has to pull over himself, or put up with it sitting on his arse. The choice is theirs. The tractor has no other options.

Not having a go at you Boomer just there's two sides to everything

^^ No offense taken, I generally side with farmers I have many friends who farm & spent a year on a farm. The guy you speak about has just confirmed my 'fuck you' stereotype, I get it. On occasions I have as you suggested pulled over. It's not always as straight forward as that many of the roads I use have potholes at the side of the road or gullies, dykes or grass banks. If it's flat I'm more than happy to just get out of the way.

Jerk
A couple of cars passed me this morning driving in a similar style to 24 hours of La Mans. It was dark & a wet road surface, the accelerated into a sharp bend which had the words slow painted on the road in massive writing prior to it. The engine noise seemed very familiar to that of Green Machine, as did the car shape, he was all over the other cars rear bumper. He's a joke.

(04-09-2024 20:25 )Boomerangutangangbang Wrote:  ^^ No offense taken, I generally side with farmers I have many friends who farm & spent a year on a farm. The guy you speak about has just confirmed my 'fuck you' stereotype, I get it. On occasions I have as you suggested pulled over. It's not always as straight forward as that many of the roads I use have potholes at the side of the road or gullies, dykes or grass banks. If it's flat I'm more than happy to just get out of the way.

Yeah, I know you'd be one of the sensible ones

But, cards on the table, I do a lot of road haul with a tractor during the summer.
Cyclists........ are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get...