The Greatest Living Englishman sounds off about bicyclists, and one has to sympathize with his take. However, it should be said that the reason that there’s so much friction twixt the two-wheeled and four-wheeled sets is simply that Britishland roads, whether in- or out of town are just too damn small and narrow to accommodate both.
Over Here, we don’t have much of a problem with cyclists, largely because our roads are much wider (certainly here in north Texas, anyway), and even if one encounters a group (gaggle? mob? idiocy?) of cyclists taking up a full lane, there’s lots of room to go round them, all while shaking one’s head at the lunacy of riding a bike in the searing midsummer Texas heat. Also, we have large pickup trucks and people with guns in them, hence the relative politeness of American cyclists compared to their Brit counterparts.
By the way, if you scroll further down the linked article, you’ll see that Clarkson’s take on the proposed Ford Capri redux is exactly the same as mine.
GMTA, and all that.
Motorcyclists assume that nobody sees them, that everyone else has the right of way, and that cars will run them over if given the chance.
Bicyclists assume that everybody sees them, that they have the right away, and that nobody will run them over.
Perfect.
As someone with a foot in both the motorcycling and bicycling communities…there’s a bit of truth to that.
Absolutely correct. When I ride my motorcycle, I do so as if I were still carrying the foot/rugby ball with my head on a swivel!
I believe a group of bicyclists cluttering up a road is called a pest of bicyclists or better yet a speed bump of ex bicyclists. I like the term two wheeled taliban. That is very suitable. They delight in blocking up the road when traffic comes by.
JQ
“A Monopoly of Bicyclists.”
So you’re sitting there in a comfy chair, with your drink in your drink holder, the air conditioning (or heater) on and the radio playing inside a more-or-less weather sealed container that is doing all the hard work of taking you from one place to another at a (historically) high speed, and you’re getting verklempt because some (usually) dude on a bicycle is delaying your arrival by maybe 20 or 30 seconds?
There are a lot of cyclists who could be better citizens on the road, but until car drivers don’t really have the high ground on this one: Driving drunk and high, glued to their cellphones, driving WELL over the speed limit, following (other cars) WAY too close, Running red lights, changing lanes without signalling, throwing trash out the windows &&etc.
I enjoyed Clarkson’s article and was surprised you didn’t mention the Vorderman photo.
But I bet you snagged a copy for your collection. Unless you already have it.
Silly rabbit.
Share the road?
Share the load.
Tax bicycles.
.
This was done many years ago .. in Oregon .. a 1x excise tax on bicycles over a certain price point .. the spandex crowd screamed bloody murder over the injustice. I had a schadenfreude moment
They’re not known as cyclunts for nothing, you know.
As a pedestrian I’ve had too many close calls with cyclists blowing through red lights.
Somewhere or other I picked up a commemorative books published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the AAA. It was a collection of many articles, and one of them went into some detail on how the alliance between cyclists and early motorists to get PAVED ROADS. Horses like dirt better.
I’m a recreational bicyclist and I avoid roads like the plague. I’ve never ridden in a group on the roads; around these parts that’s just plain asking for trouble. “A pest of bicyclists” is a great term for those who do, as is “a sanctimony”. On the few occasions when I have to ride a stretch of road I constantly remind myself that legally I may have the right of way but the laws of physics trump the laws of man.