I had another great ride yesterday. Out in Richmond Park again with Ed. We also met up with Stephen, a friend from the Dad's group. He is riding the Etape Caledonia in May and needed to get some training in. We all did three good laps before Ed and I went to Sigma Sports in Kingston.
I did have a bit of a road rage incident. I was riding next too Ed at around 18mph when I could feel a car behind sitting very close. The speed limit in the park is 20mph so I wasn't exactly holding them up but I decided not to annoy them and pulled back in behind Ed.
The car came past but it stopped along side me. The window of the Mercedes hatchback came down and a middle aged women started shouting at me to get over onto the cycle path. She then sped off. Now, firstly, I believe I have every right to cycle on the roads even if there is a cycle path. Secondly, the highway code says "never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends" so riding next to Ed on a wide, straight rode was fine (and don't forget I pulled in for her). Lastly, the cycle path she talked about was really a pavement. It was used by cyclists but its not specifically designed for them.
So I stewed and stewed and got crosser and crosser. She was just up ahead so I decided to talk to her. I caught up with her car to see her wind up the window. I politely knocked on the window and she wound it down. I explained that I was allowed on the road, that the cycle-track was a footpath, asked her why she was speeding in the park and why she felt she couldn't share the road with me. She shouted at me to get off the road and sped off and got some distance ahead.
We were now coming down the longest hill in Richmond Park and I could still see her so I put the hammer down, got to 38 mph and caught her again. I went screaming past her with my lungs on fire and waved. Ed had no idea what was going on but decided to join in and came after me. He was much more mature and gave her the bird.
My actions were not all that clever but it makes me so angry that people just can't be chilled and patient. If she had sat behind me she wouldn't have been late for whatever important appointment she had. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful place and there was no need for anyone to get aggressive. Shame on her.
The Running Shoe Mileage Myth
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How many miles have these running shoes covered? 100 miles? 200? Would it
surprise you to discover that they have just hit the 500 mile mark?
According to...
3 weeks ago
2 comments:
Simon,you have clarified something I wanted to look into about riding 2 abreast, thank you. We get this sort of nonesense all the time when we are out as per my recent blog. I asked the chap referred in my blog how he would feel if he put one of us in a coma ? To me the rules should be dead simple, pedestrians should have absolute priority, then cyclists, then motorcycles, then cars, then lorries. Enjoy the wheels. Go well.... Peter
Yeah, I saw the blog. Some people just don't like cyclists. One abreast, two abreast, it doesn't matter what the law is. I know some cyclist don't do our cause any favours but the majority of us are very safe. We have to be.
You are absolutely right about the hierarchy. If a lorry driver screws up, I might die. If I screw up, I might die. So it stands to reason that I should have a little more leeway on the roads.
Good luck at the Cheshire Cat. It seems everyone is doing it apart from me. I have no events until the Fred. Boooo.
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