My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Four wheel driving. Vehicle modifications. Off road driving and recovery techniques. Towing and miscellaneous vehicle topics.

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by Bruiser64 » 01 May 2019, 11:40 pm

I can’t say I am very fond of arrogant self righteous cyclists. Plus they’re pretty foolish. Some of them seem to be so wound up in what they regard as their “right” to be on the road they risk death or serious injury. Which seems pretty boneheaded to me. I say that as a person who rides bicycles and motorcycles.

I give you as a classic example this bloke:

https://www.news.com.au/national/queens ... 078cceb09a

I think it is terrible he was killed and it is particularly tragic for his wife and children. Unfortunately he let ideology override self preservation. It is simply ludicrous to hand over responsibility for your personal safety to a huge number of complete strangers on a busy public road and think nothing will ever go wrong. When you are a highly vulnerable road user you only need one driver to have a moments inattention, and you are the person who is dead or eating all your future meals through a straw. Where I live I see numpty cyclists riding on busy roads when there is a bicycle path three metres to their left. How cretinous is that?

When people tell me they have “the right” to ride on the road and that they should be respected I go: aaah no. Your a dill. I like to point out that as an overweight, bearded, middle aged bloke l have the right to walk into the Mirrabooka Tavern wearing a floral dress, fairy wings and a plastic tiara. If, however, I am stupid enough to exercise that right, I shouldn’t expect to leave the Tavern with the same number of teeth that I walked in with. Or the ability to walk unaided. Or see through both eyes for several days.
Bruiser64
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 387
Western Australia

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by duncan61 » 02 May 2019, 12:14 am

Mirrabooka is nice wear your fairy costume to the Beechboro
.22 winchester .22hornet .222 .243 7mm rem mag cbc 12g
User avatar
duncan61
Officer Cadet
Officer Cadet
 
Posts: 1905
Western Australia

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by TassieTiger » 02 May 2019, 12:28 am

I used to work as a motorcycle instructor for DECA.
I’d ask new riders a question to prompt a thought -
“As a motorcyclist rider, if you have legal right of way and get taken out by a semi / car - who gives a s**t? No one...legal right of way means NOTHING if your dead.,..do NOT put your safety into the hands of others. Do NOT expect nor demand right of way on a motorcycle - against steel cages and trucks, you are a piece of flesh...but apparently Lycra works better ?!?
Tikka .260 (Z5 5x25/52)
Steyr Pro Varmint .223 - VX 3
CZ455 .22 & Norinco .22 (vtex 4-12, bush 3-9)
ATA 686 U/O 12g & Baikal S/S 12g.
Adler a110 reddot
Sauer 30-06 - VX 3
Howa 300 win mag. SHV 5-20/56
Marlin SBL 45/70
TassieTiger
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3704
Tasmania

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by Bruiser64 » 02 May 2019, 1:03 am

duncan61 wrote:Mirrabooka is nice wear your fairy costume to the Beechboro


Or how about the Gosnells Tavern at 10pm on a Friday night? Do you reckon you’d leave there with a tooth in your head if you “exercised your right” to wear that kind of outfit? I am not convinced you would. Having said that, I am not convinced Mirrabooka is as nice as all that. The locals do refer to the ornamental pond near Mirrabooka Square as Shopping Trolley Pond. I have a mate who works there and he advises me there is a vibrant alternative youth culture that specialises in wealth redistribution methods somewhat at odds with conventional notions of individual property rights.
Last edited by Bruiser64 on 02 May 2019, 1:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
Bruiser64
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 387
Western Australia

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by Bruiser64 » 02 May 2019, 1:14 am

TassieTiger wrote:I used to work as a motorcycle instructor for DECA.
I’d ask new riders a question to prompt a thought -
“As a motorcyclist rider, if you have legal right of way and get taken out by a semi / car - who gives a s**t? No one...legal right of way means NOTHING if your dead.,..do NOT put your safety into the hands of others. Do NOT expect nor demand right of way on a motorcycle - against steel cages and trucks, you are a piece of flesh...but apparently Lycra works better ?!?


I did a Stay Upright course back in 1984. That was the same point they made. I have survived all this time because I don’t hand over responsibility for my safety to other road users. I ride defensively and do whatever I can to not get hit. Which is why l consider these cyclists as complete fools. Your are vulnerable on a motorcycle: and that is being able to keep pace with the speed of the traffic. You are heaps more vulnerable on a bicycle travelling well below the speed of the other road users. I see the problem as being that some cyclists see themselves as virtuous and superior, so this justifies being irresponsible. Good luck with that. Me? I am a lot more pragmatic when out on the treadly. I ride on bike paths and footpaths and try to avoid riding on roads as much as possible. I have no interest in exploring the wonderful world of quadriplegia.
Bruiser64
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 387
Western Australia

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by bigfellascott » 02 May 2019, 9:32 pm

I remember seeing a mamil in lycra riding a bike in brisbane one day, anyway he decided to ride said bike in the middle of the lane which someone took offence to, anyway lets just say that bike and bike rider had never seen speeds that fast in their life I'm sure (ol mate grabbed the bike and gunned it) with the mamil screaming his head off! I'd say the Lycra would have ended up in the bin as there's no way to get stains that big out of em I'm sure :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
User avatar
bigfellascott
Lieutenant General
Lieutenant General
 
Posts: 5289
-

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by wanneroo » 03 May 2019, 10:52 am

You probably should not get me started on cyclists. I find them the most arrogant smug pompous blowhard butt brains around.

BTW I ride a mountain bike but only on a "rails to trails" path, to me riding on the road with big trucks and people not paying attention is total lunacy.

When I lived in a wealthy mountain ski town in the Rocky Mountains USA, running parallel to the main road that traversed the valley was a multi million dollar bike path. What did the cyclists chose to ride on? Of course the narrow main road with tons of traffic, not the nice bike path.
wanneroo
Warrant Officer C1
Warrant Officer C1
 
Posts: 1412
United States of America

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by TassieTiger » 04 May 2019, 8:53 pm

Tikka .260 (Z5 5x25/52)
Steyr Pro Varmint .223 - VX 3
CZ455 .22 & Norinco .22 (vtex 4-12, bush 3-9)
ATA 686 U/O 12g & Baikal S/S 12g.
Adler a110 reddot
Sauer 30-06 - VX 3
Howa 300 win mag. SHV 5-20/56
Marlin SBL 45/70
TassieTiger
Colonel
Colonel
 
Posts: 3704
Tasmania

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by Member-Deleted » 04 May 2019, 9:35 pm

She was too close to the center line like all bike riders if she had been further left she could have missed the accident :thumbsup: :lol: :lol: :lol: :drinks: :clap:
Member-Deleted
 

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by Chappo » 04 May 2019, 11:34 pm

Notice the cyclist lies there a crumpled mess while the roo laughs it off and hops away like meh whatever.
Skippy goes off to brag to his mates
Chappo
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 251
New South Wales

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by Bruiser64 » 05 May 2019, 12:12 pm

wanneroo wrote:You probably should not get me started on cyclists. I find them the most arrogant smug pompous blowhard butt brains around.

BTW I ride a mountain bike but only on a "rails to trails" path, to me riding on the road with big trucks and people not paying attention is total lunacy.

When I lived in a wealthy mountain ski town in the Rocky Mountains USA, running parallel to the main road that traversed the valley was a multi million dollar bike path. What did the cyclists chose to ride on? Of course the narrow main road with tons of traffic, not the nice bike path.


It wouldn’t surprise me if you told me that a few of them got cleaned up by vehicles, and then complained about drivers being unsafe. It must be something in the human condition that a lack of appreciation of risk is nicely matched by an inability to accept responsibility for your own decisions. A certain type of cyclist the world over seems afflicted.
Bruiser64
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 387
Western Australia

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by PaddyT » 06 May 2019, 1:17 pm

I ride a pushie for exercise and have never understood the agro rider syndrome. id rather be wrong and alive than right and dead.
PaddyT
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 216
New South Wales

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by Bruiser64 » 06 May 2019, 10:39 pm

PaddyT wrote:I ride a pushie for exercise and have never understood the agro rider syndrome. id rather be wrong and alive than right and dead.


Spot on. I really enjoy riding the treadly. Just not in places where I have to rely on a whole bunch of random strangers doing the right thing to keep me safe.
Bruiser64
Corporal
Corporal
 
Posts: 387
Western Australia

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by mickb » 28 May 2019, 2:44 am

When did bike riders become such dicks is the question. I seem to remember riding bikes in the day you stuck to whatever space you could find on the side of the road, gave way to everything heavier than you, which was , in fact, everything, and it all worked pretty well. I remember me and another few hundred kids kids peddling their way back and forth to school, no bike lanes, just roads....and a train bridge(lol) if you wanted to take a shortcut. Don't remember many deaths, don't remember anyone particularly hating cyclists either....
mickb
Warrant Officer C2
Warrant Officer C2
 
Posts: 1097
Other

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by Wombat » 28 May 2019, 4:05 pm

My first encounter with a militant rider was around 1986. Turning left on Victoria st into Rathdowne St, he was convinced that I'd given him insufficient room and hadn't indicated.
At the time I was driving a work van because I was injured from a motorcycle accident, he was trying to ride through a red light while I was turning at a green arrow. If I hadn't been in a sign-written Bicycle wholesalers van I wouldn't have stopped to chat with him.
Wombat
Sergeant
Sergeant
 
Posts: 564
Victoria

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by cflake » 28 May 2019, 8:35 pm

Arguably the bike rider was in the wrong:
https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/safety-and-road-rules/cyclist-safety/sharing-the-road

Q: Are bike riders allowed to pass other vehicles on the left?
A: Yes, except when those vehicles are indicating and turning left.

Although it gets a little more grey since she was in a cycle lane:
https://cyclinggeelong.com.au/2016/05/26/turning-left-who-has-right-of-way/

Throughout my career I've used all modes of transport including walking, cycling, motorcycling, on the train and in a car each for a number of years. There are d**kheads with every mode, with the biggest d**kheads strongly depending on where you are in the pecking order at the time.
cflake
Recruit
Recruit
 
Posts: 38
Victoria

Re: My first 'militant cyclist' encouter

Post by xDom » 28 May 2019, 10:13 pm

The average rider getting to work, going for a leisurely ride are ok. It’s the Lycra decked out flogs with their $12k bikes and superiority complexes that get on my nerves.
It’s the double standards. On one hand aggressively displaying their right to ride two abreast yet ploughing through the next set of red lights.
xDom
Lance Corporal
Lance Corporal
 
Posts: 247
Victoria

Next

Back to top
 
Return to Four wheel driving and off road travel