is it just me?

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sir thomas blanchard
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is it just me?

Post by sir thomas blanchard »

Sad to say but so far this year I'm finding bike rides are pleasurable and irritating in equal measure,

love the fun aspect but hate all the traffic, there's so much of it these days.

in particular, the trend is towards bulbous people carriers, bloated cars and huge jeeps like vehicles.

Either having to constantly give way to these leviathans or having them on my tail is putting me off biking

rant over
Last edited by sir thomas blanchard on 29 Mar 2018, 11:54, edited 2 times in total.
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Cav
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Re: is it just me?

Post by Cav »

My last road ride was 2 years ago I think.. I found exactly the same as this back then. I never got into a flow and enjoyed myself to the point where I was only focusing on riding; I always had other stuff on my mind too, just like when I'm driving a car
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Re: is it just me?

Post by Kwacky »

Having to ride pretty much eveyr day means I'm getting used to the poor standards of driving and having to share the road with muppets who think that manners are for the weak, indicators are surplus to requirements and what's on the phone is more important than what's on the road ahead.

I can see me doing more evening rides once the weather improves.
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Re: is it just me?

Post by duke63 »

Just choose your roads more carefully. There are still quieter traffic free roads about.
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sir thomas blanchard
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Re: is it just me?

Post by sir thomas blanchard »

yes i do try and do that although there are inevitably bottlenecks and parts of the route get busy

we are beginning to suffer from the ever increasing influence of london even though some 40 miles out,

huge numbers of new homes are being built along the m40 corridor.


i do try and watch the times i go out as well but i often get caught coming home about the time the mothers and fathers are collecting their kids

that can be a pain as many of them are careless and don't concentrate.

essentially, if i can get from 10 miles east of oxford to 10 miles west of oxford then the roads are good.

Image

what is it with the rise of the monster car?

i heard one rich bloke at the office say that he got one for his wife because he wanted the kids safe

but then people run over their own kids in these massive vehicles because they can't see behind properly.
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Re: is it just me?

Post by Jack »

sir thomas blanchard wrote:is it just me?
yes (nod)
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sir thomas blanchard
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Re: is it just me?

Post by sir thomas blanchard »

Jack wrote:
sir thomas blanchard wrote:is it just me?
yes (nod)
thought it might be
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Re: is it just me?

Post by Rossgo »

Youve managed to get out thid hesr. Ive only managed 1 and yes there was some traffic about and 1 moron thinking he was small lile a bike and quick as a jet fighter in a ford focus popping i and out of traffic forcing the queue of traffic behind a tractor to open up spaces for him!

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sir thomas blanchard
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Re: is it just me?

Post by sir thomas blanchard »

Thanks rossgo

I think I'm just getting to be a grumpy old person, with increased volumes of traffic drivers get frustrated and behave badly - nevertheless it doesn't make it pleasant for bikers. Then there is this trend for massive vehicles that makes things worse. I am going to to have to go further afield for rides if I want to avoid all that grief I think.
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Re: is it just me?

Post by Rossgo »

Sir Thomas, im turning into a grumpy old 30year old because of all the muppets. And what makes it worse is when i lived next to a school, watching all the mummies in their big 4x4 parkong up down the street and my road leaving no space for residents. Pisses me off no respect. They park up 30 mins before and leave 30 mins after the kids are released because the mummies all need to have their catch up. The dads seem to get in qnd out as quick as possible and dont want to hang about

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sir thomas blanchard
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Re: is it just me?

Post by sir thomas blanchard »

Yes, I can imagine, you can choose your school now so it is not the local one often hence all the vehicles to bus the kids about, not like the old days when you were left to get to the primary school on your own like I was.
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Re: is it just me?

Post by Fireball »

Commuting on a bike must be a painful experience but for Sunday rides and summer evening rides I can put up with the normal traffic till I get to the quiet twisty roads. That,s usually about 10 miles before I can set myself free.
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Re: is it just me?

Post by Frankie »

Ha ha don't get me on the subject of road and driving standards..... lol. But I know what you mean STB, I have adjusted a lot of roads I used to ride on due to them been full all the time with Chelsea tractors and alike.

Used to ride down t Newlands and across to Box Hill a lot, used to be. A great road between the two, no way now too many Lycra clad gangs on two wheels panting and blowing up and down the hills, causing chaos behind them as the people driving the cars which are to big for them won't overtake.....and you just can't get past on a bike :(

If you can't beat them ride somewhere else. Now I tend to head into Oxfordshire or Wiltshire, rather then Surrey and Sussex. Maintaining my enjoyment of two wheels.
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