Weekend Cyclists

gar.k

Ok I am going to have a rant here. This is probably going to cause a bit of arguing between cyclists and motorists.

Does anyone else have a problem with the wannabe tour de france guys who cycle around the area at weekends?I dont care what hobbies people do in their spare time but these guys hog the roads and have no respect for the traffic behind them.
On saturday I got stuck behind a group from Killincarrig all the way to the southern cross roundabout at the bottom of windgates.They refused to move into a single line to let me pass and it was way to dangerous to overtake them when they were in a bunch.The line of traffic behind was ridiculous but they were totally oblivious to the obstruction they were causing.
Maybe I am just jinxed but this happens to me every Saturday( although in fairness i didnt come across any during the winter)

jaffa20

AFAIK, cyclists are permitted by law to cycle two abreast but no more. I don't necessarily agree with it though. The worst thing is when cyclists refuse to use cycle lanes and are determined to hog up the main road instead.

dr ro

i saw i cyclist today trying to overtake a car which was trying to overtake a slow cyclist on the greystones side of windgates heading uphill. Moron. But i'm getting a bike tomorrow so my opinion is about to change. Bloody drivers!

JandS

The cycle lanes/paths on the Jackie Skelly's roads are useless. At each roundabout you need to come to an absolute standstill to make it down the curbs etc. Hence why you will rarely see a cyclist on the cycle lanes.

keefg

gar.k wrote: »

Ok I am going to have a rant here.

Your in the wrong forum

mikemac

I though this was going to be a thread to organize a group for spins

jaffa20 wrote: »

The worst thing is when cyclists refuse to use cycle lanes and are determined to hog up the main road instead.

As you drive along you can't see what condition the cycle lanes are in.
They may stop suddenly, be covered in leaves, have drains and many other issues.
And when they are shared with footpaths you have pedestrians wandering into them and houes with driveways that cross them.

Since the OP is taking about cyclists on racing bikes they are going at speed.
So they're taking the safest option realy

loyatemu

quality of cycle lanes varies wildly. the ones around Charlesland actually aren't too bad but (as JandS points out) they detour around the roundabouts quite awkwardly.

I'm an occasional weekend cyclist and having been out for a short spin yesterday (not in a group though) can confirm that the roads are in terrible state at the moment - the road from Killincarrig down past Tesco is particularly bad. In those circumstances cyclists have no choice but to take whatever line steers them around the potholes - pulling in to the side is not always possble.

wingding

It is actually against the law to cycle even 2 abreast if there is traffic behind you. Some cyclists (just like some drivers) really annoy me. They are oblivious to anyone else... which is not a good thing on the roads. I would've honked them. And as for cyclists who drive at night with little or no lights on their bikes... don't get me started!

jobless

i agree with the OP.... during the summer they are a right nuisance... i've nothing against cyclists avoiding pot holes etc or even riding two abreast but often you will see them take up a complete lane which means it is literally impossibe to get by... there is usually a group of 15-20 of them and they must think they are in the tour de france they way they act.
One guy even gestured at me when i overtook because he thought i was too close (they left me feck all room to pass).

Eoin D

Cyclists are as much entitled to the road as motorists. Getting angry over things like this causes accidents. Take it to the motoring forum, there's one of these posts a week it seems.

I can't speak for the group that were out on that day but most cyclists respect motorists while they're out and just expect the same in return

gar.k

Eoin D wrote: »

Cyclists are as much entitled to the road as motorists. Getting angry over things like this causes accidents. Take it to the motoring forum, there's one of these posts a week it seems.

I can't speak for the group that were out on that day but most cyclists respect motorists while they're out and just expect the same in return

I showed them the upmost respect, which is why I was stuck behind them for 4 km.

trad

Cyclists have been training in Wicklow long before Charlesland was a glimmer in some developers eye. I suppose you'd have the same things to say the same about horses.

gar.k

I dont live in Charlesland, and Ive been here long before Charlesland also.Anyway I dont want this turn into a point scoring thread.So mods you can lock this, cheers

Eoin D

gar.k wrote: »

I showed them the upmost respect, which is why I was stuck behind them for 4 km.

I'm not out to get you, just voicing my opinion as a 'wanna be tour de france guy'!

No harm no foul!

Lance Vance

wingding wrote: »

It is actually against the law to cycle even 2 abreast if there is traffic behind you.

It is legal for cyclists to cycle 2 abreast. It is also legal for cyclists to cycle more than 2 abreast if they are overtaking another cyclist (if it is safe to do so). As far as I know there is no legal requirement to cycle in single file if there is traffic behind cyclists.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1997/en/si/0182.html#zzsi182y1997a47

wingding

My mistake so, I was sure it was. Anyway, I think it's just common decency to move in if there is traffic behind. Much like a car would move in if another car wants to pass. But sure, everyone is different! i.e. some people don't have common decency:D

d'Oracle

gar.k wrote: »

Ok I am going to have a rant here. This is probably going to cause a bit of arguing between cyclists and motorists.

Does anyone else have a problem with the wannabe tour de france guys who cycle around the area at weekends?I dont care what hobbies people do in their spare time but these guys hog the roads and have no respect for the traffic behind them.
On saturday I got stuck behind a group from Killincarrig all the way to the southern cross roundabout at the bottom of windgates.They refused to move into a single line to let me pass and it was way to dangerous to overtake them when they were in a bunch.The line of traffic behind was ridiculous but they were totally oblivious to the obstruction they were causing.
Maybe I am just jinxed but this happens to me every Saturday( although in fairness i didnt come across any during the winter)

I'm not a cyclist myself, but I do tend to pay attention to the whole Cyclist Vs Motorist cataclysm deathmatch that goes on

Cyclists are much more vunerable than cars on the road.
They are also (unsurprisingly) a lot more aware of it.
As a result, cyclists will react to traffic behind them on a difficult stretch of road by blocking the lane as motorists will often try to overtake them where overtaking is not possibility (due to bends and lack of visibility).

Picture the situation, I am a motorist, I am driving along a windy road and a couple of cyclists are cycling infront of me. They pull in, I over take, but in mid manoeuvre I see a car round the next bend and have to pull in to my lane. In doing so I mill the said cyclists out of it. Not their fault, certainly their problem.

I would suggest that it is dangerous to pass on most of that stretch of road.
Although I would say that they probably should have pulled into the climbing lane at the dip.

Either way, this has happened to me on many occasion, usually I pass either at the dip, after the last bend on the way up (if there is no-one coming) or at the Meridian outside Bray GC. If these arent available, I stick. Note that these are probably the only safe points to overtake anything.

jobless

d'Oracle wrote: »

I'm not a cyclist myself, but I do tend to pay attention to the whole Cyclist Vs Motorist cataclysm deathmatch that goes on

Cyclists are much more vunerable than cars on the road.
They are also (unsurprisingly) a lot more aware of it.
As a result, cyclists will react to traffic behind them on a difficult stretch of road by blocking the lane as motorists will often try to overtake them where overtaking is not possibility (due to bends and lack of visibility).

Picture the situation, I am a motorist, I am driving along a windy road and a couple of cyclists are cycling infront of me. They pull in, I over take, but in mid manoeuvre I see a car round the next bend and have to pull in to my lane. In doing so I mill the said cyclists out of it. Not their fault, certainly their problem.

I would suggest that it is dangerous to pass on most of that stretch of road.
Although I would say that they probably should have pulled into the climbing lane at the dip.

Either way, this has happened to me on many occasion, usually I pass either at the dip, after the last bend on the way up (if there is no-one coming) or at the Meridian outside Bray GC. If these arent available, I stick. Note that these are probably the only safe points to overtake anything.

i can totally understand them doing that on a dangerous/bendy road.... when i was blocked off it was on the straight stretch from suothern cross to the n11.... 4 abreast cyclists not giving a **** about me behind them and expecting me to just stay there.... its cyclists like this that piss me off and they actually got the hump when i overtook...
when they are in big groups they become a lot braver...

wingding

IN all fairness the original post was not about idiot drivers who overtake when it is not safe to do so. Obviously no one should overtake on a bend. The op isn't giving out about all cyclists (correct me if I'm wrong), but simply saying that it is not on for four cyclists to cycle abreast and hold up all the traffic.

Does anyone think that it is actually ok to cycle 4 abreast on a straight road when there is a queue of traffic behind?

gar.k

I better clarify that I have no issue with cyclists in general.Its the semi pro lads training at weekends. These particular guys were in ucd racing gear and were a group of 6.They were taking turns to sprint from the back of the pack to the front without observing traffic. They had an arrogant attitude towards the traffic. I have come across numerous groups like these around the area.The average punter on a bike i have no issue with at all