What Annoys You The Most On The Roads?

smacl

What really annoys me most on the roads is that the hills that seemed so easy last summer seemed to have got taller and steeper. Oh, and the damn cold, and having to wear extra gear, and the blinding evening sun going over the motorway bridge aftet lamb's cross at the end of a spin. And the bike that did 120k as a moderate spin last year, now seems to struggle with 60k. Piece of junk.

Someone's obviously to blame for all this, I just can't figure out who.

manwithaplan

The Jerry Seinfelds of the cycling world are what annoy me most. They get a half hour show out of every minor niggle.

SleepDoc

The "workmen" in Fairview Park who have torn up the cycle lane and replaced it with uneven, loose filler.

The little fat kid who shouted "stranger danger" when I cycled by sporting too tight lycra. He made me laugh so much I nearly fell off.

Councillor Tormey among others for trying to get the 30kph speed limit rescinded in Dublin.

The complete non-enforcement of the 30kph speed limit.

julio_iglayzis

I fitted new brake pads on my Elixir 3s last night, my front brakes now sound like Chewbacca being raped, so that was the most annoying thing on this morning's commute.

Ordinarily it's taxi drivers, SUV drivers and people on Dublin bikes cycling the wrong way up a one-way street.

Chips Lovell

manwithaplan wrote: »

The Jerry Seinfelds of the cycling world are what annoy me most. They get a half hour show out of every minor niggle.

I agree. There are two traits that are common among cyclists that I find really irritating. One of them is whininess. Espeically the passive aggresive "I'm going to say nothing to the person on the road who's upset me, but I'm going to go home and have a rant about them on the internet" type.

poochiem

el tonto wrote: »

I agree. There are two traits that are common among cyclists that I find really irritating. One of them is whininess. Espeically the passive aggresive "I'm going to say nothing to the person on the road who's upset me, but I'm going to go home and have a rant about them on the internet" type.

good points well made. making a note to self to stop whining.

Lumen

el tonto wrote: »

I agree. There are two traits that are common among cyclists that I find really irritating. One of them is whininess. Espeically the passive aggresive "I'm going to say nothing to the person on the road who's upset me, but I'm going to go home and have a rant about them on the internet" type.

What's the other one?

Chips Lovell

Lumen wrote: »

What's the other one?

Stinginess

morana

Cyclists who whine about other cyclists who dont have lights, dont wear helmets, break lights dont wipe their arses etc etc etc..

DirkVoodoo

Those ramps made of bricks, people not indicating on roundabouts and (yes, not a cycling issue) middle-lane-motorway hoggers on the M50.

manwithaplan

These two traits (whininess and stinginess) find their perfect expression in any sportive-related thread.

This is turning into a meta-whine.

Lumen

el tonto wrote: »

Stinginess

OK, it's my round next. This time I really mean it.

Chips Lovell

Lumen wrote: »

OK, it's my round next. This time I really mean it.

Considering you're the least stingy cyclist I know, it's hardly necessary.

Doctor Bob

Without wanting to sound overly smug about it, very little annoys me on the road, but that's partly by choice (and a bit of effort). The tiniest things used to set me off, but I recalibrated my sensors and now do my best to - as the mother used to urge - rise above it. I'm not saying I don't see countless examples of appaling road sense every day, but I don't think getting annoyed at them is either good for me or likely to make any difference.

If I could fix one environmental thing in the morning - and 'annoyance' wouldn't be the first word I'd think of to describe my feelings on the matter - it would be the appaling surface quality of the roads in Dublin city and county.

If I could fix one behavioural thing in the morning, it would be the widespread sense of impatience of road users, regardless of mode.

And finally - wishes usually come in threes, don't they? - I'd like to live in a world where people didn't define themselves by their mode of transport.

Chips Lovell

manwithaplan wrote: »

These two traits (whininess and stinginess) find their perfect expression in any sportive-related thread.

Exactly. People comparing sandwich stops like they compiling the Michelin guide.

Pigeon Reaper

Nothing on the road annoys me. On the other hand the evil penguins who tamper with my bike from time to time can be annoying, especially when they play with the brakes. Thankfully I've realised that placing an Killer Whale in the shed keeps them away but does cost alot to feed and really makes a mess.

Git101

BollickyBill wrote: »

As a motorist, I hate it when cyclists cycle two or three abreast on country roads when they know there is traffic behind them trying to get past. As a motorist, if I am forced onto the other side of the road to pass cyclists and another car appears out of nowhere, self preservation means that I will always choose to scrape the side of my car with a cyclist rather than risk a head-on with some speeding lunatic.

Don't pass if you can't see that the road ahead is clear, cars don't "appear out of nowhere"
If it's not safe to pass two cycling abreast it's probably not safe to pass them in single file either.

And I hate potholes......

goldencleric

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

middle-lane-motorway hoggers on the M50.

annoys me more than anything bike related! :mad:

Raam

People not indicating at roundabouts causes me to tut quietly to myself.

Kintarō Hattori

el tonto wrote: »

I agree. There are two traits that are common among cyclists that I find really irritating. One of them is whininess. Espeically the passive aggresive "I'm going to say nothing to the person on the road who's upset me, but I'm going to go home and have a rant about them on the internet" type.

Thanks. I'm not sure if I should say something to a cyclist for not having a set of lights. Would that not make me an even bigger dick?!

Jawgap

Raam wrote: »

People not indicating at roundabouts causes me to tut quietly to myself.

indicating what?

I don't like gravel on the road, especially when I'm on said road sliding across it having parted company with the bike......

Not a fan of mud or muck either - especially when it turns the bike from being pristine to looking like a cyclo-cross special in less than 5km.

Apart from that, what's not to enjoy?

Raam

Jawgap wrote: »

indicating what?

That they like my jersey-sock combination.

dave.obrien

My skin. Really annoys me when I leave some of that on the road.

manwithaplan

Pigeon Reaper wrote: »

Nothing on the road annoys me. On the other hand the evil penguins who tamper with my bike from time to time can be annoying, especially when they play with the brakes. Thankfully I've realised that placing an Killer Whale in the shed keeps them away but does cost alot to feed and really makes a mess.

Seals, penguins, killer whales. Did you just watch the box set of 'Life In The Freezer' or something?

Pigeon Reaper

Nope visited the seal sanctuary at the weekend.

Jawgap

Pigeon Reaper wrote: »

Nothing on the road annoys me. On the other hand the evil penguins who tamper with my bike from time to time can be annoying, especially when they play with the brakes. Thankfully I've realised that placing an Killer Whale in the shed keeps them away but does cost alot to feed and really makes a mess.

that......and the little guy who climbs inside my bottom bracket with a hammer and taps away merrily until I bring it into the bike shop where he escapes before he can be caught......

MajorMax

there is a car that I regularily see now on the M11 traveling from wexford to dublin: honestly Peugeot 206 or something, wicklow plates, silver, when the night running lights are on, all three brake lights come on, so it looks like the car is permanaetly braking as it is driving along .....[/QUOTE]

I've seen a car like this on the M6 their brakes were lit even when they were overtaking. I just assumed their foot was resting on the brakes, I gave him/her a couple of flashes and they stopped doing it

MajorMax

Pigeon Reaper wrote: »

Nothing on the road annoys me. On the other hand the evil penguins who tamper with my bike from time to time can be annoying, especially when they play with the brakes. Thankfully I've realised that placing an Killer Whale in the shed keeps them away but does cost alot to feed and really makes a mess.

Damn penguins!

youcancallmeal

Cyclists who have absolutely no consideration for any road users other than themselves. In particular slow cyclists who will never look over their shoulder and drift all over the place and expect everyone to give them space!? Also possibly the most annoying thing is when you spend ages trying to overtake someone and then at the next lights they pull in right in front of you or just cruise through the lights meaning you have to start the whole overtaking process again :mad:

Lawrence1895

- Motorists using the cycle lane. Don't know how often that happened to me, but we have motorists, who maybe turn left 2 kilometers down the road, but are already use the cycle lane.

- Motorists, who turn left right in front of me, even if I don't give any indications that I want to turn left and/or leaving the cycle lane.

And about having lights on the bike, a helmet and other safety gear, such as reflective straps: It is compulsory in Germany to have that stuff, and if you are caught by a guard who has a bad day, you can open your wallet big time.

Raam

Helmet usage is not compulsory in Germany.

ThisRegard

Nor do the gardai have any authority over there.

Chips Lovell

You can drive in cycle lanes bordered by a dashed white line.

Raam

el tonto wrote: »

You can drive in cycle lanes bordered by a dashed white line.

Is it permitted to drive in them continuously or just to enter them briefly?

Chips Lovell

Raam wrote: »

Is it permitted to drive in them continuously or just to enter them briefly?

Nothing in the law that says you can't. You can drive across the unbroken white lines too, but only for purposes of turning off.

Iwannahurl

Speeding
Dangerous overtaking
Roundabouts
Motorists undertaking on a roundabout when a cyclist takes the inside lane
Motorists cutting across a cyclist when they're in the outside lane of a roundabout
See the cyclist but pull out of the side road anyway
See the cyclist alongside and cut across them to turn left anyway
Crap cycle "facilities"
Motorists parking in the already crap cycle "facilities"
Long right-turn filter lanes
One-way streets that ignore cyclists
Traffic lights that ignore cyclists
Cyclists that ignore traffic lights
Unlit cyclists at night
Cycling on the footpath
Cycling the wrong way round a roundabout
Large cul-de-sac housing estates
Cyclists who make a virtue of wearing a helmet to protect their skull and then do brainless things like break red lights willy-nilly.

Iwannahurl

ThisRegard wrote: »

Nor do the gardai have any authority over there.

Not much authority here either.

Chips Lovell

Given the number of people posting here who've gotten summons recently, I'd question that.

Iwannahurl

el tonto wrote: »

Given the number of people posting here who've gotten summons recently, I'd question that.

Perhaps it depends on where 'here' is!

Lawrence1895

Raam wrote: »

Helmet usage is not compulsory in Germany.

Looks like I got the wrong information there :rolleyes:

But a bit of a shame that is, I was born there, using the bike for 30 odd years :pac:

Kintarō Hattori

Actually that's something I've been wondering. Can a Garda fine you for not having lights on your bike? I've seen several people pulled over by the Gardai and was wondering what would happen to them.

Raam

Kintarō Hattori wrote: »

Actually that's something I've been wondering. Can a Garda fine you for not having lights on your bike? I've seen several people pulled over by the Gardai and was wondering what would happen to them.

They get executed.

Iwannahurl

They need a better enforcement method!

It hasn't had much of a deterrent effect on the remaining unlit hordes in this neck of the woods. :rolleyes:

poochiem

Iwannahurl wrote: »

They need a better enforcement method!

It hasn't had much of a deterrent effect on the remaining unlit hordes in this neck of the woods. :rolleyes:

another ninja dick coming the wrong way down the bike lane from patrick's st turned onto kevin st this evening nearly took two of us non-mental cyclists out and pushed us into traffic behind a stopped cop car/bus/cyclist combination. Of course if we'd followed him through the red lights and questioned his reasons he'd tell us 'sure ive been cycling without lights for years and never had a problem'.

markdrayton

Canis Lupus wrote: »

I often cycle without a light (in lit urban areas). It's probably the only major bold thing I do on a bike. I've done it for years and all it requires is awareness of traffic. The only 'dangerous' bit is keeping an eye out for traffic pulling out/crossing your path if you're coming from behind them. For traffic coming from behind me they can easily see me same way I can see pedestrians without them wandering about with lights and reflectors. Wouldn't do it on an unlit country road though.

Plonker. Have you never noticed that unlit cyclists are pretty much invisible at night, even on lit roads? I'd hate to be the person who eventually mows you down.

morana

markdrayton wrote: »

Plonker. Have you never noticed that unlit cyclists are pretty much invisible at night, even on lit roads? I'd hate to be the person who eventually mows you down.

I would say he is winding you up!!

captain P

Its been said already, but overtaking a slower cyclist, then stop at a red light, they break the lights & you have to overtake them all over again :mad:

When people say "Oh, you're a cyclist? I hate cyclists".

Unnecessary aggression from road users (motorcyclists, drivers & cyclists).
Cars beeping at me for cycling in straight line on the left side of the road wearing a helmet, high-vis & with lights on the bike.

Overtaking on corners.

The man this morning who forced me into a pothole because he was cycling on the wrong side of the road.

Uneven road, potholes, manhole covers, blocky ramps etc.

tomasrojo

captain P wrote: »

Cars beeping at me for cycling in straight line on the left side of the road wearing a helmet, high-vis & with lights on the bike.

Is it your opinion that I deserve such treatment more than you, since I don't wear a helmet, or hi-vis during the day?

captain P

tomasrojo wrote: »

Is it your opinion that I deserve such treatment more than you, since I don't wear a helmet, or hi-vis during the day?

Not at all. It's a personal choice to wear/ not wear a helmet. I don't generally wear high-vis during the day either.

I'm just saying I hate when I get agression from a driver for no reason (the above happened to me this morning).

DirkVoodoo

I want a "honk if your horny" jersey/kit, that way when all these MILFs start beeping at me I can convince myself it's because they just want a ride on the Dirk-train rather than the fact I'm delaying their passage to Donnybrook Fair.

Anyone else and it will only encourage me to pedal faster, I don't care how horny those truckers are it ain't gonna happen!