Pothole or car?

Cianos

If you were cycling alongside traffic and up ahead was a horrible pothole that you were definate would make you fly off your bike, but a car was right by your side allowing very little room to cycle around the pothole, and doing so would most definately mean striking the car and god knows what else, in the split seconds what do you think would be the best option?

Wow, long sentence

Raam

bunny hop it (if I could), or maybe pull up your front wheel so you don't hit it straight on, and let your back wheel absorb it instead?

Idleater

Cianos wrote:

If you were cycling alongside traffic and up ahead was a horrible pothole that you were definate would make you fly off your bike, but a car was right by your side allowing very little room to cycle around the pothole, and doing so would most definately mean striking the car and god knows what else, in the split seconds what do you think would be the best option?

Wow, long sentence

If I am on the roadbike, my first thought would be to brake - that is if I know that there is no directly behind. Then again, I like to cycle that bit further out into the driving lane to avoid potholes (or at least give me the option of changing course to the inside of the pothole as required). On the mountainbike I would be tempted to bunnyhop it all right.

When cycling I tend to use the guide "cars pass you out at twice the distance that you are from the kerb" which has served me well thus far and is interesting if you think about how it works. You are a foot from the kerb - the driver thinks "aah sure he is in at the edge of the road I've loads of room". You are a metre from the kerb and the guy thinks "WTF is that cyclist doing out in the middle of the road- I'd better give him a wide berth cause he could do something crazy".

L.

Mucco

nereid wrote:

Then again, I like to cycle that bit further out into the driving lane to avoid potholes (or at least give me the option of changing course to the inside of the pothole as required).

Neried's got the right answer, cycle far enough out from the side to give you room to maneouver around these holes. As a rule of thumb, I tend to cycle where a car's left wheel would be.
Bunny hoppin's easy with SPDs

M

mockerydawg

Riding further out is the easiest way around it, or if the traffic is stationary ride down the middle of the road. It's usually the smoothest I find.
On a racer or hybrid I think you might be screwed if it pops up by surprise. On a MTB a simple wheely could suffice if you get the front up high enough. A speed jump does the trick or bunny hop as said before. The true rider bunny hops to the side up onto the curb, avoids the hole and lamps back onto the road and on with the journey at hand.
Or just learn how to break quickly without snotting yourself or pulling a huge (and useless) skid.

roadmanmad

rules of the road (mine)

Stay out keep out. Force the car to pass you. Do not let your position be compromised

RicardoSmith

I'm amused that stopping, isn't an option. Like all road users if theres an obstacle in your path you should stop rather than moving into the path of another road user to avoid it. Then wait your gap to pass it.

In ireland for some reason everyone seems to think that they have right of way to cross into path of anything or anyone else, if theres an obstacle that might force them to slow or god forbid stop for 20sec.

People are too impatient. Relax take your time.

I had a cyclist hit the side of me once. He was flying down a layby which suddenly ended in a pavement with a railing, and he was going too fast to stop, so he just kept comming and straight out into the lane of trafic beside it. Unfortunately for him (and me) just at that moment in time someone swerved in front of me (cut me up basically) causing me to stop suddenly. So for the cyclist, his anticipated gap in the traffic to merge into disappeared, he had nowwhere to go so he collided with the side of my car. For some reason he thought it was my fault and started bashing the roof of my car. Luckily for both of us he took off into the traffic. Of course if he'd been watching the road ahead, he would have seen the end of the layby and slowed down to merge into an appropriate gap.

When I'm cycling or driving I have to say that other cyclists staying 3 out from the kerb makes them very hard to pass in traffic. But I can understand why they do it, and if they are making progress them I'm quite happy to sit behind them. Its no different from creating a safety bubble in front and behind you when driving a car.

However I passed a moron this morning. Going up the quay's. You know what rush hour traffic is like, 2 and 3 lanes all juggling for position and switching lane. This guy's cycling not in the bus lane, which is complete empty, but 3ft into the inside lane of traffic of traffic. ??? Really he should be heavily fined for that.

robfitz

RicardoSmith wrote:

However I passed a moron this morning. Going up the quay's. You know what rush hour traffic is like, 2 and 3 lanes all juggling for position and switching lane. This guy's cycling not in the bus lane, which is complete empty, but 3ft into the inside lane of traffic of traffic. ??? Really he should be heavily fined for that.

Why? Cyclist can use bus lanes but there not required too.

I cycle in a similar position when I have to cycle on parts of the quay's. The buslane is far from a consistent path along the quay's for buses or cyclists, it's better to move along in the lane of traffic then to merging in and out of traffic.

RicardoSmith

robfitz wrote:

Why? Cyclist can use bus lanes but there not required too.

I cycle in a similar position when I have to cycle on parts of the quay's. The buslane is far from a consistent path along the quay's for buses or cyclists, it's better to move along in the lane of traffic then to merging in and out of traffic.

So its safer to be in with the dangerous traffic 100% than being in it 20% of the time? Can't agree, theres ony a handful of places where the bus lanes dissappear and regardless if you use the bus lanes or not you still have to cross all the same junctions and you still have to be aware of traffic turning left no matter in bus lane or not. I think you are making an excuse where there isn't need for one.

Personally when I cycle I avoid the quays completely. The lanes change from three to two on blind rises at the junctions forcing traffic to merge just when they least expect it. Cycling in the middle of it as you suggest is the last place I'd choose to be. However the inside curb is a least consistently where you expect it, and where most other traffic expects you to be.


Of course you're free to cycle through the middle of it. :cool:

Civilian_Target

Agreed. Quays can be pretty suicidal. If I do them, which is rare - I always pick the middle of a lane and move at the same speed as the traffic.

RicardoSmith

Civilian_Target wrote:

Agreed. Quays can be pretty suicidal. If I do them, which is rare - I always pick the middle of a lane and move at the same speed as the traffic.

I have lost count of the number of taxi's cars, trucks, container trucks buses and motorbikes I've seen sideswiped on the quays at some time another, always just past a junction where the lanes go from 3 to 2 over a blind ridge.

I haven't cycled it in a while, but I'm planning to get back cycling soon. The quays could be kinda on my route, but I'd probably go via another way. Lately theres been huge problems getting out on the quays and theres too many frustrated drivers on the quays.

Explosive_Cornflake

On the quays myself, i'd usual stay with traffic, as you makes no real progress in the bus lane. I don't see it being a problem, cuz i travel at the same speed, or faster than the traffic moving in those lanes.
As for the pot hole or car, have to say i'd probably jump it if i was on my MTB, but when i'm on my road bike, i always leave lots of space for myself.