Safe Speed Forums

well i suppose i better respond to this. there are various troll like characteristics to your post that rub me up the wrong way, sorry.. i cant help that.

expressing what i think is kind of the point of a discussion forum. i still think you'll struggle to find an open time trial course with a u-turn in, as far as i'm all TT courses have to be approved by BIB and i can't see them accepting a u-turn.

perhaps you could take a look at the cycling time trials site and identify which course it is you have a problem with ?

and rather than extrapolate your FACTS to demonise all cyclists / time trialists on a forum that will have no effect on their behaviour, express your concerns to the powers that be.


(off to my first 10mile TT for a few years tonight, mostly dual carraigeway and with not one but two u-turns.. on roundabouts, wish me luck.. oh and yes i'll be driving there and back if thats ok with you)

Can we have an end - from both sides - to the cars vs. cyclists letters?

In both cases, there are a majority of road users who do their best to get around on our congested road network with as much courtesy as they can offer. And most people that drive also cycle, and vice versa.
- Most cyclists only cycle on the pavement when it would be suicide (or at best russian roulette) to cycle on a road laid out without considering their needs.
- Most drivers try and give cyclists plenty of room when they pass them, and are happy to wait until an opportunity to do so arises.

However, there are too many bad drivers and bad cyclists and these, sadly, are the ones that stick in our memories and give 'the other side' a bad name. It's not surprising there's idiots about: we have a system where drivers are tested once and then assumed to be competent forever, and cyclists are not made to take any training at all.

Really, as road users, we should unite and turn our anger on the common enemy: our political masters, who take many times more in vehicle and fuel taxes than they spend on any kind of transport. They also have us all thinking that transport policy is a zero-sum game, where any 'improvements' for one group have to come at the expense of another; car vs. bike antagonism can only help them foster this belief.
Why not improve our major roads to take motor traffic off unsuitable back routes, and at the same time provide extra provision for cyclists, but actually consult them on what they want, rather than imposing useless cycle lanes that lie unused?
Why not improve the training regime of all road users, rather than endure the current system where we are arbitrarily punished after we do something wrong, but are not rewarded if we try and improve our skills?