damnable
OK so this is what happened and suggestions can go afterwards.
Near where I live there is this short road that goes over a bit of a mountain. The well used bit of the road is about 1km with half on and incline and half going down. It’s also quite windy and narrow with a few crests so visibility is pretty poor. There are also currently road works along parts of the road, reducing the speed limit. From experience cars frequently race down the hill on the other side.
Now I don’t have the balls or the legs to ride up this hill but apparently this guy did and was doing a pretty good job too. Now I was driving my mum with a full load of luggage in the back seat driving in my little 1300cc (not the greatest of acceleration) car up this hill. I see the cyclist ahead of me, stay a good distance behind him and continue up the hill. The cyclist knew I was there as I saw him take a few good looks behind him. By the time I got the top of the hill where I had to turn off, there were at least 3 other cars behind me, the closest of which was tailgating and using his horn which made me want to go slower. Now, in my mind there were no safe places to overtake this cyclist as in my opinion I could not see enough road ahead of me to be sure I could get speed up overtake, without another car coming in the opposite direction.
As soon as we got to the top of the hill and I turned off the road, the car behind me gunned it and sped past. This was all in the space of less than 5 minutes.
Now, if the same situation came, I would do the exact same thing because admittedly I was not thinking the safety of the cyclist, but rather myself and of course my dear mother. But the question came to mind, as a cyclist, would you rather a motorist overtake you, or stay behind you. I sometimes get an odd feeling when a car is following behind me while on the bike. It feels a bit stalkerish, but if they are being safe, than I am all for it. So, would you rather have a car follow close behind you for a while or have them pass slightly unsafely?
Near where I live there is this short road that goes over a bit of a mountain. The well used bit of the road is about 1km with half on and incline and half going down. It’s also quite windy and narrow with a few crests so visibility is pretty poor. There are also currently road works along parts of the road, reducing the speed limit. From experience cars frequently race down the hill on the other side.
Now I don’t have the balls or the legs to ride up this hill but apparently this guy did and was doing a pretty good job too. Now I was driving my mum with a full load of luggage in the back seat driving in my little 1300cc (not the greatest of acceleration) car up this hill. I see the cyclist ahead of me, stay a good distance behind him and continue up the hill. The cyclist knew I was there as I saw him take a few good looks behind him. By the time I got the top of the hill where I had to turn off, there were at least 3 other cars behind me, the closest of which was tailgating and using his horn which made me want to go slower. Now, in my mind there were no safe places to overtake this cyclist as in my opinion I could not see enough road ahead of me to be sure I could get speed up overtake, without another car coming in the opposite direction.
As soon as we got to the top of the hill and I turned off the road, the car behind me gunned it and sped past. This was all in the space of less than 5 minutes.
Now, if the same situation came, I would do the exact same thing because admittedly I was not thinking the safety of the cyclist, but rather myself and of course my dear mother. But the question came to mind, as a cyclist, would you rather a motorist overtake you, or stay behind you. I sometimes get an odd feeling when a car is following behind me while on the bike. It feels a bit stalkerish, but if they are being safe, than I am all for it. So, would you rather have a car follow close behind you for a while or have them pass slightly unsafely?