Originally Posted by DanO220
Chris; I never claimed that our wayward rider slowed ME down (though I did mention that motorists are delayed by cyclists sometimes towards the end of my rant). I only said that he placed himself in harm's way unnecessarily. And I wasn't angry, just concerned - concerned for the safety of an individual
An individual, whom I presume, is a grown adult and quite able to make his own decisions. Fact of the matter is, there are many many situations where taking the lane is the safer option. He was the one riding out there, so he was the one who had to make an assessment of the conditions, and was the one best placed to do so.
Originally Posted by DanO220
and concerned for our image as a whole.
What exactly does that have to do with it? Why does everyone perpetuate this "they give us all a bad name" everytime a cyclist does anything that upsets them? The fact is, people's perception of you or any other cyclists will always be coloured by their own prejudices, this is something that none of us have any control over.
Originally Posted by dobber
I think you're missing the point. Why is the cyclist occupying a lane full of fast moving vehicles when there is a much safer and secure area for him to riding in.
Is the area much safer? Just because someone painted a line across it doesn't necessarily make it so. As I said earlier, the cyclist in this case was the one best placed to make that assessment. If he assesses that the lane is the safest place to be, that's his decision. It's quite a valid assessment in the eyes of the law. In the end it's not "restraint" to prevent from running him over, it's just the same common courtesy that would be expected of us in any other aspect of life. Do you run up and flatten people in front of you in the supermarket queue just because they're smaller than you?
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I am clinically insane. I am proud of it.
That is all.