I cycle quite a lot, and every time I go out I'd say that the 99.9% of drivers are fine, 0.9% are excellent, and 0.1% are psychotically anti-cyclist. That means for every 1000 cars that go past there's one lunatic. There's at least one injury-threatening incident every time I go out... and I'm a very cautious cyclist.

I suspect that if all drivers were forced to spend a day cycling every week then we'd soon see a more sensible relationship between 2-wheeled road users and those in their metal boxes.

Change of subject - been watching the America's cup on TV (not a sailor or interested in boats really) but found this briliant. How the hell do these boats fly on 2 tiny back fins? They are only about 1metre wide (I think). Word to widely used (sorry) Awsome......

Some high quality engineering?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3iekYolxcw

However, things can still go a little bit pearshaped...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drgglIebuQY

ken

Thanks Ken

If cyclists weren't car hating suicide jockeys then I'd be more tolerant of them. Every time I'm in London I see red lights being ignored and abuse being shouted at car drivers, not occasionally, but every single time. Last week I was stuck in traffic in hammersmith and a cyclist/dyed in the wool arsehole thumped the side of my van repeatedly until he got level with the cab, yelled 'Fuck sake! What you doin' cunt?' At me then battered his handlebars into the passenger door and rode off. I wasn't blocking a cycle lane, junction or anything like that, my heinous crime was that I was waiting in traffic, 12" from the kerb (like everybody else). That warranted verbal abuse and damaging my vehicle. It's not the first time either. No sympathy towards cyclists here. Polish the scratches out of my door and apologise, then change how cyclists share the road and I might readjust my views.

Not saying either are good or bad- look at road rage...... Been chased in my works diesel car from Solihull all the way to Warwick by a twat in a Halfords special Calibra just because I out accelerated him and made him look a DICK..... Your experience was in London - maybe is just Londoners!!!!!!!!

I cycled in London for a couple of years. From experience, I can confirm that London is a different kettle of fish altogether. Levels of aggression between cyclists and drivers - and pedestrians for that matter - are ridiculous. Then again, levels of human callousness and arseholiness in general are pretty off-the-scale there. I'm not surprised you got harrassed by a twat on a bike there, quite frankly, just because of the prevailing mood of "fuck you" competitiveness. Then again, just cos you got harrassed by a twat who was on a bike doesn't mean that all people who ride bikes are twats.

In the sticks I've not experienced such widespread self-justification and unreasonable car v bike antagonism as I did in the Smoke. And from what I've seen it's more vitriolic than it was when I was experiencing it 1st hand in the 90s. Perhaps it has something to do with all that Peruvian marching powder they shove up their noses.

When I was in London I got knocked off my bike (in a rather slow motion, comic way) on Havestock Hill by a guy in a sports car. A guy on a motorbike came up beside me, shouted "I saw that mate!" and rode off down the hill. When he caught up with the car, motorbike man booted the wing mirror to bits and then whizzed off! Never thought to ask me if I was OK, though! Sums things up rather well, doesn't it?

There's certainly a huge attitude change when you drive in the capital, in both cyclists and motorists, but if I were on a bike riding round the capital I'd be considerably more attentive to the consequences of my actions, both in the way I conducted myself towards other road users and with my own self preservation.

I became a cyclist earlier this year and car drivers don't bother me at all when I'm on my bike, I always feel guilty using the public highway for free and with no insurance. If I damaged another road users car I couldn't afford to have it repaired, theres no mechanism in place to enforce it or adequately punish me and that just isn't cricket. I wouldn't want to be on the other end of that deal.

Fair points!

Hi Chris,
have you seen this clip? Must be one hell of a buzz when that thing's moving at 40 knots...
http://youtu.be/Y6dnOlE9sjk