Cycling Advice

[Stockton Heath Blue]

So going full beans on your training ride is better than being safe on a very well maintained cycle path. Still that would be pleasing to your partner as to why you weren't using the cycle path on her hospital visits to you ;)
Personally going full beans on a training ride on a very busy duel carriageway, drivers having to break as cars all try and move to the outside lane is daft and dangerous.
And why do it in the rush hour ? There are plenty of roads that dont have cycling paths but when there is one I think it should used.
I have no problem with TT's doing it as signs are put out with marshalls etc.

PS I fully understand you cant go full beans on a cycle path, I just dont think it paints cyclist on a good light when they dont use a new purpose built path.

I’m lucky in that there are a fair few quieter Cheshire lanes as soon as you get on the south side of Warrington, so probably not appreciating your point. In fairness, I’m rarely out at rush hour for the reasons you state.

One of our group is pretty good at planning rides and tends to keep dual carriageways to an absolute minimum.

 

[Stockton Heath Blue]

I kind of agree. There are so very few cycle paths where you can ride flat out on an out-and-out road bike. I was lucky when I lived and worked in Scotland in that I had a super smooth, wide cycle path pretty much door to door the whole 5 miles to work.

Having said that, risking your life on an open road where most vehicles are doing 70mph is a bit nuts. Even country lanes where vehicles can do 60mph, there is a serious risk factor during busy times, poor weather and low visibility. The inherent lack of respect for other road users in this country across the board, from drivers in their tin bubble, to cyclist ignoring the Highway Code often makes the roads dangerous for all users.

One of my mates moved over to Switzerland and we went over for 5 days of riding.
They know how to do safe cycling over there and the surfaces are a dream to ride on.
The authorities take a very dim view on aggressive drivers as well as dickhead riders.

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

One of my mates moved over to Switzerland and we went over for 5 days of riding.
They know how to do safe cycling over there and the surfaces are a dream to ride on.
The authorities take a very dim view on aggressive drivers as well as dickhead riders.

I've been to Italy a few times with work and it's similar over there. For the most part, the cyclist is king of the road.

Not so much here. The driver who killed a guy I used to work with has recently been spared jail.

Lincoln man spared jail after killing cycling RAF officer in crash

BMW driver didn't see the cyclist

thelincolnite.co.uk

 

[give it to gordon]

I’m lucky in that there are a fair few quieter Cheshire lanes as soon as you get on the south side of Warrington, so probably not appreciating your point. In fairness, I’m rarely out at rush hour for the reasons you state.

One of our group is pretty good at planning rides and tends to keep dual carriageways to an absolute minimum.

There are alot country lanes around and a very good cycle track which is open every day. It does TTs and road racing as long as club nights, and a mountain bike I think it's a 2 mile road track. Like I say most cyclists use the cycle path serious and non serious just the odd one or two that dont !

 

[discopop]

The trouble is some of our cycle lanes are so badly designed they can’t clean them so they end up full of detritus and are puncture magnets, Alan Turing way being a prime example an utter fucking shambles of design, the Cemetery side hasn’t even got adequate drainage and ends up waterlogged and no cyclists worth their salt ride through standing water.

 

[Trevor Morley's Tache]

There are alot country lanes around and a very good cycle track which is open every day. It does TTs and road racing as long as club nights, and a mountain bike I think it's a 2 mile road track. Like I say most cyclists use the cycle path serious and non serious just the odd one or two that dont !

I wouldn't say 'most', but a large number do.

There is a multi-use cycle path on part of my route to work, but it's overgrown at the edges, narrow in places and often littered with glass and other detritus. I stick to the road, which frustrates some drivers, but if they saw the state of the path they might be a bit more understanding.

There are also a number of split cycle/pedestrian paths in town, which is okay for most casual cyclists. The problem is pedestrians often ignore the signage and wander into the cycle lanes without looking, which is dangerous for both parties. Again, they are often littered with all sorts of crap, and sometime just end abruptly, or force the cyclist to use the pedestrian crossing to continue their journey.

The UK is just not a cycle friendly Nation.

 

[give it to gordon]

I agree some cycle paths are in very poor condition and that would push road bikes onto the road. The one I am talking about is in very good condition its as wide as a normal road lane. It was built to encourage workers from Pfizer to cycle shame as soon as it was finished that Pfizer's all but closed down there Sandwich site !

 

[Ribchester]

Anyone got advice on best rack to buy for 2 MTBs for saloon Lexus. When I add up all the different bars/ respective attachments bike carriers plus rear bike racks and a long time back a tow bar rack( best ever and so easy) I must have spent over a grand. This time using money saved from no match day ex’s and season ticket I was thinking of Seasucker seem to cost about £400

 

[Southern]

Anyone recommend a good folding bike so that I can get used to a bicycle again, and I only have limited storage space

 

[idahoblues]

Anyone recommend a good folding bike so that I can get used to a bicycle again, and I only have limited storage space

Depends on your budget but the Brompton's are good