I’m angry – and I’ve waited 6 months to say this | Hugo Rifkind – Times Online

Here is a superb piece by Hugo Rifkind in Friday's Times. In a few paragraphs he sums up the problems London cyclists face everyday in the saddle. I now want to take Mr Rifkind out on my tandem. Hugo, if you are out there 'you can be my stoker  anytime'

I'm angry – and I've waited 6 months to say this | Hugo Rifkind – Times Online .

This entry was posted on Monday, March 16th, 2009 at 18:02 and is filed under Cycling in London. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed or trackback from your own site. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

5 Comments

  1. anna

    Thanks for sharing this article, surely interesting. Unfortunately there are many more of these cut and dried opinions..

  2. The Hungry Cyclist

    glad you liked the read anna – having re read Hugos post it does seem a little one sided. I suppose that is in the nature of the comment pieces. What warms me is that wether it os good or bad press cycling is starting to command so many more column inches. long may it continue.

  3. harrie

    i commented on his article, i ran out of characters to do it properly but hey. i only said what i’ve said here before – as a driver i try really hard to be aware of bikes, i always check my wing mirrors a lot, especially if i’m turning left, and as i drive in central london i’m pretty hot on this.
    however, when a cyclist crosses my lane about 2 feet ahead of me with no signal or any outward sign that they’re about to do so, that pisses me off. like you say in your helmet post, cycling is common sense, and it doesn’t seem especially sensible to cross in front of a moving car, directly in its path, and very close to it without giving some kind of warning that you are going to.
    if i in my car changed lanes across another car without indicating, i would (rightly) be yelled at, sworn at, beeped at etc etc. it’s just foolish, frankly, cars are big machines, they do a lot of damage, and to cheerfully get right into the path of one with no indication is just silly. when bikes have indicators, i’ll be happy.
    obviously this applies to other cars and pedestrians as well – it’s just a matter of being aware of what other vehicles/people are around you and responding accordingly. which is why i also get slightly vexed when cyclists go around with their earphones in listening to music. of course i listen to music in my car, but that music doesn’t close me off to other sounds because i don’t have plugs in my ears. i can still hear sirens, other cars around me, engine noises from other cars (ie if someone is speeding up behind me). i once saw a guy cycling down st martins lane reading a book that was balanced on his handlebars. that was just weird.
    oh and one more thing, why can’t they ban those rickshaws? it’s not like london as a city has ever been famed for its tradition of rickshaws, unlike, say mumbai, bangkok etc etc. they’re a total nuisance. i believe there was a campaign by cabbies to get them banned, because they have got in the way so often and – more importantly – been the cause of many accidents. i’ve lost count of the number of times i’ve been stuck behind one – you get onto, say, shaftesbury avenue and you see one coming along and you start going “please don’t go in front of me at the junction because i’ll be stuck behind you for 5 miles” – they are a total nightmare. they potter along at 1/2 a mile an hour, they stop more often than buses, they do the same as bikes at junctions and get in front of the traffic – but at least cyclists move off fairly fast and often stick to the kerb, thus you can overtake them. i HATE them. just awful awful things. and always “driven” but bloody crusties.
    sorry, rant over ;)

  4. harrie

    t’s just a matter of being aware of what other vehicles/people are around you and responding accordingly
    just want to add to this – this is why there are driving tests. driving tests are less about the technicalities of operating a car and far more about observation of hazards, awareness of others using the road, etc etc. when i drive i never think about how to work the car – it’s almost 2nd nature now, but i ALWAYS keep my eyes peeled, i always look around me, if i come up to a pedestrian crossing, i look up and down both sides of the street to see if anyone is walking towards the crossing so i can slow down well in advance. that kind of thing is far more important to your ability to be on the roads than how to operate a car.
    i think if someone is intending to cycle in a busy city where there’s lots of traffic and inadequate provision of cycline lanes, there should be some kind of measure of awareness.

  5. harrie

    ps – in my first rant, that should’ve been “driven BY crusties”

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