Reply to post: Re: @Commswonk

NZ hotel bans cyclists' Lycra-clad loins

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Re: @Commswonk

> It is also worth remembering that London cyclists* have a fearsome

> reputation for scattering pedestrians by "furious cycling" on pavements,

> which is quite simply against the law in the first place. Oh and ignoring red lights...

Meh. I drive a car, ride a motorbike and ride a pushbike. Every day I see others doing one of these things who are acting like dicks, for some reason or another. But I don't wax on about "car drivers" as a group doing this or motorcyclists as a group doing that. Maybe the clue is in the numbers - 2% of journeys by cycle, it's just a small enough segment that cyclists can be classified as "them" by the rest of the population.

In 20 years of riding in London I would say I see cyclists on pavements rarely. It's rare because it's inherently slower - if you are commuting from A to B then the pavement is the slowest place to be. Sure, it happens, but it's the exception rather than the rule, and as I said there are dicks on all forms of transport.

As for jumping red lights - absoutely, if the situation calls for it and it can be done without endangering anyone. My primary goal whenever I get on two wheels is to get to where I'm going alive. If that means clearing the lights before everyone starts to accelerate around me, or when they pull 5m ahead then hard turn left, then damn right I'll do it. Note this is a "look, ensure it's clear then go", not a "plow wildly through a pedestrian crossing" type of light running. Yes, again, that happens, and I refer you to my above comment about dicks.

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