Any cyclists here

[Ian9]

Do you go on roads, if you do how scary do you find it, I'm trying to get into it again but just don't have the confidence for roads. I've got a good mountain bike but thought about maybe getting a decentish road bike as it would/should be easier rolling and to use. It's one thing being in a car or motorbike (which I've also got but a twist of the throttle and I'm gone) but on the roads with a pushbike scares the pants off me

[zollaf]

yeah, i cycle a bit. all country roads round here, still scary, just gotta be on your guard. hear a car coming and make sure he can see you before its too late. wear reflectives, lights, wave arms about , cycle defensively and you can't go wrong really. hardly use my road bike though, too many potholes and rough road surfaces, so usually just stick the the full suspension mb. harder going but less likely to break.

[zollaf]

oh, and always wear a helmet, and ever use earphones.. can't hear the trafiic then lol.

[Eshrules]

<snip> wear reflectives, lights</snip>.

This. A million times.

I used to cycle on and off road a lot, not so much now but I'm incredibly respectful of cyclists, horses and pedestrians - mopeds that cut me up and crawl at 22mph for the rest of the national speed limited lane, not so much, but I digress - and the best thing you can do is make yourself as visible as possible.

Reflective gear and some good quality lights make such a difference it baffles me that some cyclists still insist on wearing black from head to toe with a single flashing light on their front to light their way.

And never be afraid to take the primary position (where necessary/preferred) - if a driver can't pass you safely they shouldn't be passing you at all.

[Ronaldinosa]

i spend my working day driving in London. i always look out for cyclists and give them a wide birth .Unfortunately the flip side is that the vast majority , i recently did a count and it came in as 92% , of cyclists simply ignore red lights, and many more pass down the inside of trucks and buses. The number of near misses I've seen has been incredible , they just seem to presume that they are invincible and all other road users will spot them and act accordingly. The sad reality is that isn't the case and the number of accidents and fatalities seems to be rising

[Hex69]

This ^^^ and what the others said, and also try and make eye contact with other road users, if they've seen you they're much less likely to say, SMIDSY!

[Ian9]

I know, it's the same here ie jumping lights ect ect....I'm not getting into a debate about it as its not really what I'm asking, it's just if folk use roads on them and how you find it

[Rob69]

Ian - depends where in Ayrshire you're intending to ride, most UK local authority roads have been pretty well abandoned and are in such a state there are places where a road bike is mostly unusable as you will be constantly dodging potholes or fixing bent rims and bust tyres. I mostly ride a cyclo cross bike on forest roads, converted railway tracks, back roads etc and it is a good all rounder, served me well in several big closed road events ( Etape Caledonia) etc, or the MB for cross country offroad when I'm up in Scotland.
Best place for the road bike I've found is up here in Shetland - the back roads are virtually traffic free and in pristine condition, the best maintained roads in the UK by far !

[Kar Krazy]

I only live 2.6 miles from work, so I have tried cycling a few times, mostly on cycle tracks and pavements. I gave up and drive to work because of several attempts on my life whilst crossing roads. The final straw was the kind-hearted r-soul who appeared from behind a built-up roundabout and turned right up the two-lane exit I was crossing. I had crossed the left lane and was in the right-hand lane, when he accelerated towards me and hooted his horn, swerving into the left lane just in time to avoid killing me. I hadn't pressed the button on the pelican crossing because there was no traffic is sight, so you could say it was my own fault. But he could easily have just driven up the left lane without the drama.

[M1tchy]

I don't and wouldn't use the roads. Far too dangerous and cyclists seem to think that because they are there, two or three abreast, with no helmets on doing 5mph they are in the right on a 60mph road. NOPE!


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