Motorway cycling

"Zog The Undeniable" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:4216e8dd.0@entanet...

Quoted message said:

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13300986,00.html

Of course, the M6 is normally so congested that it was probably safer
than the pavement...

I saw 2 lads on BMX type bikes cycling on the M1 hard shoulder earlyish one
morning a few weeks ago, Notts or Derbys IIRC.

Pete

In article <[email hidden]>, Peter B
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

"Zog The Undeniable" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:4216e8dd.0@entanet...

Quoted message said:

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13300986,00.html

Of course, the M6 is normally so congested that it was probably safer
than the pavement...

I saw 2 lads on BMX type bikes cycling on the M1 hard shoulder earlyish one
morning a few weeks ago, Notts or Derbys IIRC.

Pete

An endearing memory from a few years ago was a gentleman of retirement
age on a very old sit-up-and-beg bicycle, raincoat billowing out behind
him, proceeding along the hard shoulder of the M4 between Langley and
Windsor.
--
Peter Grange

Reminds me of a frightening time, when my wife 'mistook' a turning off
of the dual carraigeway, and went down onto the M4 during a 10 mile
time trial :-| After about 2 miles she realised her mistake. The
frightening part (for the both of us) was that the Police found her
attempting to cross the motorway (to get back) gave her a massive
bollokin (acceptable, and fair enough) but then left her in a field to
make her own way back. (idiots) The rest of us were with the timekeeper
wondering where the f... she was, scouring the area, and she eventually
turned up about 2 and a half hours later. Her worst 10 time ever :-|
but alive !!

Zog The Undeniable said:

Of course, the M6 is normally so congested that it was probably safer
than the pavement...

Also faster, which is probably why they were so [censored] :-)

Guy
--
"then came ye chavves, theyre cartes girded wyth candels
blue, and theyre beastes wyth straynge horn-lyke thyngs
onn theyre arses that theyre fartes be herde from myles
around." Chaucer, the Sheppey Tales

Zog The Undeniable said:

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13300986,00.html

caution eh? Thant's nowt - should we all have a go???

Inagine the thrill.... I vaugely remember walking along the M57 from
Hyde to Denton, before it opened to traffic. The local paper had a walk
organised which we missed, sp we did it the weekend after - five parts
[censored]. Quite a thing really.

Also, we did a bit of trail riding on the mud of the M60 construction
site, that was interesting too.

All pretty illegal, I would have thought.

bfn,

Tony B

"Colin McKenzie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I wonder how effective the ribbed white lines are at stopping sleeping
drivers wandering onto the hard shoulder.

Wake up at the back!
They're buggar-all use, hence the advice to leave your vehicle and get well
behind the barrier should you break down on a mway.

Actually cycling on a mway hard shoulder is probably one of the pastimes in
hell ;-)

Pete

Just zis Guy said:

Zog The Undeniable said:

Of course, the M6 is normally so congested that it was probably safer
than the pavement...

Also faster, which is probably why they were so [censored] :-)

I wonder how effective the ribbed white lines are at stopping sleeping
drivers wandering onto the hard shoulder. If they work, it's arguable
that M-way hard shoulders are as safe as anymhere to ride. Rules would
be: come off and on again at every junction (including service areas);
always pass stopped vehicles on the inside, dismounting if necessary.

If the ribbed lines are effective, most of the casualties would be at
the interchanges - where it's legal to cycle now.

Of course, if cyclists could use the hard shoulder, there'd be nothing
to stop pedestrians, mopeds, horses...

Colin McKenzie

Colin McKenzie said:

I wonder how effective the ribbed white lines are at stopping sleeping
drivers wandering onto the hard shoulder. If they work, it's arguable
that M-way hard shoulders are as safe as anymhere to ride. Rules would
be: come off and on again at every junction (including service areas);
always pass stopped vehicles on the inside, dismounting if necessary.

If they allow cyclists to use motorways, but with the restrictions you
suggest, then that could be the thin edge of the wedge to "marginalise"
cyclists on non mway roads.

In article <[email hidden]>, Peter B
<[email hidden]> writes

Quoted message said:

Actually cycling on a mway hard shoulder is probably one of the pastimes in
hell ;-)

Unless you've actually been there (hard shoulder that is) it's difficult
to imagine what it's like. My car broke down on the m4 about 20 years
ago. I phoned the police then rather naively got back into the car to
continue listening to the sports program on the radio. I got out after a
very few minutes and stood on the grass bank. The violent bouncing
around of the car caused by enormous vehicles travelling at enormous
speeds only a foot or two away is a frightening experience. Apart from
the possibility of a cyclist getting hit on the hard shoulder itself,
the risk of being sucked into the nearside lane behind one HGV &
squashed by the next one must be significant.

--
Peter Grange

In the US cycling is allowed on the hard shoulder of many freeways - see
for example the Pacific Coast Highway (Route 101) at
http://www.lkjh.org/bike/usa/vlc/p6762.jpg

As other point out it's not much fun with lorries whizzing past at 70+.

Incidentally the picture was one of a series I took just before the
fatal floods and landslides in early January - see
http://www.lkjh.org/bike/usa/vlc/index.html

Kirby

Colin McKenzie said:

Just zis Guy said:

Zog The Undeniable said:

Of course, the M6 is normally so congested that it was probably
safer than the pavement...

Also faster, which is probably why they were so [censored] :-)

I wonder how effective the ribbed white lines are at stopping sleeping
drivers wandering onto the hard shoulder. If they work, it's arguable
that M-way hard shoulders are as safe as anymhere to ride.

I read a statistic* that the average vehicle in France had 11 minutes on the
hard shoulder before it got hit.

There wasn't a full source given for it, though.

A
*Prospect Magazine, early last year.

Ambrose Nankivell said:

I read a statistic* that the average vehicle in France had 11 minutes on
the hard shoulder before it got hit.

There wasn't a full source given for it, though.

These sort of factoids get trotted out regularly, but fail to be
remotely plausible IMO.

James

James Annan said:

Ambrose Nankivell said:

I read a statistic* that the average vehicle in France had 11
minutes on the hard shoulder before it got hit.

There wasn't a full source given for it, though.

These sort of factoids get trotted out regularly, but fail to be
remotely plausible IMO.

Indeed. If I'd have been able to find the article, I would have been able to
quote the death rate for people who work maintaining the carriageway and
retrieving vehicles and that would have been a better backed up statistic.

A

Zog The Undeniable said:

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,91059-13300986,00.html

Of course, the M6 is normally so congested that it was probably safer
than the pavement...

While I obviously never go on motorways I get a surprising number of
cars beeping me when I'm on dual carriageways. My main commute is
almost entirely dual carriageway for a start. Presumably for every car
that beeps theres probably quite a few that don't beep but also think
I shouldn't be on them. I've tried to figure out if its something else
like the lack of helmet etc but its always on dual carriageways when I
hear the beep and theres no other obvious explanation.Its happened
about 7 times now and seems to be exclusively male drivers and often
van drivers. I might add I always ride well to the left mainly along
the white line and I'm not obstructing their speed or passage at all.
The most frustrating thing of course is you can't react to it and
explain to them that its fully legal to be riding on dual
carriageways.

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 06:20:08 +0000 someone who may be Martin Wilson
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

While I obviously never go on motorways I get a surprising number of
cars beeping me when I'm on dual carriageways. [snip]

Quoted message said:

I might add I always ride well to the left mainly along
the white line

No t a good place to cycle. See "Cyclecraft" for correct
positioning.

Quoted message said:

The most frustrating thing of course is you can't react to it and
explain to them that its fully legal to be riding on dual
carriageways.

They should be patient. Eventually a "cycle friendly" council, like
the City of Edinburgh Council, will ban cyclists from this sort of
road as is happening with the A90.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.

between L'Escala and Figueres in Spain the cycle path, to my amazement
,dropped me on the hard shoulder of what is ,in effect, a motorway and
took me along it for a while.On getting off there and trying to follow
the back road route again I found myself in a field next to the mway
with no other way to progress but to climb over the barrier and join
the several others who were using the hard shoulder as though that was
the routine.
Although it felt wrong it seemed a lot safer than cycling along the A1
, which is of course legal, though not to my taste.
It was when the hard shoulder narrowed to the usual british A road
style 2ft strip that I chickened out at the first opportunity and
climbed down to a back road .
There are plenty of legal roads for cycling that must be as dangerous
as a hard shoulder.
One would have major problems overtaking parked lorries, though.

TerryJ

Al C-F said:

Martin Wilson said:

I've tried to figure out if its something else
like the lack of helmet etc but its always on dual carriageways when I
hear the beep and theres no other obvious explanation.Its happened
about 7 times now and seems to be exclusively male drivers and often
van drivers.

It's the gay ones. They see you in lycra and want to attract your
attention.

This 'cyclist on the dual-carriageway' bit is just a good cover story
if anyone they know asks why they're hooting at that fine figured,
lycra clad cyclist.

Fine figured and lycra clad should be replaced by fat [censored] with
bright yellow council worker type coat and jeans.

"Kirby James" wrote ...

Quoted message said:

In the US cycling is allowed on the hard shoulder of many freeways - see
for example the Pacific Coast Highway (Route 101) at
http://www.lkjh.org/bike/usa/vlc/p6762.jpg

As other point out it's not much fun with lorries whizzing past at 70+.

Route 101 is a US Highway (equivalent to an "A" road/dual carriageway, as I
understand it). There is cross traffic in places, and the two different
travel directions may or may not be separated. Like many British "A" roads,
there are stretches where the construction very closely resembles an
Interstate highway/motorway.

The equivalent to a motorway would be an Interstate highway, with no cross
traffic, and opposing travel directions always separated by guardrail/median
strip.

There are states where cycling is permitted on rural Interstates, and there
are signposted cycle routes that follow some of these rural Interstates.
This is usually in areas where there are no other paved roads, or very few
other paved roads. Speed limits, travel speeds, and traffic volume tend to
be lower than on European/British motorways/autoroutes/etc., and travel
lanes and the shoulders tend to be wider. And no, it's not much fun.

At least one urc regular has described cycling on Interstate 70 through
Colorado.
--
mark

On Sun, 20 Feb 2005 11:18:13 +0000 someone who may be Martin Wilson
<[email hidden]> wrote this:-

Quoted message said:

I don't have a copy of that so what does it actually say with regard
positioning?

It says rather a lot, which cannot easily be condensed. Correct
positioning depends on many factors.

http://www.lesberries.co.uk/ccraft/ccraft.htm has information on how
to get a copy.

--
David Hansen, Edinburgh | PGP email preferred-key number F566DA0E
I will always explain revoked keys, unless the UK government
prevents me by using the RIP Act 2000.