Your entitled to an opinion on dogs but to call them pathetic is typically pathetic of you but thanks anyway

I didn't mean the dogs. To be fair I did have a Teddy until I was about 6 years old.

I know what you meant and tbf you did sound about six years old but let’s not fall out over this

My sentiments exactly, let’s agree to disagree, but no point in falling out.

Often quoted, but without the nuance:



I can't get into the head of anyone who would deliberately poison a pet - whether you like them or not, they become part of the family and a great source of comfort, company and happiness to many people; if we're suggesting that a few bad apples justify the hatred, then I shall today commence blowing up every car I can get my hands on, since someone cut me up on the Asda roundabout yesterday. Seems fair.

Agreed but at this time of the year I can't be sure about where I stand with cyclists with no lights on.

I don't see that many with no lights - having been a cyclist for many years, it would be a self-defeating omission, on account of the fact that you can't see where you're going.

Motorists using their phones however, is another matter altogether...

Well I see quite a lot of cyclists without lights. They are the ones who also ‘jump’ lights , weave in and out, ride on pavements, run into you as you walk round a corner etc .
Obviously majority are responsible such as yourself Bren.
What I do not understand is why the police seemingly ignore this dangerous practice.

Same, I suppose there are irresponsible individuals in all areas of life. Cyclist become an easy target I suppose, I used to get infuriated by cyclist when in the car, until I gave road biking a try and then felt terrible for my impatience over the years.

I am now cured though and back to beeping my horn at the likes of Bren in his little lycra hot pants

Probably because in a pyramid of harms, they have much more serious matters to attend to when it comes to policing road users - such as drivers using their phones, speeding, driving under the influence, driving without insurance etc etc

My attitude, both pre cycling career and now, has been that cyclists are not the ones in possession of a 1 tonne death box, capable of 100+ miles an hour, and so the duty of care is naturally reduced; yes there have been tragic exceptions - but for the most part, cyclists are victims of poor behaviour on the road, rather than perpertrators. Ironic really, given that cyclists, horses and pedestrians are the ones entitled to use the road - car drivers are only allowed there by licence.

I realise it's annoying when someone doing something ticks you off - but it's also annoying when a cyclist ticks someone off, and by the time they get home, the story has been transposed to 'cyclists' instead of 'a cyclist.' Hence my plan to blow up all cars - I have had enough encounters with car driving idiots to justify that, if I use the same faulty reasoning as that which is applied to cyclists on a daily basis.

Going a bit off topic but there is no doubt there is bad behaviour on the road from motorists and cyclist.
I don't like all the responsibility being on the motorist but equally they are pretty safe physically.
The issue is guilt and litigation.

Hit the nail on the head there, Bren......Until 12 months ago I was one of those tasked with dealing with these individuals on a daily basis and whilst I'm not going to go into specific numbers, most people would be shocked as to just how few traffic officers are actually out there patrolling our streets and trying to catch these moronic drivers who flout the law. Hence the reason that cyclists are generally left to their own devices.
The "response" (beat) officers who drive around in the Peugeots and vans are absolutely run ragged, very rarely getting a meal break, so generally do not have the time to deal with "traffic" matters.
Having retired from the Force (no Luke Skywalker jokes please !!!!), I now deliver car parts around the city but really do wish I still had a blue light, as like everyone else, I am sick of seeing people driving around talking/texting on their mobiles and flagrantly flouting the rules of the road...

Them two kids parked up in the Subway car park, both in a jam sandwich looked absolutely burnt out for the 45 minutes I witnessed

A car each I forgot to mention

Couldn't agree more with this post as I have always been a dedicated (working) dog man all my life.
I always clean up after mine unless we are in the wilderness and so I despair when cat owners think it is ok for their pets to use my garden as a toilet.
We had an even worse problem over at Cas a few years ago when some moron was leaving sausages laced with needles.

This is my experience of cyclists too.

There are loads of cyclists without lights and quite often in dark clothing, oblivious to the fact that they are putting themselves in danger.
Who would be most responsible for an accident- someone driving at 35 in a 30 limit or the guy, riding his bike, without light, in dark clothing and ignoring the traffic signals.
The cyclist can see where they are going, just as a pedestrian can but, they need to be visible

See what you've done there - you've transposed some cyclists not using lights, to loads of cyclists not using lights; and along the way, you've added the extra offences of wearing dark clothing and ignoring traffic signals; who is this suicidal, night-vision having, ninja-costumed cyclist who has fomented such hatred in you?!

Just be careful in your fu**ing car mate - it's much more logically sound than turning cyclists into suicidal accident magnets, who deliberately ride their inoffensive, zero-emission, cheap form of transport, to entrap you into killing them with your car.

You are right about car drivers, but unfortunately from the evidence I've seen, there must be some of the cycling group you refer to out there.

That's rather my point - in every activity you do, in every area of your life, there are people doing things outside the rules, or without care for other people; that doesn't mean that *everyone* who does that activity behaves like that, nor does it give you licence to vilify everyone who does that activity - apart from you of course - because we never include ourselves in these generalised rants - hence why we sit in our cars kicking off about 'traffic,' without accepting that by virtue of being stuck in traffic, we are ourselves, traffic.

Cyclists are, for the most part, either getting from a to b cheaply, or trying to be healthy; yes some cyclists are reckless or inconsiderate, but that's hardly reason for the easily triggered hate mob that will, at just one signal from their leather blouson wearing pied piper Mr Clarkson, wax lyrical about why cyclists should be insured, you should be able to run them off the road, or any other number of ridiculous and largely unfounded criticisms.

We do realise that you only hate us because your WAGs ogle our well-toned, freshly shaven, muscular legs - but you can get over that, surely?

Oh - and don't poison dogs.

Nothing more annoying than a group of cyclists hogging the road. At least horse riders go single file or at least when you drive past them.

And then there’s the unused cycle lane down Asdale Road.

think you'll need to rethink your attitude as it annoyed to the point of researching up are cyclists and horses allowed to ride in tandem on the road and the answer was yes, you also have to give 3 foot distance when overtaking them, this was when I couldn't over take two police horses having the steadiest stroll you could ever imagine and didn't give to hoots to what was lining up behind them

You need to re-read the Highway Code mate - cyclists are perfectly entitled to ride two abreast (which they will often do to dissuade impatient idiots from overtaking them dangerously) and cycle lanes are by no means compulsory; I rarely use them myself, as they are too narrow, and force you to ride too near the kerb - which encourages the previously mentioned impatient idiot to overtake you when it's not safe to do so.

Cycling in an assertive lane position is a self-preservation tactic in many instances; I also like to do it *specifically* to pi$$ you off.

Cyclists are much safer to overtake when they ride in a small group, rather than in a long line. 8 cyclists riding in a small group is just like overtaking a single van. 8 cyclists riding in a long line requires much more length of road to overtake them, and more time spent on the wrong side of the road.