I used to have quite a high annual mileage and drove a normal saloon. Since I have moved and changed jobs I have, for a while now, downsized to something smaller.
Since I changed to the smaller car I have noticed that I seem to be cut up more and cars seem to pull out from side roads/on islands in front of me much more often than when I was driving the larger car. My driving style hasn't (I don't think) changed to any great extent.
I don't know whether it is because people don't see me or because they think I am going slower than I actually am.
Does any one else have any thoughts?
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OK I'll take the bait -- an SUV may help....
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I don't know whether it is because people don't see me or because they think I am going slower than I actually am.
I think you have hit the nail on the head with the "think I'm going slower" bit. I often cycle to work (although not often enough, judging by my ever-expanding waistline) and typically maintain 20mph or so. I have often had motorists pull out, only to see their eyes bulge as I swing out past them. Once chap wound down his window to apologise "I hadn't realised how fast you were going". It's definitely a perception of "slowness" with smaller cars, bikes, 50cc scooters etc.
You could always nick a poster of a Discovery and stick it to the side of your car........
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>I often cycle to work (although not often enough, judging by my >ever-expanding waistline) and typically maintain 20mph or so.
20mph+? Who are you, Lance Armstrong? Or is your commute a mile or less? In my mid-twenties I could manage that for a few hours, but I was FIT (200 miles a week on the bike) and it really hurt--to keep at that speed I was running at seventy percent of maximum heartbeat (70% for me was 150bpm back then and would kill me now). It makes you realise just how much aerodynamics counts. 15mph is no problem even for an unfit bloke on a mountain bike (I have proof).
Chris
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20mph+? Who are you, Lance Armstrong? Or is your commute a mile or less? In my mid-twenties I could manage that for a few hours, but I was FIT (200 miles a week on the bike) and it really hurt--to keep at that speed I was running at seventy percent of maximum heartbeat (70% for me was 150bpm back then and would kill me now). It makes you realise just how much aerodynamics counts. 15mph is no problem even for an unfit bloke on a mountain bike (I have proof). Chris
6.5 miles each way. Fortunately I have a fairly steady climb for the first mile or so to warm up, then it's all level or slight downhill. All done on a stripped-down Kona mountain bike with pace forks (light but springy enough to take the sting off the potholes) on 1.25 slicks, "short" rear sprocket and extended big ring. I've been riding on and off pretty much since my first job in 1986, where I used to ride 14 miles each way. When my job takes me away from home I try and do a 45+ mile off-road ride in the Purbecks at the weekends.
Most days I sit at around 18mph after the initial climb, but on a good day have held 22mph along a 1.25 mile straight that leads to the office. My "average" speed door to door sticks to around 14mph
Will be doing a 100mile off-road ride in aid of Asthma Research (they could save their time and just tell people not to do b***** stupid distances on their bikes) this June so am trying to get out every weekend now, doing 20 miles in shortest possible time, then going for a longer ride to build up the stamina.
Daft isn't it. I hurl myself down steep flint-covered tracks at daft speeds and have one accident in 8 years of mountain-biking (although it did leave me with 2 compressed vertebrae!) yet get knocked off 3 times in a year of commuting.
Perhaps the mods had the right idea wearing parkas with a target on them.......
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Ah, you must be fairly fit then. When I started commuting by bike back in the late 1980s I had a quite a few crashes, but I eventually improved and had no offs in my last five years of city commuting. Safe road riding is quite a skill. I mostly get out on a tandem now, so 20mph is no problem at all--car drivers really don't expect you to be going that fast and pedestrians don't realise how much it would hurt if you hit them either--but I don't commute any more since I work from home. However, I picked up a pristine Cannondale race bike at the local tip a couple of weeks ago (a bloke was about to throw it away, would you believe) so I may be putting in a few miles again. All it needs is tyres.
See you up the road.
Chris
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(Homer Simpson moment)
Mmmmmmm, Cannondale road bike.... argle-argle-argle....
Fit but fat sums me up. Probably better off sticking to the Alfa from 31/03 as changing jobs and will be off to London and Reading most days. Not really an option on my bike!
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I couldn't believe he was chucking it away. It goes like stink. It's actually a little too big for me, but the price was right ;-)
Chris
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Will be doing a 100mile off-road ride in aid of Asthma Research (they could save their time and just tell people not to do b***** stupid distances on their bikes) this June so am trying to get out every weekend now, doing 20 miles in shortest possible time, then going for a longer ride to build up the stamina.
That is fantastic, ND, the very best of luck with it - let us know how you get on in June, please?
HF
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If they do see you, some may not perceive you to be so near. A yellow car could help; they paint training aircraft yellow to be more visible.
Tomo
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Tomo, I wear a high-vis flourescent yellow jacket (full jacket, not a waiscoat) on my bike. Makes no difference.
I sometimes think an RAF roundel on my chest would be better. Give them something to aim for.....
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Folks, we're all mising the obvious: spotlights!
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E'Man
Its what they think they can get away with mainly - I get it when I drive my wifes' Matiz but not too much in the X Type - on the back roads the Matiz can scare the **** out of them under the right conditions.
Matt35
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There's definitely something about how much the car stands out too. I've got an '00X Primera as a courtesy car at the moment, and at least twice as many other vehicles as normal are pulling out in front of me at night. I reckon it's because the "projector" style headlamps don't allow enough "spare" light outwards and upwards, so I'm not as instantly visible as I am in the Skoda (which has "normal" headlights).
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hhhmmm. It seems that my only hope is to buy a Grand Cherokee Overland, painted dayglo yellow, and drive it with the lights on full beam all the time.:-)
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Don't forget to leave your foglights on. A couple of little blue lights on your windscreen washer jets will help. Oh, mustn't forget the bangin' sound system so that they can hear you coming as well.
:o)
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Oh, mustn't forget the bangin' sound system so that they can hear you coming as well.
It's far cheaper to buy a van and get a mate in the back to bang the sides of said van with a broom handle!!
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See my recent 'Road Presence' thread...
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