When I arrived at the cathedral I was a little bit excited to see so many bikes, all shapes, sizes and types.  Sure there were a few with clearly broken brakes but it’s summer everyone should be allowed to ride in the sunshine, or I first thought anyway.  The ride started off pretty usually (as usually as someone whose been to two can claim) with someone taking the lead and everyone following… Through a shopping centre.

Given it was only the Minories and I have on occasion nipped through, but not usually with that many bikes in tow and then to the first thing that kind of confused and upset me.  We went round the roundabout… twice.

Maybe the people at the front were unsure of a direction so I let it slide and carried on… except we did it again, or at least the mass did (I pulled away) at five ways roundabout, going round… 4 times.

4 Times while traffic is backing up at every junction.  Now I get the point that the mass “Is Traffic” but I’ve never made a habit of driving round roundabouts 4 times when I have to use a car. In fact making drivers angry by making them wait needlessly serves no purpose, if anything it reinforces their view of cyclists which is we get in the way and hold everything up.

The other thing was something that upsets me no end… Red Light Jumping.

Now if your the back 3 riders in a big group and the junction light goes red on you, nail it through with the group.  But pedestrian crossings when they go red, stop.  Someone  with even more legal priority on the road is trying to cross, and again knocking over pedestrians or stopping them from legitimately crossing does nothing to help the day to day cyclist.  I have to pint out I didn’t witness any pedestrians being knocked over.

There was a great deal of difference in riding experience there and I really feel that it’s the more experienced riders job to lead the way and maintain road standards otherwise the newer riders just think they can behave like idiots and when the worst happens get very angry about it not realising that sometimes your actions, position and behaviour on the road have an impact.

I decided about half an hour in that I didn’t want to be part of a ride like this and peeled off and went home, this was probably my last ever critical mass.

http://www.burtonmail.co.uk/News/Take-extra-care-appeal-after-cyclist-killed-on-A38.htm was brought to my attention, and it’s not so much the article but the commenter’s that wind me up.

So here’s some free easy to follow advice,

1. Please remember that hitting a smaller object with a larger one usually results in the death or destruction of the smaller object.

2. Please for a moment try to remember that your shiny car is larger and heavier than a cyclist or pedestrian (no matter how much it cost) and then see point 1.

3. If you are unable to cope with moving at speed, observing the world around, and manoeuvring you so that you avoid other legal road users (e.g. other cars, motorcyclists, cyclists, pedestrians) then leave the car at home.  Maybe you should just take the Bus.

4. If you want to do something other than drive the car in a safe and responsible manner, maybe you should stay at home.

I think it’s time we all stopped making excuses and implemented strict liability, I mean when was the last time a cyclist killed a driver by riding into their car?

All this means that I’ve had to drive to work, which sucks hard.

With all being well, i’ll have a new wheel in the Brompton by sun down on Monday and I’ll find my chain whip and free up the free wheel on the mountain bike.  The Kona is going to get some shiny toys over the summer to kit it out as an uber fast winter commuter.

Has this put me off cycling in any way, nah, not whatsoever.

I’m heading home tomorrow and I’m going to have to continue my search for a frame for my bargain bombproof touring bike frame on the Internet.

Now while I feel that following the rules of traffic are important especially when cyclists are demanding equal treatment most of my fellow cyclists it appears are not. Now I’ve heard all sorts of arguments for not stopping such as “It only affects cars”, “We didn’t need traffic lights before motor vehicles” and the one I heard yesterday which was “I just don’t care” but the fact at the end of all of this is that the law says you must stop. It’s not a guideline it’s a law and subject to a penalty should the old bill come your way.

I’ve taken my fair share of abuse while out on the bike but nothing gets another road users back up more than sitting at a red light and watching a cyclist breeze straight through without giving it any heed whatsoever. The key to responsible road sharing is equality, while cyclists ride through red lights without a thought a collection of other road users will use that to defend their atrocious driving habits towards us.

What really makes me laugh about this, the chap that rode past me and through a red light last night wasn’t even going that fast anyway. When the light went green I caught up with him in a hundred yards up a slope on a Brompton so it’s not as if stopping would have delayed his journey that much anyway.