The sunshine has certainty brought out the fair weather cyclists here in Basel. Yesterday, I (on my bicycle) stopped at pedestrian crossing as a someone was crossing. And a cyclist, who was a good 10 metre behind me came crashing into me. He then had the gall to ask me "why the *uck" I had stopped.. Going by his accent he too was a Brit, just one who appears to learnt the very bad "London" style of cycling - ignoring every one else around...

When I'm in a car I hate cyclists - their lighting jumping antics. Taking up space on the roads that they don't get charged for.

When I'm on a bike I hate car-drivers. Their belief that a bike only needs 5cm of road space. Their inability to see a bike in their mirrors or through their windows.



Everyone is as bad as each other. The people are selfish not their form of transportation.

just knock them over. they probably deserve it.

What bugs me mostly about cyclists is their blatant lack of instinct of self preservation. If we discount the debate whether cyclists abide by the law or not, they certainly don't abide by common sense. Just look at who is the most squishy on the road. The 3 ton truck with steel frame, or a 50-80kg bag of bones, meat and fluff. Sure enough, the truck has to respect the squishiness of the meatbag, but I for one, as a meatbag intent on living to my old days, don't want to bet my life on the fact that the truckie will have the mental presence and foresight to not only avoid crashing into me, but avoid me crashing into them.

I believe it is called defensive driving. It is a good practice even if one is in the relative safety of a car, it is very important for motorbikes, and by extension it should be the primary and highest rule for cyclists (the most vulnerable of all).

When I see a blob of cyclists not giving a rats arse about the SUV driving next to them, blatantly taking over half the road (cycling only inside the yellow line be damned) I'm just wondering whether it will end in carnage when they reach the narrow lane at the pedestrian crossing.

They're referred to as Cycle Gimps in our car.

Nearly. An idiot motorist is an idiot cyclist in a midlife crisis

Wow. An entire anti-cyclists thread of more than 25 posts, and not a single groan from the usual suspects.

It must be the weather. Or the spandex.

All the things highlighted suggest you shouldn't have been "showering sparks" and "grinning like an idiot" but instead riding slowly and anticipating "absolute twunts" and people that might / might not have been working on the road specially given that it was "evening" and "first time this year" and even more so given that you say about the bend "bikers will know it's a silly one"

Biking is my primary mode of transportation and I am shocked by the antics of bikers here. Everyday I see lane changes with looking, running red lights, jumping onto sidewalks, cutting off other bikers, cutting off cars. And I am not talking about the road bikers on their fancy 5000 chf bike with their 2000 chf outfits, I'm talking about all of them. Business men and ladies in suits, college kids, roadies. Back in the states these guys wouldn't last a week of city riding. I spend more time avoiding accidents with other bikers here than I do with cars.

Is that the bikers in Minneapolis or some Swiss place?

Answer me this, where do you stand with the lycra clad crowd when they choose to cycle over a pedestrian crossing and you are coming along the road in a car or on a motorbike.

Who has right of way? Bit of a grey area for me and I have already got a reputation and fine for not letting a child on foot cross.

Depends whether it's a police stitch-up or not.

Generally I drive around the block first to check whether any police are lurking, then return to charge the crossing in the hope that the illegal cyclist is still there.

Everytime I get stopped by a traffic officer I have been able to get out the ticket by pushing him into a his white suited little fat buddy - then jumping back into the the car through the windows - before flooring the throttle causing the tyres to screech on a non-tarmac surface - before finally jumping over a river or moving train - shouting Yeehah!!

I stand wherever I get the best view if it's a nicely muscled set of bum and thighs on the chap.

The lycra pushes their balls into their brains resulting in sheer madness.

I asked some friends why it is that cyclists act like they are God. I was told that if a car hits a cyclist, the car is at fault 90% of the time. So I am guessing this is the reason why cyclists feel they can do anything with minimal risk.

The bad thing is, other cyclists may even be led to think that cycling rules in Switzerland are different from their own country. I honestly thought that it was ok to ride through the red light after I saw a few cyclists doing it

So not only are these w&%%6kers endangering their own lives, they are also endangering other people's lives (including kids) by setting wrong examples.

This morning I was riding to work and stopped at a red light. This idiot woman overtook me on her bike without regard for the light. I shouted, "It's red, you b%&ch!!!". I will make a point of doing more of that in future. If I am threatened I will just call 117

Perhaps not the best timing for a rant of this nature?

it might be their fault, but you would think self-preservation would also be a factor.

after all, it's going to be little confusion if it is deemed to be the drivers fault when you're 6ft under...