The grumpy thread

[hairnet]

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[High Jetter]

18 minutes ago, hairnet said:

View for next hour

You didn't reserve a seat?

[paulplom]

1 hour ago, Noel Tidybeard said:

efa

 

I've seen plenty of cyclists with these and headphones on. Total wankers.

How will they hear my horn blasting them out of the way ffs.

[New POD]

9 minutes ago, paulplom said:

I've seen plenty of cyclists with these and headphones on. Total wankers.

How will they hear my horn blasting them out of the way ffs.

If you saw them in enough time to process the idea of pressing your horn, and then actually pressing your horn, you had time to avoid them by braking swerving or both, right ? 

[Zelandeth]

Just very, very, VERY nearly took out a cyclist.

Crossing a 70mph dual carriageway in the dark, wearing all black on a bike with no lights, reflectors etc whatsoever. 

Only reason I saw them about 0.02 seconds before it was too late to swerve around them was that they obstructed the headlights of the oncoming traffic.  Also bloody lucky there was nothing in the overtaking lane so I had room to swerve.

Spent the next 300 yards trying to get the car pointing straight ahead again.

Was literally about 20 metres from an overpass with the off street footway/cycleway on it.  Wish I could say it was the first near miss with cyclists around here.

Not quite as bad as the one a year or so back who was cycling the wrong way up a dual carriageway (again, in the dark with no lights), but this one was probably closer to ending up embedded in my windscreen.

[richardmorris]

24 minutes ago, Zelandeth said:

Just very, very, VERY nearly took out a cyclist.

Crossing a 70mph dual carriageway in the dark, wearing all black on a bike with no lights, reflectors etc whatsoever. 

Only reason I saw them about 0.02 seconds before it was too late to swerve around them was that they obstructed the headlights of the oncoming traffic.  Also bloody lucky there was nothing in the overtaking lane so I had room to swerve.

Spent the next 300 yards trying to get the car pointing straight ahead again.

Was literally about 20 metres from an overpass with the off street footway/cycleway on it.  Wish I could say it was the first near miss with cyclists around here.

Not quite as bad as the one a year or so back who was cycling the wrong way up a dual carriageway (again, in the dark with no lights), but this one was probably closer to ending up embedded in my windscreen.

I’ve no idea why some people do this. My bike has reflectors spoky dokies and multiple front and rear lights. I wear clothes with reflective patches ( and yet still car drivers ignore me).

[captain_70s]

Loads of light/reflectorless cyclists around here, often doing take out deliveries. Red lights optional, pavements fair game.

Nutters.

[Zelandeth]

1 hour ago, captain_70s said:

Loads of light/reflectorless cyclists around here, often doing take out deliveries. Red lights optional, pavements fair game.

Nutters.

Pavement would make more sense than this!

(The streetlights there haven't worked in a couple of years).

Where were they even going?!?

The lower of those overpasses (which are combined footway/cycleways) is directly behind us in the first photo.

[Angrydicky]

Going to score/deal in those trees I’d imagine.

[GrumpiusMaximus]

There's a lane down here on my way back to work that's very dark, narrow and surprisingly busy.  Driving down it the other day, the only reason I realised there was a pedestrian in the middle of the road was that they were carrying a torch.  Black top, dark jeans.  Absolutely lethal.  Got shivers afterwards thinking about what could have happened...

[cobblers]

On my old commute there was a guy who cycled to work at 6:30am on pitch black fast flowing country lanes in dark clothing with no lights, every day. I have no idea how how he survived two winters. At some traffic lights I spoke to him and said "mate, I see you every day on the road with no lights, you're gonna end up killed" and his response was "well you've seen me". About a week later he got a white light and put it on the back of his bike which caused massive confusion. 

[beko1987]

28 minutes ago, GrumpiusMaximus said:

There's a lane down here on my way back to work that's very dark, narrow and surprisingly busy.  Driving down it the other day, the only reason I realised there was a pedestrian in the middle of the road was that they were carrying a torch.  Black top, dark jeans.  Absolutely lethal.  Got shivers afterwards thinking about what could have happened...

One of the driving factors in my going to specsavers a while ago was near miss like this. Driving home one night with a bloody pedestrian walking towards me with a tiny little shitty torch. On the road as theres no path... 

I was going 55 (in a 60, goes into a 40 a few yards further on) and luckily had nothing coming my way so could dive right fucking quickly but if I hadn't I doubt I'd have noticed as I fucking punted him square into death... And it would have been 100% my fault I imagine 

Zero lights, the car behind me gave him a toot as well but fuck me I went cold! Always struggled with blur at night... 

Had a shudder just typing this! 

[GrumpiusMaximus]

33 minutes ago, beko1987 said:

One of the driving factors in my going to specsavers a while ago was near miss like this. Driving home one night with a bloody pedestrian walking towards me with a tiny little shitty torch. On the road as theres no path... 

I was going 55 (in a 60, goes into a 40 a few yards further on) and luckily had nothing coming my way so could dive right fucking quickly but if I hadn't I doubt I'd have noticed as I fucking punted him square into death... And it would have been 100% my fault I imagine 

Zero lights, the car behind me gave him a toot as well but fuck me I went cold! Always struggled with blur at night... 

Had a shudder just typing this! 

Yeah.  The prescription on my glasses seems about right but I think I'm going to look at glare coatings and the like (had them before) because my astymatism makes it a bit tricky sometimes.  Maybe even a separate pair for work and for driving with different coatings (I spend at least eight hours a day looking at a screen).  Wouldn't have made much difference in my scenario but you make a solid point there and it's worth seeing if my vision can be improved.  Will also clean the inside of the windscreen too...

[beko1987]

Turns out I have problems focusing distance. I can do it, but with a slight delay (became apparent during the eye test and now I notice it consciously 😡). Now I wear them driving is totally different! 

Another factor was my laziness. I know that road back to front and inside out. Know when to lift off, when and how much to brake the once you need to, when to drop a gear, how much steering etc. Means I fucking hammer it down there without really realising it. Right up until near where the above happens where I now slow right down. Which has caused me a few flashes from behind but fuck them. 

Pre glasses in the rain I've got home purely by the above knowledge and keeping focus on the white lines... Used to pray for a slow car in front of me

[Talbot]

On 12/4/2021 at 5:47 PM, Zelandeth said:

Just very, very, VERY nearly took out a cyclist.

Crossing a 70mph dual carriageway in the dark, wearing all black on a bike with no lights, reflectors etc whatsoever. 

Only reason I saw them about 0.02 seconds before it was too late to swerve around them was that they obstructed the headlights of the oncoming traffic.  Also bloody lucky there was nothing in the overtaking lane so I had room to swerve.

Spent the next 300 yards trying to get the car pointing straight ahead again.

Was literally about 20 metres from an overpass with the off street footway/cycleway on it.  Wish I could say it was the first near miss with cyclists around here.

Not quite as bad as the one a year or so back who was cycling the wrong way up a dual carriageway (again, in the dark with no lights), but this one was probably closer to ending up embedded in my windscreen.

Had you hit said cyclist, I'm fairly sure you'd not have been held responsible.  This reminds me of a similar incident that was shown on some police-camera-action type programme where a car had hit a completely invisible cyclist, not realised what had happened and just driven home.  The cyclist was killed, the driver not held responsible.

It astounds me that some cyclists chose to be so utterly stupid.  Like richardmorris above, when I cycle I have two powerful headlamps, two excellent rear lamps and an additional OK one, and some reflective strikes on my backpack.  I also cycle correctly in terms of road use, cycling like I would drive.  and still some drivers are hell-bent on driving like complete tossers and putting me at risk that they really don't need to.  I'm in two minds as to whether a car dashcam or a cyclecam is more important right now.  Possibly the latter.

[timolloyd]

I’ve just bought a camera for my bike. I really didn’t want to, but in September I had a terrible run of near-misses and abuse over 4 weeks.

We can have all the lights and reflectors in the world, but there are lots of psychos out there who simply don’t care.

[Leyland Worldmaster]

https://www.itv.com/news/2021-12-07/no-10-staff-joke-in-leaked-recording-about-christmas-party-they-later-denied

Cause of my grumpiness. 😤

[Ghosty]

I'm bloody glad I'm not a courier any more. 

The first time I rode my bike in the city centre after changing jobs, I thought to myself 'how did I do this every day'? It's bloody scary. 

[High Jetter]

My first job was a 'courier'. Aged, idk, 12? Delivering papers at silly o'clock. Slipped on ice one winter, head on ground looking at a car sliding towards me...

[MikeR]

M57 , A5758 , f in joke of a road system any time of the year , and now a sign has wind damage !!!

[Dyslexic Viking]

I'm going through weather hell now. Has been complete snow chaos here the last few days. And got another half meter of heavy snow last night. So have well over 1 meter of snow now. So I have almost killed both the snow blower and myself as a lot also has to be dug away by hand. This has been going on for 3 days now and I'm tired so a quick food break now and then it's out again to remove snow.

[warch]

21 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I'm going through weather hell now. Has been complete snow chaos here the last few days. And got another half meter of heavy snow last night. So have well over 1 meter of snow now. So I have almost killed both the snow blower and myself as a lot also has to be dug away by hand. This has been going on for 3 days now and I'm tired so a quick food break now and then it's out again to remove snow.

 

I reckon the British media would run out of descriptive terms to describe a metre of snowfall. This;

would be sufficient for an OMG SNOMAGEDDON!!!! from the English based tabloids most winters.

[Talbot]

It amuses me greatly that people design rooves in the UK for 1m of snow loading.  I don't think I've ever seen more than about 200mm of snow ever, even in the heaviest winters years ago that we don't really get any more.  And that was in Scotland.

Down on the south coast, 50mm of snow is exceptional.

[warch]

2 hours ago, Talbot said:

It amuses me greatly that people design rooves in the UK for 1m of snow loading.  I don't think I've ever seen more than about 200mm of snow ever, even in the heaviest winters years ago that we don't really get any more.  And that was in Scotland.

Down on the south coast, 50mm of snow is exceptional.

On the other hand, if we do ever get a metre of snow, I'd like it to stay on the outside of the house where it belongs not inside where I am. 

[dozeydustman]

That’s me booked in for a PCR test. Arsehats. 3 LFs in 2 days - one fail, 2 negative but symptoms prevalent.

[Dyslexic Viking]

4 hours ago, warch said:

 

I reckon the British media would run out of descriptive terms to describe a metre of snowfall. This;

would be sufficient for an OMG SNOMAGEDDON!!!! from the English based tabloids most winters.

I hope you would get 1 meter of snow in a short time it would be very entertaining. I find it very funny how little snow is needed before there is chaos elsewhere.

[warch]

20 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I hope you would get 1 meter of snow in a short time it would be very entertaining. I find it very funny how little snow is needed before there is chaos elsewhere.

Pretty much any climatic variation away from slightly damp and mild leads to chaos over here. We're still in the grip of devastating 50mph winds. I have to go outside and realign the satellite dish every evening so Mrs warch can watch Strictly.

[Zelandeth]

Right, Autoaid are on my list.

Had to ring up to update my payment details, and they've lumped me with the "you need to pay £30 extra for cover for vehicles over 15 years" bullshit.

Asked what would happen if I were in a friend's 16 year old car and we broke down at the side of the M6 in the middle of the night and I didn't have the extra cover because my cars are all less than 10 years old, and the cover is personal rather than vehicle linked.  Deafening silence.

They won't be getting my business next year that's for bloody sure.

Well.  If I can find a viable alternative anyway.  RAC I won't touch with a barge pole following the absolute nonsense I had the two occasions I needed them.  Likewise the AA... because one of our neighbours used to work for them and told me in no uncertain terms never to rely on them!  Green Flag wouldn't cover me when I last tried, can't remember why, possibly geographic given I was still based in a rural Aberdeenshire at the time... Doesn't leave a massive choice!

[chaseracer]

Britannia Rescue have never let me down.  Yet.

[jakebullet]

Ma is mega depressed, and it's melted her brain.

Depressed 'cos we went to hospital for 6 monthly eye pressure checking. Dr. Doom says he wants lower pressure, try these drops as well. He also says she's losing field of vision. The thing is she's been registered as blind for 20 years. Every time we go to hospital or opticians she thinks they're going to go ah! take 2 of these new tablets and you'll be 20:20 by the weekend. Then when it doesn't happen it's mega depressed time. It's only going to go one way and that's downhill

Sky box went shite again, so stupid me says power cycle it. It then sat there and did a very good brick impression. FFS! Ma starts with you press this button on the remote, or maybe this one and keeps chuntering on. It's DEAD. There's no lights on it! You'll have as much impact hitting it with the remote as pressing buttons. She carries on chuntering and pressing buttons. She carries on even when I've unplugged the bastard. I put iplayer on the amazon stick and she finally stops pissing about, happy she's fixed* it.

She doesn't normally have dementia. Depression is buggering her up