Strat-tastic
Established Member
Thanks for this encouragement. As a BMW driver myself, whilst not being perfect (who is?) I like to think I do my bit to improve the reputation.
Ah yes, the 45 mph-everywhere brigade :-x
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Thanks for this encouragement. As a BMW driver myself, whilst not being perfect (who is?) I like to think I do my bit to improve the reputation.
Ah yes, the 45 mph-everywhere brigade :-x
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ash39
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I do 20,000+ miles of driving a year. Pet hates
- Cyclists, not the responsible rule-abiding ones, but two types in particular. Non-helmet wearing types with no lights, riding along with no hands on the handlebars looking at their phone (yes I've seen this on more than one occasion!) Just a headstone waiting to be engraved.
The other type I'm seeing more lately are cycling 'groups' of 6-10 people, usually lycra clad so I'm assuming some kind of cycling club, riding 2 or 3 abreast so cars can't pass. It's arrogant, and provokes frustration from the cars stuck behind them.
- Cars not indicating when exiting roundabouts. Almost daily I find myself having to come to a complete stop when approaching a roundabout only for the car I'm waiting on to turn off the way I came from.
- Cars not leaving enough of a gap after overtaking on multi lane roads.
- Best until last, but quite specific to my situation, I live on a national speed limt road and the amount of cars that give angry looks and gestures towards me when turning into the driveway is quite perplexing. It's as if they are asking me to take a 90 degree turn at 60mph. I can't quite get my head around it but it happens a lot.
I could go on but they were the first ones that came to mind !!
- Cyclists, not the responsible rule-abiding ones, but two types in particular. Non-helmet wearing types with no lights, riding along with no hands on the handlebars looking at their phone (yes I've seen this on more than one occasion!) Just a headstone waiting to be engraved.
The other type I'm seeing more lately are cycling 'groups' of 6-10 people, usually lycra clad so I'm assuming some kind of cycling club, riding 2 or 3 abreast so cars can't pass. It's arrogant, and provokes frustration from the cars stuck behind them.
- Cars not indicating when exiting roundabouts. Almost daily I find myself having to come to a complete stop when approaching a roundabout only for the car I'm waiting on to turn off the way I came from.
- Cars not leaving enough of a gap after overtaking on multi lane roads.
- Best until last, but quite specific to my situation, I live on a national speed limt road and the amount of cars that give angry looks and gestures towards me when turning into the driveway is quite perplexing. It's as if they are asking me to take a 90 degree turn at 60mph. I can't quite get my head around it but it happens a lot.
I could go on but they were the first ones that came to mind !!
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telstarbox
Established Member
Cycling 2 abreast is legal and no wider than a slow-moving motor vehicle.
ash39
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Of course, but my point is why deliberately take up more of the road and prevent a safe overtake. My personal view is that some of these more experienced cyclists perform these kind of actions to deliberately provoke drivers.
In a similar way, I don't particularly like motorbikes cutting down the middle of a queue to get to a junction, but I'll always move aside if I see someone attempting it.
EssexGonzo
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Hmm. Embedded prejudices?
You have to pull over the white line to overtake a single file cyclist, so why does 2-abreast make a difference? Have a look at the facts here:
http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/chris-boardman-explains-why-cyclists-ride-two-abreast-in-new-safety-video-187215
And filtering motorcycles? Why don't you like them? Because they'll get there before you because they chose a motorbike? Or because it's not your lifestyle choice and must, therefore be resisted?
ash39
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That article just reinforced my view.
This is the bit I'm taking issue with.
In the situations I've encountered, the road has either been too narrow (cyclists on or over the white line) or has had parked cars on the opposite side of the road. The road has been straight and well sighted enough to perform a safe overtake if the cyclists were single file, but they weren't.
The motorcycle thing was just an example of how I'd try and be courteous in a similar situation. I don't have a major gripe with it as long as the motorcyclists aren't endangering themselves or others.
This is the bit I'm taking issue with.
In the situations I've encountered, the road has either been too narrow (cyclists on or over the white line) or has had parked cars on the opposite side of the road. The road has been straight and well sighted enough to perform a safe overtake if the cyclists were single file, but they weren't.
The motorcycle thing was just an example of how I'd try and be courteous in a similar situation. I don't have a major gripe with it as long as the motorcyclists aren't endangering themselves or others.
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telstarbox
Established Member
It's also easier to overtake 5 pairs than 10 in single file...
If it isn't safe to overtake cyclists riding two abreast, or riding in the centre of the lane - that is, if it wouldn't also be safe to overtake a slow-moving motor vehicle - it isn't safe to overtake full stop. Especially not when the person you intend to overtake is likely to be at risk of serious injury if you screw it up.
EM2
Established Member
I did a Supercar Blast track experience on Tuesday, which was a Christmas present from my wife.
After the lovely hot weather of the last couple of weeks, Tuesday was, of course, the day it decide to lash it down all day across the Midlands...
The bumpf with the gift pack said you could choose from five cars, a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Audi, or Aston Martin.
I was still mentally deciding between the Porsche and the Lamborghini when I got there, but got even more indecisive when I got to the briefing.
Because in addition to the five cars listed, there was a whole slew of others to choose from! The line-up was:
Ferrari California
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Porsche 911 GT3 or Carrera 4S
Lamborghini Gallardo
Audi R8 V10
Nissan GT-R
BMW i8
Bentley Flying Spur
And then on top of that, you could pay extra for three laps in:
Ferrari 458 Spider
Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 Spyder (six weeks old!)
McLaren 570S (three months old!)
So I umm-ed and aah-ed, because if I went with the Porsche (which had been my gut choice really), it was pot luck which one I got, whichever one was available when I got to the front of the queue would be my drive. I was tempted by the i8 and also the GT-R but in the end I went for the Porsche, and stumped up another sixty quid for the Huracan. After all, if a Gallardo was going to be brilliant, a hyper-Gallardo-mega-plus would awesome, right?
STOP! PORKER TIME!
Front of the queue...what's in first?
GT3!!! And it's red!
It's quite a long way down into the bucket seat of a GT3, but very snug and comfortable when you're in there. Manual seat adjustment, manual gearbox (the only one there apart from the GT-Rs), manual handbrake, no traction control, no ABS. Which to be honest, is fine with me, because before I'd bought my Granada a few years back, I'd never driven a car with ABS, and still haven't driven one with traction control.
To cut a long story short, I absolutely loved everything about it! OK, it was lashing rain, and the track was damp, but the instructor was happy for me to push on and I managed to touch 80 at the end of the main straight.
LIKE A HURACAN!!!
Bright metallic green, it looks amazing. Then you get in, and it's like being in a TIE-fighter. A world of difference away from the Porsche, push-button start (so bloody cool!), paddle shift and what seems a very small steering wheel. The instructor is adamant that hands at ten-to-two, and off the paddles will be fine for the whole lap, no need to feed the wheel.
And...I didn't like it anywhere near as much. It sounded amazing, I must admit, and it was faster by a good few mph, but I couldn't get the hang of paddles and crossing my arms and no engine braking.
It was great fun, well organised, and I know it's a very artificial experience, but I'd do it again!
After the lovely hot weather of the last couple of weeks, Tuesday was, of course, the day it decide to lash it down all day across the Midlands...
The bumpf with the gift pack said you could choose from five cars, a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Audi, or Aston Martin.
I was still mentally deciding between the Porsche and the Lamborghini when I got there, but got even more indecisive when I got to the briefing.
Because in addition to the five cars listed, there was a whole slew of others to choose from! The line-up was:
Ferrari California
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Porsche 911 GT3 or Carrera 4S
Lamborghini Gallardo
Audi R8 V10
Nissan GT-R
BMW i8
Bentley Flying Spur
And then on top of that, you could pay extra for three laps in:
Ferrari 458 Spider
Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 Spyder (six weeks old!)
McLaren 570S (three months old!)
So I umm-ed and aah-ed, because if I went with the Porsche (which had been my gut choice really), it was pot luck which one I got, whichever one was available when I got to the front of the queue would be my drive. I was tempted by the i8 and also the GT-R but in the end I went for the Porsche, and stumped up another sixty quid for the Huracan. After all, if a Gallardo was going to be brilliant, a hyper-Gallardo-mega-plus would awesome, right?
STOP! PORKER TIME!
Front of the queue...what's in first?
GT3!!! And it's red!
It's quite a long way down into the bucket seat of a GT3, but very snug and comfortable when you're in there. Manual seat adjustment, manual gearbox (the only one there apart from the GT-Rs), manual handbrake, no traction control, no ABS. Which to be honest, is fine with me, because before I'd bought my Granada a few years back, I'd never driven a car with ABS, and still haven't driven one with traction control.
To cut a long story short, I absolutely loved everything about it! OK, it was lashing rain, and the track was damp, but the instructor was happy for me to push on and I managed to touch 80 at the end of the main straight.
LIKE A HURACAN!!!
Bright metallic green, it looks amazing. Then you get in, and it's like being in a TIE-fighter. A world of difference away from the Porsche, push-button start (so bloody cool!), paddle shift and what seems a very small steering wheel. The instructor is adamant that hands at ten-to-two, and off the paddles will be fine for the whole lap, no need to feed the wheel.
And...I didn't like it anywhere near as much. It sounded amazing, I must admit, and it was faster by a good few mph, but I couldn't get the hang of paddles and crossing my arms and no engine braking.
It was great fun, well organised, and I know it's a very artificial experience, but I'd do it again!
I did a Supercar Blast track experience on Tuesday, which was a Christmas present from my wife.
After the lovely hot weather of the last couple of weeks, Tuesday was, of course, the day it decide to lash it down all day across the Midlands...
The bumpf with the gift pack said you could choose from five cars, a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Audi, or Aston Martin.
I was still mentally deciding between the Porsche and the Lamborghini when I got there, but got even more indecisive when I got to the briefing.
Because in addition to the five cars listed, there was a whole slew of others to choose from! The line-up was:
Ferrari California
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
Porsche 911 GT3 or Carrera 4S
Lamborghini Gallardo
Audi R8 V10
Nissan GT-R
BMW i8
Bentley Flying Spur
And then on top of that, you could pay extra for three laps in:
Ferrari 458 Spider
Lamborghini Huracan LP610-4 Spyder (six weeks old!)
McLaren 570S (three months old!)
So I umm-ed and aah-ed, because if I went with the Porsche (which had been my gut choice really), it was pot luck which one I got, whichever one was available when I got to the front of the queue would be my drive. I was tempted by the i8 and also the GT-R but in the end I went for the Porsche, and stumped up another sixty quid for the Huracan. After all, if a Gallardo was going to be brilliant, a hyper-Gallardo-mega-plus would awesome, right?
STOP! PORKER TIME!
Front of the queue...what's in first?
GT3!!! And it's red!
It's quite a long way down into the bucket seat of a GT3, but very snug and comfortable when you're in there. Manual seat adjustment, manual gearbox (the only one there apart from the GT-Rs), manual handbrake, no traction control, no ABS. Which to be honest, is fine with me, because before I'd bought my Granada a few years back, I'd never driven a car with ABS, and still haven't driven one with traction control.
To cut a long story short, I absolutely loved everything about it! OK, it was lashing rain, and the track was damp, but the instructor was happy for me to push on and I managed to touch 80 at the end of the main straight.
LIKE A HURACAN!!!
Bright metallic green, it looks amazing. Then you get in, and it's like being in a TIE-fighter. A world of difference away from the Porsche, push-button start (so bloody cool!), paddle shift and what seems a very small steering wheel. The instructor is adamant that hands at ten-to-two, and off the paddles will be fine for the whole lap, no need to feed the wheel.
And...I didn't like it anywhere near as much. It sounded amazing, I must admit, and it was faster by a good few mph, but I couldn't get the hang of paddles and crossing my arms and no engine braking.
It was great fun, well organised, and I know it's a very artificial experience, but I'd do it again!
That sounds brilliant EM2. It made me think about what car I'd choose (probably the Lambo or Ferrari), but then having read about your day I could see the benefit of having a manual gearbox, rather than trying to get used to a paddle change which I've never used before when also trying to get used to driving something far more powerful than I'm used to.
If a GT3 had then rolled up in front of me I think I'd have been more than satisfied...
Thanks for sharing this.
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