So a quick rant on scooter riders, well 1 actually…
Generally around the rush hour dash there are many of them, mostly are fine, almost like rats leaving a sinking ship.
Since my gixer got nicked I have had to rely on my 125 Vespa. Hardly the prowess and grunt I’m hoping for but it beats the tube.
I am sitting at the lights down by Waterloo and I’m in the right hand side of the of the 2 lanes. I am waiting at the lights wanting to go over Westminster bridge.
The lights change and there is heavy traffic. Another scooter is in my left hand lane. We leave the lights at the same time and head around the roundabout. In the left lane there is the end of a bendy bus and the scooter rider moves over into my lane on the right, no backward check, just moving on in there as if he owns this lane too. I move over a little as he is slightly ahead of me but my front wheel is on his mid bike level. This is pushing into the curb area and he wants my position on the corner.
I give him a quick beep or as you may know with scooters its more like a bleat, to let him know that I’m here and he is moving across my path. Only to hear him shouting F$£K OFF!!
We then pull up at the lights, I’m asking him what the problem is, does he not know that a quick beep means I am here. A long beep is OI! So he is telling me that I am riding like a W@£$kER etc. W@£$kER? I thought? No observation checks and no sense of other road users?
I tell him that there are 2 lanes and he does not own the road. At this point I would have loved my gixer to rev off in a cloud of supremacy and satisfaction… Instead I had to build up the speed to finally pass him at the end of the bridge, lol
Hmm maybe I’ still jaded about loosing my gixer grrrrrrr!!!
Oh I was soooooo close to doing that!! Let me tell you…
Sadly If I would have done that there would have been a huge scrap, scooters all over the place and gloves flying everywhere! Also It would have been nice to have an escape bike to zoom off on if things got ugly, lol
It would have been like the Father Ted series when dougle was stuck in the milk float going only 4 miles an hour top speed…
Anyway I beat his ass all the way up to Hyde Park Corner and beyond…
I know how you feel mate. As a comuter I witness scooter drivers riding like c***s on a frequesnt basis, daily in fact. Usually a twat in a suit rushing to get to work putting himself and anyone near him in danger. The plod earlier mentioned that sooner or later they will tug him, being honest and from my experience only, it struck me that I have yet to see a scooter rider being pulled, I’ve seen bikers (couriers/tiny plate mob etc) at the side of the road in central London with plod but never scooters or those other fuggers the dreaded pizza delivery boys.
Well I’ve heard of drivers thinking they own the road…
On a serious note; I reckon you were right not to hit him - but what you could have done is reached over and pulled his key from the ignition as the lights changed. My ex-girlfriend used to do that to me all the time, purely for kicks. Literally stops you in your tracks!
I ride for a living (not a courier anymore, a surveyor), I regularly get annoyed with scooter riders. I especially avoid if I can the Kings Road in the morning. I notice that the scooter commuters don’t ever do life savers and just pull out. I have absolutely no quams giving them a swift elbow/kick back into place.
Trouble is it’s not just Scooters, the other day I got very annoyed with a chap on a Triumph speed triple in trible colours who just sat on the outside of the traffic and would niether overtake or move over. I even beeped him, he was aware that I was there and wanting to overtake, but he just blocked F’ing Ar$ehole!
I got passed him and then had to stop at some lights, eventually he got to the front and guess what, stormed off from the lights and then pulled infront of me again (I was on my work bike so not too fast off the lights). What an amasing talent it is to open the throttle in a straight line, soon as we got into traffic/corners he slowed down and blocked me again, I took the first opportunity (however dodgy) to overtake and cut back in as close to his front wheel as I dared (centermeters) hit the brakes tell him exactly what I thought and then disapear showing off exhibition standard swift town riding.
Why can’t people just realise that if someone is obviousely faster let them through, it’s not a race, I have a job to do. If I see a courier catching me with the bit between his/her teeth I will give way and let them on their way.
I was going to rant about it when it happened but am so used to it now I just let it go…most of the time!
