I was riding home yesterday around 4.30pm on Old Kent Road up to Blackheath common and had a couple of bikes behind me, a nice GSXR1000 and a large cruiser (Not a hardley dangerous). Now I was making good progress and at a nice steady pace, traffic was busy and I felt it was not safe to go faster. The cruiser fellow is raring to go and overtakes me in the face of on coming traffic, I filtered past again when he got stuck behind other traffic, followed at a decent space by the GSXR.
A bit later going up the hill to the common the cruiser blasts past both of us by going around the bollards. We both caught up again a bit further down the road, but he was really being rather twattish. It is not that I am a racing god, far from it, but I do like to ride safely within my limits without endangering other road users.
Once on the open road going on past the tea hut, I was able to pull over for the GSXR to get past safely, which he did with style and then pissed off into the distance at speed. I’ve not got a beef with other riders getting past me at all, I regularly move over for them to pass me if that are quicker than me, but the cruiser fellow was being a tad foolish.
Any tips for the common rider on this? Other than letting them get past when it is safe to do so, and try hard not to filter past when the get stuck in traffic again… And this is not a winge or a rant, just a discourse on the riding styles of other road users.
I used to take the bait from riders like this and try and humiliate them by ‘out filtering’ them courier style through the traffic - this often resulted in me taking unnecessary risks and potentially coming a cropper because of some pratt - since then I have started meditating/grown older etc and now when I come across a rider like this I keep my cool/distance and let them get on with it (unless they are really holding me up I won’t antagonise them by trying to get past them - I just want them safely on their way and out of my hair as quickly as possible) - I’m not going to get into bother because of some pratt - chances are when you get passed by a rider like this you will ride past their dropped bike, with them pinned under it, further up the road! if you are a gentleman you will stop and offer to help them pick it up.On the other hand, on the way into/out of work I often come across good natured, and skilled riders who just want to have fun with another bike - e.g. to see who can most skillfully get through the traffic - a completely different thing and part of biking’s rich tapestry!
I’m doing the self preservation thing of getting over and letting people past if it is safe for me to do so. No point endangering myself for someone who is prepared to kill themselves for being 4 seconds faster. Funny thing was that we were all lined up at the lights for the MotoGP start and the GSXR and I managed a perfect launch into the clear road ahead and then settled into a nice smooth pace. It was shortly after this that the fellow decided to offside the bollards and roar past…:w00t:
Sounds like he was not told how to play with other bikers when he was young lol.
Us Gixer riders are considerate most of the time if not a little fast {cough cough}
I try and filter with consideration to other faster bikers and wave them on if they need the invite to pass me. This doesn’t usually happen that much as I can just blip it away from the lights.
Its always a good feeling to have a little play with other bikers but I try and keep it that way and am cautious to the conditions.
EDIT: It’s good to progressively filter with other bikers…:hehe:
As the old fable says, slow and steady wins the race.
Often I find that the riders such as the cruiser you mentioned, often get to their destination after me, I am always catching them up even though I filter slower as they have no forward vision resulting in them getting stuck in traffic as you describe because they are riding too fast in a haphazard manor. I regularly overtake them because they have chosen the wrong path through a queue of traffic.
They can roar up behind me as much as they like, I shall let them pass when it is safe to do so.
Continue with your method of riding, and always ride within the limits with which you are comfortable.
I try to pull in when I can - I still have The Fear, so I’m not too good at filtering yet.
So far I’ve been quite fortunate in that whenever I’ve had someone behind me I’ve managed to get in somewhere quite quickly so they don’t get frustrated.
But to add a wrinkle to Makman’s question, is there any way to let the bike behind know that I’ve seen them and that I’m looking for somewhere to pull in to let them past? Some little universally accepted signal?
lately before filtering i just wait a moment ask myself if i am taking an opportunity or a risk, usually you know inside whether or not to go for a gap or not.
usually i try not to get sucked into racing or seeing who can filter the fastest but its fun watching 600/1000’s getting stuck behind in traffic and out-acceleterating scooters!
Sometimes you can ride along with other bikers and its great, other times you wish they’d **** off…
Had a bloke on an A road ages ago blast past me filtering in traffic then the road opened up and he couldnt ride for s*&t? so i went by then he vooommms me again when we get to traffic? I just let them go have their accident some place else…
I always look at it that people have different opinions and values in life, doesnt mean all bikers are gonna be the same, Mr Meat Head’d gob shite aint gonna suddenly turn into and IAM examiner when he gets on his bike is he…
I often find another bike catches up with me because I’m the one who is carving the path through the traffic, allowing them a wider path. Then they want to pass…
Sometimes I’ll block them because I can see it’s ‘just not right’ at that point, sometimes I’ll pull over - it depends very much on what I’ve observed of their riding in my mirrors. Often letting them in front means we both get stuck when I’d have found a way through. What I will NOT do is take risks I otherwise wouldn’t[1] just because some loud-piped merchant is up my ass.
There’s no overall answer - as with all things in riding, each case has to be judged on its own merits, there are very few useful generalisations.
[1] We all take risks, they have to be judged. In London we often take the route of ‘Suicide Alley’ against oncoming traffic - biker’s sixth sense is at utmost alert here! Just don’t take on a 44-tonner…
