Cycling ignorance and misinterpretation...

[virek]

I was fairly new to club cycling until last year and hence hadn't picked up all signalling etc....anyways, I was commuting home one evening nr Morden (from Canary Wharf) and was fsck-ing knackered (hard day, unfit etc).

However, I caught up with a female cyclist, racer, racing clothes etc, and decided I'd tail her up the hill, you know save my energy and sponge off hers

So a little further on, we are about to pass some parked cars and she signals behind her saddle, sort of a waving motion. I interpreted this as "stop looking at my arse and pass me you letch!". So I tanked it past her all the way up the hill deeply embarrased -ish, and totally knackered!

I have subsequently learnt that she was mearly looking out for me, letting me know about the parked cars and to move out to avoid smashing my front teeth into the rear window

I wondered it others have similar silly stories to tell?

C U Saturday.

Matthew
virek
-=+ I'm Like Ma Bell I Got The Ill Communication +=-

[Dom]

A beastie Boys fan in our midst good choice sir. Fraid only hand signals I encounter on the roads tend to be from irate drivers, although first time I came out on CSS road I was confused about all these people re-enacting Gareth Hunts Nescafe Gold blend ads behind their backs. Maybe someone should produce a Cycling Hand signals guide???....

[Tashkent Terror]

It took me a while to realise what the person in front of me wasn't stretching their arm when pointing at pot holes.

I always get confused with the whole 'car up' 'car down' thing...

If a car is coming towards you is it an 'up' or a 'down'?

[Jon H]

The way someone told me to remember it is:
"Car down" is down your throat.
"Car up" is up your bum.

Gets a bit confusing on hills, for example if you're riding down the hill, a car coming up the hill towards you is a "car down".

[Tashkent Terror]

Ah, thank you Jon.
I was yelling 'car up' if one was coming from front on while riding up hill and yelling car down if I was descending but the car was still coming front on.

I couldn't decide what to yell when riding on the flats so I just yelled 'car'

[Dom]

Blimey, new one on me I jsut shout car (evern though it might be a bus). Any other signals a newbie roadie needs to know about?

[Jon H]

[img]http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/images/signs23.gif[/img] = Turning left.

[img]http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/images/signs24.gif[/img] = Turning right.

[img]http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/images/signs25.gif[/img] = Slowing down or stopping.

OK, OK, so the pictures are of a bloke on a motorbike, but the same signals apply to cyclists. (Taken from the Highway Code).

In addition to those:

Pointing to the ground with left hand = pothole to my left.

Pointing to the ground with right habd = pothole to my right.

Left hand behind saddle/backside pointing right = Obstruction on left (parked cars, pedestrians etc).

Either hand straight up in air = I've got a problem / punctured and I'm stopping so come past me.

[Elliot M]

i hope yelling "PUNCTURE" really loudly is sufficient - i punctured on Sat on the last km of the dual carriageway and i judged that with the sudden wobling wheel i should probably keep both hands on the bars