Yupe, it happened again!!

Some weeks ago, I posted an experience I had late one night on a long
lonely dark stretch of road in Sydney. I was then told to pulled over by
a copper and told to get off the "****ing road".

You guessed it, I got pulled over again by the coppers about 1.5 hour ago.

I was minding my own business pedalling along, in the middle of the left
lane of a two-lane road, at about 25-30kph (my usual riding style) and
already had a coupla of car drivers come up behind me and tooting their
horns and harassing me but there was not much I could do but continue
riding. Of cos, those drivers than passed me on the outside lane. No
problems so far.

Then, a car pulls up beside me and I hear a female voice saying what I
thought was "GET INTO THE RIGHT LANE"!. Like, WTF, she was in a paddy
wagon and she was in the ****ing right lane! So, says I, "RIGHT LANE?"
indicating her lane. She repeats herself, "GET INTO THE BIKE LANE!"
pointing to the side of the road. I look to the left hand side of the
road she was indicating, continued pedalling, looked over to her and
said, "THERE IS NO BIKE LANE. THAT'S THE ROAD SHOULDER!". She seemed
gobsmacked Took a couple of seconds for the next order, "PULL OVER",
which I duly complied

So here I was, stopped on the road shoulder and there they were, stopped
smack bang in the left hand lane of the main road, with their flashing
lights on and cars whizzing past (this road seems to get some use just
before midnight on a Saturday night, methinks).

The male driver starts this tirade about how he could hardly see me, so
immediately I jump off my bike to make sure my rear light were working
(which it was) , to which he insists that there is no need for me to do
that (like sure, mate - I was also wearing a high visibility vest and my
back pack has it's own high visibility vest with reflective stripes).

Then he continues about how busy that particular stretch of road is busy
on a Saturday night and it is a 70 kph zone and immediately I thanked
him and his partner for their concern but told them I would assume the risk.

I suspect he felt he was not going to get very far as his next words
were that he knew I was doing nothing wrong but he was warning me about
the road conditions I was facing. I thanked him again and he sped off
(yes, sped off, as in applied significant acceleration to the paddy wagon).

I duly returned to the flow of traffic immediately and started to ride
towards home and got harrassed again, some 5 mins later, by some
dickhead car driver who stayed behind me for some 50m tooting his horn,
flashing his lights, etc until I would pull over into a designated
bicycle lane to let him pass.

Never mind. I did feel good some 5 mins after that when I took off quite
quickly at some lights, and a bunch of, what one would normally call,
young hoons, in a souped up car, with red P plates, sailed past me and
the "young hoons" yelled out to me, "Good on yer!". I felt they were
acknowledging my right to use the road, just as they were.

OKso now that I've got that off my chest, it must be time to crack
another coldie Thanks for putting up with me, folks.

Geoff Lock wrote:
Some weeks ago, I posted an experience I had late one night on a long
lonely dark stretch of road in Sydney. I was then told to pulled over by
a copper and told to get off the "****ing road".

You guessed it, I got pulled over again by the coppers about 1.5 hour ago.

I was minding my own business pedalling along, in the middle of the left
lane of a two-lane road, at about 25-30kph (my usual riding style) and
already had a coupla of car drivers come up behind me and tooting their
horns and harassing me but there was not much I could do but continue
riding. Of cos, those drivers than passed me on the outside lane. No
problems so far.

Then, a car pulls up beside me and I hear a female voice saying what I
thought was "GET INTO THE RIGHT LANE"!. Like, WTF, she was in a paddy
wagon and she was in the ****ing right lane! So, says I, "RIGHT LANE?"
indicating her lane. She repeats herself, "GET INTO THE BIKE LANE!"
pointing to the side of the road. I look to the left hand side of the
road she was indicating, continued pedalling, looked over to her and
said, "THERE IS NO BIKE LANE. THAT'S THE ROAD SHOULDER!". She seemed
gobsmacked Took a couple of seconds for the next order, "PULL OVER",
which I duly complied

So here I was, stopped on the road shoulder and there they were, stopped
smack bang in the left hand lane of the main road, with their flashing
lights on and cars whizzing past (this road seems to get some use just
before midnight on a Saturday night, methinks).

The male driver starts this tirade about how he could hardly see me, so
immediately I jump off my bike to make sure my rear light were working
(which it was) , to which he insists that there is no need for me to do
that (like sure, mate - I was also wearing a high visibility vest and my
back pack has it's own high visibility vest with reflective stripes).

Then he continues about how busy that particular stretch of road is busy
on a Saturday night and it is a 70 kph zone and immediately I thanked
him and his partner for their concern but told them I would assume the
risk.

I suspect he felt he was not going to get very far as his next words
were that he knew I was doing nothing wrong but he was warning me about
the road conditions I was facing. I thanked him again and he sped off
(yes, sped off, as in applied significant acceleration to the paddy wagon).

I duly returned to the flow of traffic immediately and started to ride
towards home and got harrassed again, some 5 mins later, by some
dickhead car driver who stayed behind me for some 50m tooting his horn,
flashing his lights, etc until I would pull over into a designated
bicycle lane to let him pass.

Never mind. I did feel good some 5 mins after that when I took off quite
quickly at some lights, and a bunch of, what one would normally call,
young hoons, in a souped up car, with red P plates, sailed past me and
the "young hoons" yelled out to me, "Good on yer!". I felt they were
acknowledging my right to use the road, just as they were.

OKso now that I've got that off my chest, it must be time to crack
another coldie Thanks for putting up with me, folks.
I don't know, but have you ever thought that there might be something to
do with your riding habits that attracts so much attention from police
and hoons. Not every rider seems to get this attention.

F Murtz wrote:
Geoff Lock wrote:
Some weeks ago, I posted an experience I had late one night on a long
lonely dark stretch of road in Sydney. I was then told to pulled over by
a copper and told to get off the "****ing road".

You guessed it, I got pulled over again by the coppers about 1.5 hour
ago.

I don't know, but have you ever thought that there might be something to
do with your riding habits that attracts so much attention from police
and hoons. Not every rider seems to get this attention.

Yes, I have considered my "riding habits" as you would put it.

Habit one - I ride in the middle of the lane.

Habit two - I ride everywhere I go, eg Vaucluse, Greenacre, St Marys,
Hurstville, Strathfield, Wetherill Park. Of cos, I do use the trains as
well, like when I go to St Marys or Wetherill Park but I ride from the
train station to wherever I am going.

Habit three - I ride at anytime of the day or night. E.g. I was riding
tonight at 2330. I had to get somewhere you see - in this case back
home. I also ride if it rains.

Habit four - I ride as fast as my physical abilities will allow me.
Tonight, I have had a good meal at about 1730 so I think I was doing ok
on my bike (25-30 kph). In the mornings, two cups of sweet strong black
coffee do not always give me enough energy to ride properly but I try, I
try.

Habit five - I know it is probably a pretty stupid thing to do but I
stop at traffic lights when they are red and it is 0400 and there is not
a car in sight. I never said I was exactly a thinking guy.

Habit six - I feel uncomfortable without my PPE and if I deem my bike
unroadworthy.

I probably have other habits which I am not aware of which can attract
undue attention so I am quite receptive to any suggestions which can
help me reduce my run-ins with the local constabulary.

Geoff Lock wrote:

I probably have other habits which I am not aware of which can attract
undue attention so I am quite receptive to any suggestions which can
help me reduce my run-ins with the local constabulary.

Have you tried wearing clothes while riding? It pretty much doesn't
leave anything else...

In aus.bicycle on Sun, 28 Mar 2010 02:35:27 +1100
Geoff Lock glock@home wrote:
Yes, I have considered my "riding habits" as you would put it.

Habit one - I ride in the middle of the lane.


As you are legally allowed to, I applaud your willingness to educate
the constabulary.

I ride in the middle of the lane in most suburban streets, and
anywhere there are parked cars. If there's a safe shoulder that looks
clean I'll ride there on a 70kmh road I admit.

But then I'm generally slower than you are!

I expect you'll attract police attention a lot because people's
understanding of how to act changes when they get in a car. You will
have noticed that the attitude changed a bit when they got out and
went from "******* in my way" to "have to find a reason". Went from
driver to cop.

You could write a letter of complaint to the police ombudsman
detailing your encounters and saying the police clearly need to make
sure their people know the road rules. No idea if it will get you
anywhere, but then if you don't it can't....

Zebee

John Tserkezis wrote:
Geoff Lock wrote:

I probably have other habits which I am not aware of which can attract
undue attention so I am quite receptive to any suggestions which can
help me reduce my run-ins with the local constabulary.

Have you tried wearing clothes while riding? It pretty much doesn't
leave anything else...

Heheheh, wweelll, it was late at night and I didn't think that fashion
was so critical and I do love the feel of wind on my skin...

Oh, sorry, you meant clothes in general, not the lycra. Oops, eerr, yes,
I wear my normal street clothes - tee-shirt, jeans and sneakers.

Maybe my normal street clothes could be the problem. Perhaps if I wore a
suit and tie....

Zebee Johnstone wrote:
In aus.bicycle on Sun, 28 Mar 2010 02:35:27 +1100
Geoff Lock glock@home wrote:
Yes, I have considered my "riding habits" as you would put it.

Habit one - I ride in the middle of the lane.


As you are legally allowed to, I applaud your willingness to educate
the constabulary.

Not sure if it is my willingness or my foolhardiness but as this episode
happened on the same stretch of road, it is possible that the paddy
wagon cames from the same station as tha last copper who told me to get
off the "f&^king road". So, unintentionally on my part (look, I am just
riding my bike home, nothing more, ok?), we could end up with an entire
police station being made aware of cyclists and thus able to police the
streets better - either in regards to cyclists or to speeding car drivers.

I ride in the middle of the lane in most suburban streets, and
anywhere there are parked cars. If there's a safe shoulder that looks
clean I'll ride there on a 70kmh road I admit.

I avoid road shoulders whenever I can as I ride in poor light conditions
and it is difficult to see any obstacles or potholes or whatever on the
shoulder.

I once crashed into a portable road sign placed on the road shoulder
whilst negotiating a corner late one night. There was no warning
whatsoever on the straight stretch leading up to the corner and the sign
was placed about 5m AFTER the corner!! That road shoulder is normally
kept clear - except of cos, when there are road works around the corner

Fortunately, all those ninja movies I watched as a kid must have done
something as I was able to roll myself without getting hurt. My mountain
bike was also ok and thanks for asking

But then I'm generally slower than you are!

25-30 kph is not that fast and is quite easily achieved on 700C tyres
and road bike gearing ratios. There are many other riders who probably
leave me for dead.

I would be struggling to do the same speeds on my 24-speed Malvern
mountain bike on 26" knobbly tyres. Although there is this "little" dip
in the road just round the corner behind my place....

I expect you'll attract police attention a lot because people's
understanding of how to act changes when they get in a car. You will
have noticed that the attitude changed a bit when they got out and
went from "******* in my way" to "have to find a reason". Went from
driver to cop.

True, true.

You could write a letter of complaint to the police ombudsman
detailing your encounters and saying the police clearly need to make
sure their people know the road rules. No idea if it will get you
anywhere, but then if you don't it can't....

I am not a **** stirrer by nature and I do have some empathy for coppers
who often do a thankless job in society.

Maybe now that the NSW Premier rides a bicycle to work, writing a letter
to someone, be it the Police Ombudsman, or the Minister of Police or the
Premier herself, is an option I should think of.

I do feel somewhat uncomfortable as it would mean entering the political
fray through lobbying, as lobbying is really what I'll be doing.

For the time being, being able to unburden myself through Usenet does
the job for me and I must not forget to thank ausadmin for the provision
of this service. Ooops, and of cos, all those who subscribe to this
newsgroup and having to put up with my moanings and groanings

Geoff Lock wrote:
Never mind. I did feel good some 5 mins after that when I took off quite
quickly at some lights, and a bunch of, what one would normally call,
young hoons, in a souped up car, with red P plates, sailed past me and
the "young hoons" yelled out to me, "Good on yer!". I felt they were
acknowledging my right to use the road, just as they were.

My favourite communication delivered from such a car was "Git a
REEEEAAAAAL bike!", delivered from a car on the road whilst I was riding
in the entirely separate cycle lane about 10m away.

I have no idea how I managed to complete the ride home on my imaginary
bicycle.


BTH

--
Posted at www.usenet.com.au

BT Humble wrote:
Geoff Lock wrote:
Never mind. I did feel good some 5 mins after that when I took off quite
quickly at some lights, and a bunch of, what one would normally call,
young hoons, in a souped up car, with red P plates, sailed past me and
the "young hoons" yelled out to me, "Good on yer!". I felt they were
acknowledging my right to use the road, just as they were.

My favourite communication delivered from such a car was "Git a
REEEEAAAAAL bike!", delivered from a car on the road whilst I was riding
in the entirely separate cycle lane about 10m away.

I have no idea how I managed to complete the ride home on my imaginary
bicycle.

You imagined completing the ride?

Dr. Sir John Howard, AC, WSCMoF wrote:

Geoff Lock wrote:
BT Humble wrote:
Geoff Lock wrote:
Never mind. I did feel good some 5 mins after that when I took off
quite quickly at some lights, and a bunch of, what one would normally
call, young hoons, in a souped up car, with red P plates, sailed past
me and the "young hoons" yelled out to me, "Good on yer!". I felt
they were acknowledging my right to use the road, just as they were.

My favourite communication delivered from such a car was "Git a
REEEEAAAAAL bike!", delivered from a car on the road whilst I was riding
in the entirely separate cycle lane about 10m away.

I have no idea how I managed to complete the ride home on my imaginary
bicycle.

You imagined completing the ride?

Imagine him posting too!

I'm afraid I have no idea what you mean there. Could I trouble you to
expand on it a little?


BTH

--
Posted at www.usenet.com.au