For those interested in old cars.

[Rugd1022]

Good news on the old car front - at long, long last the Mini 30 I 'sold' what seems like an age ago is being collected and paid for next week so I can give the garage a thorough tidying up and fill the empty space with something else. All being well I might be going to have a shuftie at this '69 Chevy Corvair....

 

 

 

Also got my eye on a couple of other 'yanks' that aren't too expensive, but it all depends on what fits into the garage.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 30, 2021 by Rugd1022

[PhilJ W]

59 minutes ago, alastairq said:

Out yesterday in the Dellow, doing a bit of shopping.

 

I mainly use the back roads round here [as do most locals]...mainly because they  cut the distance, etc. [Also not full of  traffic]  We're talking around 12 foot wide at best, but with decent grass verges.

 

I use the Dellow quite often, summer & winter.   Prefer it to driving summat made this century.

 

Anyhow, came up on another, fatter, made-this-century small panzervaagen...plodding along. Who came upon a lycralite cyclist .

This cyclist was making around 15 mph, and adopted a road position which patently prevented the panzerwagen from overtaking, and leaving a decent space between .Without taking to the grass verge, that is.

Patience ws the driver's virtue, but when the cyclist [fully aware of the car, having glanced over his shoulder] decided to ''exercise his [presumed?] rights''  ]  totally ignored one, then two then three decent field gateholes, all long enough that he wouldn't have had to slacken pace, and as firm as the decrepit tarmac he was riding on.... car driver was obviously getting a bit tetchy!   I mean, since when had these back lanes around here become private playgrounds and exercise areas?  [What's wrong with the cyclist using the main roads for his exercise, after all?        ]

 

Anyway, car driver decided to put two wheels firmly on his offside grass verge...just to give a little bit more consideration to the vulnerable cyclist [who had obviously forgotten how vulnerable he was?}... rather than sticking to the road surface, and twatting the cyclist up the backside with his near side door mirror.

 

Then proceeded to carefully overtake the cyclist. Who, by the way, had a good 2 or 3 foot of tarmac nearer to the grass verge he could have used....Once safely past, having given the cyclist a good couple of metes room in doing so....the cyclist then proceeded to proffer a lot of loud swearing and gesticulations at the receding motorist.  I heard all this because I drive a thoroughly open car!

 

Anyway, the Dellow is a proper car's width, barely 4 foot,   [ 3 foot 10 inch track, plus a bit for my elbows?] 

To give a graphic idea of how wide it is, I can reach over and touch the outside of the left rear wheelarch without shifting from the drivers seat....

 

Cyclist knew I was behind him, he could hear me, such is the Dellow's exhaust. 

 

Now, getting around the slow moving cyclist was my problem.  Still making no real effort to accommodate other road users, the cyclist continued.....but I could see I had enough room to pass him, and stay within the tarmac surface of the road.....and give cyclist a couple of feet clearance.

What I also knew, and what the cyclist was soon to find out was, Dellow's exhaust exited just in front of the near side rear wheel, sideways.

Anyway, I started to creep past the 15 mph cyclist [lycralite], keeping as far to the right as was possible without going off the road.....then the cyclsit made a mistake!

He was a younger person, and as I crept past, he shouted an obscenity at me [he was but a few feet away]....for no reason at all. I was, like the previous driver, taking every reasonable precaution when passing the cyclist, showing all reasonable consideration, given the width of the carriageway.

 

Anyway, at that moment, I shed all sense of reasonableness towards the cyclist. I didn't have to shout & swear at him. Neither did I do anything that would have been construed as compromising his safety.  [Cos I'm like that!]

What I did do was floor the throttle  in 2nd gear, as I was along side of  him......the exhaust pipe barked, and the sidevalve Ford engine spewed hot exhaust gases out at  quite a rate [together probably with a bit of burnt oil?],   straight towards the cyclist's bare legs!

 

Now, if he'd stayed silent, I would have trickled past him and made my way quietly. 

 

But, as it was, as I receded into the distance, my left hand was raised with two fingers!

 

I'm a considerate chap really. I understand cyclists'' problems . As a driver, regardless of what I'm driving, I treat them as I treat all vulnerable road users, with consideration.

But some don't seem to be able to recognise 'consideration & respect' when it bites them on the berm.

 

About a half our later, same cyclist came panting past my garden gate.   [ I live in a rural village, often plagued by hordes of lycralites]

 

I happened to be out chatting to my neighbour [exchanging veggies too]....when I suddenly leapt into a voluble tirade of swearing at the , now hapless, passing cyclist. Who carried on riding with an expression of bewilderment on his face....wondering what he had done to upset one of the locals?

 

Neighbour was taken aback too, she'd never seen me display such voluble emotion.....but I explained what had happened.

 

CAme away clutching a warm apple pie...

I had a similar experience only yesterday only the vehicle in front of me and behind the cyclist was a bus. No way could the bus pass him even where a car possibly could. The bus eventually pulled into a bus stop and the lycra lout then sped off, straight across a mini roundabout without stopping, almost being hit by a car on the roundabout. I worked with a 'lycra lout' who used to take delight in doing such things and even used to boast about it. One morning he came in and asked for the first aider. A front seat passenger in a car just happened to have a broken off aerial in his hand and somehow managed to whip the cyclists backside with it. You could see a little blood seeping through the lycra. He wasn't that popular in the office and the first aider was seen carrying a bottle of Dettol into the first aid room. His eyes were watering afterwards as he sat down very gingerly.

[Nick C]

23 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

I had a similar experience only yesterday only the vehicle in front of me and behind the cyclist was a bus. No way could the bus pass him even where a car possibly could. The bus eventually pulled into a bus stop and the lycra lout then sped off, straight across a mini roundabout without stopping, almost being hit by a car on the roundabout. I worked with a 'lycra lout' who used to take delight in doing such things and even used to boast about it. One morning he came in and asked for the first aider. A front seat passenger in a car just happened to have a broken off aerial in his hand and somehow managed to whip the cyclists backside with it. You could see a little blood seeping through the lycra. He wasn't that popular in the office and the first aider was seen carrying a bottle of Dettol into the first aid room. His eyes were watering afterwards as he sat down very gingerly.

Another similar story from Sunday - driving down a fairly twisty B road, I came across a group of three cars, the first of which was behind a similarly lycra-clad cyclist. Nowhere to pass safely. The whole convoy reached a village, at which point the cyclist pulled in to the side - not to let the cars past, but to joint his friends - as soon as they were all together they promptly pulled straight back out again, without looking, straight into the path of the next car in the queue...

[great central]

My older PT cruiser could leave quite a smokescreen when I floored the throttle, inconsiderate cyclists sometimes found out

[gr.king]

As both a driver and a cyclist I can see both sides of the possible story, including the bits that the motorists don't perceive as they sit in warm comfort, making no effort, feeling no bumps in road, getting fat and growing impatient because they cannot go as fast as they wish. For instance, up to three feet at the nearside of many roads is a lethal cocktail of loose gravel, rough surface (where present at all) and damned great potholes all produced by a combination of ancient poor foundations of many rural roads, corner-cutting maintenance or repair by councils (put a layer of tar down the middle and just a patchy dribble of tar near the edges, chuck loose gravel on, do not roll, and clear off) plus abuse of the by-roads by super-heavy lorries and gigantic farm machines that should never have been allowed in the first place, even on motorways. Then there's the enormous number of drivers now in 4x4 environment-killing fatmobiles and "crossovers" that are so wide that they need the full width of a country lane, whose drivers never intend to use the vehicle as an off-road device and who won't shift even a couple of wheels over onto the verge when there's a cyclist coming the other way - or for that matter when there's a small, low-ground clearance car that can't risk a trip onto the rough verge coming the other way. 

There's also a staggering number of motorists who will drive like hell to get past a cyclist on the immediate approach to a very obvious junction or obstruction that is clearly going to hold the motorist up, but which would not impede a cyclist (ignoring the highway code in respect of advice against overtaking other road users in those situations), simply so that they can pull in hard to the left and use full braking power in front of the cyclist to stop his progress (ignoring the fact that cyclists don't have power brakes, and may have hardly any braking ability in the wet).

Drivers of articulated lorries, desperate to make progress at unlawful speeds in order to maximise their bonus are also occasionally good at trying to wipe out cyclists by attempting to overtake when there's insufficient clear straight road ahead, consequently swinging their trailer back in to the left before they have actually cleared the cyclist. I've had several within inches of the right shoulder...

I recognise that there are some dreadful cycling standards to be seen, but when highlighted by those who only drive it's very much a case of the pot calling the kettle black!

 

Edited March 30, 2021 by gr.king

[alastairq]

1 hour ago, gr.king said:

I recognise that there are some dreadful cycling standards to be seen, but when highlighted by those who only drive it's very much a case of the pot calling the kettle black!

Hardly!

 

If I'm  on a narrow lane/road, and I don't wish to make any more progress than that which I'm doing...and someone who wants to make better progress comes up behind, then, as a road user, I seek somewhere to pull in to allow the other road users to pass.

That's only being considerate.

It is also regardless of what type of road user they are.

 

Even if I'm on foot!

 

I will 'make the effort' especially if another road user 'makes the effort' for me.

 

But my cyclist yesterday [I don't do much Sunday driving, I don't do weekends] was obviously someone who was behaving in a self righteous manner, and this, despite other road users trying to make every effort to 'keep clear' when overtaking.

 

As I said, if there had been no unwarranted abuse from the cyclist, then both his and my safety were pretty much guaranteed by my conduct. [It's called risk reduction]

 

The real problem is, when someone becomes abusive on the public highway, it then colours the attitude of other parties involved.

 

It becomes self generating.

The same can be said of the behavior towards other road users, of weekend [or sunny day?] motorcyclists [or rather , bikers...?] Especially when they overtake en masse, with complete disregard for their effect on other road users. [Usually completely failing to comply with the overtaking rules as per Highway Code? IE, only overtake if safe to do so. Keep clear of vehicle being overtaken...which means, don't pull in front so close as to force that vehicle to slow dramatically....and so on] 

I personally have a great lack of respect for the two bumcheeks with a fat tyre in between.....

 

Mainly because they represent all that is bad about the users of the public highway.

 

Quite how I have arrived at that state, given I have spent my entire working [& otherwise] life out on the roads [not sat in some office]....and have instructed other drivers to an advanced level, I can only guess at.

Perhaps I have been the person being inflicted upon by those cyclists, bikers, LGV drivers, bus drivers [good insurance claims off those!!]...car drivers, pedestrians, etc who feel so righteous about the public highway?

 

Oddly, I've never had any issues whatsoever from farm or agricultural vehicles, regardless of size.  Perhaps the tractor drivers are indeed, more thoughtful and considerate than we imagine?   

[gr.king]

I certainly would not condone somebody who knows he is holding up following traffic and repeatedly fails to pull over when the genuine opportunity to do so without significantly delaying his own progress arises, but that calls for more than a field gateway. I regularly move over when I can tell that traffic is following and cannot pass, although some cars are exceedingly quiet these days and even a little wind noise can render them inaudible to a cyclist in front.  Speed-limited truck drivers,  caravan draggers, and "never more than 40mph" timid inobservant geriatrics at the head of long lines of faster vehicles should take note of the considerate habit of pulling over, as well as cyclists.

 

If we're comparing the sins of cyclists and motorists, I couldn't begin to count the number of times, when cycling, I've had motorists still attempting to overtake (sometimes in multiple) when I've already got my right arm outstretched and I'm in the process of moving out to the centre of the road in readiness for a right turn. In cases where the road layout and mass of traffic dictates an early move to the right in order to avoid being trapped on the left, I've even had motorists undertaking then moving right in front of me (and braking) to try to beat me to the right turn!

And then there's the endless supply of the arrogant, the idiotic and the grossly inobservant who only just manage to get past me in town traffic and then immediately turn left across my path...

[boxbrownie]

I think a lot of cyclists are pr@tts, then again I think a lot of motorists are pr@tts......

 

 

Let’s get back to old cars....

[MrWolf]

Agreed on all points. I cycle for any journey under 4 miles, I ride a motorcycle, I drive a car (when SWMBO lets me) I notice that there's an awful lot of cyclists out there who are utterly arrogant and constantly looking for a fight. They've cut me up more than once because they consider themselves to be "proper cyclists". They're just "gear" freaks and posers. 

We were sitting at some lights with traffic to our right and my other half driving. Some clown who thought he was in the Tour de France came down between the queueing cars and rather than take a foot out of a toeclip, decided to lean on her car.

 

I suspect that if we hadn't seen him and drove off sharply, the resulting accident would have been her fault, being in a car and a new driver.

But she saw him in the mirror and I don't think that he was expecting to get yelled at like he did, it made me jump!

 

It's an old car btw and he didn't scratch it...

[Northmoor]

1 minute ago, MrWolf said:

they consider themselves to be "proper cyclists". They're just "gear" freaks and posers. 

 

In the last decade or so, cycling has become the new golf for a certain group of well-paid professional men.  As with golf, they can buy all the expensive equipment in the world but convince themselves that the only reason they aren't world championship standard is because there is always another piece of expensive equipment that they haven't bought yet.

 

I have loved cycling since I was a young kid although it is hard to enjoy it on roads around here, too busy.

[petethemole]

 

30 minutes ago, boxbrownie said:

I think a lot of cyclists are pr@tts, then again I think a lot of motorists are pr@tts......

 

 

Let’s get back to old cars....

Back in the day, before I was born, it wasn't unusual for motorists to carry a spare petrol can, often on the running board.  Many of them were labelled "PRATTS". 

A lot of cars still had running boards when I was young....

 

[MrWolf]

I have been restoring this to "oily rag condition" the last couple of days, a late 1930s BSA Streamlight, it's been down to a bare frame and about an hour ago, I took it for a test run.

 

I was NOT wearing lycra. 

 

Lycra only looks good on trim young women. 

 

Cycling lycra looks good on NOBODY EVER.

 

[alastairq]

Let's face it, if one is walking, riding a bicycle, riding a motorcycle, or driving an older car, tractor, lorry etc....given what has been described by many above, it really does behove us to actually walk/ride/ride/drive more defensively. In other words , if we are vulnerable, it really is very much up to us to try to reduce that vulnerability as much as we can.  

Yet time & again I see, hear or read about vulnerable road users who seem to think, because of their vulnerability, everybody else should take care of them!

 

Whilst all road users have a duty of care to other road users, that cannot always be relied upon.

[APOLLO]

Remember this ?

 

 

Day three, fell off bicycle, pump caught in trouser leg !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

As for "serious" Cyclists and sweaty panting snot exhaling joggers all complete with "kit" - sick of them on my daily walks.

 

Brit15

[MrWolf]

Ah yes, people who insist on spitting, whatever the reason... The only thing that stops me from beating them senseless is the potential legal consequences...

[PhilJ W]

4 hours ago, great central said:

My older PT cruiser could leave quite a smokescreen when I floored the throttle, inconsiderate cyclists sometimes found out

You need a Commer TS3 'Knocker'.

[MrWolf]

34 minutes ago, alastairq said:

Let's face it, if one is walking, riding a bicycle, riding a motorcycle, or driving an older car, tractor, lorry etc....given what has been described by many above, it really does behove us to actually walk/ride/ride/drive more defensively. In other words , if we are vulnerable, it really is very much up to us to try to reduce that vulnerability as much as we can.  

Yet time & again I see, hear or read about vulnerable road users who seem to think, because of their vulnerability, everybody else should take care of them!

 

Whilst all road users have a duty of care to other road users, that cannot always be relied upon.

 

I have found that cycling and motorcycling before I learned to drive a car makes me more aware of my surroundings.

Driving cars and vans that are basically made of wood makes you think twice too.

 

All the driver aids and safety equipment in modern cars is a double edged sword. It makes people who know nothing else think that they are invulnerable. 

So a lot drive like the dix they are.

 

As my other half pointed out to me on one of the first times out on my bike and a bloke came past on a sports bike wearing a T shirt:

 

"He's obviously never fallen off before."

[gr.king]

Can I just state without the slightest doubt or hesitation that I have never owned or worn a garment made from lycra, and that I have no intention of making any changes to that pattern....

[MrWolf]

4 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

You need a Commer TS3 'Knocker'.

 

Would that be for the two stroke diesel stink, the scream from the supercharger or both? 

[PhilJ W]

8 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

 

Would that be for the two stroke diesel stink, the scream from the supercharger or both? 

No, doing a 'decoke' as your driving along.

[MrWolf]

I see, the mobile gas chamber effect. I remember United Carriers having a fleet of ancient TS3 Commers when I was at junior school. They used to come through our village every day. You don't forget hearing one!

[PhilJ W]

4 minutes ago, MrWolf said:

I see, the mobile gas chamber effect. I remember United Carriers having a fleet of ancient TS3 Commers when I was at junior school. They used to come through our village every day. You don't forget hearing one!

From miles away.

[russ p]

My ZR was laying a smokescreen on the way home tonight,  haven't used it for months and went to overtake a car put my foot down no power enough smoke to put a 47 to shame!

Pulled over and found a split intercooler hose not the first time this has happened so I've ordered a set of silicone ones

[MrWolf]

1 hour ago, PhilJ W said:

From miles away.

 

 

These were a daily sight to-ing and fro-ing from the shoe factories and tanneries of Leicestershire villages up to 1980 or so. Both factories and trucks are long gone now.

[gr.king]

On 30/03/2021 at 17:56, Northmoor said:

In the last decade or so, cycling has become the new golf for a certain group of well-paid professional men.  As with golf, they can buy all the expensive equipment in the world but convince themselves that the only reason they aren't world championship standard is because there is always another piece of expensive equipment that they haven't bought yet.

 

That's a very good point, and the amount of publicity that high-tech bikes and other kit has had in connection with GB cycling success in at the Olympics and other international events in the last fifteen or so years has aggravated the situation. Around here, it has helped to virtually wipe out the basic, affordable cycling shop with budget bikes and worn, dusty wooden drawers full of obscure parts for bikes of all ages. They are almost all elaborately tarted-up "boutiques" now, with a limited selection of bikes costing many hundreds or more often thousands of pounds each and staffed by socially dysfunctional enthusiasts with a sneering attitude to anybody who wants to buy or repair a more basic, older bike.

 

I have two bikes, one steel-framed and mainly made in or before 1979 (although after many repairs that's now only about as original as the axe at the Tower of London) which was bit of a bargain at the time, and a "more modern" lighter-weight one that was certainly made before the year 2000, given to me by a double-income-no-kids friend who is a serial buyer of fancy bikes who simply had no room for "the old thing". There's nothing fundamentally wrong with either bike, and along with the stuff I wear when cycling (including the hi-vis vest for the blind motorists) they make a grossly un-fashionable, un-cool, low-cost combination.

Edited April 1, 2021 by gr.king