I'm going to get told off soon.

My experience was that for my first year of riding through traffic every day
(commuting from North of Slough through to Windsor) I nearly got shunted off
every single day and, in most cases, it was pure good luck that I didn't.
Then, after about a year, it just stopped. Other road users still did the
same 'silly' things, but when they did I wasn't anywhere near them. I
didn't do anything consciously different, I just developed the instincts you
need to ride a bike on roads full of people who care about (a) getting to
work on time and (b) **** all else.

I'm not saying that you couldn't teach somebody that without making them put
their life on the line for a year, but I can't see how you'd do it.

It is, isn't it. I love that feeling of being in the right rhythm to just
flow through the traffic smoothly.

--
AndrewR, D.Bot (Celeritas)
Aprilia RSV-1000R, Honda VFR750F-L
BOTAFOT#2,ITJWTFO#6,UKRMRM#1/13a,MCT#1,DFV#2,SKoGA#0 (and KotL)
BotToS#5,SBS#25,IbW#34, DS#5, COSOC# Suspended, KotTFSTR#
The speccy Geordie twat.

 

I'm amazed I don't see more Ducatis embedded in cars on my daily
commute. They really do seem to be ridden by the most terrible cunts.

 

Shh, stop casting shadows on the water

Paul.

 

not sure who you're thinking of but it was i who said that.

you can often tell more about what's going to happen by watching the
direction of people's front wheels and their positioning rather than
their faces. a lot of people drive more at a subconscious level than
at a conscious level and what they're going to do might not even show
on their face.

this ^^

2 more things:

if the worst happens and someone collides with you, i recommend that you
do not try to save the bike. let it go where it's going to go and just step
off the back. repairs to or replacements of bikes is just a matter of
money, whereas all the money in the world is not going to give you an
arm or a leg back.

*nature abhors a vacuum*. when you're filtering in heavy traffic remember
this mantra. if there is a space between two cars, even if it is not big
enough for a car to fit in, someone in another lane will want to fill it.
even if it's only 2 feet ahead of them and that lane is going slower, they
*will* change lanes, they *will* do it without looking, and if there is not
enough space for them to get in they will barge halfway, blocking your path
dead. when you see a space of any kind watch for the things that are going
to fill it.

 

I've seen a one-armed biker on the M4 a couple of times, filtering quite
happily. Never seen that before, hats off to him/her. Not quite sure how
the controls work, he had just a left arm. Simple enough to swap the
throttle/clutch I guess, but not sure about the brake. Could be Doohan
thumb rear brake stylee I suppose.

 

Ducatis, yeah - but don't forget the spazzers on scooters.

 

Bad form, but:

<googles>

Blimey. There's loads of them.

eg

 

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Simon Wilson

I wonder how he gets around the weight-transfer under heavy braking
issue?

Seems to me that he *should* have a real problem with his arm pushing
against the handlebar.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - "He's hopeless, but he's honest"

I have already made the greatest contribution to the fight against climate
change that I can make: I have decided not to breed. Now quit bugging me and
go and talk to the Catholics.

 

Most amputee motorcyclists seem to be of the upside-down head tendency, and
ride with their (remaining) legs well forward to brace themselves.

 

They at least have an excuse: they're spazzers.

 

can you think of any Ducati riders who aren't?

 

I'll have to get back to you.

 

maybe in the "olden days".

When I was regularly commuting in London (admittedly not since around
2005) I regularly got held up in traffic by couriers/despatch riders
[1]

[1] is there a difference?

 

when I was still commuting to work on the bike and parking it in our
basement, I used to make an illegal right turn out of Warwick lane
every single day.

My commute to work also included riding over a bit of pavement ever
day too, mind.

Oh, and when I worked at Sky, I would ride round the right hand side
of a "keep left" island every single day.

Rules are for others.

 

Heh I owned a Courier Company, even worse

 

^..^

 

As I wrote after Tog Tour I decided to follow Ant until I got around the
M25, having rather tampted fate up to that point.

 

Actually I'd already come to the conclusion that if I am unfortunate to
have an off, it's most likely going to be from another bike coming up
behind me. I've had a couple come past at *insane* speeds, there's no
way anyone could convince me they're safe. I've let a few past when
they're obviously faster/better at filtering than me, but the odd one or
two I haven't even seen.

 

my point is that sometimes, such illegal manoeuvers are completely and
repeatedly safe.

oh sure. I've seen the example of this sort of lemming-like behaviour
countless times.

As someone else has said in this sub-thread: the closest calls I've
had have been when other bikes have been ridden fuckwittedly, rather
than from cars.

 

I haven't see anyone doing anything like that in 6 years of work in
the City.

So, presumably he's dead or retired.

Or something else.