Aren't cyclists selfish lawless idiots?

I have a saying that I live by and know to be true, "It doesn't matter where you go or what you do there's always one." In this case on my pedal home it was two. My pedal home last night was going really well, the stiff headwind was just giving me a better work out most of the other other road users were giving me the time and space I need to make progress. So I've pedalled from Smethwick, through Edgbaston, around Harbourne, past the QE Hospital and am now getting ready to do battle with the main Selly Oak/Bristol Road lights at the Sainsbury's Supermarket. No problems, I have a plan for this risky stretch, keep my pace high, take the central position in the inside lane then wait for a gap to move over to the middle lane to turn right onto the Bristol Road.

On this particular occasion I'm getting a lick on and about to ride through a pedestrian crossing (lights on green for the road users) and a bloke on a MTB just rides straight across in front of me making me brake hard then turns off the crossing and pedals his way serenely up the inside lane towards the junction! More of him later.

I then get to the junction with the lights on red (let in by a decent motorist) and while waiting at the front of the queue I see a student (looks like a student and it is Selly Oak) pedal up the inside lane to the lights, go through the red light left onto the Bristol Road and calmly carry on his merry way. At this point original MTB man has pedalled on the pavement all the way to the junction.

I'm looking around at the motorists and I can tell they're pissed off. And rightly so.

I just hope the footage comes out ok which is why I've gone into quite a lengthy description of the two incidents just in case it doesn't. They might be candidates for Joby's Fight Bad Driving website.

Incident 1:




Incident 2:







Otherwise the pedal was fine. Stats here:

Started: 27 Apr 2010 15:05:26
Ride Time: 44:05
Stopped Time: 1:33
Distance: 11.72 miles
Average: 13.63 miles/hr
Fastest Speed: 39.69 miles/hr
Climb: 627 feet
Calories: 1025

This morning was an East Side 20 miler, which for me went ok legs and cardio vascular wise. I am really suffering with painful upper arms, my shoulders, biceps and triceps are pretty painful after about 20 minutes in to the ride. I think I'll start doing press ups and pull ups to strengthen them, maybe that will help. I don't suppose all the years of front row rugby can be helping my cause though.

But my bike didn't fair too well. Another broken spoke on my back wheel when I was pedalling through Hall Green. I heard it twang and when I got off the bike I saw another spoke hanging, broken in the same place right on the hub as the last one. I carry a bit of tape with me so I taped it to the adjacent spoke, opened my brake calipers to prevent rubbing and got to work without further incident.

Stats here:

Started: 28 Apr 2010 05:21:13
Ride Time: 1:11:18
Stopped Time: 0:00
Distance: 20.60 miles
Average: 14.46 miles/hr
Fastest Speed: 35.87 miles/hr
Climb: 269 feet
Calories: 1594

There'll be another visit to Northfield Cycles later today. I might be having something to say about this to Richard. I have gone all of my cycling life doing some pretty intense MTBing as an adult and long distance pedalling on road as a kid which was done on some pretty cheap kit back then without ever having broken a spoke. I spend just short of a grand for a half decent road bike and I get 2 broken spokes in 2 weeks. Something is not right and I'm not a happy bunny.