At least you learned a lesson: Karma's a bitch!

I'm not sure how "out to the middle" this cyclist was, after all I wasn't there, nor do I know what the road was like, but usually it is safer to ride a fair distance from the kerb, giving him space to move in if need be. Like I said, I wasn't there, but maybe there was a ditch to the side of the road, or it was too badly surfaced for him to safely move over, and he was waiting until there was enough space for you to pass down the line. That's why people tend to get annoyed, especially as most drivers consider it cyclists' responsibility to make way for them. Having said that though, I can't complain about you hating cyclists so much, we do tend to act like complete arseholes a lot of the time.

So much negativity from someone who calls himself Mr brightside....

if its a quiet road then just pass him, I'm sure it was at least two lanes

I don't know about the UK laws, but in the US in most (all?) states, cyclists are supposed to ride in the center of the lane.

Not really... At least on my area, cyclists must yield to vehicles. Even though the cyclist should have moved to the side out of courtesy, like a slow car goes to the right lane (in 'murica at least) to allow the faster cars to pass on the left closer to the center divider

This is true. I don't know why you're getting thumbs down. I guess most people who get their licenses don't actually read the BMV book.

However, they have to do the speed limit to be in the center of the lane. If not, get out.

Actually not true, they're supposed to ride on the shoulder or side of the roads in Washington State

I have been cycling for years just because I prefer it as my means of exercise and I don't see the point of exercising if I'm not going anywhere. I've had cars honk at me even though I'm on the side of the road for no good reason just to scare me. I've also had three drivers who were not paying attention hit me (nothing has been serious) In New Mexico a lot of cyclists have died due to innatentive drivers, and here there are very few roads with bike lanes, so the cyclists like to be in the middle of the road where they know they'll be seen, and I can't say I blame them. When I'm biking with my son in his trailer behind my bike I bike in the middle of the lame too... It forces the cars to go around me and keeps my son safe.

Look Op it doesn't matter that is a dangerous thing to do and if it were me you be facing court via my family because like I mention I am a cyclist and I have a phobia of loud noises I usually wear ear plugs to muffle loud horns when riding so I don't get spooked

2. The guy wasn't cycling to the side like he should have been, he was more out to the middle. I just lost my cool to be honest, if he doesn't care about his safety by doing that, why should I bother about not making him jump? (unpopular opinion obviously...) There's nothing in the law or the highway code that states a cyclist should stay to the left hand side of the road, the cyclist may have been taking the lane due to hazards such as parked cars and hence avoiding cycling in the door zone, or perhaps there were traffic islands in the road and he was therefore taking the lane to prevent you from overtaking dangerously. 3. I should probably point out that this was a quiet road, I was the only car, otherwise I wouldn't have done it, which may be surprising to some of you... I don't give a shit whether it was quiet or not, you don't do that shit to cyclists. 4. He caught up to me because I slowed back down to normal speed after about 30 seconds. Guess he was stronger than I thought. You slowed back down to normal speed? So you were speeding when you overtook the cyclist? Wouldn't surprise me. Many cyclists, myself included are capable of doing the speed limit, which brings me back to the point of him taking the lane, he may have been doing that just because he was maintaining the speed limit. I know I would because I know there's no point in attempting to overtake me while I'm doing limit because then you would be speeding. 5. I KNOW I'm a colossal twat. But I still hate cyclists. Some of them are SO up their own arses. Having said that, I WILL NEVER EVER DO ANYTHING LIKE THIS AGAIN. You're still a colossal dick.

Well u know he is a "Vehicle" that you have to overtake as if it were a car. It would have been nice if he moved over for you though. By claiming the entire lane he is actually declaring his safety zone.

I totally agree with you, OP. I feel that cyclists should go find a nice trail to ride on instead of riding up and down my road.

Fun fact for ALL the colossal twats out there -self proclaimed or not- it is often times MUCH safer for a cyclist to ride in the center of the lane, and while that may be slightly irritating to those of you who loudly honk at/nearly kill them, it is probably less irritating than being hit by colossal twats in giant, fast moving vehicles. When riding off to the side, you often come upon "small" obstacles like sewer grates or tree limbs that could send you flying. And quickly jolting to the center of the lane to avoid these obstacles is not generally advised, since you will probably get hit by a car. Also, it is usually not legal to ride on sidewalks, and even if it is, pedestrians feel endangered, PLUS the added bonus of tons of uneven pavement popping tires or throwing you off of your bike. Final fun fact, there's really no reason to hate cyclists just for being cyclists. That's just idiotic. Motorists who can't handle the >5 second delay in their commute while they wait to pass a cyclist, and choose instead to endanger their lives ("because >5 seconds of my life is more important than THE REST of a cyclists life!!!!!"), that is irritating.

Yeah, in most places bikes are treated as cars, and must follow traffic laws. In Colorado if you hit a cyclist who wasn't following traffic laws, they can be ticketed.

I know that feeling. Here the outside lane is considered a bike lane and some bicyclists think that drivers are somehow solely responsible for their safety, I have heard one of my friends get pissy about how bicyclists have every right to be there. I understand your reasons, I hate "bicycle lanes" that aren't really bicycle lanes.

In Oregon bicyclists are counted as legal vehicles. Soooooo, he can be in the middle of the lane here.

#195 I kinda understand you. Most cyclists I encounter are douchebags that do not follow the road rules. I actually get shocked if I see some cyclist indicate their turn. Many change between pavement and the road/cyclist zone, depending on what suits them better (as in pedestrians have green light while they have red). Seen them ride on the road right next to cyclist path. In my country a cyclist is supposed to drive on the right side of the lane and if they are many drive in line and not one next to another. Not uncommon to see those rules broken too. Just like a driver that has no clue what he is doing on the road is dangerous and annoying so are those cyclists.

Living in a state that is very (read: VERY) bicyclist friendly, to the point where cyclists do all sorts of illegal things that would get a vehicle driver nailed by cops, I can totally understand your frustration. I give cyclists the absolute bare minimum space allowance required by law on all sides when passing them. However, I'm not stupid enough to honk at them as a joke, but I'm not going to remain *honk-less* if their riding behavior is impeding and holding up vehicular traffic (I remember reading another FML on here about a driver who reacted similarly to this FML's post, but the cyclist was driving in the middle of the vehicular lane of the road when there was a perfectly serviceable bike lane on the side of the road that he/she was ignoring). Bicyclists seem to abuse their government protected rights more than drivers do, in my experience.

I'm pretty sure honking him wasn't dangerous, him riding in the middle of the road with a bunch of much faster heavier cars and bikes is much more dangerous.

They are from the UK. Not everyone is American. Believe it or not there are OTHER COINTRIES in the world!

Some people have to get to work ONTIME I'm not saying that was where this guy was going, just expressing my rage at the selfish unpassable cyclists that like to claim my road whilst I'm driving to work. Push over for a second.

Or maintain an approximation of the speed limit. If I drove 15 in a 60 I'd be ticketed, when a cyclist does it, backing up traffic for half a km because he's too big of a douche to move over, he expects to be hailed as an environmental hero, reeking of B.O. All day at work. Note, here it's illegal to impede 3 or more vehicles, also to travel less than half the speed limit without a rotating yellow beacon and pilot vehicle, both laws bicycles break with impunity, because they feel that their mode of transport entitles them to.

Idk where you're from, but where I live, you have a designated bike lane. if you are a cyclist and you are driving in the middle of the road like an asshole, you can get cited and fined. 1) you're congesting traffic. 2) you're considered another vehicle on the road causing safety issues by forcing other vehicles to pass you.