Overtake too fast?
0So there's another campaign implying fast cyclists (primarily those on road bikes, or racing bikes as we call them in the Netherlands) are at least equally at fault in problematic interactions with slower road users. Rarely they are dicks, but for the most part it's really the "Sunday cyclists" who are oblivious to others around them. Even on wide paths such as this one where four cyclists fit comfortably, or more if you want to squeeze a bit, they make overtaking difficult. Not to mention narrower paths where it takes ages for them to make space, when you're either trying to overtake or are merely approaching them head-on through a blind bend. Scary. Here's a fragment showing what that sort of thing looks like from the perspective of a fast and hopefully responsible cyclist.
Synopsis: I'm approaching a man from behind. When I want to overtake, he cuts the corner without looking. I cut power in response and cover my brakes. Next, I approach three children who swerve all the way to the left. I ding them loudly from as far as I think they can hear it, so they have plenty of time to move over and overall become predictable. They do hear it, but after five seconds they're still swerving awkwardly. Meanwhile I have slowed down quite a bit. Around that time it's clear where they're going to be, and that they won't cut me up in a way I can't dodge anymore, so I cut through the middle to be done with it. And then the man that I overtook before shouts at me to take it easy. Ugh.
I wonder what they thought about the little car (a brommobiel, which is legally a kind of moped that isn't supposed to be on cycle paths, ever) you can see in the distance. It overtook me 3 minutes and 30 seconds before the start of this fragment. During that time it got a lead of 23 seconds on me. I was clearly not as fast. I also need much less space, don't make nearly as much noise, and basically don't pollute at all whereas those things are horrible. You'd think it'd prime those cyclists to expect faster traffic, and not complain as much about a much more benign cyclist.
This was recorded a few minutes before the "Anticipation" video, FYI. At this point I knew I was going to be wet, so I was pushing the speed a bit. As did a mild tailwind. My speed peaked at 38 km/h or so on the empty stretch at the end of this video.