Dangers of Cycling in Thailand

[Deepinthailand]

5 minutes ago, rapom said:

Where do you keep the other eye? 

In your lycra cycling shorts I hope

[el jefe]

3 hours ago, alofthailand said:

Cycling is dangerous and selfish in any modern country. it is an outmoded form of transport suitable as a child's plaything or for  use in the third world where poverty dictates their use. Bicycles should be used in velodromea or other dedicate areas. The silly green/pc view that has promoted cycling as a valid alternative to real transport is wrong. On a recent visit to the UK cyclists seemed to be entitled trouble makers making the roads dangerous for all users including them selves. In Thailand cycling is a rarity and an oddity. It is not respected and just associated with poverty and powerlessness.

It is also unhealthy for the cyclists dup to the traffic fumes they inhale. When people talk about the success of cycling in Europe they referto London whereso called bicycle lanes enrage as inconvenience other road users-Brighton where the cyclists are a danger to pedestrians and holland where people are more acquiescent. The introduction of cycle lanes in the UK has been and expensive experiment to meet the needs of a selfish morally superior minority. 

Now that you've posted this for a third time, all you have done is proven that you hate cyclists. You've added nothing to the discussion with your bizarre claims.

[el jefe]

10 hours ago, dotpoom said:

My two biggest gripes dealing with traffic here whether , driving my car, riding my motorbike, cycling my bicycle or simply walking...is the way cars/ motorbikes pull right out in front of me from small side roads when I have the right of way on the main road. My second is when they pass me by going around me and then slam on the brakes (causing me to do same) to pull into a service station or side road , like you say, why not just pull in behind me.

I agree, those are two of the biggest annoyances of cycling in Thailand. Fortunately, neither is particularly dangerous.

When either of those situations happened for the 3rd (or 10th) time, you should have figured out the pattern. Pulling out from a small road onto a bigger road without looking is pretty common in most of SE Asia. It's annoying but if you expect it, I don't see where the danger is. Cars and motorbikes passing only to immediately pull into a petrol station, 7-11, Tesco, etc should also be expected. It happens in the west just as often as in Thailand. I agree that can be dangerous if you're not paying attention, but anytime I'm approaching one of those situations, I'm on the alert for vehicles that might be turning in front of me.

[n210mp]

11 hours ago, pauleddy said:

Agree with Gandalf.

 

I rode high-end Specialized and Trek (MTB) bikes in the UK and Spain for 20 years. It's a fantastic hobby, and I made many friends (other devotees). I was a good and skilled MTB-er, but not Olympics material.

 

I have been in the BKK bike shops 6-7 times, with my Visa card burning a hole in my pocket--but I keep coming to the same conclusion. No BIKe in BKK. Too risky. Broke my shoulder here just by walking a greasy vendor's patch of sidewalk.

 

I've been in a friend's big 4by4 many times, but I don't know how it does it.  Despite driving for 46 years, which included driving Jags and also a fearless Mazda Rx8 which can reach 140 mph and still have throttle to spare, I am shocked by the driving standards here. So, I guess that the head must rule the heart. No Bike. So sad!

 

Do I need to see a trick-cyclist?

 

Eddy

 

 

 

 

Yes you as you suggest possibly would benefit from the help of at least a good psychologist.

 

Maybe you could also seek medical  help in finding some "balls" as well?  (Sorry)

 

I sometimes am at a loss for the way people bullshit their POV across just because they  are either to lazy or scared to "get on yer  bike"  and find your lost self again.

 

I am sorry for the possibly too straight talk but do me a favour, we are talking about riding a bike here for a nice quiet and healthy sojourn  not driving at Le mans or entering the Monte Carlo rally.

 

Just try to remember the pleasure you got when you were riding your top of the range Bike and then focus on doing it again, The first step is the hard one!

 

Poetic licence

Written under the influence of a mild sensation of the Scottish ambre nectar

Edited August 22, 2016 by n210mp

[StreetCowboy]

1 hour ago, rapom said:

Where do you keep the other eye? 

Depends on whether the scenery or girls are prettier, or the traffic more hectic....

[alofthailand]

8 hours ago, GuestHouse said:

 

Is there a reason why you posted this twice?

 

It doesn't improve with repetition, it's just as much nonsense as the first time you said it.

Cycling is dangerous and selfish in any modern country. it is an outmoded form of transport suitable as a child's plaything or for  use in the third world where poverty dictates their use. Bicycles should be used in velodromea or other dedicate areas. The silly green/pc view that has promoted cycling as a valid alternative to real transport is wrong. On a recent visit to the UK cyclists seemed to be entitled trouble makers making the roads dangerous for all users including them selves. In Thailand cycling is a rarity and an oddity. It is not respected and just associated with poverty and powerlessness.

 

I do not intend to post twice -I suspect it is to do with the recent changes to the website and it is causing the problem. Repetition or not my view is widely held by many people and is valid.  The main function of Cyclists it organ donation! Cyclists in London are loved by the NHS! 

 

[alofthailand]

7 hours ago, StreetCowboy said:

It's really surprising how popular cycling is now, all over the world.  I think a lot of the ill-feeling directed at cyclists on fora such as this derives from repressed jealousy.  They wish they could safely filter through red lights, that they had the visibility to see all round so that they could safely roll through "stop" signs, that they could filter through rather than forming traffic jams.

 

I actually find that cycling makes people much more pleasant.  I get a lot more smiles, and cheery thumbs-up from passing motorcyclists, drivers are much more courteous, and you can catch the eye of pedestrians and exchange a smile as you pass, compared to when I am in my car.

 

It makes you appreciate your environment, and gives you a much better appreciation of the quality of road repairs and utility installation.

 

What I would say is that you do need to keep one eye on the road, no matter how quiet and bucolic the scenery.  A missing drain cover, a sunken man-hole, a pot-hole can easily spell disaster.

Your smugness about breaking the law-ignoring stop signs and traffic lights and thinking people are jealous of you summarises why people despise cyclists. Grow up.

[GuestHouse]

3 hours ago, alofthailand said:

Repetition or not my view is widely held by many people and is valid.  The main function of Cyclists it organ donation! Cyclists in London are loved by the NHS! 

 

 

Widely held views are often simply a matter of repetition. Earth flat and God is in his heaven are examples.

 

I have provided examples of how your views are wrong, you have provided nothing but prejudicial opinion.... Which of course requires no evidence.

 

I suggest you concentrate on not falling off your bar stool and leave cycling to us adults.

[StreetCowboy]

4 hours ago, alofthailand said:

Your smugness about breaking the law-ignoring stop signs and traffic lights and thinking people are jealous of you summarises why people despise cyclists. Grow up.

Who said anything about ignoring signs or traffic lights?

I take great care when going through stop signs or red lights.

I take almost as much care going through green lights.  I think I understand car drivers a lot better than you apparently understand cyclists, since I live amongst them every day - indeed, I am one, though I don't often go on the driving forum here, and particularly not to abuse its users and provoke pointless bickering.

 

Or did you come on to this thread as an example of one of the dangers of cycling in Thailand?

 

[williet98248]

21 hours ago, n210mp said:

Here I go again, bait taken!

 

What a load of Pansies! At least the Nay sayers!

 

To mention bike (cycle)  accidents as some silly kind of  absolute proof that cycling in Thailand is dangerous is just as daft as saying that life  itself is dangerous.

 

Where there are mice and men there will be accidents, unforeseen circumstances etc etc etc.

 

Lets try not to panic chaps, let's keep things in perspective here.

 

You pick the right equipment for yourself, you pick the right environment to ride in and you dont mix it with the motorway or the inner city traffic for a start.

 

To take advantage of the oxygen laden night  air you go just before dawn in my case on roads that you know very well  and you finish before the mainstream traffic has taken over.

 

Friend of mine lives in downtown Pattaya, leaves his bike at another mates house near Mabrachan  and sets off in his car early doors, thus avoiding city traffic.

 

There will always be accidents in any event no matter how you try to avoid them but not to take part in any activity because of the uninformed and  hysterical fears, like the ones described in this thread is just pure Bulox, Yes, better for you to  just turn over and go back to sleep, better you die in bed from Fattyrop syndrome , enlarged liver and  lungs crusted with bitumen tar from the many ciggies that you consume that are of course not dangerous at all, are they?

 

Yes I know I purposely went over the top with this reply just to show that the pendulum if swung the other way is just as daft as some of the Pussy replies

Indeed.  A voice of sanity.  I have been bicycle riding in Phuket and environs for 12 years.  I have been brushed by cars a couple of times and rear ended by motorcycles twice.  Before I got rid of the motorcycles I was involved in several accidents.  I have been involved in car accidents three times in eight years.  I guess I could crawl under the covers and never come out but I prefer to live a real life.  I ride my road  bike for exercise early in the morning and use my MTB for running errands.  On occasion I and my bike buddy do a full day road trip in rural areas.  You pays your money and you takes your chances.  At age 74 I am healthier than ever and at 182 pounds down from 204 five years a go.  Legs like tree trunks.  Just getting up in the morning is 'dangerous'.

[MadMuhummad]

21 hours ago, RawboneFunksta said:

I am afraid that living in Pattaya or any other location in Thailand is absolutely no comparison to Bangkok driving or riding.

I also do not believe Thai drivers are necessarily worse than those in the west. Bangkok roads and users have a certain rhythm and once you understand that although it seems chaotic it can be navigated.

Thai drivers are more sensitive to motorcyclists than those in the west, that is for sure. I can testify to that. The traffic is often so dense and does not stick to western ideas of road use that cycling can be difficult I think and it's true that cars and particularly dek win on scooters often fly past at dangerous speeds barely missing other road users. I think the introduction of an age limit on driving may help?

Although Bangkok traffic is dense it seems safer than the unlit roads and bad surfaces of Nakhon Bumscratch in Isan where turn arounds in the road are like accident magnets.

There is big enthusiasm for cycling in Bangkok and they usually either cycle in big groups at night or do so in Lumpini Park.

 

Absolutely. I've felt much more respected and noticed on a bike here in Thailand. Much more so than in Australia where I was taken out going through a green light on a motorcycle  and nearly ending my life.

i still feel uncomfortable on the roads back home what with such a large number of drivers on their phone, doing make up, brushing their hair, daydreaming, reading iPads etc.

I find here there is a strange calmness if you are not aggressive and pushy yourself. I find you just need to get the 'it's my right of way' attitude out of the equation and things move a lot smoother.

[rogeroc]

I agree very much with the above. At first when i cycled in Chiang Mai the car drivers 'Thai Creep' from side road to main road, or indeed anytime a car driver turns a corner used to annoy me. However on reflection i can understand that it is diffficult for a car to get onto a main road as they are so busy, so i often stop and let them go. It is harder to understand why car drivers make a turn into a side road so slowly but again i have got used to it. That car drivers manouvre so slowly can be a pain but is also a safety feature, they are so slow they cannot really damage you. Anyway i am retired here there is no rush to get from point A to point B.

[RawboneFunksta]

That is so true.

I used to find myself thinking, 'it's my right of way or my side of the road' but once you can banish those thoughts and just give way driving is much better and much less stressful than the west.

[Deepinthailand]

Now I haven't been on a pedal bike since I was 12/3 years old and have been a committed  anti bike man due to the obvious ill manered cycle riders around the world cutting into a gap that's not there and shouting at the car driver as it must be his/her fault. Riding straight through red lights or mounting  the pavement slewing through pedestrians without a care in the world. Not having to pay any road tax or have insurance. But above all the sheer arrogance of the vast majority of cyclists.

But in the intrests of fairness I decided to buy a pedal cycle and see things from the other sides perspective today was my first real test on a very very back road with very little traffic only two motorbikes passed me oh and the old lady in her push bike!! I have to say although I only went a short distance 2 miles out and 2 back with a slight incline out and trying to suck in air through my arse due to inactivity for the past 20 years or so. I really enjoyed it. It will be some time I fear before I brave any busier roads but yes I liked it.

[GuestHouse]

1 hour ago, Deepinthailand said:

Now I haven't been on a pedal bike since I was 12/3 years old and have been a committed  anti bike man due to the obvious ill manered cycle riders around the world cutting into a gap that's not there and shouting at the car driver as it must be his/her fault. Riding straight through red lights or mounting  the pavement slewing through pedestrians without a care in the world. Not having to pay any road tax or have insurance. But above all the sheer arrogance of the vast majority of cyclists.

But in the intrests of fairness I decided to buy a pedal cycle and see things from the other sides perspective today was my first real test on a very very back road with very little traffic only two motorbikes passed me oh and the old lady in her push bike!! I have to say although I only went a short distance 2 miles out and 2 back with a slight incline out and trying to suck in air through my arse due to inactivity for the past 20 years or so. I really enjoyed it. It will be some time I fear before I brave any busier roads but yes I liked it.

 

 

Keep it up, take a rest day between rides and try to build up the distance.

 

I also think it a good idea not to go out with the wind behind you, riding back home into a headwind is bad enough, doing so having gone too far with an easy wind is worse.

[Deepinthailand]

17 minutes ago, GuestHouse said:

 

 

Keep it up, take a rest day between rides and try to build up the distance.

 

I also think it a good idea not to go out with the wind behind you, riding back home into a headwind is bad enough, doing so having gone too far with an easy wind is worse.

Lol a rest day more like a rest week??? Not going to get serious with it twice a week will do me

[HooHaa]

On 8/22/2016 at 10:39 AM, Ace of Pop said:

 

wow, did you find that all y yourself while still managing to firmly occupy the sofa?

there are those of us that make excuses and those of us that actually do things.

i know which group i would rather be a part of.

 

[GuestHouse]

33 minutes ago, Deepinthailand said:

Lol a rest day more like a rest week??? Not going to get serious with it twice a week will do me

 

Never say never.

 

If you get bitten by the bike bug you'll wind up with bike fever, ogling at bike shops in a way you used to ogle at bus stops and eventually plagued by the fear of the biggest danger any serious cyclist ever faces:

 

The fear that your wife sells your bike for the price you told her you paid for it.

 

 

Edited August 23, 2016 by GuestHouse

[Deepinthailand]

Trust me it's not going to happen????

[Ace of Pop]

47 minutes ago, HooHaa said:

 

wow, did you find that all y yourself while still managing to firmly occupy the sofa?

there are those of us that make excuses and those of us that actually do things.

i know which group i would rather be a part of.

 

No i Jet Ski and only annoy the fish and other folks doing nothing of any important.Not folks trying to get some work done.

[squid master]

my staff managers bought 2 bicycles this week about 200k. i asked them where do you ride them, they said 25km bicycle park near the suvan. airport..i said its very safe

[tahaan]

3 hours ago, Ace of Pop said:

No i Jet Ski and only annoy the fish and other folks doing nothing of any important.Not folks trying to get some work done.

 

So you posted to support the premise that cycling is dangerous in Thailand and admit to jet skiing  A quick Google shows it not a smart pastime for the risk adverse.

 

I'll stick to cycling. At least the risks are outweighed by the benefits to health.

[Ace of Pop]

As with Cycles and Jet Ski use its both abused by idiots but one is done of highways. Mountain Bikers only hit trees that dont swerve to avoid them putting vehicles off their line. As for Health, total rubbish, many other safer ways , more for ego ,like the young Jet Boys. I do ride a Bike too off road.Im with the Old School Bikers not Lycra Posers.

[n210mp]

On 8/22/2016 at 5:14 PM, alofthailand said:

Cycling is dangerous and selfish in any modern country. it is an outmoded form of transport suitable as a child's plaything or for  use in the third world where poverty dictates their use. Bicycles should be used in velodromea or other dedicate areas. The silly green/pc view that has promoted cycling as a valid alternative to real transport is wrong. On a recent visit to the UK cyclists seemed to be entitled trouble makers making the roads dangerous for all users including them selves. In Thailand cycling is a rarity and an oddity. It is not respected and just associated with poverty and powerlessness.

It is also unhealthy for the cyclists dup to the traffic fumes they inhale. When people talk about the success of cycling in Europe they referto London whereso called bicycle lanes enrage as inconvenience other road users-Brighton where the cyclists are a danger to pedestrians and holland where people are more acquiescent. The introduction of cycle lanes in the UK has been and expensive experiment to meet the needs of a selfish morally superior minority. 

 

 

You are of course a TROLL, not a very good one but nevertheless  a TROLL, we , the Hoi polloi of the forum will try to keep you occupied whilst some of the more interesting and important threads are left alone

 

 

[n210mp]

10 hours ago, williet98248 said:

Indeed.  A voice of sanity.  I have been bicycle riding in Phuket and environs for 12 years.  I have been brushed by cars a couple of times and rear ended by motorcycles twice.  Before I got rid of the motorcycles I was involved in several accidents.  I have been involved in car accidents three times in eight years.  I guess I could crawl under the covers and never come out but I prefer to live a real life.  I ride my road  bike for exercise early in the morning and use my MTB for running errands.  On occasion I and my bike buddy do a full day road trip in rural areas.  You pays your money and you takes your chances.  At age 74 I am healthier than ever and at 182 pounds down from 204 five years a go.  Legs like tree trunks.  Just getting up in the morning is 'dangerous'.

 

 

Yippee!!!!!!!!

Same brush, different strokes but the same energy and enthusiasm for a pastime that is not only healthy, happy and friend making but  as safe as slouching on the couch as most of the "Naysayers" on here would be doing whilst we would be biking .

[StreetCowboy]

I was out tonight for a ride with acquaintances in the city centre.  Stopped for a pub supper on the way home, and I noticed some lightning.  Sadly, I didn't drink up as quick as I should, and I got caught in torrential rain - Rain? It was hailish!

 

Although Thailand has a more predictable climate, you can get caught in rain that makes stair-rods seem like an understatement.  And when it's not raining, the smog from bush-burning can be bad.

[tahaan]

Agreed, and while on the dangers of cycling in Thailand. How about the momentary blindness and loss of control you get when passing a street stall just as the operator hurls a handful of chilis in the wok?

 

It always reminds me of chemical warfare training - without the respirator.

[bobfish]

I don't think the OP envisaged the trollfest this thread has manifested. Usual suspects, usual claptrap. Nothing to see here.

 

Going for a ride 

 

In Thailand.

[villagefarang]

1 hour ago, bobfish said:

I don't think the OP envisaged the trollfest this thread has manifested. Usual suspects, usual claptrap. Nothing to see here.

 

Going for a ride 

 

In Thailand.

No ride for me today as I am watching the water rise and our house becoming an island.  I did get in a ride yesterday, however, so I am happy to sit back and watch this amazing event.  Water, water everywhere. 

[Global Guy]

On ‎8‎/‎22‎/‎2016 at 8:58 PM, el jefe said:

I agree, those are two of the biggest annoyances of cycling in Thailand. Fortunately, neither is particularly dangerous.

When either of those situations happened for the 3rd (or 10th) time, you should have figured out the pattern. Pulling out from a small road onto a bigger road without looking is pretty common in most of SE Asia. It's annoying but if you expect it, I don't see where the danger is. Cars and motorbikes passing only to immediately pull into a petrol station, 7-11, Tesco, etc should also be expected. It happens in the west just as often as in Thailand. I agree that can be dangerous if you're not paying attention, but anytime I'm approaching one of those situations, I'm on the alert for vehicles that might be turning in front of me.

 

Actually both are extremely dangerous and do not happen as often or as drastically in the West as they do here. It is way worse here. Cars intentionally pull out of side streets endangering cars that are driving down the road and should be unimpeded. They keep pulling out until eventually it's so unsafe that someone stops, instead of the waiting car waiting until traffic clears and merging out onto the main road.

 

It's selfish and unsafe. As is racing in front of you and jamming on the brakes to turn, without using a turn signal. Also impulsive and unsafe.

 

Yes, this is Thailand so everyone accepts it.