Selfish or mad?

When I was coming home today, it was rush hour, so the roads were a touch busy. Now the route my bus takes out of Oxford, back to Thornhill Park & Ride, goes along one of the main routes in and out of the city. Now for big chunks of it there are bus lanes (the red tarmac), but someone in their wisdom decided that cyclists should also use the bus lanes - hmmm, lets just put the smallest vehicles on the road in the same place as the biggest, stunning idea that one. But anyway, that is the way it is and most of the time it works ok. But as well as bus lanes, Oxford also has cycle lanes, and where the pavement is wide enough, they are also the cycle lanes, though they are clearly divided. (Click on the link below, to view the stretch of road in question, with bus lane and cycle lane)


So my bus stops at the lights on the junction with Headley Way. After the junction, by the White Horse pub (the building with the large car park in link below), the bus lane begins, and the cycle lane begins on the pavement. There were several cyclists who once they crossed the junction got onto the cycle lane. But one, after going through a red light (he turned left out of Headley Way), decides he is going to ride in the bus lane. Now normally the bus will just overtake, but because it was rush hour, the traffic was all backed up, so no overtaking. Then he proceeds to cycle along, without a care in the world, occasionally slowing down so he could look at his watch, wipe his face, fiddle with something on his bike........ and the fact that he is holding the bus up; well he seemed oblivious.


Now I suppose you could argue he had a right to be there. But unfortunately the bus can't use the cycle lane, and it does make you wonder why he wanted to cycle with a massive double decker up his arse............mad or just selfish!



http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=London+road,Headington,+Oxford&hl=en&ll=51.757773,-1.218821&spn=0.000387,0.001711&sll=51.754662,-1.229118&sspn=0.01238,0.038409&t=h&z=20