Braking Bad
Walter White coming up with an unorthodox use for a U-Lock
Jesus that was close
Wooah, this driver is crazy
What an absolute prick …
Guys, please, back off and leave them be …
We’re not going to win this argument
I know, it’s dangerous but this isn’t the time to have the debate
Let’s just stay safe
It was the end of August, and we were out in the Dolomites on a trip riding some of the spectacular passes around Corvara and the Alta Badia region.
Descending the Passo Pordoi we had a very nasty encounter with a driver who was frustrated by the slow progress of the local bus in front, and by the fact that a number of cyclists were also descending at the same time.
As you likely well know, there aren’t a lot of passing places on mountain descents, and we all (drivers, motorcyclists and cyclists) often have to go slower than we would like.
And I am sure we have all experienced frustration at this slow progress down an amazing mountain road.
On this specific instance the driver of the car was being constantly leapfrogged by a cyclist who also couldn’t get past the bus.
The flashpoint however occurred when the cyclist foolishly decided to undertake the driver on a righthand hairpin which from my viewpoint was extremely dangerous, and no doubt shocked the driver who would not have been expecting them there.
What followed was a lot of gesticulating and beeping but the cyclist managed to quickly nip past the bus and get away from the car.
That left our group as the representative cyclists riding near to this now quite angry car driver.
And as the bus slowed to each tight corner, we ended up being able to move past the car to behind the bus, but then each time the road straightened the bus pulled away and the car driver overtook us.
But this overtaking got closer and increasingly aggressive – up to the point where the car started brake checking us.
At this point I shouted to our group that we just needed to back off and let the driver be, as there was nothing to be gained by us continuing this dangerous dance.
The problem was one of our riders was very vexed by the car’s behaviour and tried to communicate this through words and hand signals – which unfortunately led to more erratic driving and retaliatory hand signals from the car driver and passengers to the point where I got seriously worried about our safety.
The simple truth is that no matter who is in the right or in the wrong, a cyclist on a road bike dressed in Lycra is never going to come out the good side of an argument with a driver in over a tonne of metal.
Thankfully we managed to get to the bottom of the descent without serious incident, but it was a scary few minutes where I felt impotent and out of control of the group I was guiding.
I know these incidents are very common, and not just on mountain roads.
However I would implore us all to try to keep our cool, no matter what happens – because we are all super vulnerable out there. And I’ve never heard someone tell me how their shouting and gesticulating at car drivers has led to a de-escalation of the situation.
The only time I think we can ever try to make our point is when we’re stopped, and off the bike, and not in a red mist rage state.
This is very easy to say when sat writing in a coffee shop, and not quite how our instincts behave in the moment.
But I think we should all try to be mindful that these things will happen, and when they do the best thing to do is to back off, stay calm and stay safe. And if by luck you happen to catch up with the driver when they’re stopped and you’re both not moving at more than 40km/h, gently and politely have a word that what they’re doing was scary and potentially life threatening. I truly believe this would have more of an effect than screaming and shouting and waving arms (and fingers) at each other.
By the way, I’m not at all suggesting we should tuck ourselves into the side of the road and try to get out of the way of cars, just that there are times where sometimes the safer option is not to engage and to simply diffuse rather than escalate the situation.
So please ride safe, take care, and try your best not to go all Walter White on your next outing.
2026 Tour Dates are out now
Get in touch if you want to learn more about any of the trips below.
Spring and Early Summer
March 9 – 16: Paris Nice Challenge Sportive Week
May 2 – 9: Via Rhona Geneva to the Mediterranean
May 21 – 26: Mont Ventoux and Provence Women’s Tour
May 27 – Jun 1: Mont Ventoux and Provence Tour
Summer
June 7 – 13: Introduction to the French Alps
June 14 – 20: Introduction to the Swiss Alps
June 22 – 28: UCI Gran Fondo Suisse Sportive Week
June 30 – July 6: Maratona dles Dolomites week
July 7 – 13: Introduction to the Dolomites week
July 17 – 23: Bormio and the Stelvio Pass
July 27 – August 6: Route des Grandes Alpes - Thonon to Nice
Late Summer
August 22 – 30: Glorious Glacier Ride - Innsbruck to Chamonix
August 31 – Sep 6: Alpenbrevet Sportive Week - Andermatt, Switzerland
Sept 17 – 21: Women’s Tour du Lac
What I’ve been listening to while writing
Blood Orange - Essex Honey
A brilliant 5th album from Dev Hynes. Eclectic dancefloor pop and indie with some great guest spots. One of the best albums of the year for sure.