The few cycle paths I have witnessed are usually used for ancillary Off Road parking.
What are folks thoughts if, a cyclist went out for an hours ride on the pavement, never encountered another living soul, then recounted the experience in the Pub. If you were in said Pub when the tale was told, would you deride the person for admitting to have cycled on the footpath???
Spitty there is a very long stretch near Dorking , a very busy main road , alongside is a designated cycle path which cost thousands apparently, yet driving there on Sunday this path was empty yet the roads so busy. If I was cycling I would want to be on the path it’s very wide and safe . Surrey seems to be the area for large cycling groups .
They are everywhere .
We have lots of narrow country lanes get behind a bunch of selfish cyclists and you are sunk for miles .
I think a lot of folks hit the soft target, the middle aged meanderer, the docile peddler who will not respond to verbal distain launched at them, left alone are the maniac chav exponents or the mass groups of Lycra Lads for the fear of verbal or physical reprisals, as usual, the passive participants get the flack.
I do this too. As well as what you have said, ringing the bell can make people jump and this can upset them too. Sometimes I hope they might hear the bike rattling around and turn to see me. That can often be OK.
It’s usually possible to tell if people are anti-cyclist no matter how considerate I try to be. Just a grunt when I say thank you. I suppose they will have had bad experiences with other cyclists and all are the same in their minds.
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My son rides his Bike to work and one of the first things he got was a Bell , he said he always rings it when hes in hearing shot but not to close to alarm them . He always gets thanked more so when its a Horse rider when it can cause the Horse to be startled if going past on a bike or even ringing the bell right behind it .
The path to work is along a Footpath Bridleway along side a fast flowing River .
In conversation he talked about it being when a shared path , a curtesy to give way either by Bike Horse and walkers .It all boils down to common sense
I know when i rode a bike without a bell I have startled people , and so I would give a loud cough so they hear me …
Id ask why he was on Pavement , in all honesty if you are afraid of riding on the road then you should’nt be on a Bike .
This is the bike I ride these days. The pedal assist is limited to a the UK legal limit of 15.5 MPH but just because it can be peddled at that speed doesn’t mean to say it always is. It gets ridden at about the same speed as I would have ridden the manual bike when I was riding that all the time …and with all the same considerations to others. It’s just less hard work to pedal. I said I wouldn’t get an e-bike until I was 75 but got it a year earlier despite that.
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Thats nice @mart my sons on about getting an Electric one whats that called , are they allowed on tow paths ,Bridle ways ?
Never encountering another soul? Then I see no problem.
Is this footpath a shared pathway or for pedestrians too?
This is the commonsense bit … if no one is about … why not pedal where it is safer. I would.
Roads can be dangerous for cyclists.
And where I live you do see some daft cycle lanes that just stop abruptly … going nowhere … and oddly, they never really came from anywhere in the first place.
I assume this just a local council trying to look like they’re accomodating cyclists and keen to address environmental and pollution issues … in what was once just a lay-by for the odd parked car now and then. A cheap gimmicky and totally ineffective solution.
Bells gets tinkled behind me … very very annoying. You hear one … turn around and often find a cyclist right up your exhaust, grining hopefully but expecting you to shift.
I find mobility scooter users can be the biggest offenders for this tactic to pavement hog.
I think the reason for the road racers not using cycle lanes is because they think nothing of completing over one hundred miles in a Sunday training session Susan. Cycle lanes are not joined up, so they would be constantly having to ride on the road and then bump up kerbs to ride the next cycle path. These guys are usually biking at over twenty miles per hour…
They call them ‘The chain Gang’ round here…
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I think there’s a weird assumption that all cyclists will have read the Highway Code or undertaken some kind of training about the do’s and don’ts.
It would make obvious sense to start showing eg public information films to explain and reinforce good practice.
They can’t have it both ways Dex…
The tree huggers want us to use less diesel and petrol, the government are banning all gas boilers and forcing us to drive expensive electric vehicles (heaven only knows where the supply of electricity is going to come from) in their half baked quest of ‘Net Zero’ so when everyone has to cycle everywhere the few well off folks who still can afford an EV are complaining about bikers upsetting little betsy the pug during her morning constitutional…
The only bikers I’ve seen on our local towpath alongside the canal, are people biking to work or the shops, and seventy year old blokes who still think they are Chris Boardman!
The road system can only just manage with the number of vehicles on it, and we’re all aware of the poor condition of a fair few carriageways. Since the population is increasing, then “we” will have to find a way to curb the number of cars.
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Some e-bikes are robust enough for that but mine isn’t. E-bikes are essentially the same as ordinary pedal bikes. Some are made for assisted off-road riding, others for riding on roads and made-up cycle paths. The same rules and considerations apply to all types. They are allowed on towpaths and bridleways. We have a canal near us and cyclists use the towpath. Also use a nearby bridleway. I don’t know how many would be using e-bikes but many older people do.
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Interestingly, in Manchester they have recently (re) introduced bike rental scheme, with many racks full of pushbikes and e-bikes in a fair few areas. This marries with the huge expense being made on introducing protected cycle lanes on many major roads. I looked up the cost of hiring these, and they charge an unlocking fee and either 10p or 20p per minute usage, with you stop paying once the bike is returned to a rack somewhere. I understand that the company needs it to be financially viable, but there are some niggling questions in my mind about the per minute fee.
What’s clear from this clip is that this is a very narrow path. The lady reporter is very slim and the cyclist passing her has barely any room and is also going very fast for a pavement and had she not drawn her hand in could have injured her. It’s also clear that despite this happening 3 years ago, cyclists are continuing to use this illegally. It’s not the required width for a shared path and there’s no evidence that it is officially one (if they have marked it as such then it shouldn’t be as it’s too narrow). The close shave with the reporter pretty much sums up why shared paths don’t work. The council responsible should be in the dock.
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I don’t have an EV and think they are a waste of money, but am also very upset when walking the dog and have stopped going to the local park because it is so disturbing. Which dog owner doesn’t want to relax when they go for a walk instead of looking over their shoulder for someone two wheeler speeding past? Dogs have been injured by bikes in our local park. It’s very disappointing that due to the cycling drive we no longer have somewhere you can just go for a peaceful stroll. Nobody has consulted anyone living here and using the park on how they feel about it. These changes were made over night during covid lockdown.
It suggests nothing of the sort given in due time it’s a fair warning .
Spitty it’s really disconcerting not to say creepy finding a cyclist right behind you especially as as in most cases you can’t hear them coming up .
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