accept you are a second class citizen.

ride on the road if you want to try to keep up with traffic
ride on the pavement if you can handle riding at walking pace

I'm quite proud of the fact that one of my responses has had so many bad ratings from Daily Nazi readers. Ace.

Dare I say it again…..

Clarksonisation… (Cowers)

How come riding a bike makes you a cyclist? This is a skill (balancing) most people learn when they are pre-school, and most people abandon when they earn enough to use a car.

The typical really bad cyclist is a very occasional cyclist with no awareness of their responsibilities to themselves or others.

al.

its not safe to walk on most streets these days what with beggars with dogs on bits of string, knife wielding thugs and winos

ace 🙂

I'm quite proud of the fact that one of my responses has had so many bad ratings from Daily Nazi readers. Ace.

I must be doing something wrong. Mine is way into the green! (16 so far)
😉

One of mine ha 12 positves 🙂

I put it to you that those are from cyclists 😉

You think? I'd like to think my reasoned arguments have changed the minds of the Daily Wail readers.

Yours
Deluded of Edinburgh

Bombadilo and Atlaz come to Leeds and lets go for a ride…it's nigh on impossible to work out what pavements you are or aren't allowed to ride on. The council's half arsed attempts at cycling provision are so bad that if you followed the rule that it must be marked as such to be dual use you end up stranded in the middle of the road with nowhere to go.

In theory I would be fined (if caught) every single day even though I ride on the road 98%+ of the time because it just isn't clear where you are allowed to ride. You can't start penalising people if it unclear whether they are actually breaking the law.

Just spent ages composing a comment & then found you had to register….

bum, not sure I can be bothered.

ctznsmith

i commute into leeds daily on my bike.

I went as far as registering and then their crappy site fell over… now I'm going to get hate-emails and I still haven't had my say…

i'd react but i just can't take the mail seriously. it's a joke of a paper read by a lot of closed-minded people who aren't worth debating with.

ended up registering – K Allen from Peterboghorror

@bombadillo you do? Awesome maybe we should go for a ride.

Okay exhibit A then, the big roundabout under the A58M with the cycle lane/pavement bit through the centre…if you follow it and cross at the dual crossings, when you get to the Premier Inn/TGI Friday's where the hell are you supposed to go next?!?
(I actually ignore all the cycling facilities on that roundabout anyway because it takes about 3 times as long to get anywhere)

Exhibit B, the cycle path in city square, if you turn on it from the loop road (fun in itself) do you have to stay between the lines, even though the turn is impossible if you doing over 0 mph, which you really don't want to be doing as you've just come off the 3 laned main loop road. So you hit it too fast and stray off line…instant fine?

trouble is, everyone on either side of this argument sounds like a tosser because the answer is that, in general, every group should GrowTFU, stop whining and MOST IMPORTANTLY behave a bit more considerately toward the others

I think this is right. Is it just that the British are an inconsiderate lot compared to, say, Nordic countries?

Reminds me of Bill Hicks on the pedestrian right of way law in California: "only in the USA would you have to legislate common courtesy". And perhaps the UK?

ctznsmith
i ride on the road.

Perhaps a straw poll is required….

I’d consider STW a suitable place it has a mixture of what I would consider “true cyclists” (actual cycling enthusiasts, rather than Drunks with driving bans)…

How many of you cycle in towns and cities do so predominately on the road and properly marked cycle lanes and how many use the pavement more often than not?

I’ll start, I use the roads, and some cycle lanes, but I will own up to having used the pavement on occasion, where I considered it safer, for both myself and others, to do so…

I ride lots in towns and cities. Predominantly on the road, never on cycle lanes, never on pavements. Sometimes on canal towpaths though.

i ride anywhere i feel safe, and if i get cught and fined riding where i should no, so be it.

"Reminds me of Bill Hicks on the pedestrian right of way law in California: "only in the USA would you have to legislate common courtesy". And perhaps the UK? "

too true.. the way so many use 'rights of way' as an excuse for ignoring the need for a bit of courtesy and the british attitude toward road use and protecting space, queuing etc do puzzle me. especially after seeing the chaos that is traffic in nepal or india – but there's no stress, everyone gets on fine with a smile. why can't we? i'd suggest a few answers but that's a whole different debate.

Well, I've just commented again. Knew I should have stayed away!!

Oh, and I don't really ride in towns & cities being right near the countryside & that….but when I do it will be on the road, not on the pavement & generally not on cycle lanes as the majority of them are more trouble than they are worth.

Occasional red light jumper here. slowly carefully when I can see all the traffic and when its the safest way for me to proceed.

Never cycle on pavements – if I go on pavements I push the bike. I regularly block and tell off pavement cyclists ( narrow busy pavements near my house)

assertive rider to the point of being aggressive

wow, my comment is 8 in the green, I can only assume the mail readers have misinterpreted my sarcasm.

@cookeaa

Roads most of the time
Cycle lanes occasionally
Pavements very occasionally where there is no other safe way to navigate to the destination.

I never jump red lights, although I must confess to being an 'amber gambler' on occasion which is probably worse.

I used the pavement for about 400 yards this morning, to avoid going the wrong way up a one way street 😈 I did it slowly and safely though, unlike the **** I saw switching directly from road to pavement at 15mph becaue the road ahead was blocked. Predictably, he collected someone walking out of a blind entrance 🙄

@bonbadillo

Problem is, it'd be nice if the world were black and white like that. But just becase a law exists doesn't mean it's the right law, it was just made at a time when it was appropriate.

I've been out for a ride with some of the older (retired) neigbours in our Close and was a bit surprised to see half/most of 'em get onto the pavement along a section I cycle most days approaching some lights.
Why ? – cos a few of them (ok, their OHs) are quite timid in traffic and feel intimidated by it. The answer of 'MTFU/WTFU' ain't gonna happen at their age. While I'm not in favour of people riding on the footpath by default, if they're that scared of the traffic and not riding like tits, let 'em get on with it. If there was less traffic around (as there probably was when they learnt to ride) they'd stay on the road – which was where they were in the quieter backroads.

Oh, and fwiw, in that section I mentioned a postie was knocked off his bike last year by a truck and lost his lower leg !