Out for a walk with the dog along a disused rail track and encountered at least two cyclists who gave no warning of their presence. I always let other walkerists know I’m behind them approaching but it appears some people think we can sense them some how. either that or or it’s some kind of british fear of being rude. what’s other people’s thoughts on the matter?

If theres a safe amount of space to pass I always let them know im approaching with a polite hello or morning. If its too narrow i just wait till theres room to pass. Treat others how you want them to treat you.

If its a disused rail track converted to a cycleway and doggers walking route, then just like being on a road, you should expect other road users to pass, but it is good manners to shout tothe deaf walkers , and for them to shout back thankyou.

I usually find that the click of a pro 2 alerts most walkers to me coming up behind them. If this doesn’t work I’ll say hello, morning or whatever which often makes them jump 🙄

I just use my horn

On a road you can generally hear most vehicles approaching. some cycles are almost silent.

On a road you can generally hear most vehicles approaching. some cycles are almost silent.

as are the new electric and gas powered buses, trams and milk floats, along with mobility scooters.

The worst we see locally is, despite the bell and the cheery good morning, which we always do, people still leap out of their skins in surprise because they have earbuds on full blast to stop them from hearing you..

Hey rocketdog where did you get the bear bell from???

If its a disused rail track converted to a cycleway and doggers walking route, then just like being on a road, you should expect other road users to pass,

If it’s a shared use disused railway path, it isn’t at all like being on the road. It’s like being on a shared use path. Which means that people can walk anywhere, people can ride any side of the path, and it is up to you if you’re overtaking to do it safely and warn people if they need warning rather than just zoom past 6 inches away from them.

And please can someone tell that to the idiot groups of riders on the Monsal Trail yesterday who were moaning because they seriously seemed to expect that all the walkers and their dogs should be walking single file on the left hand side and all the cyclists with kids should be riding on the left hand side etc.

Hey rocketdog where did you get the bear bell from???

He beat a bear unconcious and stole it, obviously

Shouldn’t the OP also be aware of whats going on around them too?

When Im out with yinn jnr, I keep my ears open and regularly check behind me to make he’s not about to wander in front of someone approaching from behind.
Not defending the cyclists, but you should be watching to make sure too. Vigilance is EVERYONE’S responsibility!

some rules from my local shared use path

This path passes a school (kids were doing their morning run today) hence the suggested jogging speed – pity doesn’t suggest a maximum length for dog leads

local activists – mostly dog owners have just persuaded the council not to build some new shared paths in a local park that would have linked to the swimming pool and a couple of schools because “cyclists are dangerous and go too fast”

I run on shared paths and it doesn’t really surprise me when a cyclist passes and I’m not swivel eyed – I get the impression dog owners are being over precious about there “little members of the family” and want all public space dedicated to dog walking

Hope Pro II has me covered 😀

Difficult one….

I did a couple of laps of Rutland yesterday.
Every time I ride round there on a weekend I think I should buy a bell but then ping pinging at people seems quite rude; a bit too much ‘get out of my way’ perhaps?

But if you try and call ‘hello’ or ‘good morning’ people generally don’t hear you (or react to you anyway) until you are pretty much upon them.

Most reactions seem to be don’t look just jump of your skin or move randomly out of the way in what might or might not be a helpful direction.
Others hear you (or see you) but just decide they aren’t going to move.
If you take a very wide detour around people and deviate off the path, this also makes people (generally) jump out of their skin and leap off the path.

I wonder if a ‘horn’ type bell would sound a bit more friendly than a ding ding bell?
Something like this:

You definitely do not want to use this.

Definitely.

daftvader – Member

Hey rocketdog where did you get the bear bell from???

vancouver, all my rides have been bear free since i got it, so that proves it works!

Damn… not on sale in the UK then. Not that there is a big bear problem here in Hampshire. Loads of half wits on horses and red sock brigade instead!

Just power past as quick as you can hitting all puddles if possible with a loud shout of Yee haw!!!!! B 😛

I yell hello from thirty metres. They still jump.

I’m a dog walker and a cyclist, though rarely at the same time. My thoughts are that if you want to know what’s around you and avoid being spooked you should keep your ears open and take a look around you every so often. It’s not difficult.

In my opinion it’s just something else for ‘grumpy briton’ to complain about. What’s wrong with a silent bicycle? For me that’s part of the appeal. I’d rather that than those infernal ‘racing’ moped exhaust noises that I can hear coming.

@Stumpy01- I have a nice yellow one on my bike. Works a treat, still makes them jump though but they do have a laugh about it more than they did with the bell. You just have to judge the distance correctly as to when to honk, I find if I can get within 5′ and honk, walkers will easily clear a boundary wall. 😆

Aye, personally when I’m out walking I keep my eyes open for cyclists, I’m not the only person in the world so it’s my responsibility to look after myself and my dog/family.

On the other side of the coin, some cyclists need to accept the same thing instead of charging through without stopping expecting every to move out of the way.

When I’m riding on shared paths I always shout from way back or ring my litle bell but the amount of people who ignore it is depressing. I’m not saying ‘get out of the way’, I’m saying ‘little warning, I’ll be passing shortly, don’t jump out of your skin or scream at your kids/dog to stay still or come here. I’m not the devil’

So in conclusion, I’m right.

So in conclusion, walkers should be aware of their surroundings, cyclists should show a little courtesy.

Rode down Loughrigg Terrace on Sunday (I know, top route choice for a Sunday afternoon in August). Obviously knew I was going to be pootling and nearly stopping every five yards, and wasn’t bothered by that in the slightest.

Still interesting to see the widely different reactions you get to a cheery greeting and a thank-you. I had to actually tell one poor woman that she wasn’t about to get run over, and to take as long as she wanted to find somewhere to stand.

So in conclusion, walkers should be aware of their surroundings, cyclists should show a little courtesy.

We can do without those sort of attitudes on STW.

So in conclusion, walkers should be aware of their surroundings, cyclists should show a little courtesy.

Basically yes….

Some cyclists power mince past walkers on shared paths and some walkers take up the entire path and seem surprised to see people waiting behind them

I guess the question is how do you be a “courteous cyclist”….

I still haven’t found a solution. You can be cheery, let them know you are there and pass slowly and safely and still get a barrage of abuse. Whenever I have followed people with bells the walkers/ joggers tend to be in their own world and jump out of their skin nearly falling in the canal!

I do feel it would be helped if all users could stay left and be aware of their surroundings (not just walkers). Big families out for a walk, dogs and groups of joggers don’t tend to like to stay to one side of a shared path however