If you have enough momentum, you can get dogs the size of German Shepherds to bounce off your front wheel… ahem.

It’s hilarious when ipod-wearing walkers see you loom alongside them from behind – I’ve had proper loud screams from some!

Pardon

met a grumpy runner last night by a canal bridge, runners rarely look happy about anything…

I passed a woman walking with headphones last year while out for a wee ride. Slowed down, a cheery hello but nada – headphones in and not a care in the world. I rode past her at a considerate speed with plenty of space, she does that involuntary eek! thing of the easily spooked and her Weimaran dog decides it’s cyclist chasing time. Not fancying my chances of out sprinting the dog, I still booted it and as the dog came in to bite my left leg, I managed to unclip and stamp down hard on it’s nose causing it to abandon any thoughts of taking a chunk out of me. Chalk one up for carbon soled disco slippers with toe studs 😆 It must have really hurt the dog. I felt bad for it and I didn’t take any pleasure from it but as the owner didn’t have it under close control, I had no other choice.

She will probably now complain about the cyclist who booted her dog! 😕

Still, nothing beats the woman in the Lakes who asked me why I didn’t ring my bell as her husband was deaf…………Given that her husband was at home and DEAF, I could have had Big Ben mounted on my bars and it would make no difference!

Common sense? There’s nothing common about it! 😀

It’s the old ladeez that are the worst. as a few mentioned above.

I’ve been pootling along a long, relatively gentle downhill on the SDW. straight for a good few hundred metres, and and old lady in her 70’s say and her dog walking towards me see me coming from I guess 100m or so off (gravel noises.hope freehub, bright clothing) pulls herself and dog to the side of the track, watching me all the time.
I get to within 5m and she tells me off for not using my bell.

🙄

Has anyone considered mounting a battery door bell on their bike?

I should think that would make a few walkers pay attention in a “WTF a door bell!” kind of way. 😀

Bing Bong Ding Dong… Ding Dong Bing Bong.

I just tend to call out.

One of our group had a bad run with walkers. The first had a real go at him for not having/using a bell despite he fact they were walking toward us. This led to him fitting one however, it was used a few weeks later & the old boy jumped out of his skin, proceeded to block he trail then struck and broke the bell with his walking stick declaring said rider “a damn hooligan”!

Literally the following weekend a group that were blocking the trail had a go for not using his bell. The explanation left even them speechless.

It is scary how many folk ignore the bell & I don’t tend to hang about, so wizz past regardless, usually with some abuse my way past for going too fast…..

Have you thought that the walkers might have a point?

If you want to go fast, use the road.

If they ignore my bell, I have routine inspired by Miggs from Silence of the Lambs which usually alerts them to my presence..

Bregante, that little Beauty is currently £33 in Argos.

Now, my question is ‘how many can I fit in my house?’

usually give a friendly passing right/left from about 20 yards away, i feel its a bit friendlier than a bell, unfortunately most of the locals can’t tell left from right, and tend to step to the side I’m passing. always slow down when passing dogs as i’e no idea how they will react, so better safe than sorry.

When coming towards someone from the front. I slow to a moderate pace and say hi, or thanks if they also make an effort for a smooth transition. When approaching from behind I call, “right behind you.” From about 15-20 meters. If no response, I call again when closer. Usually people move aside. I find saying left or right only confuses. If dogs are present I just use judgement and pass accordingly. However, I rarely thank dog owners because… Well, frankly I can’t stand them.
Stuff that in yer pipe and smoke it. That’s the beauty of freedom I can dislike you for apparently irrational and unreasonable prejudice.

*sigh*

That’s my soul when I see a Terrier sans lead on the canal path. I’ll just stop & die now shall I?

*sigh*

Edit: “*freeehuuuuuuuuuub*…..Passing on your left, passing on your right, no your right, no, never mind, sorry, ‘scuse me, sorry, ‘scuse me, sorry, pardon, ooh hiya, aww dogs, ‘scuse me, ding ding”

*sigh*

One of our group had a bad run with walkers. The first had a real go at him for not having/using a bell despite he fact they were walking toward us. This led to him fitting one however, it was used a few weeks later & the old boy jumped out of his skin, proceeded to block he trail then struck and broke the bell with his walking stick declaring said rider “a damn hooligan”!

some people just hate cyclists – an old guy near Grenowoods used to throw stones at me – I’d shout see you next week.

There is a guy in the local park with a shared use path who uses one of those long handled ball throwers to hurl a ball in the path of cyclists so his dog chases it – you grind to halt so he can shout at you for riding too fast – didn’t realise it was deliberate the first time but sort of half twigged when I saw similar happen to my daughter as she rode ahead of me and the next time I had a lengthy discussion with the gentleman about my views versus his views on what is antisocial behaviour

Let’s be considerate,

Old folk may well not hear your bell
Old folk often cannot turn their heads quickly to check behind them
Old folk are worried about a collision as their bones are brittle

Personably I find extenda leads a pita and a sign if a lazy dog owner, they wrap round you and we’ve had one wrap around our dog. I also find cyclists speeding along paths past walkers young and old with and without dogs quite inconsiderate

“Kill them with kindness” is my mantra. Try to be super-cheerful.

If they’re good’uns, you’ll only get positive results.

If they’re bad’uns, it will boil their piss that not only are you riding a bike, looking like you’re enjoying it, but are also a thoroughly pleasant person. You never know, it might send their blood pressure so high their head will explode 😉 “Great day to be out in the hills, me on my bike, you with your Leki sticks and map round your neck!”

I have an admission: I have an extender lead. I also have 55kg of Bernese Mountain Dog who likes to have a good sniff around. I like to know he isn’t just going to knock over toddlers by turning round and stand on their faces or wag them to death with extreme happiness. Or harass the local dog training class. Or chase police horses. I like to think I’m trail aware though 😉

If you want to go fast, use the road.

Why should I?

Folk just need to pay attention, keep their muts on leads & appreciate it is a cycle path too.

Simples! 🙂

*** Oh, and clean up after their dogs – its a disgrace!***

It’s quite strange to think that most of the people here get quite wound up when there are reports of cyclists being hit by cars, ‘punishment passed’ and abused in many ways by drivers of larger vehicles whilst on the road, but at the same time some feel that elderly pedestrians and dog walkers have no right to block their passage (ahem) whilst on shared paths

On another note, one ring of a bell was sufficient to move 30 walkers off a path the other day to let me and my mate past – with one lollygagger getting told off by his friends for not moving fast enough. It was like Moses parting the Red Sea, except on bikes

I usually get walkers apologising to me for being in the way, even when I’m on a footpath….

Guess it’s only me that finds this thread fairly unpleasant reading. I didn’t realise cyclists had become such an angry arrogant bunch. I’ve never had any expectation for walkers, dog walkers, the elderly or anyone else to immediately jump out of my way quickly because I’m on a bike and I don’t want to shed any speed or have my ride interrupted momentarily. But then I don’t have a ‘ it’s my right’ attitude. If I have to slow right down because a walker hasn’t heard me call out then so be it and when they do eventually mover over I’ll still smile, say hello etc.

Don’t want to spoil my days riding because I have no patience and an unquenchable desire to get angry at every possible situation.

Guess it’s only me that finds this thread fairly unpleasant reading.

well its not quite what I had intended. It just amused me as I actually had a bell on my bike for the first time in many years and my 2yr old son rang the bell on cue just to demonstrate the point.

Guess it’s only me that finds this thread fairly unpleasant reading.

I read a lot of the posts as being a touch tongue-in-cheek. I always assume that peds have priority over cyclists full stop (even on roads) as they’re the more vulnerable (and often have greater legal “rights” to be there anyway).

I think most of the posters are referring to the more obnoxious folk we meet…

well its not quite what I had intended. It just amused me as I actually had a bell on my bike for the first time in many years and my 2yr old son rang the bell on cue just to demonstrate the point.

Sorry jam bo, wasn’t really targeting my mini rant at you so much.

The thing that strikes me is that the things that some are posting on here are exactly the same sort of thing that drivers say about cyclists, or at least certainly reflects the attitude drivers have towards cyclists. It’s essentially a pecking order whereby cyclists are in the middle but somehow expect everyone, both drivers and pedestrians to give us space, respect, move out the way, treat us courteously etc. I’m not sure how we’ve managed to create this position of cyclists being the superior road, path, bridleway, trail users. I’m starting to see why I come across such bad feeling towards cyclists.