[Closed] Cycle path etiquette?!

I use whatever part of the road/pavement I deem appropriate to make best progress whilst not dying myself or causing irritation to others

This route changes day to day, its called commuting

In the experience I have of cycle paths like this, You ride your bike on the side with a picture of people of walking and the mothers with children walk on the side with the bike.

Do you have an ordinary bell OP? I get virtually no animosity on my commute, and I'm pretty sure it has a lot to do with giving a ring with sufficient time for people to get dogs and kids to safety.

I don't even ride that slow.

I avoid the Bristol-Batch cycle path for my commute during the school holidays. It is chaos, dogs, kids, squirrels!

If everyone showed a bit of common sense for other users (that includes cyclists) then it would be OK.

You get 4 or 5 people walking next to each other and never looking behind to see if anyone is approaching, dogs loose or on extended leads, groups of kids on bikes trying to run everyone off of the track. The ones that get me are the people walking towards you (who can see probably half a mile ahead) who seemingly never notice you coming!

Don't get me started on the squirrels...!

Do you have an ordinary bell OP?

A lot of people wear headphones and do not hear a bell (in my experience).

My favourite is always people walking the dog or pushing a pram wearing headphones. You can call, ring a bell (if you have one), freewheel (for people with noisy Hope style hubs) and they won't hear you. Give them a wide berth as you pass and they still feel the need to jump 3 feet in the air and complain that you "sneaked up" on them........ strange, I thought a cycle path was primarily for cyclists........

remember they have every right to use those paths as much as you do. use a bell and ring it with plenty of warning when approaching - most of the time people either get a fright and/or react negatively when cyclists appear silently in my experience. you may or may not feel a dick with a bell on your bike but who cares really? note: does not work for walkers/inferior cyclists/joggers with earphones

OP - you forgot to mention that the broken glass is always on the cycle half of the path.
(Or haven't you noticed that yet?)

Yup - a decent bell is just a very good idea. If they still get a fright due to headphones / deafness / distractedness, then at least you've tried. Slowing to 1mph and creeping past is every bit as scary as someone flying past IME.

airhorn </thread>

I avoid commuting at School kick out time so I don't have to plough through the hoardes of kids blocking the cycle path. The parked cars are bad enough without having to avoid erratically moving teenagers.

I don't have a bell to be fair but as mentioned above lots if people wear headphones. I usually find a loud cough and a noisey Freehub gets most peoples attention! I don't commute every day but I could soon get annoyed if I did!

Do you let them know you are coming past? On the odd occasion I commute on the bike, I always shout well in advance letting them know which side I am passing on.

I invariably get a good response and often a "thank you" and a smile.

i ring the bell , they dont move- obvlious to the surroundings with their headphones in 3 kids and dog spread across the cycle path.

the 9volt hornit soon makes them scatter.

I find with a speed up, a few toots on my horn and a look of determination soon gets them out of the way. Sometimes I even shout MOVE! Either that or I pretend they are skittles - especially with the college kids. If they can't see me approaching towards them then they do not deserve to live or breed...

A little harsh Mrs Poddy- but well said!

PP using his o/h's account again?

FFS, you shouldn't need to have a bell or ring it every time you pass some who's walking on a shared use route that's split down the middle. People walking should have enough common sense to walk on the walking half and if they need to be on the cycling bit, look for cyclists. It's not rocket science.

A bell definitely helps - try to get a nice polite ping-ping one.

If you ride the same path regularly then I find being very polite to people helps a lot. Say good morning & thankyou if/when they get out the way; say "No problem" if they apologise for not noticing you; slow right down, stop and pet their dog, smile at their kids, whatever.

I see the same folk all the time on my path and building up that goodwill means I get zero aggro from them and just the odd cheery hello.

PP using his o/h's account again?

Or ..If you live with an idiot,sooner or later you will start acting like an ..

As for the OP.
If you don't like sharing a path ,use the road.

People walking should have enough common sense to walk on the walking half and if they need to be on the cycling bit

Just doesn't compute with some people. Typically the same folk that tut about "cycling on the pavement" despite all the signs explaining it is shared use.

Looking where you're going is out of fashion - for any form of perambulation IME, as is being vaguely aware of your surroundings.

The people having a go are IMO just frightened - they didn't hear you coming and rather than say sorry or say nothing, they have a go at the thing which frightened them. Whereas being aware of their surroundings would probably be a less stressful long term strategy

Why should I use the road when there is a purpose built cycle path aswell as a footpath?

PP using his o/h's account again?

Or ..If you live with an idiot,sooner or later you will start acting like an .

That's a bit harsh [s]fathaggis[/s] fasthaggis, no it irritates me when there is a cycle path and cyclists don't use it, it annoys me when people walk in the road next to a pavement and also when people choose to walk on the cycle path rather than the pedestrian side. As a driver it irritates me when someone is cycling (slowly) beside a cycle path. I guess I am just getting grumpy in my old age. Don't get me started on "Baby/Princess/Twins/Grandchild on Board" signs.

OK, as I started the bell debate, I will concede that headphone wearers are largely immune to my politeness and will jump out of their skin in fright sometimes.

If they are listening at a volume that makes them oblivious to their surroundings, that's their lookout, and I'm not arsed about being considerate to them.

Paintball gun! 😈

Doubt even that would have worked yesterday for the teenage girl with tatts, headphones and coffee who inexplicably veered right to left just as I was passing her on a canal towpath yesterday- I was so close to going in!

One reason why I don't like using cycle paths, especially shared ones. I used to live in Germany and the law was clear about who was in the right and who was in the wrong. Essentially pedestrian in cycle lane, the pedestrian is at fault and vise versa. Same with the road laws and if you were in the wrong, they would try and hit you, then sue the ass off you. Harsh yes but then people stuck to their part. Unlike the UK where people make up their rules of the path/cycle path/road. 🙄

Pretty much summed my recent experience up, having never used them before.

Other thing is other cyclists, which appear to be a bit of a liability too.

[i]I was so close to going in! [/i]

I always imagine myself having a 'If I'm going in I'm going to take them with me' approach to that sort of situation.

In reality I suspect they'd be on the bank, dry, filming me diving down to find my bike.

I used to live in Germany and the law was clear about who was in the right and who was in the wrong.

Pedestrian psychology is different too. In Germany, if you approach a group and ring your bell, everyone calmly moves to the same side. In the UK, the group scatters - some go left, some go right, some grab hold of dog or child and stand still with a terrified expression.

strange, I thought a cycle path was primarily for cyclists........

They're shared paths for cyclists and walkers.

I rarely have trouble, and I use fairly busty shared paths every day. Peds can hear a bell from a long distance.

This is walk to work and walk to schools week and the weather is nice. Don't worry next week they'll all be back in their cars obeseing themselves and their kids to death.

MrsPoddy - Member
Don't get me started on "Baby/Princess/Twins/Grandchild on Board" signs.

bencooper - Member
some grab hold of dog or child and stand still with a terrified expression.

Paintball gun!

or a real one for students round the uni I cycle past on my commute. If they are representative of the upper percentiles of intelligence for our future society, have reached their early twenties and still can't distinguish between a red stretch of tarmac and the black bit next to it we really should be worried...

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sorted

Is that some sort of shewee?

"Cycle Paths" or Green painted bits of pavement are not adequate for cyclists use simply because they put us in the same space as Pedestrians and the potential speed differential and lack of awareness/predictability for both groups just makes collisions more likely...

Has there ever been a campaign to improve Pedestrian awareness of cyclists on pavements/Green painted "cycle lanes"? I don't recall one...

It is only my opinion, but I think any wheeled vehicle (and a bicycle counts) operated by anyone over 13 years old should be on the Road, not the pavement...

Pavements should be primarily for foot traffic, and for younger children still learning to ride safely...

[quote=cookeaa ]It is only my opinion, but I think any wheeled vehicle (and a bicycle counts) operated by anyone over 13 years old should be on the Road, not the pavement...
Pavements should be primarily for foot traffic, and for younger children still learning to ride safely...

We actually need a Dutch system, with separate paths for cycling and walking - forcing people to use the road to cycle just results in people not cycling. I keep dreaming...

I use fairly [b]busty[/b] shared paths every day

And where might these paths be? I may need to make a visit for, er, route planning purposes...

And where might these paths be? I may need to make a visit for, er, route planning purposes...

Ha! I see I'm too late to edit...

I commute to work every day...
I could cycle virtually the whole way on a cycle path..
I ride a different route on the road instead...
on the road, there are cars, cars in the main look where they are going, are reasonably predictable, and obey the rules of the road (in the main)

The cycle path is covered in glass, pedestrians with headphones, street furniture (and has to give way to side junctions every 25 yards)

Its like the peak district at the weekend....

bridleways full of grumpy walkers, dogs and family's
footpaths where you never see a soul!

I used to live in Germany and the law was clear about who was in the right and who was in the wrong.

Pedestrian psychology is different too. In Germany, if you approach a group and ring your bell, everyone calmly moves to the same side.

not my experience. just as likely to do the flippin' swapping sides dance.

same with dogs. there's something psychological that makes it impossible for a dog and walker to be on the same side of the path.

We actually need a Dutch system, with separate paths for cycling and walking - forcing people to use the road to cycle just results in people not cycling. I keep dreaming...

I agree but we won't be getting that any time soon and that's a whole different debate all together...

Putting cyclists on a Green pavement is not managing safety for cyclists or Pedestrians, its increasing the risk of a Ped being hit by a cyclist, so that Drivers don't have to think so much or occasionally be a bit patient.

Use the Road, you've paid for it remember...

on the road, there are cars, cars in the main look where they are going, are reasonably predictable, and obey the rules of the road (in the main)

I'd like to ride where you ride. Came close to being hit 3 times on Weds - 2 cars trying to run ambers when I was in front of them dutifully stopping, as per the Law. And one guy pulled straight out into the road without looking - and then asking what my problem was after we both pulled emergency stops and he'd stopped looking shocked - he knew full well what the problem was 😯

fitnessischeating is right actually, everyone will have anecdotes about dangerous drivers, cyclists and of course inattentive pedestrians, but for the most part, people using the roads just want to get where they are going without incident.

Nobody is actually trying to kill you if you cycle on the road, as doing so would ruin their plans for the day and possibly dent their car...

fitnessischeating is right actually, everyone will have anecdotes about dangerous drivers, cyclists and of course inattentive pedestrians, but for the most part, people using the roads just want to get where they are going without incident.

Yep, and I find the same using cycle paths. The difference is that an inattentive ped doesn't weigh 1.5 tonnes and isn't travelling at 30mph.

I use shared (but not delineated) paths cycling to work and it is a bit of a nightmare in the summer when its busy.

I was even berated the other by a delightful [s]lady[/s] chav who shouted at me to use the left side of the path. I happened to be on the left side of the path anyway so couldn't think of a witty retort unfortunately.

Yes Cars and Vans are weighty, move at speed and have fallible operators.

But then riding on the pavement just because someone put some paint on it isn't necessarily any less risky overall than using the road, you are probably more likely to collide with and injure someone else (on foot), who really isn't expecting you to be there, than you are to get hit by a car if riding on the road... That of course assumes you don't have any issues with motorised traffic at the 20 odd side streets and junctions you'll need to cross when riding a bike on the pavement, which of course you will.

Judgement of "Risk" should based on both likelihood and consequences for ALL involved not just focussing on yourself...

A Driver is more likely to be able to safely negotiate a cyclist on the road, He/She is more likely to have had some relevant training and passed a test, walking on the pavement isn't a licensed activity yet, there isn't much formal training or guidance available for it, but in the last couple of decades we've decided to add bikes on the pavement to the list of hazards Peds have to contend with, and then we complain that they are unpredictable and unaware...

Don't underestimate the possible consequences of hitting a Ped, even at relatively low speeds, on a bicycle. Just imagine piling, piss pot first, into a strangers face (or baby robin if you like) at 12~15mph and see how well they come out of the encounter...

So your actions, triggered by a disproportionate fear of personal injury, could actually result in you seriously injuring someone else... Well In theory at least, In practise cyclists on pavements just become seen by Peds as the same sort of selfish, impatient arseholes many cyclists seem to think all Drivers are... Funny that.

Use the Road, you've paid for it remember...

Pretty sure I paid for the pavement/cycle path too