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Yesterday as I rode down a forestry commission designated mountain bike trail I saw two people walking on the trail ahead of me. I went onto the grass verge as I approached to give them a wide berth, but didn’t reduce my speed. As I was coming alongside, one walker shouted to the other to get out of the way, which caused her to jump off the trail and right into my path. I braked as hard as I could, but hit her before coming off and hitting the ground quite hard. Luckily neither of us were badly hurt. She got a sore knee and I’ve tweaked my wrist. I might have said something rude about the fact that there were miles of trails there that weren’t for mountain bikes, and her friend said that I should have shouted to them from further up the trail to say I was coming. It was all fairly good natured, but it could have worked out a lot worse.
In hindsight I feel quite bad about it, as had it been anywhere else I would have slowed right down behind walkers. Whether or not I was in the right, it could have ended in tragedy. Anyone else had similar experiences? Was I being an arse?
Saw thread title and thought...is that an instruction?
(opens packet of Hob Nobs)
Yes, you were an arse. No need to pile into them if you had seen them.
Your remorse suggest you were a bit. Easy to be tied up in the moment on the trail in a way you wouldn’t be on a paved dual use cycle path. Glad you’re both OK. Could have been very serious.
You didn't let them know you were there and caused a panic resulting in the collision. Reflect on this and shout a warning in future.
I thought the title was also an instruction - I know I upset a few folk on here but I didn't think it would result in an incitement to me getting thumped 🙂
Is the fact she’s withdrawing her pension important?
Ooo, it's like one of those AITA threads off Reddit...YTA
Cant pretend though that havent been in a similar situation (although never hit anyone) when you're flowing down a nice trail with the adrenaline going and then you meet a walker but you don't drop as much speed or go as wide as you really should
Remember that what ever walkers are doing they will always jump to the opposite side when you call out, and if they are side by side they will both swap over.
Always stop, it might be a pain but it's a lot easier in the long run.
Anything slower than me on the trail, be it waymarked bikes only or otherwise, I always slow down and announce my presence with a loud 'excuse me please'
If it is a walker on a bike trail, I do normally say 'you're not supposed to be here, this is bikes only'. Most of the time it is met with nothing but, I've done my bit and nobody got injured or upset.
On public routes (ie not cycle trails) I generally use a Timber bell. Even that is occasionally missed, usually by runners with headphones in. In which case I slow down and still startle them. Have little sympathy for such runners, they should be alert, although I still slow down and give them a wide berth.
Sure it's annoying if you meet walkers on a nice flowy section but, we are just riding bikes, not answering an emergency calls.
Ah, it's an accident, no real harm, everyone happy, just forget it and use it as a warning for future, in 30 years of biking, one thing has always been true, people are unpredictable, either jumping in your way like this woman did, or taking umbrage at you telling them you're approaching, best bet is always slow down to walking pace and be pleasant, then if they're being arsey you can feel better about being arsey back 😁
I do normally slow right down and often get off and wait on shared trails. It was certainly a lesson learned the hard way. <br /><br />
painoFull Member<br />Is the fact she’s withdrawing her pension important?<br /><br />
No. But she was quite elderly, which made me all the more conscious of how it could have turned out.
It sounds like the mountain bike equivalent of a close pass by a car on road. Maybe you think they shouldn't be there but I'd always slow down, make them aware and be polite. I do ride a lot a shared trails and there's a right way and a wrong way to go about it. Slow down, be polite, smile is my mantra. I would never say you are not supposed to be here - probably as it's something I hear even when I have every right to be. I may give advice about being aware bikes can be going fast and not expect walkers on a designated bike trail, so just be visible and cautious. We all like to explore right?
Hmmmm. I think this is a bit like close passing a cyclist and hitting them when they swerve around a pothole. Driver takes a chance and doesn't leave a safety margin.
Saying she shouldn't be there is a bit like saying you shouldn't be cycling on the road when there is a perfectly good cycle path. No walking signs on a cycling route are probably no more than advisory in the eyes of the law.
On the flip side, if it's a proper graded route at a bike park you could liken it to wandering about on a motorway so the driver could be seen to be less at fault.
Avoiding hitting walkers is the best way to prevent trails being closed to cyclists. Making sure that walkers know you're there and stopping and dismounting just to show courtesy is the smart long-term thing. Yelling "Strava" and ploughing on at full speed is what gets trails closed.
I have never needed to"stop and dismount". Just let them know I am there in plenty of time for them to react and slow down as needed.
My approach to seeing anything ahead that is alive and capable of movement is to assure that it might be stupid and that being potentially stupid does not in any way impede it’s capability to find a way to hurt me.
Yes, I had a near miss with a wild boar. There were two of them on a fast fire road section. They saw me and bolted off the side of the road, but each chose a different side. Then one panicked and decided to follow the other so it jumped back onto the road right in front of me. Missed me by metres rather than inches, but still scared the living shit out of me.
Seeing as you had time to change course and consciously didn't slow down I'd say that was a bit of a dick move, regardless of who was in the right. Even if you had still hit them it would have been at a slower speed.
Have had a few close calls with walkers over the years riding that trail centres so know how quickly it can suddenly happen. Was riding the original Twrch trail at Cwmcarn the week after it officially opened and came down the final descent and there was a smooth drop going round a right hand kink as you got back to the car park with the view slightly blocked by a big bush (this was before the last section was reprofiled when they finished the car park a few months later). Behind this bush was a flat area where the builders had stored the gravel used to build it and a family had decided to set up a picnic on this spot. As it was quiet they had enough time to just about settle in right in time for me and the other riders I was with to come through their picnic at waist height. When I say through I mean smashing through their table in mid air! Incredibly lucky we didn't take them all out and that the only damage was a flat front tyre of the first rider, a smashed picnic table and their food and drink scattered everywhere. Cue a massive argument about who was in the wrong that was only diffused by a NRW worker (then still Forestry Commission) coming along and sorting it all out.
Another was in Avoriaz in the French Alps, riding a boardwalk section that you came on to blind and fast. Was a bit of a surprise to see a group of German walkers in it and how well they scattered when the first rider yelled 'Velo!' at them. Sadly for them it was rather boggy on both sides so they got muddy. We stopped to help them out and make sure they were ok, well as good as we could as I had tagged on to a pair of Lithuanians for that lap and between the lot of us we only had a few common words to communicate with!
Even though you're on a dedicated bike trail still expect the unexpected.
People have a right to expect not to be unnecessarily assaulted wherever they are walking. If it was possible for you to stop (and it sounds like it was) and you didn’t, then I think you’d be liable if she was injured. Also it’s pretty antisocial to knock people down with your bike.
If it had been on a blind landing or similar then it may be different.
When not on a racetrack, you should always ride or drive at a speed where you’re able to stop within the distance that you can see IMO. To not be able to do so means that you’re not in control.
Pedestrians are more vulnerable than cyclusts in the Highway Code heirarchy, and I tend to take the same approach off road. I'd like to think I'd have slowed down/shouted before hitting them, but I wasn't there at the time, so who knows.
My normal view is you never go so fast that cannot stop in the distance you can see to be clear.
However, the one place I'd accept you should consider hooning it properly is on a dedicated mountain bike trail. There should be clear "No Entry" signs to stop people wandering up the trail, those that ignore it, well, volenti is still a defence I think.
I have a busy shared use tow path nearby that I use frequently. You preemptively win any arguments if you ping a bell at them multiple times, ideally starting as soon as they come into view, slowing down helps too.
I'd certainly have slowed down from what you described, walkers invariably panic and jump all over the place, better to be prepared to just stop.
Still everyone lived and presumably learned a little too.
If one learns to trackstand one doesn’t need to dismount.
In hindsight I feel quite bad about it, as had it been anywhere else I would have slowed right down behind walkers. Whether or not I was in the right, it could have ended in tragedy. Anyone else had similar experiences? Was I being an arse?
We all make stupid decisions, but just to be clear, if it had ended in tragedy (and that is really just about where her head landed rather than anything you did - so pure luck) you'd currently be sitting in a police station whilst the solicitor you just met explained the law on manslaughter to you.
On the flip side, if it’s a proper graded route at a bike park you could liken it to wandering about on a motorway so the driver could be seen to be less at fault.
A few weeks ago I drove along a 50mph section of the M8 in the dark when something my brain wouldn't quite process appeared in front of me in lane 1. As I got closer I realised it was a cyclist with no lights (but some reflective clothing), probably a chipped e-bike as it was doing ~20 mph and didn't look like a road bike. If I had chosen to blast past him and he'd wobbled into my path I don't think "he shouldn't have been there" would have made a great defence to the death by dangerous driving charge. I put my hazard lights on, dialled 999 and followed at a distance where I could stop but where I was warning other drivers of the hazard. He pulled off at the next exit and I continued on my way, no idea if the cops found him to issue some "advice". As soon as you see the hazard, whether in your car or on a bike, the onus is on you.
Was I being an arse?
It was a bad decision. Three possibilities on their part:
Either the signing was a bit crap and hence they missed it (or they managed to join between signs) and so should be treated like any other walker.
The signing was perfectly good but they missed it. In which case since they are unobservant best to be extra careful round them.
The signing was fine and they are just an arsehole who decided to walk on it to teach cyclists a lesson. In which case they are a liability to avoid.
(opens packet of Hob Nobs)
FIFY
Worthers originals or a boiled sweets covered in pocket/handbag fluff.Older people like those...
A bell is the best thing I’ve fitted to my bike this year.
I remember riding down Yoghurt Pots in the Surrey Hills and meeting a couple pushing a pram up the trail!
Expect the unexpected.
Walkers will always jump to the wrong side or split fire and jump both ways. <br />Get a a loud annoying bell, you can thank them after you’ve passed.
I really do need a bell now my new freewheel is so quiet. Can anyone recommend one?
I have a bell on all my bikes - the best small one is a spurcycle one ( actually looking at the add linked I might have a copy - I wouldn't pay that much) https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/bells-horns/spurcycle-bell-raw/ I also have a far eastern brass one that is really loud
the ones I find fail are the ones with a spring between the pinger and the mount - they fail
Saw thread title and thought…is that an instruction?<br /><br />
It’s up there with eat five a day, just behind the Ten Commandments
You can't just run people over, you were definatly being a dick, your decision making is very poor, learn from it, move on and stop seeking attention on here.
thats rather harsh fergusd
Don't be too hard on yourself, despite what many on here would have you believe, none of us are perfect 🙂
In the wise words of Elia Kazan (1909 - 2003), Turkish-born American Film and Theatre Director: "What's called a difficult decision is a difficult decision because either way you go there are penalties."
And "Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from making bad decisions." - Mark Twain (1835 - 1910), American Novelist and Journalist.
Bloody walkers thinking they own the trails. Won't they think about your Strava?
You forgot to shout Strrrraaaaaavvvvaaa, didn't you?
In seriousness, I have mixed opinions about walkers on shared trails. They do seem to have an imposed opinion that they have the exclusive use of it with no comprehension that there may be other users that don't want them taking up a 4mtr wide piece of trail with two people. On the other hand, you probably should be skilled enough to not mow old dears down, however stupid they are
I treat walkers like people on horses, slow down and give them a wide berth, always make a noise to let them know I'm approaching, if they've not looked back I won't pass at any speed I can't stop abruptly at.
I really do need a bell now my new freewheel is so quiet. Can anyone recommend one?
I’d recommend the Timber bell. Though I can’t see it in the STW shop.
I’d also recommend the Lion Bell Works bell https://lionbellworks.co.uk/lb/index.php
Bells are great, until they antagonise and 'scare' walkers, used to get told off for aggressively ringing my bell on the canal path between Bath and BoA 🤣
Yep, you can’t win whatever you do.