Riding too fast on bridleways?

Does anyone find themselves doing this? Quite a few of the routes I go on, you rarely see walkers/other bikers, which after a while lulls you into thinking you can go at slightly silly speeds. I think I scared a couple of walkers in Grizedale on saturday – I wasn't anywhere near crashing into them or anything, but came round a corner going at a reasonable speed and they seemed pretty shocked/scared.

I generally always slow down going past walkers, say hello/thank you if they get out of the way etc etc – and most of them are perfectly friendly/happy.

Think part of the problem is perhaps some people don't realise how good modern bikes brakes/suspension is which means you can generally stop/steer away pretty easily if necessary.

Or am I just a cock? Discuss.

Im always wary going round blind bends on a bike

Who knows whats there?
Bike climbing, horse, tractor etc etc etc

And when Im out with the kids and dog (not usually on BW's but occ no alternative) I dont find it easy to be cheery to people bombing down blind corners at speed straight at us

🙂

I think both are true. walkers underestimate how easily you can stop on a bike and MTBers sometimes go too fast to close to walkers

Mind you some will never be happy anyway. I got shouted at on a local multiuser track for going too fast by a dog walker. What she didn't realise was before she had seen us we had slowed from 25+mph to 10-15 mph and could easily have stopped if her out of control mutt had got in our way

We got told off by a farmer once for speeding on a bridleway somewhere on the Long Mynd (or coming off the Long Mynd I should say) We didn't even pass him he saw us coming down the bridleway then told us off!

I think as with car drivers other non riders tend not to be able to judge how fast you were actually going.

As sporticus says slowly down is for your safety as well as theirs, it could be a tractor round that blind bend.

I wasn't aware there was a speed limit……….

Part of the problem might be that many bikers don't walk anywhere – they don't get to feel it from the other side, as it were.

Depends, there are some bridleways round where I ride, I can be pretty sure of that I won't meet any-one, and there are others that you just know will have folk on them. Mind you, night rides have no speed limits as far as I'm concerned.

In 10 years of riding with careless abandon, I can count the number of instances this was an issue on the fingers of one hand.

A lot of MTBers are not the riding gods they think they are, and a lot of walkers are completely oblivious, but 99 times out of a hundred protesting brakes, hope freewheels and luck preserve us all.

Depends, there are some bridleways round where I ride, I can be pretty sure of that I won't meet any-one

I think this is the problem – if you ride somewhere you almost never meet anyone, you can get lulled into a false sense of security.

One place where apparently it is a problem is the descent down into Keswick I think from Latrigg – it's superfast with drainage channel jumps etc, also very popular with families etc. Think people should know that's going to be busy and ride accordingly though.

I walk quite a bit in the Lakes, and have never experienced a problem from that perspective (but then I don't tend to walk too much on bridleways I suppose).

I also do think that sometimes adrenaline kicks in and you end up going a bit faster than is probably responsible. Has anyone ever actually crashed into a walker? Or had a proper near miss?

Being a MTB rider, dog walker and runner I get to see all sides. Most riders are considerate and slow to 5-10mph speed when passing walkers and some (the small minority) give the rest of us a bad name by treating these routes like they own them.

I got my comeuppance yesterday when I ran over two dogs going around Richmond Park.

I wasn't going particularly fast (~15mph) and the dog's owners, both runners going around the park in the opposite direction were encouraging the dogs to race each other so in the end they just ran straight into my front wheel head on and I didn't have a chance to avoid them.

Not sure why in such incidents the cyclist always seems to come off worse and badly bruised whereas the dogs seem completely oblivious that they have just been hit by a man and bike which must weigh 4 or 5 times what they do.

One place where apparently it is a problem is the descent down into Keswick I think from Latrigg – it's superfast with drainage channel jumps etc, also very popular with families etc. Think people should know that's going to be busy and ride accordingly though.

I think I know that bit, really fast bermed corners but blind?

Would be very silly to that at full pelt without sending somebody ahead.

Grumm yep I know the one, I've scared a few people on that one. Each time I had time to slow and safely pass them but still get the evil eye or complaints. The last time (last week) someone who wasn't even stood on the trail complained. I feel bad about scaring them but I was going at a speed where I could slow down/stop/safely pass. I remember pulling slowly up behind a bunch of old ladies strung across the trail, gave it 20-30 seconds for them to hear me freewheeling behind them, when they still didn't hear me I said "morning ladies" and half of them nearly wet themselves. You can scare people silly without trying so I don't get too precious about that keswick descent and similar.

Guess we need to define "too fast". Could you stop in the distance you could see to be clear? If so, it's not too fast.

Too fast on footpaths is more fun 😯

Being an mtber and a horse rider I'm very wary of going too fast on bridleways (which, after all, horse riders have priority on) when I'm on my bike.

I was once ridden into by some idiot on a mtb when I was out horse riding and it wasn't the nicest of experiences. Quite how the idiot managed to miss almost 6' of me wearing a high-viz vest sat atop 18.2h retired calvary horse wearing a high-viz sheet is beyond me. Luckily 'Tremaine' is the most laid back horse I've ever ridden and he hardly moved, other than side stepping and putting a hoof onto the top tube of the now grounded MTB.

On the roadbike or any bike you have to watch out for other riders, walkers, horses and motor vehicles.

I ring my bell way ahead on lonely bike paths to let walkers know and not to scare them with a woosh as you can make them jump.

Could you stop in the distance you could see to be clear?

Er yeah pretty much (though it might have been a slightly sketchy emergency stop).

It is true though that even if you slow almost to a halt and politely say excuse me some people still jump out of their skin.

I scared a bloke on a footpath the other week – felt guilty tho I was miles away

I scared a bloke out of his wits on a road a few weeks back. It was closed to traffic while they were replacing a cattle grid, he and his wife were wandering around in the middle of the road leaving me loads of space to pass on their left. Trouble was he didn't hear me at all and physically jumped as I silently went past at 25 mph, his wife thought it was hysterical.

To contrast S&Js post slightly I'm always quite concerned at the speed that me and well over a ton of slightly homicidal (actually, VERY homicidal – in the words of his owner, an 'he's an evil bugger, that one') horse can get up to on a bridleway.

I'm sure my bikes stopping distance is less and, being a bike, it doesn't actually actively try to kill people. No one seems to mind though.

Not really sure you can win with this one (the scaring walkers bit). Ring a bell/shout hello/whatever and often they'll jump right across the path in shock or terror. Ride past with no warning and they're not going to jump into your way but you may scare them anyway!

From a walkers point of view, all they can see is a blur of bright clothing, a rider wearing mirrored shades/helmet/possibly body armour, hear the sound of squealing brakes/slapping chain etc and quite reasonably they can assume that you're not in control – they can't see your eyes or expression, there's no "connection". Most walkers probably don't realise that it's all perfectly normal and 99% of the time, even on quite a steep descent, the rider can stop quickly and safely.

But on any trail, even at a trail centre, you should be riding at a speed that allows you to stop within the distance that you can see.

I've never been told to slow down on a climb, though one woman a few weeks back refused to clear the way for the riders behind me.

Descending…one speed most the time and that's not too slow and certainly not pretty..generally i know the places which are commonly used by walkers and go steady/anticipate needing to slow/stop, but in many case a wide field of vision allows walkers to be seen a way off…Of course many other times i'm to busy riding to care who or what is around the next corner, but like ADH said, it's such a rare thing meeting anyone on a fast blind corner i'll continue riding like i do……

But on any trail, even at a trail centre, you should be riding at a speed that allows you to stop within the distance that you can see.

I'd much rather hoon around and be prepared to ditch it into a bush instead

Whilst i agree that you should always be able to stop in the distance that you can actually see, why is it that so many walkers are so blissfully unaware of their surroundings?

We've all had the walker jumping a foot in the air when you politely say excuse me from 30ft away when moving at <10mph. I've even had a group of walkers/ramblers WALK INTO ME whilst stationary then give me a filthy look, all because they were too busy chatting to actually look where they were walking. I had stopped because they were hogging the whole of the vehicle-wide farm track. I was flabbergasted by the dirty looks from nearly all of them (around 20+).

Do walkers go into some sort of ambulant doze when out walking? because it always appears that i have suddenly and dangerously woken a sleep walker when i say 'excuse me please'

I always slow down for horses, walkers can move, and old people should be at home knitting. What amazes me though is how a single elderly walker can take up an entire pathway and be completely oblivious to anyone else walking, running, or cycling; they wont move but have a good old moan when you try and politely squeeze past.

I was out riding sunday, moderate speed, and some old dude shouted "OI!! Slow down where my dog is" (his dog was, at that moment, curling out a tyre grenade), to which I replied "Your dog should be on a f###ing lead, and clean its sh1t up you dirty old b##ard".. he stopped and was cursing and was shaking his fist, wanting to fight me. I nearly fell off my bike laughing.

Do walkers go into some sort of ambulant doze when out walking?

Yep and there seem to be more and more walkers with ipods too, sommat you expect in town not in the countryside, seems a bit weird escaping to tranquility of the hills and taking your tunes but have to say I take an mp3 player when I'm on my own too.

If you want to ride like a berk then best to stay away from the walkers honey-pot areas. Grizedale is pretty much the top of that list!

C

Well i sometimes take my mp3 sunglasses when riding solo so i can't complain about walkers doing the same, although the idea of enjoying a walk whilst wearing such does seem somewhat contradictory.
Perhaps they are listening to Vivaldi?

On a similar note why do walkers upon realising you are there so often do the 'can't decide what side of the track i want to be on' dance and step to one side before leaping across your direction of travel to pointlessly stand somewhere else, when their mate(s) have just done the exact opposite?

It is something that never ceases to baffle me.

duckers – you had no need to swear and his dog does not have to be on a lead – only under control.

well done – another countryside user who now has good reason to dislike MTBers

I wasn't aware there was a speed limit……….

Well if you take that attitude to everything you do you'll cause an accident before long! You surely have to use your judgement of what is an appropriate speed for the terrain.

Yeah, it's amazing how many walkers go out to enjoy the peace and quiet of the countryside yet never bother to look around them!
Either shuffling along looking at their feet or using a GPS or in a big group chatting amongst themselves. I'd say that the majority of them have no awareness of their surroundings whatsoever most of the time.

TD – The guy was old as hell itself, he'll be dead before long so wont be angry at MTB'ers for very long.

Coming down a particularly steep and lovely piece of singletrack not far from the mag's HQ once (the bit after the golf course) and i stopped for a lady horse rider coming the other way. After we had exchanged pleasantries she warned me that there was a fairly large group of walkers further down and that they had deliberately refused to give way to her horse on the steepest and narrowest section, forcing her to (dangerously ride up a crumbling bank to get past/allow them to pass.
TBH i took it with a pinch of salt and set off. Soon enough i came across them, slowed right down and started the whole 'excuse me please' routine.
Most were fine and let me past – if noticably reluctantly.
The front group of 4 were very different however.
I was literally no more than 2ft away, travelling at the same (stalling) speed as them, hanging on my brakes (very steep section) repeatedly saying "excuse me please" and they deliberately ignored me all the way down the BW. All they had to do was take a step each to the side and i would have been able to inch past them, instead they took a perverse delight in making life as difficult as possible for me.

As soon as i could get past them i did, and waited at the bottom (underneath the railway arch) for them. As the lead group of 4 came abreast of me i smiled sweetly and said "aren't manners important anymore?"

If you want to ride like a berk then best to stay away from the walkers honey-pot areas. Grizedale is pretty much the top of that list!

It's really not though – I very rarely see anyone on most of the bridleways in Grizedale, apart from the ones very near to the visitor's centre. Don't think I have ever seen anyone walking on Parkamoor for example.

I also got my comeuppance a couple of weeks ago. Getting carried away ripping around Swinley I flew round a blind bend around a rhodedendron bush going uphill (it was just after a flat bit, I'm not that great a climber) and I actually crashed into another biker on his way down. First time that has ever happened in bout 18 years of biking. Actually it wasn't so much a crash as a brush – my brake lever clipped him on the little finger I think. Almost a big smash tho… Now I think I want one of those pump up airhorns.. 🙂

On a similar note why do walkers upon realising you are there so often do the 'can't decide what side of the track i want to be on' dance and step to one side before leaping across your direction of travel to pointlessly stand somewhere else, when their mate(s) have just done the exact opposite?
It is something that never ceases to baffle me.

Had exactly that happen twice yesterday out on the Ridgeway and the Downs; group of four spread across the byway, I ring my bell, three finally decide to go left, one dithers around before going right. I start to go between them, but right-hand man is looking to move across the path so I slam the brakes on hard, (barely walking speed). They just snigger. Idiots. Next, older couple, with dog on thirty-foot lead, I ring bell, he goes left, she goes right, dog stays in the bloody middle! Grrrrrrrr.

Btw – just because you are in control of your bike doesn't mean you aren't scaring the sh*t out of some poor walker. You don't like it when motorists razz past you too fast and too close, do you? Even if they think they are in perfect control…

Grumm
One place where apparently it is a problem is the descent down into Keswick I think from Latrigg – it's superfast with drainage channel jumps etc
DONK
I've scared a few people on that one. Each time I had time to slow and safely pass them but still get the evil eye or complaints.

**** liar you speed off in to the distance to leave me/slower riders (mortals I think they are called 😉 ) and my one brake to take the abuse….she had no need to complain at all she was sat on a bench eating and enjoying the view.

I think there is a natural conflict as multiple users can use the trail and that creates a problem. For example me skiding full width across the path screaming I CANT STOP for example will have peed the walkers off. However how many times have you been slowed /stopped by an inconsiderate walker