Just had some dog walker go totally mental at me for cycling when on a bridleway, the usual there’s no cycling here quip, I replied that there was and it was a bridleway and he can check with the rangers if he wasn’t sure and that I had previously after a similar encounter, he then rather lost the plot and started shouting his head off and being really nasty and aggressive, I thought he might get physical, the thing is you know he’ll be like this with everyone, some people just bully their way through life, not good.

I reported him to the rangers as he’s quite distinctive so hopefully a word can be had, I just despair of some people, ruined my day.

Forest Farm Cardiff, oldish bloke, chunky, white beard and a lab, avoid if you can.

I’ve had the same, multiple times, and done the same.

Don’t rise to it, present them with the facts and just get on with your day.

One time I rode off from a footpath/bridleway argument and stopped a few hundred yards down the way for a breather and a drink, placing my bike against the ‘bridleway’ finger post and just smiling at them as they came past.

Encountering people who are feeble-minded and angry about it is just part of life’s rich tapestry. Laugh at them and ride on.

Get it regular off the red socks you encounter round here. Trying to reason with then is futile as they’ll just take offence at everything due to their thermonuclear sense of entitlement. I just give them a big smile and ride off. That really sets them off. 😀

I got to the point when I’d just totally ignore them and carry on no matter where I was riding.

It seemed to ruin their day more than mine.

It’s one of the reasons we moved to Scotland.
Just no need for it.

Yeah, this country sucks. +1 for moving Scotland

Just ride off and ignore them. Logic and reason won’t change their minds and will leave you frustrated.

Can be a really unpleasant, day-ruining, experience for sure.

Best tip I got off here is ignore. If you need to say anything, particularly if you need to buy yourself some space/time, reply cheerfully, “I know, bloody terrible isn’t it! These bloody cyclists!”

Forest Farm Cardiff, oldish bloke, chunky, white beard and a lab, avoid if you can.

He’s a regular there, just cycle past and ignore him. I’ve had conversations with him on the DH trails at Forest Fawr and at Forest Farm.

you still get this shit in Scotland

i had the best conversation with someone once on the quantocks with him telling me I shouldn’t be riding my bike where I was.

I mean I probably shouldn’t have been riding my bike where I was, but he was sat on a horse and shouldn’t have been there either…

you still get this shit in Scotland

I’ve had it once in three years.

Back in the Midlands it was almost every ride…

Ignorance combined with self-importance is a scary mix.

Unfortunately, it’s rife within a certain demographic.

Yup had it other week, on the TPT , just pootlin down a long ,flat part.2 youngish women with many dogs talking, one of the women was facing me, and saw me coming over 100m away, and made eye contact and maintained it as I rode towards them, as i got closer,about 20m away I called out morning and the women with her back to me, acted like I’d shot her and started ranting, about its no cycling on here.And the other women chirped up backing her mate up.with you shouldn’t be riding up fast and sneaking up on people . FFS

Smile and wave boys/girls 🙂

Poah yes it does happen but like SSS its pretty rare.  Never had it from a landowner / gamekeeper but I did get shouted at one – IIRC they had english accents ( like me)

I’ve had it a few times but it’s always been when away from trail centres etc riding in the wilderness so to speak. Had it once in a park while riding on the cycle lane

Shout “suck my winky” and keep on riding.

I get it on roads around east Devon – people beeping their horns and waving me off the road (and I’m so slow I find gateways for people to overtake anyway, not like I’m bashing out strava times and pretending I’m in the tour). Some people just have an irrational hatred of cyclists.

I sympathise as it can affect my mood and takes the edge off a ride when it happens, but not much you can do and you can’t reason with idiots.

Wherabuts Poah?  Angus glens by any chance?

Never happened to me out in the wilds even when I once rode right thru a grouse shoot.  The gamekeeper very politely asked me to get over the brow of the hill ASAP which seemed perfectly reasonable to me

My reiterating that it was a bridleway was just met with him bellowing YOUR’E SPECIAL, YOU’RE SPECIAL! at the top of his voice at me, so I told him in no uncertain terms where to get off, takes the edge of your day tho.

Calmly explain the access law, If they start ranting, look at them quizzically, with “Sorry, I don’t speak dickhead” and ride off.

Just ask them if they need a hug. Or blow kisses at them ?

in all my years cycling, i have never once had anyone challenge me where i am riding………..  ;o)

Why am I not surprised Ton 🙂

Same as with road ragers.  it took me a long time to learn this but make their day worse than yours.  They get all het up?  laugh at them.  you ride off chuckling at their stupidity, they are in a frothing rage.  YOu win.

I normally give them a “so long ****!” with my best Chinese accent.
It happens very rarely though, perhaps once a year, if that.

I had a good one the other week.

Gravel bike on the shared use foot/cycle trail that runs from Ambleside all the way to Wray Castle. It’s a lovely bit of trail, quite swoopy in places.

Coming up to a junction, I slowed right down as I wasn’t sure which way to go, there was a lone walker (woman in roughly mid 60’s) just getting to the junction. Dinged the bell a couple of times, no response. I stopped at the junction, unclipped. Said “good morning”. I was about 2m behind her at that point.

A moment later she turned around, saw me (still stationary, unclipped) and said “DON’T YOU HAVE A BELL?!” As I started to reply, I noticed she had wireless earbuds in…

I pointed out that not only did I have a bell, I’d rung it twice, said good morning and if she took her ***** earphones out she might have heard some of that.

*I said the f word in my mind, not out loud cos I’m dead polite like that.

She was not at all impressed. Stupid woman.

Whilst deliberately smiling sweetly, I told the last car driver, raging at me (much swearing), that he really shouldn’t use language like that in front of his mother*. Turns out, it was his wife. Who knew? 🤷🏼‍♂️

*thanks to whoever it was on here that posted that eons ago. I’ve never forgotten it 😁

I’m sure it’s not you OP but…..

In my experience the cyclists that get the most shit with walkers even when on a bridleway are the cyclists who forgot to ride courteously. It’s part of the gig – we’re meant to give way and more importantly not ride in a manner that means the walkers don’t feel obliged to step off the BW for us. Slow right down, stand off a respectful distance until they’ve noticed, and be friendly and it’s only the fringe nutters. I have a friend like that – always on social media berating the red socked ramblers, but riding with him is super cringy.

And the same counts in Scotland – this is not a might has right scenario.

There’s a woman who rants and raves at anyone riding a bike, this is on the tarmac stretch of the ‘Peak Forest canal near Disley’.
She was apoplectic with rage when I asked her did she drive a car? I said I prefer to use a bike to shop and not to pollute or bung up the roads. She shouted ahhh you’re one of those climate changing people. She’s a menace and stands right in the middle of the tow path and spreads out her arms so it’s tricky to pass. I wonder if she can swim?

Since doing a bit of motorcycling on ‘green lanes’ recently, I had kind of forgotten that some people get so wound up about cyclists.

I mean, on a motorcycle you REALLY expect everyone to hate you, so when I mtb I’m actually quite surprised that they still hate me. 😊

Oh well. But yeah, it can really taint your day I find, despite trying not to let it.

fazzini, that’s bl***y brilliant, I’ll have to remember that one 😂

@convert

I disagree, there is a type who are offended by people on bikes full stop, regardless of where they are and how they are ridden.

So, **** them. I’ll ride wherever I feel like.

If they look like they’re fuming and looking for an excuse to kick off I make a point of enthusiastically  saying hello to their dog.

9 times out of 10 the dog looks delighted and wags its tail which sets off just enough cognitive dissonance in the miserable red-socked arsewipe to get you safely past and on your way.

@convert

I disagree, there is a type who are offended by people on bikes full stop, regardless of where they are and how they are ridden.

As I said – a minority will be offended whatever. But most won’t if you ride respectfully.

So, **** them. I’ll ride wherever I feel like.

It’s not where, but how. Riding at 20mph down a tight shared use bridleway expecting folk to get out of your way so you don’t have to break your rhythm, and you pretty much deserve any shit you get. Sadly the courteous rider 5 mins behind you will probably get it on your behalf.

Kick the dog then the owner. Ride off.

Rarely happens round bristol – can only think of one ocurrance in 10 years.

I was on a BW in a field used by horses in mid-summer. He told me I shouldn’t be there, I pointed to the BW sign. He told me that I would be destroying the path with my tyres. I pointed to the horses, and the massive horse foot prints everywhere. He then said I’d be leaving a massive trench if it was wet ‘like all the other cyclists do’ – I pointed out it was bone dry and rock hard, and that in the winter I avoid that BW because it’s so miserable.

Then I just asked him where he was going and what he’d been up to. By the time we got to the other end of the field, he was recommending me other BWs and footpaths that he thought might be fun to ride 😂

Ended up having a nice chat with the bloke.

I do think some people attract bad attention. I’ve a mate who’s always telling me about close passes and grumpy walkers,  but I hardly ever experience either (or at least get riled up by it)

I got shouted at by a farmer today for walking down a bridleway, which confused me a little.

Do you not think that you’re part of the problem by referring to “red-socks”?

The hierarchy of pedestrian, horses, bikes, cars should be observed. Some people out walking are muppets, they probably drive too. A lot of MTBers we see here in W Yorks are knobs and ride aggressively. A lot of car drivers seem to forget the rules of the road once behind the wheel – including the moron with the crap bikes on a shonky rack that nearly crushed me and my wife in the summer.  Go figure

The issue is usually that most “users” think that they have exclusive use of the path, lane, road etc,  and don’t want to share

I’ve a mate who’s always telling me about close passes and grumpy walkers

Sounds like those drivers that have never crashed but seen quite a few in their rear view mirror

🙃

Happens everywhere and on every type of trail or route, worst place i’ve been for it was canal paths between Bath and Bradford on Avon, always expect some confrontation there with the amount of groups you get.  

Used to get it all the time on estates in Scotland as well, and down here as well, always wonder why they have them as bridleways if they hate cyclists on them, there does seem to be a load of ‘it’s for horses not bikes’ down here though.

As always, no point being confrontational, just avoid them like the plague, you can usually see them coming a mile off, especially the ones who fan out when you’re ringing and politely shouting cyclist passing to the L/R!