I think walkers don’t really care about us. But I’ve learned to live with it. It seems a small sort of thing really. Why are people so animated about having to slow down, say hello, maybe an ‘excuse me please’ Are you all going somewhere really important like those speeding car drivers who keep trying to kill me on the roads?

Walkers I’ve found fine, horses not so (well their owners really, hotties or not). Why though do sheep *always* leave it to the last minute to (a) run across the path infront of you and / or (b) decide to run down the path you’re on, going about 1 mph too slow. JUST GO 1 FEET TO THE SIDE AND I’LL STOP FOLLOWING YOU.

All these years and it still winds me up 😛

Oh, and bees. Last sunday three bumblebees got stuck under my helmet via the vents. Do I sweat honey? Am I made of wax? No I don’t and no I’m not. Please stop it KTHXBYE.

The malverns are the worst place for this, my mate got a dog lead around his neck during one ride! A walker though it would be a good idea to lassoo a cyclist , almost killed him! Police didn’t give a sh* t

Really lucky where we live. Very rarely come across a grumpy walker.
However we had a real idiot the other day. 4 of us were cycling down a steep whirly bridge onto the local canal, under the bridge there is a walker, I instantly apologise for riding where he is walking (not room for walker and cyclist), most walkers wait for a bike and get a thank you, this chap said he wanted to push us in the water – charming!

Sunny weather helps though, today’s walkers were really jolly and thanked me for the use of my bell, all 40 of them.

there are people who get ‘off’ on hearing bike bells !!

Some girls’ mothers are bigger than other girls’ mothers.

There seems to be a reasonable correlation between busy-ness and angry-ness.

As others have noted already it is sometimes a case of just not liking ‘people not like me’ – they should be somewhere else.

Another encounter this time in the dales. Two walkers coming down a hill as i’m plodding up. Quick hello followed by “rather you than me” all said with smiles and perfectly pleasant. Coincidentaly the mountain bikers i saw later were ignorant gits didn’t even get a hello from them.

I normaly find the grumiest walkers are the ones with 40 liter packs, walking poles, gps’s and faces like a smacked ass that are about half a mile from the local tourist car park.
Once you get about three miles away from the car park people are generaly quite sociable.

I’ve seen it from both sides.

I’ve wanted to grab some cyclists on a canal path in Leeds, clothes line them clean of their bikes and explain to them that they are giving us all a bad name by barreling down narrow paths. There was absolutely no compromise in the way they were riding, so if you do ride canal paths at a vast rate of knots in the Leeds area, stand by.

On the other side of the coin. Wide double track on a down hill section of the south downs. I was 15m in front of my not so confident girlfriend as 2 walkers (think oap daily mail readers) were walking up hill. The old dear saw me, and moved from the raised middle into the the other track from her husband forcing me to leave the bridleway completely. No problem for me, but this forced my girlfriend off as well where she just managed to keep control and avoid the ditch

Dont come back with the counter argument that she shouldn’t have been going fast, I was controlling her speed by being in front and we were doing only walking pace as we passed. Its the only time I’ve not gave a sarcastic “thanks”, but a full blown “what the f*&k do you think you are playing at?” She and her husband walked away and never looked back. 👿

On the cycle path down the prom at seacombe , there are 2 white lines about 8 feet apart this forms the cyclepath part, allowing about 20m foot each side for walkerists to perambulate on.

During the warm weather our local police have taken to driving between the white lines , just checking for trouble or riot situations developing i suppose.

A youth was walking down the middle of the white lines just as a police car came up behind him, as i approached him and i moved out of the lane,to let the police car past, i said theres a police car behind you, and you do know its a cycle lane, he shouted f..k off muppet, just as the police car was about to pass him, much hilarity as he had a Dixel moment,as the police car stopped suddenly at his side and asked him to repeat his comment.

Dixel momnet = involuntary need to use a toilet.

Old people (most Ramblers then) often can’t hear a bell. The tone is too high for their ears.

Just back from doing the Borrowdale Bash and encountered no issues at all, must be the change of weather…gates held open, a well spoken gent commenting on how tricky the trail was and he was going to watch, interested in how we tackled it 😀 No pressure 😉 Castle Cragg was as busy as Keswick High St and all but the most elderly and infirm moved over :D. One comedienne did comment on something about “taking/practicing due care and attention ” 🙄
My reply was a tongue in cheek “have also done a risk assessment “. 😆
Got chased by a collie dug trying to round me up ❗

Cobrakai – I know exactly what you mean. It amazes me how fast some riders hurtle under the zero visibility bridges. I saw a wonderful crash once. Guy goes under at about 20mph, total suicide, no bell or shout. He meets another guy coming the other way, skids left and superman’s into the water. The other guy was completely flabbergasted at the monumental stupidity of the, now swimming, rider. We pulled him out, then he had to get back in to fetch his sunken bike. Eventually rider and bike were reunited and he rode off, bike pissing water out of a drainage hole. I really don’t think he saw it coming, or even afterwards had learned anything. Just a proper dollard.

Was riding up a steepish climb today, probably a good metre and a half wide. I saw a couple coming down towards me, so I went as far right as I could, to give them as much space as possible. The bloke seemed to head towards me and tried to catch the end of my bars with his hip! I shouted some choice words at him and he didn’t even have the decency to explain himself or argue back.
What’s up with morons like this? It’s been a nice day and they’re supposedly doing what interests them. Why are they not smiling and full of the joys!?! A lot of the walkers you come across do seem to be proper miserable and cantankerous $£%^s.

It was also the Lake District Mountain Trial today too, this took in most of the trails where I was riding today. If I heard a competitor coming up behind me on the climbs, I’d make sure there was room for them to pass or I’d get out of their way. On the descents I’d give them a wide berth or shout up…half of them were cheery and the other half wouldn’t even acknowledge us. A bit of common courtesy goes a long way. Would the same miserable folk blank someone who holds a door open for them or flashes them through on a narrow road? 😡

YES because rude and miserable folk without manner use all modes of transport be it car, foot or bike.

Every single walker I came across in the Alps was extremely polite and helpful, and they all seemed far more aware of their surroundings than most walkers here.

Agree with the comments about cyclists riding overfast/inconsiderately on mixed use tow paths etc.

Where I used to live near Halifax the towpaths were basically ruled by ignorant cyclists that would happily run joggers, dog walkers, ramblers, families etc off the path without so much as braking, and generally seemed quite upset if you suggested they were out of order.

The tow path I ride now to work is generally ok but can have idiots too. According to Strava some idiot thinks it’s fine to do 35mph down it – and it really is only one bike wide.

As far as urban pedestrians and motorists go, I’ve noticed that between 7 and 845 am is when the worst of each are out and in their own little worlds – especially if it’s raining. Pedestrians with UMBRELLAS are lethal (even in shared use areas and from the point of view of cyclist at edge of road)

As others have commented, everyone sees the faults of the other groups but not their own…

A classic example on today’s ride in Grizedale.

Coming down one of the bridleways to the visitors centre we were on a narrow track that popped out onto one of the main paths for walkers. I noticed a couple with young kids who were just about to cross the exit of our track, and I slowed down to pass, stopped, told them to be careful because there was another bike coming down. What did they do? Of course they all walked right into the middle of the exit of said track.

The only place I have witnessed real hate from walkers is the Loughrigg descent. But yes they all do seem very slow and have the reaction of a sloth.

Loving the sense of entitlement. Of course walkers should make a big effort to clear the way for cyclists because cyclists have right of way on bridelways? Oh, we don’t. In fact technically we have to give way to walkers. Oh…

Every single walker I came across in the Alps was extremely polite and helpful, and they all seemed far more aware of their surroundings than most walkers here.

I bet this has something to do with the fact that in the alps the consequences of not having clue what the chuffing hell you’re doing are a lot more severe.

I met some very nice walkers today, and stopped to talk to some of them about their dog. I also scared some clueless ones in a group who were climbing out of a field they had no business being in (and making mess of the fence as they did it), then just stood about in the road, I was too busy wondering what they were doing to give the usual hello and nearly hit one who was too busy looking at her phone. Also it was road, not BW, so felt less obliged.

On the “i know my rights” palava, many of them don’t. I’m constantly explaining to them that public rights of way are not, and cannot be, closed for shooting on the moors, only the ‘right to roam’ is restricted. Last time someone demanded to know when the shooting days were I deliberately misunderstood him, and started explaining to him how he could join a local shoot if he wanted, who he would need to contact, how he could by a ‘gun’ or a ‘half gun’ (a space on a shoot) and they would let him know what days the shoots were on, but they were private enterprises and it wasn’t possible for members of the public to just show up and shoot things, and I was very sorry to disappointing him.

“I don’t want to go on the bloody shoot”

“Then why did ask when it was on and who organises them?” #gleeful inward smile#

There are some times I like talking to the public, I really do. 😀

Loving the sense of entitlement. Of course walkers should make a big effort to clear the way for cyclists because cyclists have right of way on bridelways? Oh, we don’t. In fact technically we have to give way to walkers. Oh…

But on a wide path there’s no need to block someone else’s progress intentionally, and knocking a cyclist is dangerous and contravenes the right the public right of way which is for ‘responsible’ use, not to go and be a dick

Ooops, my pen slipped… 😉

No I do know what you mean, I’ve been riding with people who have behaved in a deeply embarrassing way, deliberately unnerving walkers, passing them fast, alerting them to their presence (while barrelling towards them) with a harsh loud whistle. That to me is an aggressive and dominant attitude which is rude, unfair and ultimately does us all damage. Personally I’ve have red sockers move to put their walking pole through my front wheel, step deliberately in front of me (oncoming so able to see me) and make to hold and gate open and flinging it closed as I’m about to go through.

Fortunately I’ve always remained calm, but angry. But I find a well structured articulate fast spoken 5 minute rant before saying its the decent walkers you feel sorry for because they all get tarred with the actions of the stupid irresponsible few, and then riding away often results in a smirk from other members of the group. 😀

Have to say not had any of these incidents in this or last year

Tend to slow right down or stop for horses – always appreciated.

75% of my riding tends to be under the cover of darkness so miss most of the walker grumpiness …

… What baffles me is the couples out walking, I make my presence known with a “morning” or “excuse me” and the results is that the pair of them swap sides of the path – ‘kin ludicrous. Still blocking the path but now just in different places. Happens. Often.

When I said “aware of their surroundings”, I meant of other people rather than the weather, but that’s also true. Almost everyone was well kitted out, there were a few that seemed a bit clueless though. The american woman we saw descending into Italy was the best though, with the comment “thank you for being brilliant”.

Another towpath issue. I am riding towards 4 walkers with 2 dogs, neither on leads. They are blocking the whole towpath. They are walking towards me, maybe 50 metres off and there is clear eye contact. As I approach I slow down to maybe 7mph. There is ample room for them to move to one side, or two change to single file. What they actually do is ignore me until I am quite close, then move 2 to each side, one dog on each. I slow down to walking pace and ride between them. The entirely predictable even of dog crossing to other dog occurs and I have to swerve violently to avoid a collision. One of the walkers shouts at me.

Some mentioned earlier about groups of people becoming unwilling to split up for fear of feeling lost from the conversation or whatever. I think there is some truth in this. Regularly I observe that when walking on my own along a pavement and meeting a group of 3-4 people coming the other way there seems a strong tendency for them to want me to step off the pavement to let them pass without having to change their position. When I hold my position I get looked at like I have transgressed some kind of serious society rule.
Quite strange. I wonder if I do the same when walking with friends?

Bring on the ethnomethodoligists ……

I once nearly floored a student type walking to the shops in precisely the same situation as above – four of them walking the width of the whole pavement, me on my own, I moved out to the edge of the curb, they didn’t move at all. Unfortunately for the lad on the outside I was about twice his size, and when he walked into me he found himself going backwards!

Also saw things from the other side yesterday, out for a walk round Ladybower with Mrs Monkey – made a point of getting out of the way and holding open gates for the many bikers who were out, 90% of whom responded with a smile and a thank you – it was just the 10% who refuse to acknowledge me who wound me up a bit!