Pavement Cyclists

[fiftiesfresh22]

Probably done to death.

Pavement cyclists are a menace on the street on which I live (reasonably busy road, narrow footpaths (not shared) wide verges both sides. There are several alternative quieter roads very close by which cyclists could use if they feel unsafe/not confident to ride on the road down here, all of which end up on the same main road at the end, literally a minute away from each other. But still some choose to ride on the even narrower pavements down those.

So todays offering...walking my dog on the footpath, on his non-extendable, standard lead as always, from behind me come two cyclists who I did not see or hear approaching obviously, who ''buzzed'' me {passed very close at speed) and made me jump. Thankfully my dog was on the other side of me, and as I startled I said ''FGS''. To which one of them turned & said ''FGS? you should have your dog on a very tight lead...'' along with something else which I could not hear as they continued riding away. I guess it was probably along the lines of ''so that we can pass''.

The arrogance of some cyclists (who we are led to believe are in the minority) who believe that the footpaths are their domain if they see fit, pedestrians are in THEIR way, and it is the pedestrians responsibility to walk looking over their shoulder/with eyes in the back of their head etc in order to facilitate the cyclists illegal journey., all without challenge. So many times I see elderly/mobility scooter bound/parents with toddlers & prams/dog walkers being passed at speed & close quarters. This of course is facilitated by the fact that the law is interpreted, not upheld, and pavement cyclists are completely ignored, even when witnessed by passing police, both on foot or in a vehicle and now of course we also have electric scooters.

The bell is an utter asshole move.
so is shouting.

if a cyclist does not have enough room to pass safely, they need to stop and possibly even walk the bike past. There is no right to stay at speed, even on a shared path.

I’ve been the cyclist on a shared path and I never expected anyone to move out of the way for me. I never rode on the pavement, I took quiet streets or streets with bike lanes.

Well nobody's policing them so what can you do? I'm very much 'for' cycling - but adults who cycle on the pavement are pigs. I do not care if they're afraid of cycling in the road, if you're that scared drive or use public transport.

I was knocked down by a cyclist on the pavement. I fell on my arm and was off work for weeks. Being self-employed, it impacted my income. I will never forget his actions - he casually looked round at me then continued on his way. Other people saw what happened and shouted out at him but he didn't stop. Bastard.

I have told cyclists to get off the pavement before but obviously not everybody can/will do that. They're a total menace.

People who turn conversations like this into drivers vs cyclists are silly. There are bad drivers, there are bad cyclists 'yeah but-ing' all day won't change that. Roads and pavements need to be safe for all its not about pointless one upmanship

There are pavements for pedestrians because in the heirarchy of motorists/cyclist/pedestrian the latter is the most physically vulnerable and the pavement is supposed to be where they can walk safely while cyclists and motorists use the roads. Note use of the word 'supposed.'

Don’t attempt to tell posters what is and isn’t relevant on the thread because you are trolling everyone who has a different perspective to you.

How on earth is she trolling? Do you know what trolling means?

Back in the early days of Covid I used to meet my mam for a walk in the park most days. She is 80 and quite slow on her feet. This man and his daughter on bikes appeared a metre or two behind us with his DD ringing her bell. My mam got a fright and moved but the wrong way because we couldn't tell which side. He let a roar at the two of us and said that cyclists are allowed here also. That may be the case but it doesn't make it ok to confuse and try and knock over an 80 year old woman. All I could think at the time was that his DD is going to turn into a right entitled little wagon if she follows in her father's footsteps.

Really? How long do you walk your bike behind pedestrians for until they notice you? Miles?

The Highway code is really clear. On shared paths you can ring your bell or call out to warn people. You should take care not to endanger pedestrians or pass too close, but likewise they should not obstruct you.

Lol! What on earth are you on about? 😂

Please, do explain how violations by car drivers are at all relevant on a thread about cyclists on pavements? It's about as relevant as bringing up the behaviour of drunken passengers on a plane.

as for "trolling" 🤣🤣

Until there is enough space for you to pass the pedestrian without them having to step off the path or pin themselves into the side. Think of it like cars when they are behind cyclists on the road - responsible car drivers who follow the Highway Code know that they don’t beep the horn to indicate that the cyclist has to stop and get off the road or right into the side, they have to wait for a safe place to pass (which might be some time).

Cyclists on pavements are twats. The ones who ding their pathetic little bell then swear at my profoundly Deaf DD for not moving out of their way are scum.

@SirChenjins I see, thanks for clarifying. IME on wider shared paths you often get 2 or 3 people meandering down the middle who can easily move across if you let them know you're there. I wouldn't get off and walk behind them.

I dont mind the bell ringers on shared paths, but I do wish they kept in mind not everyone has perfect hearing, can jump out the way quickly etc

I've recently, as an older woman, taken up cycling again. I don't go fast, especially round corners, and I'm reluctant to ride on busy main roads. I do use a lot of shared paths and side roads (not pavements) and find the vast majority of pedestrians move out of the way when you ring your bell, and I do shout thank-you to them. But there are an awful lot of pedestrians who walk down the middle of shared paths (or even those delineated by a line with a cycle painted on one side) who are too engrossed in their mobile phones or wearing air pods to even hear a bell.

Cyclists on the towpath give me the rage. Ding their bell and expect me to flatten myself against the wall with the dog so they can continue on their merry way.

As a horse rider I was always taught the the slowest had right of way.

The cycle superhighway in Limehouse is bloody scary.

Or they’re deaf/partially deaf like me @MistyMountainTop and @NotMeNoNo I will try and keep to one side on shared paths but you have to remember that I may not always hear your bell and so you may have to walk behind me or cycle very slowly for a while. After many years of jumping off narrow countryside footpaths at the ding of a bell or a raised voice I’m now following the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and cyclists can wait for the right opportunity to pass me.

No, they're busy looking at their phones and listening on their airpods. Believe me, I'm going that slowly that I can tell! My nephew has hearing loss and I can tell the difference between a hearing aid and airpods, even though I'm older!

Im sure they are - just like the cyclists who have dinged their bells at me or shouted at me to move think I’m not paying attention as opposed to not being able to hear them.

Loads of it around here on city streets as well as electric scooters. They all assume you have eyes in the back of your head as well as assuming you are going to move out of their way if they are coming towards you.

Cyclists expect six feet clearance from vehicles. They should extend the same courtesy to pedestrians. Thinking of getting a walking pole and holding it out sideways, about knee-height. A pointy end might be a step too far.

I stopped using a bike several years ago because a dog ran in front of me and brought me down. I ended up in hospital and my bike was wrecked. Luckily, most of the people that I encounter are very nice though you wouldn't think so from some of the opinions on here!

I do - do you?

As an ex-cyclist, I got fed up of all of it.

I cycle on the road and the chances are thar I'm going to get knocked over by a car. I've had cars stop right in front of me to do illegal manoeuvres, not indicate and not give me enough me enough space - it was really stressful.

I then tried a different route - a shared pathway, always tried to be polite - excuse me rather than bell and go very slowly. That was kind of okay until I ended up in the mud because a pedestrian refused to move, then shouted at me for getting in his way.

My last resort was cycling on the main road but getting off at crossings. I got of my bike and apparently took up the whole crossing, so next time I put my feet down, not even peddling and still someone chose to have a go.

No matter what cyclists do, they're damned so maybe as humans we need to think about our own response to those who are actually trying to be environmentally friendly.

I challenged pavement cyclists on a couple of occasions when DD used to be in the pram

I remember one time walking along the footpath and there was a parked car half on the footpath and a cyclist heading towards me tried to still come through

I said "you shouldn't be on the footpath" to the woman and just got a glazed over look

I put them in the Dead Head category. They are a complete waste of space and you won't get anywhere speaking to them

Yes, I do. And SoupDragon isn't doing it.