to tell (adult) cyclists to GET OFF THE PAVEMENT!

[CelticPromise]

On my run last night a man cycled up behind me and passed pretty close. I didn't hear him cos listening to music. I didn't plan to say anything but 'get off the pavement!' just came out of my mouth. He shouted back something about there being no space on the road.

He then waited outside (i presume) his house and asked if I had a problem, to which I said I did with adults cycling on the pavement. He seemed to think that he was perfectly justified in cycling on the pavement because 'there is no space'. This went into a minor slanging match and I just told him to grow up and ran off.

Now I am not proud of shouting and if I could do it over i'd apologise for that and quietly point out that what he was doing is illegal and dangerous. But AIBU to say something? Has is become acceptable to cycle on pavements? Am I in the wrong?

springdaffs You are lazy. Get off your bike and bloody walk. YOU DO NOT BELONG ON THE FRIGGING FOOTPATH.

You are the second worst kind of cyclist, the worst being those that knock pedestrians down and scuttle off without stopping.

Your head, your skull. A friend of mine was knocked off his bike and just survived. Without a helmet, he wouldn't. He is a very competant cyclist. The guy on the motorcycle wasn't looking. When walking, if I bump into another pedestrian, chances are I won't wond up with my brains spilled out on the pavement.

Lights - certainly helps in the dark to be seen, no? And high vis - most people wear dark colours, so it helps other road users/pedestrians to see you. Unlike the woman I saw almost taken out this morning as she cycled over a crossroads through a red light.

I fail to see how safety equipment is such an issue, or maybe seatbelts are rubbish toop? Or safety lines when climbing? Baby car seats? BIL is a paramedic and often has to deal with the aftermath of incidents involving 'competant' cyclists.

breathtakingly arrogant would be to 'whizz past people [on the pavement], fly through red lights' etc. I am so considerate it's ridiculous. I said I cycle half road/half pavement but actually I cycle on the pavement a third, the road a third, and walk a third. If there is anyone old or young on the pavement, I get off. Someone asked me the other day why I got off and I said it was because he was on the pavement - he laughed and said some people are fussy, he was fine with it. I can't afford public transport, much less a car and the roads are hideously dangerous. Getting anywhere is actually a nightmare.

Squoosh, That's a really rude and unnecessary comment. Some things are too far away to walk to, and cycling is better than driving. If springdaffs is being considerate and passing people slowly and safely then it isn't causing anyone any harm and you have no right to be rude. What is your problem with safe considerate cyclists?!

ok, I'll walk 3 or 5 miles to my job interviews, and walk back shall I? Lazy you say? right.

I was stating a fact.

If they are on the footpath well then they are NOT safe nor considerate.

And yes, I know you don't agree.

What is your problem with understanding a basic law?

Well if you're too scared to cycle properly . . . . Walk, that's exactly right. Or get a bus. Get a train. Get a lift.

There are options you know.

I can;t afford public transport. no job, see.

I don't have a problem with people on the pavements when they are careful. Where we are people go like the devil is after them. Commuters zip and tourists get on their Boris bikes and cycle through the parks - not on the cycle paths through it, or around it - just wobbling through it.

I used to cycle till I moved here. It is just not safe on the roads - they just weren't built for it and a lot of the cycle lanes are dangerous. I walk.

Near my work is a shared used pavement, marked with pictures of bikes set into paving stones and the odd sign. I've been shouted at and tutted at for cycling on it, and pedestrians weave about and meander across both sides even though there is a line marking out one side for them and one side for bikes. Am I allowed to shout at the pedestrians or clip them with my handlebars as I pass if they're on the bike side? Because they really shouldn't be there.

Also just a quick question re bell ringing. On a mixed use cycle/foot path, what should happen with cyclists ringing their bells? Do you want cyclists to "ding" as they come up behind you to warn you that they're approaching, or is that interpreted as a "ding! get out of the bloody way!" aggressive action? I've had people berate me for both ringing and not ringing, so I'd be interested in opinions. (obviously if you're listening to music or hearing impaired the question is somewhat irrelevant)

springy many councils are offering bike safety courses for free, might be an option to improve your confidence. You should not cycle on the pavement.

Teddy I doubt many competent cyclists want to share the pavement with pedestrians- too slow!

And Toads what's wrong with earphones while walking/running??

mushypeas I ring my bell on shared use paths. Then I usually shout because the buggers don't take any notice! That is if there is a marked area for bikes. If it is fully shared I give way to pedestrians.

I think if we give the pavement it's other name footpath, that should give us a clue as to whether cyclists should be on it.

If you are not confident to cycle on the roads, don't cycle.

YANBU OP, in fact, he would have got a rather more colourful shout from me I'm afraid

(I have to say, as a fellow runner, that when running alone you shouldn't have your hearing impaired by your music even though I do it all the time I thought I should point that out!)

It's just a bit weird - I believe some off-road paths have signs up saying cyclists should use their bells when approaching walkers so they won't jump out of their skins as you cycle past, but I've found that dinging at people scares them just as much! And then sometimes they jump to one side, straight in front of where you were trying to pass them, somewhat defeating the object... I've discussed it with friends before and they all say they hate cyclists ringing bells at them - maybe they just mean in an on-pavement, get out the way fashion, but they now interpret all bell-use in a negative way.

I'm a cyclist and hate other adults cycling on the path. I know someone who routinely pushes teenagers over if they cut her up on the pavement and I don't blame her. Not brave enough to try it myself.
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She's pushing 90s survied the blitz, and numerous risky crossings of the north sea in wartime so has no qualms about roughing up a hoodie.

I live in a university town and so go past lots of cyclists, students, at night, and they are often in dark clothes and are hard to see. I hate hate hate those weedly little lights that only work if you pedal, they emit a tiny light which flashes weakly on and off. I would personally like bikes ridden on public roads to have to have proper lights, at a set standard of brightness, as with car headlights. The amount of times I have barely seen a cyclist, especially on the edges of town with few streetlights, it makes me really stressed and that's without the students who have no lights at all and have an elastic sense of dusk. I plead with cyclists to get proper bright lights that really show to car users in the dark.

That said some runners are nearly as bad, won't bloody slow down or alter their course if the pavements are busy, just plough through all and sundry like a juggernaught. Not that I'm suggesting you are one of these lucrative nazis op

I've already said YANBU, being a keen cyclist who cycles on the road, but do think that pavement cycling is a symptom of a wider problem.

As others have mentioned, roads are often quite intimidating for the amateur cyclist. Go to Germany or Holland, and you see pensioners cycling along with a dog in their basket to do their shopping. People expect to see cyclists on the ride and driver more safely. However, in the UK, it's people like me with the all-weather jackets and lycra you tend to see out on the road.

It's often the "people on bikes" rather than cyclists you see on the pavements, who feel unsafe on the roads.

The other place where I see a lot of cyclists on roads is in urban areas where the roads aren't designed for cyclists. You can be there at rush hour, and cyclists should have enough space to fly by the cars. But they can't because of parked cars, etc. So they get on the pavement to go down to the next traffic lights. Better design would mean we had more space for cyclists to carry on down the road past the cars.

In my town, most of the paths are shared use, and I still get told off for cycling when I'm on them and not on the road.

I do get concerned about people wearing earphones totally unaware of what's going on around them.

Compos I admire your friend although it probably isn't a good plan for most people to do that!

DH once pushed a cyclist to prevent the man running over then 2yo DS, who was walking on the pavement. The guy got really angry but DH was angrier. It is terrible to think what harm could have come to his little body by the weight of an adult man plus bike smashing into him at 15 mph.

The guy didn't come off the bike, btw, just wobbled a bit.

Bennifer I agree - I am not confident enough to cycle on the road in this country, so only use dedicated cycle trails for leisure. In Holland however we tend to rent bikes and use them as utility transport. Everywhere is smooth and flat, there are cycle paths so you don't go near pedestrians and cars are considerate and give way to you.

Just to make it clear to anyone here who thinks it's okay to cycle on the pavement- if you ever meet me in RL walking on a pedestrian-only footpath, I will never get out of your way.
AND I will allow my DS (9) to run, jump, skip, zigzag or whatever he feels like doing in front of you, knowing that you are waiting for him to move out of your way.
Just to annoy you even more, I will probably tell him loudly, "It's okay, DS. We pedestrians have the right of way and the cyclists are breaking the law by even being on the pavement, so you go ahead and do just what you like, and they will have to go on the roads or wait for us."
Go ahead and flame me for being 'entitled'. It won't make any difference to me, because I know I have the right of way!

Composhat, your old lady friend who pushes cyclists over is a heroine!

Frontpaw: a pedestrian hit by a CAR needs a helmet just as much as a cyclist.
I said lights were pointless during the DAY.
High vis: see point above re pedestrians- it would help them just as much as cyclists.
You are being deliberately obtuse.

And CelticPromise: if you are walking and wearing headphones, its a bit much to complain that you can't hear!

LimeLeafLizard

Exactly, if the roads were safer for cyclists, people wouldn't feel the need to go on the pavement. Although I agree with the OP, people attacking pavement cyclists are attacking the symptom rather than the true cause

I just went onto a cycling forum I frequent, and here's a story about a cyclist who was bullied onto the pavement by an impatient cyclist

forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=62703