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?

Am not currently a regular cyclist daffs, but did commute daily by bike for a few years, and some of that commute was on a 60 limit single carriageway. I do understand that some roads feel unsafe, but using the pavement should really be a last resort. Perhaps I am thinking locally, but there aren't that many places without an alternative option away from a DC for example.

Springy why can't you get off the bike and walk/ push it if you have no option just for those sections. Just because 'boo hop the roads are dangerous' doesn't mean you have to make the paths dangerous too

Don't think it's covered by the 'not fit for purpose' argument either if it actually breaks its skeletal structure.

Apparently illness and broken bones are classed as wear and tear and not covered by the warranty either!

(so not use dreaming of ways to 'break' your product)

Well I absolutely did not mean to post that here! Lol. Sorry... On the cava

Big problem in central London.

I was hit from behind at high speed on a pavement, at a bloody bus stop by a cyclist who didn't fancy waiting for all the pesky buses getting out of his way. Had to have neck and knee x-rays, physio on my neck and still have the bloody scar on my knee. I had injuries to the back of my hand because it was so fast I had no time to put my hands out.

He was stopped by the police and charged with careless cycling, but failed to appear at court. He definitely gives cyclists a bad name.

Wanker.

Have seen something similar Gincognito, where to avoid a queue a guy doing about 15mph just swerved onto the pavement. The twat didn't change speed at all.

Unfortunately there was a concealed entrance to a care home about 5m ahead and an elderly chap walked out. Twat had to do an emergency stop and still ended up endoing and having to hold on to the other guy to prevent a crash. I saw him apologizing but I almost pulled over and raged at him.

The level of anger directed at cyclists seems disproportionate.
Do posters feel the same way when they see drivers closely overtaking cyclists or driving whilst on their mobile phones?

Two wrongs do not make a right, but the capacity to injure & kill is far greater in a car than on a bike.

Yes I do madamouse. But That wasn't question op asked .

Springy - I cycle to/from work every day, have done for years. Our local high street is very narrow and steep, which I find too much to tackle without wobbling when DS is on the back on the way to nursery in the morning, so I go round 3 sides of a square on the back streets (after work I can cycle up the hill no problem without DS on the back :) ). And this is why I get so pissed off on the mornings when I'm running and walk to nursery with DS - the pavements are too narrow too, but still filled with adults on bikes - if I can find a route on the backstreets, so could they. Though I totally agree with those who've pointed out that the odd fit 20 year old on a mountain bike on the pavement isn't anywhere near as dangerous as the white van that mounted the pavement on a corner, missing DS by inches :(

I do think a lot of adult would benefit enormously from cycle training, especially learning to cycle assertively (1m out from the kerb at all times, overtake stationary traffic on the outside as if you were on a motorbike, that sort of thing). And never, ever, cycle up the inside of a bus/lorry in the run up to a junction (that's what makes London so incredibly dangerous for cyclists - junctions bordered by railings, where if a lorry pulls up next to you, you can't escape). Having said that, though I never jump lights, I will admit to going over the white line a bit at junctions if that puts me in front of the queue of traffic where I can be seen clearly.

I have seen plenty of motorists drive their cars on the pavement I have seen plenty of pedestrians walking on the road dodging motor cars. I have had more than one incident of pedestrians walking out onto the road without looking and straight in front of me cycling on the road - one man told me I should be more careful cycling as I nearly hit him when he step of the pavement into the road without looking..? I was careful I didn't hit him, I used my brakes but got to blinking close for comfort - yet he tried to blame the cyclist for his own actions

Cyclists don't want to be tarred with the same brush that people riding bikes badly get them, without lights at night and creating havoc on the roads and pavements.

But then motorists complain about serious cyclists to - they wizz around in there lycra causing hold ups on the road when they are out on the Sunday morning ride.

Motorists and pedestraisn are not all nutters but there are thousands that are dangerous to themselves and others, most though will not have ridden a bike in years but they will have done things like jump a red light or talked on a mobile phone whilst driving without a hands free set so these actions become acceptable to them, as well everyone does it. Not all are like this but some and that is why cyclists get this disproportional hate as they can't relate to being on a bike and doing something wrong

Thing is cycling is quicker than walking and cheaper than motoring, it is an ideal mode of transport and sometimes I wonder if that is part of the problem

I am a regular cyclist and no...YANBU of course not! I NEVER go on the pavement. If there really is no room (rare) then GET OFF AND PUSH.

Stupid people ride on pavements.

I also think you should pass a test before being allowed in public on a bike. ESPECIALLY if you are riding with children in tow.

Curryspice maybe we should follow the dutch system and have better infrastructure for cyclists then. As I've said, attacking the pavement cyclists is largely attacking the symptoms rather than the real problem

Ha to the Dutch system. I live in Holland - yes the setup is fantatstic but that does not stop some people being tossers - running lights, not stopping at pedestrian crossings, using the pavement (not allowed here at all). My front door opens onto the path and twice in the past month my toddler has just missed being hit by the twat that lives up the road - he goes up on the path to his house from our corner. When I'm on my own bike with my daughter some other cyclists whizz past and have no problem to cut you off. The second they hear my accent when I object (in Dutch) you get a load of abuse back.

Some people are just dickheads, no amount of cycling paths will help.

Yanbu. So dangerous. Get off and push where the road is too dangerous. Roads are dangerous places for cyclists, but that is NO excuse for cyclists making footpaths dangerous for pedestrians.

I am regularly terrified by cyclists flying down the footpath near my house - Dc1 is going to have to start walking next to the buggy soon as dc3 is due and I am really scared about her getting hit. I have never seen one of these considerate cyclists who slows down on footpath or actually dismounts. They are without exception speeding and totally unconcerned about safety of pedestrians.

As for anyone who has mentioned buggys getting in the way on pavements - are you having a laugh? It is the SPEED of the cyclist which causes the problem. And those who say its safer for the cyclist on the pavement - yes indeed, but not for the little kids, old people, everyone else who is walking there. But I suppose as long as you selfish fucker are safer then its ok to put other people at risk?

@benneifer attacking the pavement cyclists is absolutely attacking the problem - the problem for the legitimate users of the pavement. It's not our problem that you don't have many cycle lanes, it's your problem. It's no excuse for breaking the law or for endangering pedestrians. If you don't like the law, campaign to change it (you will get nowhere) but don't expect pedestrians to support you.

At least in the Dutch system, there's no excuse to be on the pavement because of proper facilities, and cycling rates are much higher.

As others have pointed out, the danger of colliding with a cyclist is much lower than that of colliding with a car

Metabilis, what a blinkered view - it's entirely "our" problem. It's the less confident cyclists that you see on the pavements, rather than the keen cyclists like me

And BTW, as a member of CTC, we do campaign - not to a change in the law to allow cyclists on the pavement (which is not what most cyclists want) but for solutions to the real problem - better cycling facilities and better driver education

@Bennifer you are the one with the blinkered - and deluded - view. It is completely unacceptable for cyclists to ride on the pavement. That is the bottom line. It's illegal, and it threatens the safety of legitimate pavement users (who do not include cyclists). Like I said, if you don't like the law feel free to campaign to change it. While it stands, riding on the pavement is illegal and anyone who condones it is not only unreasonable but, as the poster above said, a selfish fucker.

Where I live in Sarf London, the pavement cyclists tend to be teen or twentysomething hoodie type males, also often seen cycling up the wrong side of the road with no bike lights. I agree that it's ill-mannered and pretty unnerving for pedestrians but am not sure that better access to cycling proficiency courses would make much difference to that particular group.

springy you never have 'no choice' but to ride on the pavement. If you feel that way, get off and push.

madamouse yes mobile using drivers also piss me off, and I have been known to shout at them.

Springydaffs I am a cyclist and though I don't commute by bike at the moment, I have done so in London for years - ON THE ROAD.

Yes it can be dangerous and yes it can take your breath away - but guess what, I actually have a choice about it.

The reason I stopped cycling to work after 10 years, was a dramatic increase in close call accidents on the road, where I was constantly endangered by OTHER CYCLISTS!! There are so many who are reckless, thoughtless, inconsiderate and frankly in a world of their own, oblivious to other road users. IME they are so much more about ME ME ME than even buses and black cabs, and this is often at the expense of other cyclists. There is no cycling comaradarie these days - it seems to very much be each for their own.

Which is possibly why so many cyclist feel perfectly entitled to cycle on the footpath feeling justified that it is too dangerous for them on the road, without giving proper thought to the danger THEIR cycling on the pavement creates for pedestrians and especially the more vulnerable - babies, small children, elderly and unwell.

I loved cycling to work, and it saddens me that in the end it was other cyclists who ran me off the road, not the buses, taxis or cars. But you know what, I had a CHOICE, as do you. And you are CHOOSING to cycle on pavements and that is totally rubbish behaviour.

If you can't cycle properly where cycling is permitted, park the bike up and walk.

How is it deluded to think that better cycle lanes would reduce pavement cycling? I think you're entirely missing the point I'm making. Pavement cycling is illegal (it's not inherently dangerous, but it is wrong) and I don't do it, and I have no desire to change the law (you're definitely missing the point there).

What I'm saying is that better transport policy affects all of us, not just those individuals who use a particular mode of transport.

I understand that sometimes it's dangerous to cycle on the road. Solution? Get off and walk your freakin bike!