To expect cyclists not to ride on the pavement and not expect pedestrians to move out of their way!

[ophelia275]

I am so sick of having to swerve the pushchair or move out of the way so that some idiot on a bicycle can avoid the traffic by cycling on the pavement and expect me to stand aside with my kids/pushchair/shopping so that they can ride past. Sometimes (when I am not with my kids) I stand firm and don't move out of their way so they have to get off or be patient and wait until I have walked past.

When I was quite heavily pregnant I was walking along and this guy on a bike came zooming up and shouted "move" and just pushed past me. Nob.

Grrr. Hate them!

I often wonder why drivers refer to cyclists 'holding them up' on the road. There are lots of things that slow drivers down - milk floats, dust carts, road sweepers, busses stopping, even other cars slowing to turn left or right. If you were late for work because you were slowed down by any of these road users, you wouldn't get angry at them, you would just accept that you had failed to allow enough time for the road conditions. So why do people get so angry at other lawful road users- namely cyclists? Particularly when every person making their journey by bike is one less car causing congestion on the road.

PomBear - if we were legally obliged to take out insurance and be registered then we would (well the majority would - a bit like drivers) but seriously do you really expect us to do more than is legally required?

And lots of cyclists do have insurance.

pan being what? I'm not inside your head and I don't know what 'that' I am. An arsehole, like Nelly's DP? Or some other slight? You do realise, by gleefully proclaiming every highway code law and moral nicety that you thumb your nose at, you're succeeding in making yourself sound like the most enormous fuckwad, don't you?

Well I have cycle insurance.

On the other hand, the driver who hit me on my bike didn't hang around to see the damage caused, so I have no idea whether they were insured or not.

And the driver who rear hit our car had no insurance mot or tax at all.

Yes, there are bad cyclists, as there are bad drivers and pedestrians.

Actually the highway code say "never ride more than two abreast, and ride in single file on narrow or busy roads and when riding round bends"

So on most modern busy roads that would be single file then!

saggar no, of course I don't expect you to do more than legally required and to be honest, the majority of cyclists I come across when out in my car are lovely, careful and considerate. It's the good old militant cyclists that give the majority a bad name, unfortunately. But I suppose that's the same with everything, isn't it?

Can I just point out that EVERY adult who works pays tax that goes to maintain the road whether or not you own a car.
A tax disc is payed for as a price of the engine you have so the more damaging to the environment the money you pay of course.
So actually by paying for your "Tax disc" you are NOT paying for the roads
you are paying to use your car in first place ... so you can't be claiming the road from other people lol
I do have a car by the way and am surprised that people who have passed a driving test do not know about what you pay for and about COz emissions
SHOCKING
Bikes should not be on the path as this is dangerous however people in cars can be horrible to cyclist (Seen this first hand) and can been seen on this thread by stupid comments such as " I have payed to be on the road" So in a way maybe it has become a last resort for the poor person on the bike just trying to make a cleaner world for us all :(

thistle - arrogance, plain and simple. when in denmark there are cyclists everywhere but there is a WHOLE different vibe coming from them, you don't get this attitude/'us & them' thing going on. feels like a battle here. the only thing i have a problem with re cyclists is the going over red lights, i don't have any other issues with them. when i drive i always take great care to give way to cyclists and make a specific point of looking for them ie when turning left. i show respect as i observe that it can't be easy riding a bike in london. going over a red light (which they all seem to in south london) fucks me off no end

Most days I bike, get a train (with bike), drive, and walk. Not all at the same time.

For mortality sake, the biking bit is the most hazardous. 99% of drivers are considerate (As they are legally obliged to be so) - trouble is, the 1% aren't. And those are the ones that will kill you. Not through hatred, just through being bad drivers.

And there IS plenty of room, but we do like to view transport as a competition for reasons largely of 'I am more important and powerful than you' sort of thing.

yes, bit - it does feel often us/them, because 'them' has the power to kill me IF either of us are sloppy, and nothing else.

Desparatley - I mean you sound 'desperate' in talking of handlebars and the like scratching cars. Fuckwad? Well, that's up to your interpretation. I see it as keeping safe in a very unsafe environment. Sorry if that doesn't agree.

a cyclist can kill/seriously hurt somone crossing a pedestrian crossing if going over a red light at speed, my dd & i have come close more than once to being hurt if not worse, scary stuff. aside from going over the red lights i sympathise

yes, I know of those circs and some bikists can be wankers, esp youngies. There is no excuse.

Well, I cycle on the pavement.

I do it when I'm cycling with 5 yo DC1. There is no other practical way to do it as nearly all our cycle lanes are on roads.

I have trained him to always give way to pedestrians.

There is no doubt that a small minority of cyclists are rude bastards - and yes, it is a small minority. The same goes for drivers. It's just people, innit?

As much as I agree that cyclists have as much right to be on the road as anyone else I'm not sure the law agrees judging by sentencing for cyclist deaths. I can understand some people choosing to cycle considerately on the pavement

www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/carlisle-death-crash-bus-driver-cleared-of-charges-1.967743?referrerPath=news

I am a cyclist and a driver. I live on a nice, wide, tree lined avenue and it absolutely does my crust in to see hoards illegally cycling on the pavement where DC1 (9) and his pals play out.

If I am prepared to cycle on the road with my DS2 (4) in a seat on the back, you fuckers can all cycle on the road where it is safer for everyone.

It is more dangerous to cycle on the path/pavement for cyclist and pedestrians.

Those of you who have had a stand off with the absolute tools cycling on the pavement: stay there shouting "I am not moving". It hurts more to come off a push bike. You have my sympathy.

Nologo - no, if you decide to ride on a road with your child, that's up to you. And you are massively wrong to say 'cycle on the road where it is safer for everyone'.

Please can cyclists or one particular cyclist not dice with death by undertaking an ambulance on blue lights and sirens with one hand on the handle bars and one hand over their ears.

YANBU

I had a QUAD BIKE coming at me and my mountain buggy this week

(and no i didnt move out of the way or intend to) (dont worry i wouldnt have let him run us over, but i did look him in the eye with "you dont expect me to make way for you do you way )

Maya, as much as I get really angry with cyclists on the path I'd be amazed if anyone was upset about you taking your 5yo on the path. Especially if you are teaching them to be safe and aware, surely any pedestrian would notice that.

The OP's point seemed to be about perfectly capable cyclists who ride on the path simply because it is easier or quicker, and who expect pedestrians to move out of the way. Those are the arseholes, IMO. Those are the ones that drive me loopy.

You know, having read bitofcheese's post about Denmark, I'm going to put forward my Theory of Britain.

I strongly suspect that we as a nation have a significant problem with handling conflict in a healthy way. I believe it stems from the old stiff upper lip/ passive aggressive tendency which we're famed for - negative feelings turn into pent-up aggression. Some conversations and situations I've been in over the years have made me realise that we (broadly speaking) have a sort of loutish/ 'hard' national characteristic in comparison with other nationalities which I know well. We rather suspiciously keep our distance from strangers, which sort of turns us into people worth keeping a distance from.

Of course this is based partly on generalisation, but I think there is at least a smattering of truth in it.

Cyclists: If you ride straight through a red light, when the opposite direction has a green arrow to turn right, you are taking a very big risk with your own life.

Bikes very rarely "hold up" other cars; yes, the car has to wait for a safe plavec to overtake them, but the car will then catch up the traffic and still have to wait at the next queue for the lights or junctions.

I was in Denmark last week, far more pavement cycling there than here, even when dedicated bike paths were right alongside.

Maya, there was supposed to be some sort of sad face in there to say that I am sorry if anyone has had a go at you, rather than just saying 'surely no one thinks badly!!' - damn that glass of wine for making me write poorly...

maya - have you been to DK? lovely place, really easy going and mellow