To have cycled into a cat

[Rhododendron]

Background: I'm new to cycling and not very good at it yet.

I was cycling along, fairly slowly, when a cat ran into the road ahead of me. Since it would be so much more manoeuvrable than me, I carried on, assuming it would avoid me. But it ran straight under my front wheel!

I don't think it was (hope not, anyway!) particularly hurt since it carried on running and disappeared through a gate. (I stopped.)

Was I BU? Should I have tried to avoid it?

Bit confused since I thought cats were rather more sensible than that? DH (experienced cyclist) says he's never needed to avoid a cat.

Do not give up.

Go slow to give yourself time to react to traffic.

Consider a course maybe if you are really unsure of yourself.

Do not swerve or throw yourself off the bike when there is an obstacle. This will throw you into the path of traffic.

Slow down/use your bell/shout/stop.

And fit your bike with a water pistol to clear your path of recalcitrant felines.

Dammitsue - what a horrible attitude!

Coruskate - it sounds like the OP had enough time to use her brakes. She said she saw the cat and then just carried on cycling assuming it would get out of her way! It's not like doing an emergency stop in a car, it should be perfectly safe to brake and stop at the side of the road when cycling. If the OP can't manage to do this then she is not safe to be on the road.

6cats

Yes, in my previous post on here, I suggest a tricycle would probably be more suitable for her as next time she may actually kill someone, that is if she hasn't actually killed the cat.

OP is extremely unreasonable I agree.

She hit a cat not an unpredictable situation.

She is entitled as she expected the cat to just get out the way for her and when it didn't she tried to run it over. Entitled and dangerous.

I don't think it was (hope not, anyway!) particularly hurt since it carried on running and disappeared through a gate. (I stopped.)

So, you can stop after cycling over a cat but not before it

...You should have saved this post for tomorrow

Oh! A cat.... never mind. Just make sure it doesn't dent your confidence, OP. Nor any of the more angry responses here. Yes, obviously the OPs cycling confidence trumps possible pain and suffering of an animal. Never mind eh, it's just a cat, worse things happen at sea...

I can feel my accelerator foot getting much heavier in light of 6cats raving post!

No, I won't brake for possibly feral vermin on the off chance its a treasured pet. Should I brake for pigeons in case one is grandpa Johns racing pigeon and he'd be heartbroken!?

If the cat is precious, keep in safe!!

and injury to the cat is irrelevant Really? Not to most people with an ounce of empathy.

Kelly... get a grip.

I didn't say, or even hint that my opinion was, 'never mind, it's just a cat'. That is you, reading something into my post that is simply not there.

Would you rather she wobbled round the cat and under a passing lorry, into a pram/young child or simply fell off and injured herself?

As has been pointed out the law requires road users to protect humans before cats.

OP is learning to cycle, is not proficient yet and made a poor decision. She will learn from it.

Showering her, and other who want to reassure her she isn't the most horrific bitch in Christendom, with such vitriol is absolutely ridiculous.

A cat in the road is the fault of the government who built the the road and let dangerous cyclists loose etc etc.

I think by removing her we are mostly likely saving a life, hers or otherwise.

Could have been a child - they are far more unpredictable. Just like when you drive, you ride to the surrounding conditions (experienced cyclist here who commutes 30 miles each day all year round).

You'd have been in trouble had it been a dog - probably a visit to A&E.

Just wondered why OP can't ride a bike yet?

Corus - she says she was cycling slowly. She managed to stop after she had run the poor animal over. There are some real animal haters on this post - it's not the cats fault it's owners let it out!

Where I live we have ponies and cows that roam free on the roads - are they fair game too? We even have signs up warning that there are toads crossing. I bet some of you lot would hold no truck with that either - there'd be squashed toads everywhere!

I agree with corus Kate and FWIW; I would much rather a cyclist (or motorist) run over a cat than swerve to avoid it / brake very suddenly and cause an accident which involves people being injured.

Why? I know lots of adults who never learned.

They didn't have a bike as a kid, lived somewhere considered too dangerous, no access to cycling proficiency, had a childhood illness. But mainly never had a bike before.

Nomama

Blatant curiosity.

Some people's cat though are like their children...

shallweshop... have a heart. Cycling into a cow or a horse would be a very different scale of stupidity!

And sadly, where I live, avoiding the toads is an impossibility when they are migrating across the main road. We try, but it is not always possible to avoid the poor things.

I am not sure that not managing to avoid a cat, or not bewailing the fate of the cat, makes any of us animal haters.

When i have encountered cats i either go around them or give enough distance between me and the cat so we do not collide. (even if i was new to cycling i would never ride straight at a cat)