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Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not get why anyone would want to cycle on roads?

98 replies

superstarheartbreaker · 24/04/2014 23:14

It's so dangerous. I find it even weirder when people take their kids on bikes on the road.
Tbh I don't really get the cycling thing full stop. Ok I know it's great exercise better for the environment etc which I am all for but I have been mountain biking and it is a pita when you get to a style and have to lug the whole damn thing over it.
I feel like I am missing out though when I see families go off cycling together. I'm thinking maybe I should get a bike and go on a path with dd as she loves it. As I have no garage I have no idea where to store the thing! Am I missing out? Really?!

OP posts:

Lonecatwithkitten · 24/04/2014 23:16

Many people cycle on roads to get to work.

CaptChaos · 24/04/2014 23:18

Cycling on footpaths, unless they are signposted as being for cycles as well is a bit of a no-no legally. It might explain the cycling on roads thing?

Original poster

superstarheartbreaker · 24/04/2014 23:18

Apart from those who do it for sport I guess. I guess it's also a lot cheaper than driving.

OP posts:

Original poster

superstarheartbreaker · 24/04/2014 23:19

Cycle paths are fine though but it does make me cringe when I drive past someone on a rickety bike that wobbles all over the place.

OP posts:

EthelredOnAGoodDay · 24/04/2014 23:20

You want to live here in York! You'd be permanently bemused!
I think the theory goes that the more people cycle on road the more drivers get used to them and show more consideration. It seems to work here.

hmc · 24/04/2014 23:20

Cycling is enjoyable (at least it would be if it wasn't for the motorists)

craftysewer · 24/04/2014 23:23

I tried cycling, but kept falling off so gave it up as a bad job. Just after I learnt to drive I used to collect my dad from work. Sounds reasonable enough until you realise this was a shipbuilding town and 13,500 people worked at this shipyard, the vast majority of them cycled! I used to freak out. I give cyclists a wide berth to this day.

morethanpotatoprints · 24/04/2014 23:26

is it not illegal let alone dangerous for cyclists to ride on the pavement.
I know cycle lanes are fine, but the amount of times a cyclist just misses you on pavement and they rarely let you know they are there.
They should be on the road.

wurlycurly · 24/04/2014 23:29

I love cycling. For me it isn't about money, or the environment, it is about joy. I get the same joy from a convertible. It's not that dangerous. Top down every day

MurkyMinotaur · 24/04/2014 23:34

Some people cycle to go to work because they haven't got enough money to run a car.

YoureBeingASillyBilly · 24/04/2014 23:36

Cycling on the roads here (NI) would terrify me. I can confidently say i will never do it. However if we were more cycle friendly and the roads were set up for it then i can see the advantages to it.

inabeautifulplace · 24/04/2014 23:56

It isn't inherently dangerous though. That's a big misconception. It is more dangerous than driving.

It's good exercise which generates the endorphins to make you feel better, whilst also serving a practical purpose.

PansBigChainring · 24/04/2014 23:58

YABU. And a bit dim.

jacks365 · 24/04/2014 23:58

It's necessary to cycle on roads here to get to the wonderful cycle paths about 5 miles away.

Icimoi · 24/04/2014 23:59

I drive occasionally along a stretch of dual carriageway which has pavements beside it where cyclists are allowed to ride. Yet regularly they ride on the road instead. I know that the surface of the road will be better than the surface of pavements, but it still bemuses me because it's a busy stretch of road and cyclist regularly have to manoeuvre their way through traffic jams - they would travel much more quickly on the pavements.

YoureBeingASillyBilly · 25/04/2014 00:02

Why is OP dim?

Goldmandra · 25/04/2014 00:04

It isn't inherently dangerous though.

Ha ha. Tell that to the cyclist who came shooting round a very sharp blind bend on a country lane this morning on my side of the road and clearly not fully in control. He was mighty lucky that I always slow down to about 10mph because I've met a few cars doing this before. He missed the front of my car by mms and, by the look on his face, he needed clean shorts PDQ.

I hope it was worth it to beat his mates or his personal best, whichever it was.

hotfuzzra · 25/04/2014 00:08

I cycle a lot, always on roads. I easily average 20mph and sometimes hit 40mph going down two big hills between my work and home.
I would never ride on pavements at speeds like that. Dodging pedestrians, going up and down curbs; it's safer on the roads.
There are a few stretches which have cycling paths next to the road but going at 20mph on a rickety lumpy path with peds and dogs running around is mad!

Mitchy1nge · 25/04/2014 00:10

but it's so much fun and I'm mortally afraid of traffic but even I opt out of a bit of cycle path at times and go on the road so I can build up some proper speed (the path is punctuated by loads of junctions)

but only when I have a friend with me, in fact my bike lives at their house as am too scared to ride on the roads alone

it's better even than a horse in some ways because it never reacts to anything on the verge (but not so good at going uphill)

Pregnantberry · 25/04/2014 00:15

I am terrified of cycling on the roads, I would get myself killed! But I am not a regular cyclist.

I understand why they are banned from pavements though, they don't really count as pedestrian.

I hope the UK gets more cycle lanes/paths/whatever in future. The fact that there is no option other than to cycle on busy roads for a lot of people means that there isn't really a way for those who would be interested in cycling to learn and become confident, so they just can't do it.

It's sink or swim - except with swimming you don't usually have a lorry swimming after you ready to squash you!

TalkShowHost · 25/04/2014 00:16

I love cycling and can't explain how great it feels. Cycling on the road is mainly a bit of confidence. You'd soon get used to it

Mitchy1nge · 25/04/2014 00:20

off road IS more fun but that is how I cracked the fork of my heartbreakingly expensive mountain bike so was cheaper to get whole new bike and just be a bit more careful with it - ie, ride it on roads

NotHerAgain · 25/04/2014 00:47

The freedom!
For me the only way I can feel free in the city (so yeah mostly roads - not much of a choice there.) Not passive, not stuck in traffic, not dependent on public transport or parking spaces. Me and my legs the only factors that influence how long it takes me to get anywhere. The wind in my neck, the first rays of sunshine, even the fat drops of rain... feeling the seasons, feeling my body, feeling alive! Not stuck in an overheated metal box. The huge impact on my mental health; i make my own london - even when commuting, i don't have to suffer it! DIY all the way. And great legs too!
Now if only we could have a little fewer cars so my kids could also enjoy the simple freedom of cycling to school on their own...

subtleplansarehereagain · 25/04/2014 06:26

I cycle on the roads because if I cycle on the pavements I am intimidating to pedestrians.

I pay my "road tax" and am entitled to use the road just like any other vehicle.

Get trained, know the Highway Code, ride with confidence. No worries

subtleplansarehereagain · 25/04/2014 06:29

Also, if cyclists (and other non-car traffic) withdraw from the roads, we confirm the misguided belief of some motorists that the roads are provided just for them, and them alone.

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