To think that a cycle track is just that...

[MrsWinnibago]

In our town there's part of a network of cycle tracks...it's miles long and the section that I use is sort of rural...it leaves the suburbs where I live and enters the countryside....my DC go to school in a village 2 miles down the track so we cycle there about 6 months a year rather than use car or bus.

Anyway...I ride a bike with a tagalong with my 5 year old on it and my 9 year old has her own bike. We all have hi vis vests and helmets and bells.

There are other cyclists...quite a few serious types who whizz along and some elderly folk who go pretty slowly, enjoying the trees etc.

This year I've noticed tonnes of dog walkers are also using it....which in a way is fair enough as it's so nice down there and it IS broad enough for bikes and walkers.

However....many of them don't keep their wits about them and though I ring my bell, many don't control their dogs and they scamper almost under wheels which could be a disaster if my DD panicked...she's 9 but that's smallish to manage to avoid a big dog when on a bike.

Other walk amiably along directly towards me and the DC on the WRONG side.....so they're pretty much heading for me and the DC and expecting us to swerve out of their way...but there's an accepted direction thing going on like on a road....and I just don't know what to do....it's wrecking the ride completely!

I am so tense about dogs and people who don't seem to realise they're walking on the wrong side that I can't relax at all.

It's bonkers Owl. The road is busy, normal width and a cycle lane has been painted on from the kerb outwards.

The school run drivers all park at the kerb. Cyclists then have to pull round them into the middle of the road and dice with death when car door start opening.

DS2 pushes his bike more than riding it on the way to school.

The one we used turns out to be (just) wide enough to fit a 4x4 ambulance down when some muppet ignored the 'dogs on a short lead' notice and allowed the dog right across the path on a flexi lead, causing a 3 bike pile up. There are also some very inconsiderate men in Lycra that insist on cycling very fast when the path is chockablock with small children on bikes at the weekend. My DH has a bell with a polite 'ting' and an air horn to cover all eventualities. The path in question is clearly signposted as shared usage, with a line painted down the middle and keep left signs. It still takes a bit of consideration from all parties to make it work. As a pedestrian I would point out that you often can't hear a bike approaching so the polite 'ting' on a bell or warning greeting is appreciated. As a cyclist it helps if pedestrians are not strung out right across the path - you don't need to walk 4 abreast. Perhaps everyone should be forced to adopt both roles occasionally to develop a bit of respect for the other POV!

I don't get chance to hear bikes on the canal because they come up behind so fast. If an air horn was deployed I would be in the canal.

I walk along the canal with my dog. It is a designated pedestrian AND cycle path with signs stating so and a polite notice to cycle considerately.

In the morning it is a cyclist commuter route. It is lethal! Men in suits speeding along, no warning as they come barrelling up behind you, ringing their bell furiously at the last second so I have no time to command the dog to move over and then swear when thy nearly hit him. No consideration what so ever.

Bloody terrifying!

A friendly tinkle on the bell or a friendly "excuse me" followed by a "thank you" is all that is needed for cyclist / pedestrian harmony.

It's very annoying. I have this but with school kids from the local secondary school. And when you ring your bell or call out ahead to say "cycle track!" I get a mouthful of foul language from the girls. The boys just shuffle over but then fall in, when you've cycled past. Drives me nuts! I once knocked a girl as I slowly tried to weave my way through and she was most indignant

I once knocked a girl as I slowly tried to weave my way through and she was most indignant

Much the same as when a bad driver goes past a cyclist.

My thought exactly Behind. We had a place overlooking the canal in a city centre one holiday. I sat on the balcony and watched what you describe so many times. Poor pedestrians darting perilously close to the edge.

You misunderstand me, the pedestrian path is wider than the cycle path but "next to". There's just a white line to divide them (cycle path is red) on what was once a wide pavement. There's no need, whatsoever, for the kids to walk on the cycle path.

I do call out "Coming on your left!" and say thank you....some act like I've hit them on the back of the head with a mallet...all outraged staggering and open mouthed staring as if I'm a galloping horse and not a woman on a cronky bike with two kids!

We don't zoom....the tagalong is heavy and I can't go very fast....DD on her own bike is always behind me....I lead.

Sometimes there are a group of us and that's easier....to whoever said "Don't use it, use the road" that's just silly...the only road available is a motorway and why should I use a road when there's a cycle track!

I agree about the nutty dickheads in lycra whipping along at high speed though. Get to the velodrome I say!

The lycra makes me smile. Would joggers and a T shirt not be sufficient for a commute down the canal?

Sparkling I know they look like twits! But this track is miles long and I think some of them are cycling for twenty plus miles in one go.....but I do up to ten in one go sometimes and I wear M&S joggers and a New Look hoody! I must be better than them.

YY it's the office commute- not the Tour De France. A mud spattered lycra backside not a good luck to arrive at work..

*or even a good look.

Arses! I might put on all the gear one day...lycra, special shoes, goggles....weird hat....and then cycle like a snail on my little pink bike with DD on her tagalong...similarly garbed!

Who knows, maybe if you wear all the gear you will get lots of respect on the cycle path.

Generally pedestrians are pretty stupid and take no care of their surroundings.

Use a bell - a 'ting ting' in advance let's them hear you approach and sort the dog out etc. Slow down if there is a dog problem.

If there are a lot of runners with headphones (or people just really piss you off!) use an air horn type thing.

Ha ha yes I always think those people must be not very good at it to need all that stuff when I can just do it in jeggings, a dress and knee high boots.

IME the bike bell either gets completely ignored, or people scream in terror and jump out of the way and then glare at me as though I've tried to kill them. I always slow to walking pace before I even use the bell and basically prepare to stop in case they don't move out of the way, so this really isn't because I'm going too fast.

Pet hate is joggers with headphones in who jog right in the middle of towpaths, oblivious. No way round them, no way of alerting them, very slow to ride behind for too long.

"You are allowed to park on roads which have cycle lanes but where do you park? "

Not always allowed:

Cycle lanes. These are shown by road markings and signs. You MUST NOT drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a solid white line during its times of operation. Do not drive or park in a cycle lane marked by a broken white line unless it is unavoidable. You MUST NOT park in any cycle lane whilst waiting restrictions apply.
Law RTRA sects 5 & 8

Our cycle lane is a shared path with a line down the middle..signs on poles and little cycles painted on the cycle part of the path and still people just meander over onto the cycle path. Usually three abreast woman and children who seem quite put out when you ring your bell..

Each path is only 1.8mt wide but surely if there isnt enough space you walk behind or spill onto the grass verge NOT the cycle path. The worst ones are when pedestrians want to overtake other pedestrians and do so without looking. I would say at least once a week we have to slam on brakes as someone doe this

"Shared" paths are the most dangerous paths of all for all the good reasons mentioned. I ride a lot and just avoid them. Peds are indeed often a dithery lot!

There's some rule of thumb that urban planners work to for cyclist speed, something like 8mph max & 5 mph avg. Which is pants when many cyclists can easily do 15-20 mph.

If I was walking along a cycle path, I would walk on the right hand side, facing the oncoming traffic, just as I would on a road. If room, I would move further to the right if I saw a cyclist approaching me, just as I would do on a road, hopping up onto a grassy bank.

I would expect a cyclist to adjust their speed and pull out past me when there was no oncoming traffic.

OP - is that what you expect too, or do you think people should be walking in the same direction as the cyclists?

ps Why do so many cyclists not use bells anymore?

The last time I was on a shared cycle path I was on an adult council' run 'learn to ride' course.

There's no way I would have been able to nimbly and deftly dart between pedestrians.

The best I would have been able to do would be to deliberately fall off if I was about to run into a child

I'm still not the best.......

If anyone would like to know what cycle lanes I'm and when, so they can stay in, please don't hesitate to contact me.......

Yes, I used to live in Brighton, where there are clearly marked cycle lanes. I mean they are painted red, there are signs and painted road labels, and there are loads of cyclists. People are still idiots; dogs, kids on their fucking scooters, idiots looking at the pebbles. I used to shout at them- it was cathartic but useless.

Once someone shouted at ME- he was some wank-face type trying to show off to his missus. I stopped, turned around, and shouted that "it's a fucking cycle lane asshole". I think he was appropriately embarrassed....