to think the rules of the road apply on shared cycle/walkways?

[ClapHandsIfYouBelieveInFatties]

AIBU? I use a cycle path which is also shared by dog walkers and joggers etc...it's marked as shared so although many cyclists use it like a racetrack (idiots) it's meant for pedestrians too.

I use it to get my DC to school....so 4 times a day I am up and down it. It's 3 miles for me to ride...and 3 back.

Most people stick to their left hand side of the path...whatever direction they're going...this avoids collisions.

But there is ONE man who jogs every day and is always on HIS right!

This means that he's heading directly for me and I have DD on the back of my bike on a tagalong and DD1 on her own bike...we always have to swerve out of his way. He smiles benignly as if it's meant to be that way!

Other cyclists...men of a certain age with all the gear and no idea...they whizz up behind us and overtake without so much as a dingaliing or an "Excuse me!"

I am in bloody terror at how fast they go....what if DD went to the right when one is overtaking silently?

Oooh silent overtakers always scare the shit out of me! Could you just say one day to the jogger - everyone keeps to the left. He genuinely may not have realised.

its just a v bad concept
does the sign not indicate a 'side'?

What does the sign that indicates it's 'shared' say?

On shared path near us someone has put up a sign saying 'runners keep left' so I'm guessing it's a problem there too.

If this happens every day, why not stop and tell him it would be safer if he kept to the left like everyone else?

There aren't any rules. They are constructed to cater to cyclists who are moving at a snail's pace, unfortunately. Under that scenario it shouldn't matter where anyone goes.

In reality, however.... Not so much.

On a road with no pavements you're meant to run/walk on the right so you can see on coming traffic, so maybe that's how he's thinking.

Just run the fucker over.

We have a seperated path with a definite line down the middle and picture of a cyclist and a picture of a pedestrian for the stupid...and still the three abreast encroach on the cycle path. I heard a silly cow mutter "I aint moving out the way" to her fellow walkers.

DS used to instinctively swerve if someone was in the way, and he is only a foot away from the road as it is. Somehow they dont like you slamming on your brakes behind them either

Sorry I am ranting

A friend told me a horrible warning story about a shared use path alongside a road - someone she knew was cycling along perfectly reasonably, about to overtake two women walking next to each other along the path and as she did one of them flung her arms out as she was talking - caught the cyclist and knocked her off into the road. She broke both her elbows. Makes me cringe to think about it!

I've seen people argue that whenever you overtake on a shared path you should use your bell or call out, but as a cyclist I've also had plenty of people tut at me or tell me directly that they "don't like being 'dinged at' by impatient cyclists" - so it seems to be a big old patch of grey area.

I use an off-road shared path every day and you get a mix of everyone from little kids who can't even reliably cycle in a straight line yet, dog walkers, packs of school kids, joggers, commuters and 99% of the time everyone gets by without causing injury or damage to each other - but some people definitely need to be more aware of the other users, and some definitely go too bloody fast.

Just wait until he moves out of your way!

mushypeas The walker did not know that you were there. You should have warned her in some way - a bell ring from 30 yards away or an Excuse Me, please!

Happy - that wasn't me, the broken elbow saga was a third-hand story.

But I must say I've overtaken plenty of walkers and joggers when I cycle to work on a shared path and don't ring my bell or talk to most of them. It's a very busy place at rush hour - walkers probably get overtaken by a bike every ten seconds or so, and they'd soon get thoroughly fed up if people shouted out "on your right!" every time they passed!

Stop obviously so you don't hit him, but don't move to the other side. Just stay still on the left so he has to move over. Say loudly as he passes "Keep left please!".

I should shouldn't I? It's so annoying! If there was one of the mad fast cyclists behind me and I swerved out of the running man/s way, I could get knocked off.

The dog walkers are 99.9% very well mannered and when they see us coming, they call their dogs or make them sit.

There's one very old lady dog who is almost grey all over and she won't do as she's told but plods along in the centre of the path....she's determined she won't be put out by ANYONE ] but she's such an old lady I always stop for her till she's passed by...out of respect for my elders!