Saw a cyclist on the pavement today...

[CarcerDun]

...being reprimanded by a policeman. Most probably because its illegal.

AIBU to have smiled at the policeman as he walked past me afterwards?

There are many new mixed cycle/pedestrian pavements being set up. Here in sunny Tottenham they have just spent two years re-jigging the former one-way system (the famed Tottenham Gyratory). All the pavements have been widened and designated as mixed cycle/foot paths. There are little embedded signs in the pavers, and some posts with signs on showing bike+person. It's pretty clear, but is still surprising a lot of pedestrians till they get used to it. The pavements up the High Rd are about twenty feet wide, there's bags of room. They can't run a cycle path down the outside edge as it has to weave past bus stops.

In my opinion as a cyclist who is too frightened to cycle on the road, this is a brilliant idea and is encouraging me to get out on the bike. Of course it only goes a mile or so then tips you into the bus lane, but I will look for back roads at that point.

Cycles with pedestrians are a much safer mix than cyclists with cars, where there is room. Let alone HGVs. Of course there will be the odd wanker who will not drop speed, but mostly I see them taking to the road anyway as it's faster.

It is still an offence to cycle on the pavement where it's not designated as mixed, there's a £30 fixed penalty.
.

I know that I would rather have a 12 yr old on a mix with pedestrians than a mix with cars, lorries, buses etc!

In few hours I will get drop ds at the village childminder then have to cycle 2 miles to the next village to get the train to work. I don't have time to walk, and we only have one car which dh needs tomorrow so I have to cycle.

The only route is along a non-dual trunk road with quite a lot of Lorries. For the national speed limit stretch, where no sane parent will be letting their child wander freely on the pavement you bet I'll be cycling on the pavement.

If I see a pedestrian (happens once every week or two) then I'll stop or get on the road or otherwise pass them carefully and safely.

This is not urban pavement riding whilst weaving around pedestrians. Quite frankly as a cyclist I felt safer in central London.

That is exactly the scenario I mean, Mines and I could bet that you won't have children darting out in front of you, deaf people or anything else mentioned! All of which are quite likely on my canal towpath and cyclists manage to negotiate it all quite easily. This is why I can't see the logic of riding along the busy towpath ( which is a county cycle path) and then keeping off a deserted pavement.

They do not watch out! You approach from behind and they are totally oblivious!

I completely agree, though just as with cyclists I wouldn't say they're all thoughtless - that's why I wrote "they can reasonably be expected to watch out " rather than they do .

I realise the Highway Code says pedestrians should be given priority (as the most vulnerable of the lot) but to my mind anyone who thoughtlessly uses an area designated for someone else creates unnecessary risk, whether that's a pedestrian wandering onto a road or cycle lane without looking, a careless driver endangering others or a cyclist using pavements

This particular thread title involved cyclists, but sadly once again we see the same pattern: it's never the person posting (no matter how they get about) who carries any responsibility - it's always somebody else

DS knocked off his bike by car last week. They didnt bother to stop.
Trip to A and E as he was injured but it could have been so much worse.

Nice to see yet another cyclist bashing thread here.
Not defending stupid behaviour but its noticeable we don't see much on mumsnet about other inconsiderate people- motorists for example who cause death and injury on a far greater scale?

Pavement cyclists are an absolute menace here in our town centre, flying full pelt down busy pavements ...

But surely they can't be, MiaowsTheCat ?? After all we're told that they're "only magically seen by bitter, anti-cycling MNers ... It's almost as if they are exaggerating. Or just making stuff up"

As I've said so often, you get maniacs in every walk of life - it's just unfortunate that some cyclists seem to fell this can never apply to them

its noticeable we don't see much on mumsnet about other inconsiderate people- motorists for example

www.mumsnet.com/.../a2183752--To-hate-the-phrase-otherwise-law-abiding -motorists

www.mumsnet.com/.../a2009549-People-parking-on-the-pavement

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a866052-To-be-sick-of-motorists-who-don-39-t-stop

www.mumsnet.com/.../a1620332-AIBU-to-expect-a-motorist-to-stop-after-he -has-taken-my-wing-mirror-off

www.mumsnet.com/.../a1485763--to-challenge-road-users-who-drive-badly

www.mumsnet.com/.../a1830622-To-think-that-drivers-who-dont-bother- indicating-should-have-to-retake-their-test

I once had stones thrown at me by a group of teenagers while cycling on the road through a local town. A police car was driving in the opposite direction at the same time. I thought about it and cycled back, and in what must have been a very remote likelihood, the police car had stopped and one police officer was giving the stone throwers a ticking off.

I didn't think to make it into a thread on mumsnet though - its not that interesting, and hardly representative of teenagers, police officers, cyclists, etc.. And if you dare mention the word "cyclist" to those who live on the internet (as opposed to actually doing things), you get loads of mindless anti comments, using words like "they" and "lycra louts".

I wasn't even wearing lycra!

"Nice to see yet another cyclist bashing thread here.
Not defending stupid behaviour"

But by calling the thread a cyclist bashing thread you are defending stupid behaviour.

TheChandler, goodness knows how you manage to hold down a job with that kind of memory recall. I already explained on the thread that my last job involved a minimum of 8 miles a day walking as I had to commute to London and did a lot of walking around Wesminster as part of my job and lots of walking to and from train stations. And yes you could say I had to be very presentable, seen as I worked for the Cabinet Office- have you heard of it?

Goldenbear I think you're being rude to Chandler. Its not nice.

I look in lycra now thanks to cycling that is.

I passed a couple of pedestrians today. All blissfully oblivious to me as it goes. Neither of them flinched or jumped out of my way. Everyone was happy.

Until I started to cycle on the road. I got evils from a silly bint because she couldn't overtake me as I couldn't move any further over to the left as there were cars parked. So sadly, for her, she had to wait till I got clear of the cars to let her pass.

openly saying they will continue to break the law...check

Yes I'm not going to lie. I will continue to cycle on pavements where it is sometimes a damn sight safer to do so. I happen to value my life a hell of a lot more than the opinion of some pedestrians who don't like me.

I'm confident I have never startled or intimated anyone I've come across whilst I've cycled on the pavements but I have been both when I'm on the road. It's not nice but you wouldn't know if it hasn't happened to you.

Give it a go. Does wonders for your thighs

I look good in lycra I meant.

I was responding to her/his equally snide question-

'Can I ask you whether you have ever had such a thing as a job, in a city, where you are expected to be smart and maintain a certain image?'

Well, that was't nice either.

Muffinino not getting off because I don't cycle at a great speed when I am on the pavement. I give any pedestrians I do encounter a wide berth. Believe it or not I don't want to injure anyone.

I do believe that you don't want to injure anyone, of course, but IME the pavements I'm talking about (can only speak from personal experience) are not wide enough for cyclists to give a wide berth. Also IME the cyclists I have met are not all going slowly and I imagine if you're infirm or disabled in any way it must be intimidating (not saying you personally do this, mind). Obviously if you go slow and give wide berth that's great, but it still doesn't excuse it if there are people on the path, really. I'm just a bit at how entitled yes, I went there some cyclists on this thread are.

I don't think I have ever come across any cyclists bombing down the pavement at speed with no thought for pedestrians. Apart from once, but they were children.

I have, and have been hit by them. Maybe it's localised to Cardiff but I find pretty much every day, both to and from work, some knobber on a bike thinks they have right of way on the pavement.

Yes, what would be the point? It's EMPTY. No pedestrians at risk and safer than a road with lunatic drivers who are far more dangerous than cyclists.

Maybe you're lucky to find many empty pavements but that is not what happens around here. If there are pedestrians on the pavement, then you should get off and walk. If there's nobody walking on the pavement then yes, it doesn't really matter.

Muffin, there's nothing lucky about a pavement not near buildings, purely lot and with lots of Lorries passing being empty.

There are two types of pavement cycling being discussed. Hurling down pavements on them in built up areas with pedestrians around is indefensible. That doesn't mean that all pavement cycling is done in those sorts of areas.

Muffin I don't feel lucky to find a pavement to cycle on. It just happens that there aren't many pedestrians on it and if it was busy I WOULD get off and push as it would be easier. I once saw a cyclist trying to weave their way through loads of people on a pavement in the city centre and thought why the hell doesn't he get off and bloody push! The fool!!

It just bugs me when I am lumped in with the idiot cyclists when I am not one.