AIBU - cyclists should use the cycle lane on the huge pavement?

[Fizzielove]

AIBU to feel really annoyed when I see a cyclist on the road - when there is a special lane on the pavement (which was specially widened to provide a cycle lane with a white line and everything!)

I mean seriously - USE THE CYCLE LANE!! I get sooooo annoyed!! They hold up the traffic because everyone has to give them a wide birth.

AIBU to get annoyed and want to put the window down and shout at them "Use the f cycle lane - that's what it's there for!!!"

life

Gosh, YABU. Whenever I see a cyclist on the pavement I want to say...um, use the road?

4 x 4s are for off-roading and not for motorways at all. Hence WHY they are 4 x 4s. When was the last time you needed 4 x 4 features on a motorway?

They are also not for the school run. 4 x 4s hit more pedestrians than normal cars because of their design limiting vision.

My point being, that just because something is there and designed for a particular purpose does not necessarily mean its should only be used in that way.

We have a road like this, fast traffic but not wide enough to overtake cyclists safely so traffic is slowed right down by bikes.

The cycle path is wide and there are never pedestrians on it (leads to an industrial estate too far to walk to really). It is safe and nice to cycle on (I have done it myself) and easy to exit to the roundabout at each end safely.

My friend cycles up there to work every day and is at a loss as to why anyone wouldn't choose the path. Yet people cycle on the road every day. It really is dangerous and I can only put it down to machismo - it is invariably men in Lycra who persist in cycling on the road. Men and women in work clothes are happy to take the path. Even if you're trying to ride at speed the path is well wide enough to overtake on!

RedToothBrush DoughDoe
Context - I am a farmer, live rurally and do use the full capabilities of my 4X4 every single day.
I refuse to buy a smart car or prius for the odd occasion I need to pop into the local town or journey to London to see my Dsis just to appease you.
Last time I checked, 4xs were perfectly legal on all the roads in the UK - however I would not be within the law to try and drive down a cycle lane.

Yes, DoughDoe I said entitled twats. Don't act all indignant - there are lots of them (car drivers too - not just cyclists).
My point being there seem to be a growing number of entitled twat cyclists at the moment, no doubt emboldened by the fact that their chosen mode of transport has somehow become seen as 'worthy' or 'politically correct' and they think they have some kind of moral high ground.

My FIL was a farmer ( now retired) and is v rude about 4 x 4s. He drove a Vauxhall Viva. And a tractor of course. Mind you, they can be a pain too....

maninawomansworld

Last time I checked, bicycles were perfectly legal on all the roads in the UK - however I would not be within the law to try and cycle on the pavement.

In London the cycle lanes are often marked with special blue paint that becomes treacherously slippery in heavy rain or light snow (both of which I will happily cycle in).

Quite Gertrude, Quite.

Nuff said really. Apart from the fact that bike haters are pretty dumb with their logic and reasoning and can't see past their own anger.

I recommend whale music and fairy lights for them.

Gertrudetrudy

I absolutely agree with you.
As a keen cyclist I use the roads regularly on my bike but I do believe that where cycle lanes exist that it should be compulsory for cyclists to use them unless there is a good reason not to (obstruction / roadworks / damaged surface etc.)

Ahhh but therein lies the problem maninawomansworld the majority of bicycle lanes are very poorly maintained or the layout is so bad that we cannot use them. So even if we were to follow your logic cyclists wouldn't use the lanes anyway!
Drivers don't realise the state of the lanes, it's only when you are actually trying to use them that you see how poor they are.

As I've said previously I will happily use a cycle lane when it's in a good state of repair (which is rare) but will not use it when there is glass or bad potholes - punctures, late for work.

It's up to the council - can we not get angry with them and be nice to each other? I think we all just need to get along and all road users be in less of a rush.

Redtoothbrush hah, I'm going to stick on the whale music myself

Agree with you again - cycle lanes should be designed properly (you know, with actual cyclists having input instead of town planners), maintained well and be clear of obstructions.
Happily not having a 9-5 job I can usually choose when I travel into towns or cities and avoid the most congested times of day so never really have a problem for me (although I pity those who do have to negotiate rush hour).

My annoyance is directed at the cyclists who behave like prats and annoy motorists who then in turn cut me up when I'm on my bike.

Yabvu!

Cycle lanes are there as an option not a mandate! Unfortunately they usually have a poor surface and quite often have glass etc making them very unsafe to cycle on especially on a road bike.

If I have to slow down to pedestrian pace to use a cycle path, I may as well just walk to work.

I can get to work at 15-20mph on my bike, all the roads are 30 limit, so its not that much slower. It takes me 3 minutes in the car in no traffic, between 4 and 5 on a bike on the road, 10+ on the cycle (shared use) path because of the number of roads it crosses. half an hour to walk, same reason. Please explain why I should not use the road.

Me and my DP left my work at the same time, granted he had to get in his car and put seatbelt on etc, but he was just getting out on the drive as I got home. If you are behind me for my entire journey home you will only be the time it takes to park your car later than you would be if i wasnt there. Don't get so irate about it.

Op, may I suggest that you cycle using the fantastic wonderful cycle path for at least 2 weeks, then maybe you can have a view on wether the cyclists Abu for not using it.

YANBU! I'm sorry, but I said it.

I work on roads and highways and see the huge cost implications of constructing cycle lanes only for cyclists not use them! Do you know how much it costs for that nice green/red high friction surfacing! Its shocking.

There is a perfectly good cycle lane ( I push a buggy on the footpath beside it) for miles from Belfast to close to were I live but the cyclists seem to prefer to cause massive disruption to traffic as well as putting their lives in danger.

I think there needs to be more legislation put in place regarding road use on bicycles. A lot of the ones I encounter cant seem to decide whether they are vehicles or pedestrians, by this I mean cycling on the road when traffic is flowing yet cycling through traffic lights with pedestrians when the lights are red.

I have no problem with sensible cyclists but what other sport is allowed to race and have time trials on open roads!

Are you a cyclist athousandtrees?

Does your department consult local cyclists before spending a fortune on cycle lanes which may, from a cyclist's perspective, be poorly designed?

Our local council has just spent a fortune on a long distance footpath that is great for mountain bikers and leisure cyclists (I use it myself for that purpose) but utterly hopeless for anyone wishing to commute by bike between the two towns it joins!

If there is a cycle path, then it should be used, if its not fit for purpose then hassle the agencies that should be repairing it

They are there to protect the cyclists from fast traffic, otherwise we should just remove them if the 'elite' cyclists dont want to use them.

If you are going 15mph in a 30mph zone, yeah you're going to piss me off if i cant pass you, i dont care if you are a cyclist, lorry, caravan or tractor, if you are holding up the normal flow of the traffic, you need to get over and let people pass Rule 169 of the highway code (mainly pointed at larger vehicles) "Do not hold up a long queue of traffic,....pull in where it is safe and let traffic pass"

why is the cycle 'utterly hopeless' for commuters?

It's not a matter of whether they should be repaired. Some of them are just plain shit. Cyclists are not usually asked if they want them and they certainly aren't involved in their design. Many make journeys more dangerous rather than less.

The fact is that cyclists are NOT obliged to use them. So, frankly, you just have to get over it and learn to share the roads like grown-ups - and I do direct that at everyone who uses the roads, cyclists included.

There is an unspoken assumption behind the anti cyclists using the road drivers.i.e.cyclists do not have a right to use the road as they do not pay license fees. Add up the cost of the petrol users to society. Add up the cost of roads, highways ,overpasses , underpasses, bridges, lights, traffic police, traffic courts, road repairers, buildings, admin etc for all those workers, oil drilling , oil refineries, oil spills, pollution,petrol delivery,etc. Please add what i've left out. Clearly we all massively subsidise car drivers so they can pollute the air that we all breath, and of course endanger and abuse the cyclists , who subsidise them . And licensing also costs-workers pay, building costs.

Dragon the cycle route surface is unsuitable for road bikes, as is the route (it is much longer). In fairness it is not at all intended for commuting; it is explicitly designed for leisure users, for whom it is eminently fit for purpose.

The cycle path (national route 1, btw) that runs through my village has a surface very similar to this picture. Not exactly suitable for my road bike, and even my hybrid struggles a bit with it. I'll stay on the road, thanks.

Unfortunately we are the contractor and have no design input. But as far as I'm aware the department here does carry out surveys and consultations. I am in NI and have recently had the Gran Fundo (sp?) and I know the roads service spent significant money insuring all the routes that were used were up to standard.

There are parts of the design legislation that deal with cycle lane and designing for cyclists, but these are more appropriate to new constructions. I suppose in NI we have a bit more space to play with rather than over crowded areas in London etc.

backward that is the type of surface on our local bike path. It's fine on a mountain bike, but I wouldn't take a road bike on it.