WIBU to politely ask cyclists.....

[Bruisedarse]

.... To shout a warning, ring their bell, sing Bohemian Rhapsody, in fact anything to warn you are coming up behind a horse?

As my (changed from regular) username suggests, I landed on a hard lane from a large horse this morning because 4 cyclists appeared from no where, going quite a pace and scared the living daylights out of me and my horse. She launched forward as they approached from behind but as I regained control, myself not knowing the issue at that moment, they flew past, 2 abreast. Horse shied away and spun and I came off over the shoulder. Not one stopped, despite looking back. Luckily I'm pretty tough and once she realised what they were she stopped.
A warning shout could have totally prevented it, bikes are silent as they approach more or less until they're very close, and if the lead bikes could have warned me they were there then I could have let the horse see, and she'd have heard them call out as well and it wouldn't have completely taken both of us by nasty surprise. I was wearing fluorescent and reflective clothing, and I know that you can see parts of the road from the lane though admittedly they may have missed me.
Luckily there were no cars about or it could have been worse, but I'd like to say a big thank you to the farmer who legged me back on in the safety of his field gateway because I'd have had to walk quite a way to safely get back on and not do it at the side of the road, causing a hazard.
So all you cyclists out there, please, please warn us horse riders you're approaching behind, I can hear a car, so can the horse so we know what to expect, both cyclists and horse riders are vulnerable road users and if we look out for each other then there may be less accidents.

Thank you!

[GhostsToMonsoon]

But Rebecca the advanced stop lines are there to improve safety as it's dangerous to pass long vehicles on the inside. Imagine the extra traffic if all the cyclists drove instead.

[BlurryFace]

Some cyclists are bloody awful, I really get fed up with nearly getting nailed by the bloody things when they bomb round corners on narrow lanes, or indeed when I cross a busy road when the man's green.

It's mostly drivers that nearly kill me though.

[PixelLady42]

Sorry to hear you had an accident OP, I hope you and your horse are ok and not too bruised and shaken up.

Some of the comments and replies on here are ridiculous - the key point is Mutual Consideration.
The cyclists should have slowed down and given you some space and warning before passing safely. End of.

To do otherwise is selfish, dangerous and ignorant. The cyclists would expect the same consideration if they were cycling along and a big tractor came speeding up behind them and passed them with a hairs breadth gap. There are idiots everywhere on the road and unfortunately sometimes a rider has no choice but to ride on the road to get to safer areas to ride their horse.

I'm a rider myself and even just riding in the woods I've met some badly behaved cyclists, including one who had the squeakiest bike ever who zoomed past me on my horse which has resulted in my horse now being scared of bikes when she wasn't before.
Now if one goes past I have to stop and face it, and hope she doesn't shy away from it as it goes past. I'm doing my best to train her to be better and try and let cyclists past so they can keep going, but it makes all the difference in the world if cyclists when going past are considerate too.

[Rebeccaslicker]

Lethaldrizzle - what I "hate" is inconsiderate and dangerous behaviour. And I see it mostly from cyclists. Day in, day out.

Have you ever walked down the strand in the rush hour? You have 2 lanes of traffic and cyclists pushing and squeezing their way on every single side of every single car, sometimes mindblowingly between buses and big vehicles, each expecting the drivers to be able to keep an eye on them all at once. It's insane the way they carry on. And who cares if they scratch a vehicle or smash off a wing mirror? None of the cyclists I have witnessed doing exactly that, that's for sure. Hence my wish for the bikes to be identifiable.

If the dicks who ride their bikes like that were a tiny minority, there wouldn't be so many people who dislike cyclists. But whilst they are a minority, it isn't a tiny one.

Also, why would they drive in London or any major city? That is what tubes, buses and cabs and trams are for! It's what walking is for - I walk all over. Certainly in London they couldn't all just drive; there would be absolutely nowhere to park and the cost would be prohibitive.

[berliozwooler]

Nope. I know what I see, day in and day out - it's only my view but it's been informed by 30 years of being mostly a pedestrian around London cars and cyclists. And it's getting worse. The new kit and new bikes don't seem to help; the cyclists just get more fanatical.

As I said above, cyclists out of the city are a different breed altogether - even though some of them must be the same people - and I have zero problem with them.

Exactly, most people aren't having a problem with ALL cyclists, it's only a few, who seem to be of a certain breed, and who are proliferating.

Actually I do have a problem with some club cyclists in the countryside as well. We have so many near us. I don't object at all to people cycling in groups of twos and threes so car users can pass, but some keep together in a huge peleton which quickly causes delays to other traffic.

[Jaxhog]

Surely they should slow down and give you a wide berth like car drivers do? Anything else is just antisocial.

There are far too many cyclists who don't respect other road users, yet expect us to respect them.

[Lethaldrizzle]

But rebecca surely if more people swapped their cars for bikes there would be more room for all those lovely bikes down the strand

[berliozwooler]

Most people in London have swapped their cars for walking and public transport. Unfortunately a minority, but a fairly sizeable one, of cyclists in London are a menace to pedestrians. Ok you do get silly pedestrians as well, but they are mostly a danger to themselves.

[Iwannasnack]

I only recently read on a running thread here about shouting out a warning to horse riders if approaching from behind. Would not have occurred to me otherwise. When driving I always slow right down and give as much room as I can but I didn’t know a bike or runner would spook a horse. It’s mostly ignorance I imagine.
Education is your best tool. Could you approach local cycling clubs to politely educate them?

[babybat]

RebeccaSlicker I'd ban them from really busy main roads and junctions, for everyone's sake. Use the back streets.

If taxis weren't so keen on using quiet back streets as rat-runs, that would be fine. But they don't want bike lanes on main streets or to lose back streets. Talk about entitled! Have you seen the amount of fuss the LTDA (Taxi Union) are making about one road no longer being a cabbie rat run?

I use the cycle superhighway - the nice big segregated one up Blackfriars - to cycle my toddler to nursery every day. Are you seriously telling me your convenience outranks our safety?

[berliozwooler]

God I hate it now outside Blackfriars trying to cross the road as a pedestrian. It was always crap but now there is a another clump of traffic to wait for because of the cycle super highway and it takes longer than ever to cross the road.

[Rebeccaslicker]

Yeah, let's get all the cab drivers to swap for bikes. After all, it's worked really well with all the rickshaws, nobody "hates" them at all 😂

[Rebeccaslicker]

God yes, that thing at Blackfriars is an absolute nightmare. It's not "my convenience" if I don't want to be flattened by a big piece of metal that's bombed through a red light.

See also ludgate circus. People don't have a clue which way to look now, but whichever way they do, there will be a cyclist hooning along where he shouldn't be...

[Lethaldrizzle]

Rebecca - who's talking about taxis? I'm talking about private cars.

[Ellboo]

Genuine thankyou OP from a (city) cyclist who knows nothing about horses and wouldn’t know what to do for the best if I encountered one while cycling. Although I’d have the sense to slow down and pass wide, I think. Hope you’re not hurt.

[yawning801]

YY to the OP! Maybe not Bohemian Rhapsody but just a little something to warn of incoming scary two-wheeled monster. I nearly had this happen with some LOs on riding school ponies. The cyclist wouldn't stop and just gave us the finger.

[Rebeccaslicker]

Sure - people who have to drag around heavy equipment can do that perfectly safely on a "lovely bike". estate agents can just take clients on a tandem, why not? Disabled people should get over it and get on their bikes. Ditto the elderly; haven't they heard that exercise is good for them?

🙈

[MadMags]

Cyclists have become an odd breed of people who have a hive mind and become mortally offended at the idea that they're not all worshipped and adored.

I fucking despise some cyclists because they're dangerous and shouldn't be on the road. I feel the same about dangerous drivers yet everyone who owns a car doesn't want to form a Lycra-clad lynch mob because of it.

Like I said: odd people.

[Lethaldrizzle]

Ok rebecca for all those who travel in cars and do not have disability problems and do not have anything heavy to carry - perhaps some of those business men/women I see driving around in single occupancy cars - perhaps if they gave up their gas guzzlers - there may be more room for everyone including you busy strand pedestrians.

[Rebeccaslicker]

"Lycra clad lynch mob", love it.

That was my point - a minority (usually men) spoil it for everyone else by being aggressive and inconsiderate. Surely a decent cyclist should welcome measures such as identification for bikes and stopping stupid behaviour like squeezing between vehicles and sailing over pedestrian crossings - it would improve everything for everyone.

[Lethaldrizzle]

Jeez you lot are so aggro!

[Rebeccaslicker]

Lethal - wow that's some psychic power you've got there, to know the nature of the business of all those business people. How do you know what they have in the boot, for example? When I go to see clients, I often have several big boxes of files with me. I don't drive in, though, so I cab it to those appointments.

You are assuming that someone who might be paying a lot of money for a lawyer or a project management consultant etc would be delighted for them to turn up looking sweaty and windswept. Especially if their appointments are all over the place. Or maybe you think clients should be providing showers and bike racks for everyone?!

[Jenala]

You can't talk about cyclists on MN without all the cyclists getting up in arms about what a bastard everyone is and engaging in all the whataboutery in the world!!!

Today I had a super fast cool lycra guy swear at me being too close to him. On a one lane wide bridge where I had right of way (we were approaching each other). He had his own cycle lane that is a separate bridge but inexplicably veered off to use the main bit of road. No doubt I'm being moaned about on a cycling forum somewhere.

[Lethaldrizzle]

So given that more people are cycling now than ever, is it possible that some of those cyclists are former car commuters? And if that is the case then surely there are more car drivers who could swap their mode of transport. You are choosing to miss the point. Again I reiterate I am not talking about people who have to travel by car. I am talking about those who have a choice.

[OSETmum]

There’s no point trying to reason with some cyclists. You drive a faster vehicle; you’re a dangerous, inconsiderate arsehole who has no right to overtake ever. You have a slower mode of transport: you’re a dangerous, inconsiderate arsehole who has no right to expect cyclists to slow down for you lest they mess up that all important pb.