Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

WIBU to politely ask cyclists.....

256 replies

Bruisedarse · 31/10/2017 11:55

.... 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! Grin

OP posts:
Lethaldrizzle · 31/10/2017 17:17

What's pb?

berliozwooler · 31/10/2017 17:19

Also at Cannon St/Queen St, Rebecca. Cyclists coming at you from all directions across the pavement, 20 at a time. It's bad planning but sometimes it's bad, aggressive cycling too.

berliozwooler · 31/10/2017 17:19

Personal Best (time)

SoupDragon · 31/10/2017 17:20

the utter lack of self awareness of car drivers is breath-taking

The utter lack of self awareness of some the cyclists on this thread is breathtaking. The OP was complaining about the behaviour of two specific cyclists and trying to ask other cyclists to call out or make their presence known before overtaking a horse. Yes there were stupid comments from non-cyclists but there have been calls for horse riders to not use a route they are legally entitled to use, suggestions for an air horn, cyclists taking the opportunity to whinge about drivers and people blaming the OP for falling off a spooked horse. All conveniently over looking that the cyclists were riding dangerously and failed to stop having caused the OP to have an accident.

sanddune11 · 31/10/2017 17:21

I'm a now and again cyclist and i can honestly say that some cyclists are the most entitled thoughtless road users going. Where i live they're allowed on the pedestrian promenade but only in one lane. But they don't always stick to that lane, consequently you can be walking along totally unaware that there's a very fast cyclist approaching from behind. No bell, no warning, nothing. The number of near misses i've had with these idiots is untrue.

They seem to depend on the crazy idea that every pedestrian is going to walk in a perfectly straight line, all it takes is for someone to veer either side while they're walking and there would be a very nasty accident.

Bells should be compulsory like they were years ago, bikes are silent, they need to warn people they're approaching, how bloody hard can it be.

disahsterdahling · 31/10/2017 17:27

The cycle superhighway at Blackfriars/Ludgate Circus is fabulous. Yes you have to look a bit harder as a pedestrian and yes it was a slight change I had to make. But I am only there once every few weeks and I managed it. I am sure the regular commuters had it sussed within a couple of days.

It is a fantastic facility and there need to be more of them. I have ridden on it a couple of times and it makes cycling both a pleasure and safer.

As for bad road users in London, for me it's the cyclists who go through red or flashing amber lights at pedestrian crossings, and the buses who stop right across the pedestrian crossings. Both should know better.

But at home it's your usual car drivers who can't comply with the Highway Code especially this: twitter.com/HighwayCodeGB/status/919860303046815749

Floralnomad · 31/10/2017 17:27

I’ve not read the whole thread but hope you are ok OP and the horse is likewise , it’s scary coming off on a road , been there and down that ! I drive on a lot of country lanes and the amount of cyclists is growing all the time and frankly most of them are a complete nightmare riding all over the road , no hand signals and generally coming across as though they are the most important people on the road . Before anybody thinks I’m anti cyclist I’m not , I’ve got a cycling husband who was knocked off his bike last year , and that wasn’t his fault either.

Rebeccaslicker · 31/10/2017 17:27

But your point seems to be, "more drivers should cycle".

I think it's a garbage point, which is totally unrealistic, not least because most drivers haven't ridden a bike in traffic in years and could be a real danger. But clearly you think it's a great point.

Even if we give you the benefit of the doubt and say sure, many drivers should get in bikes - how would adding to the volume of cyclists stop bad and dangerous cycling in city centres?

disahsterdahling · 31/10/2017 17:28

Bells should be compulsory like they were years ago, bikes are silent, they need to warn people they're approaching, how bloody hard can it be

As I mentioned above, I hate this. The imperious "belling" just gets on my wick. Just say excuse me if you want to get past, don't ring your bell in a "get out of my f*ing way" manner.

disahsterdahling · 31/10/2017 17:34

A lot of the so-called bad cycling isn't. Going through red lights, yes that's annoying but could be dealt with by having CCTV on crossings.

But a lot of drivers say cyclists are cycling badly when they're not eg cycling two abreast. You can have debates about it, but a local cycling group have it as their policy because they say it makes them into the size of a small van in a small group and cars only have to get past them once. Another one keeps single file and splits so cars can get past in small sections. I prefer the latter but the former is not wrong.

"Undertaking" is considered bad cycling. I don't like it. I think it's dangerous and don't do it myself but it's allowed - though I am never quite sure where lawful filtering ends and unlawful undertaking begins.

If we had better "lane discipline" on pavements where people walked in straight lines on the left hand side, it would be easy to have shared use paths. But because people wander all over the place, it's not.

sanddune11 · 31/10/2017 17:35

dishar it might get on your wick, but a bell could save you from a nasty accident. A bell makes you jump out of the way, a voice calling "excuse me" won't have the same affect.

DontAskIDontKnow · 31/10/2017 17:47

I used to cycle with groups from the local cycling club. We would always call out ‘coming by’ or something similar and slow down around horses. We would ride two abreast where appropriate, but single out when a car cake along and would want to overtake.

A lot of these basic, common sense road manners aren’t being taught to the growing number of people taking up recreational cycling. There needs to a way of communicating these sorts of issues to the general public, in the way we used to have public safety adverts on the television.

If everybody understood one another better and we’re a bit less them vs us, we would probably manage to use the roads together more safely.

The volume of traffic and a less respectful culture overall has made driving, cycling and horse-riding much more dangerous than it used to be.

It is good that the OP is trying to raise the issue. It’s a shame the thread has so many aggressive comments.

Rebeccaslicker · 31/10/2017 17:49

How would CCTV identify a cyclist? Esp one with a helmet and possibly even a mask for pollution?

Back to my idea for dinky little licence plates!

GhostsToMonsoon · 31/10/2017 17:58

Just the simple issue of bells suggests that cyclists can't win. They're either rude for using a bell or rude for not having one - there's no consensus.

I used to cycle in London. It was infinitely preferable to the hot and overcrowded tube or bus.

berliozwooler · 31/10/2017 18:00

I like that there is a cycle superhighway, I just don't like the interface with pedestrians in some areas and that it has made some areas worse for pedestrians.

AnUtterIdiot · 31/10/2017 18:25

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SoupDragon · 31/10/2017 18:48

There are idiots amongst every group of road user. Vehicle drivers have the most duty of care as they have most scope to cause injury/damage. That doesn't exempt other road users from taking care though.

There were the same entitled responses to a similar thread where a driver had become aware of how difficult to see a cyclist in dark clothing with no lights was. They wanted to remind people on bikes to make themselves visible. According to several of the more belligerent replies, cyclists don't need to take any kind of responsibility for their own safety or actions. These are the cyclists that give the group a bad name.

ivykaty44 · 31/10/2017 18:52

I always slow down for horses regardless of my mode of transport

Then if on a bike I shout good morning - as bikes are often silent

When out on club rides we offer the same etiquette.

What I would suggest op is that you contact your local cycle clubs - just email with your story and ask that they pass it around club members how to behave around horse riders for safety

ivykaty44 · 31/10/2017 18:54

Op also add

I hope you’re bruising gets better quickly and let’s hope all road users can look out for each other

milkchocolatx5 · 31/10/2017 18:55

oh, another thread bashing cyclists!

SoupDragon · 31/10/2017 18:59

oh, another thread bashing cyclists!

No, it was a thread asking cyclists to be considerate and saying how they should behave when approaching horse riders.

MadMags · 31/10/2017 19:00

No, another thread where cyclists feel all hard done by because you can't criticise any cyclist ever without everyone who owns a bike quite bizarrely taking it personally.

HappySeven · 31/10/2017 19:14

As a cyclist, I would like to say thanks for the advice. I, like others here, tend to slow down and ensure one of the horse riders has seen me before passing slowly and widely. I'd avoided calling out in case I spooked the horse. I'll do so in future though.

milkchocolatx5 · 31/10/2017 19:34

No, it was a thread asking cyclists to be considerate and saying how they should behave when approaching horse riders.

no, it's not. it started out with it but has long moved on.

ivykaty44 · 31/10/2017 19:38

Reg plates don’t stop motorist racking up over a billion in fines each year so I don’t see why it would prevent the misdemeanours by cyclists

If someone is going to behave dangerously on the road it seems they will - fines as punishment don’t work

Would cost a lot of money to implement and not actually make vulnerable road users any safer