Families riding bikes

[Cam77]

Some probably won’t agree but it’s starting to annoy me. Whenever I/we go out for a walk we often have to rush out out the way of families bike rides (sometimes both parents and two/three kids) cycling along the pavements.
I know a family bike ride is a nice activity. But how can the person walking toward you practice effective social distancing when a group of four/five people is zooming often unsighted around the corner at 5-10mph?
And the parent(s) often stay at the back of the family group with little kids in front, who often have virtually zero awareness of the environment ahead.
It’s getting to the point where I don’t want to take my child/dog for a quick walk because we can’t get out of the way of all the large groups of family cyclists and heavy breathing joggers bursting round corners. What’s wrong with a nice stroll? That’s what’s people in China did when went into lockdown (Though not everyday. Most kids just went for a quick walk round the block, with face mask) once a week). I keep hearing about they fiddled the figures but actually the biggest difference is just that they acted with sensible caution.

@YetAnotherSpartacus. Would love to swear at the dickhead, but it was my local village shop and I think they’re under the impression I am relatively polite human being ( how little do they know )

Ah, yes. I can see how this would irreparably damage your reputation and social capital and make you the prime target for the next witch-burning :)

A nice stroll isn't exercise so technically you shouldn't be doing it. HTH

This thread keeps on giving...

It is employs major muscle groups (legs) and increases your heartrate and respiratory rate, compared to being stationary. What is it, if not exercise? Sleeping? Sitting in a hot water balloon?

I think we’re about 3 days from the witch burning round these parts. So would prefer to slip under the radar where I can.

We've had young children cycling ahead of a parent around our village and coming within a 1m when going past. There is no time to move out of the way yourself and nowhere to move to unless you try to run across the road in front of them.

I haven't seen this sort of behaviour from runners and cyclists that I keep hearing about on mumsnet thankfully.

I have however had dogs off leads barking and snapping at my son and I when we've been out for a run or walk. We've even been chased. My son has been knocked over by dogs. Sometimes we have to dodge the poo that owners haven't picked up.

Should we ban dog walkers out for a stroll? No, of course not. We don't punish all dog walkers because of a minority of idiots?

Also, we've so far, been told by the government that daily exercise is allowed, is low risk, and is also important for physical and mental health. The government suggested a walk, run or bike ride.

Now people should of course be considerate and try their best to keep at least two metres apart.

Personally I wouldn't head to a packed park for example, I stick to a route that I know is quiet and plenty of space. Most people are really considerate. I've encountered one idiot so far, and that was a walker who decided to cough and spit.

But sadly we can't eradicate selfish idiots. The chances of catching something from someone cycling past you briefly.

I'd rather see kids on bikes on pavements than glued to screens

Why do you get out of their way? Let joggers and cyclists go round you.

The only people I give way to are those on horses as they can be unpredictable and I don't fancy being trampled.

If cyclists ring their bell, I'll stop walking so they can go past easier but that's it.

It's law that cyclists give way to pedestrians and horse riders, they don't have the right to make you move so they can keep travelling in a straight line.

I think all this pettiness about families bike riding and people running shows what an inactive nation we usually are. I grew up abroad and families bike riding together was a usual occurrence. I think it’s nice to see it taking on a bit more here now - keep it up and then councils might start building cycle paths and pavements wide enough for more than just two people to walk side by side.

A nice stroll isn't exercise so technically you shouldn't be doing it at all

Oh my. Where to start with this... The lack of understanding about what constitutes exercise? The lack of appreciation of other people's physical abilities? The random and unilateral interpretation of guidelines? Or maybe just the utter churlish, petty mean-spiritedness?

Patriarchy chicken

Absolutely this! I'm so tired of having to drag my child across the road because men (usually joggers and cyclists) wont alter their course.

On the upside, roads are quieter, so it is easier to cross the road. But given it is quieter, why the increase in pavement cycling? Pavements are for people. My partially-sighted friend was hit and hurt by a pavement cyclist last year.

This thread is mad.

It is not really a thread about cycling. Or joggers. Or men. It is a thread about arseholes.

Surely the take-out from it is “Don’t Be An Arsehole.”

Some cycling families are being arseholes. Some joggers are being arseholes. Some men are being arseholes.

Don’t take offence if you are in one of those groups and are not being an arsehole. Keep on keeping on.

I overlook a path and a field beloved by walkers, runners, cyclists, dogs, horses etc etc. I walk/jog along it myself. It is filled with a mixture of considerate, self-aware people and selfish, thoughtless arseholes.

Let’s all just try and be a bit more thoughtful.

Then don't AiryFairyMum. Just stop walking and stand still and cyclists and joggers either have to stop themselves or go around you. Pedestrians have right of way over cyclists, not sure about joggers though.

I am loving the corona-inspired obligatory descriptors for joggers and cyclists. MN does make me laugh. Want to criticise a breastfeeding woman, make sure you describe her as "wapping out a veiny tit", hate the school run mothers wearing pj bottoms, don't forget casual mention of how easy it is to throw on a pair of jeans. Loathe people who run for fitness or cycle for pleasure? Make sure they're "huffing and puffing" or "panting" or "whizzing round corners" or "charging you down".

Froth froth froth.

Yanbu about pavements. Given the very quiet state of the roads, all cyclists including children should be on the road, not on the pavement.

However, people are entitled to go out cycling.

If you want young children to learn to ride their bikes in the road, you don't actually merit grown-up debate

PotholeParadise I don’t want children to learn to ride their bikes in the road. What is it about “If children can’t ride their bikes safely on the road they shouldn’t be riding them there” that is confusing you?

Children should learn to ride their bikes in a safe space ie. a park, a field, an open empty space and then migrate to the road when they are confident and responsible. At no point should there be any pavement riding.

YADNBU OP It sounds highly irritating.

Have you heard of 'classism'? One of the ways it manifests itself is in sweeping rules that can't work for marginalised parts of the population.

"A park, a field, an open empty space" would have certainly meant I never learnt to ride a bike as a child. I learnt on the pavements round our bouse, like every other child in the terrace.

My son learnt to ride for the very first time in a park because we drove him (and his bike)there. ,
This all adds up to lots of children who wouldn't learn to ride bikes.

@Worriedmum54321
What a fucking nasty thing to say. Thanks for demeaning me.

Pothole
It’s fine for children to learn on the pavement and road near their house - road being fine for most places right now due to reduced traffic. They need to be taught to stay away from cars and pedestrians and supervised.

PotholeParadise I was wondering what excuse you were going to come out with next. There is some sort of open space near everywhere in the UK. It doesn’t have to specifically be a park or a field.

So no, classism isn’t relevant here.

If you were "wondering", then you have a very different experience of life in the UK to me. But that says it all, doesn't it? It came as an actual surprise to you that some children don't have access to "open space". They play outside on the pavements, and gradually gain competence trekking around pavements from one place and another.

I thought you were not supposed to cycle on pavements? Kids should cycle in parks if they are not old enough to cycle on roads.

PotholeParadise All children have access to some form of open space.

Stop trying to turn this into a class debate because you don’t actually have a valid point.