To think cyclists shouldn’t be on pavements, and certainly shouldn’t expect pedestrians to move for them.

[GoldenLabbie]

I was walking home just now, when a bloke on a bike came right up behind me and said ‘can I get past please’. I was that taken a back I actually moved for him! But then if he’s arrogant and entitled enough to ask me to move, he’s not going to take kindly to me pointing out he should be on the road is he? Surely he should have moved onto the road, which wasn’t even that busy BTW, to pass me? Or ideally been on the road full stop.

@Doghead

As a cyclist who got knocked off her bike on the road recently, I now ride a short way on the pavement. My nerves were shot to shit by the driver. Shoot me!

Obviously its awful that that happened to you (its happened to me as well) but what about the anxiety pedestrians feel with cyclists zooming by them on the pavement all the time. Ive almost been knocked over by pavement cyclists too (more often than Ive almost been knocked over by cars when on a bike as it happens) Rule 64 of the Highway Code states that you MUST NOT cycle on a roadside pavement. Like it or not cyclists are not allowed to cycle on pavements unless they have been designated as cyclepaths.

I thought it was illegal to cycle on the pavement. I don't mind if it's a child but when adults go on the pavement and expect me to move it annoys me. Get a helmet and cycle on the road. As a cyclist, it's just as annoying when people walk along cycle paths! YANBU

I entirely empathise with why some cyclists wouldn't want to be on the road. Some drivers are arseholes. However, I'm intrigued by cyclists who say this but then don't acknowledge the danger they then pose to pedestrians.

This. I wouldn’t feel safe cycling on the road in my town, so you know what, I don’t cycle! Feeling unsafe on the road is not an excuse to make the pavement unsafe for pedestrians. No one is forcing anyone to cycle, it’s a choice and if they choose it they should do so lawfully and accept the risks. If someone is nervous they should either not cycle at all, or if it’s short bits between cycle paths or particularly ropey bits of road they should dismount and push their bike for that portion. Excusing bad behaviour because of other bad behaviour doesn’t fly.

I’m a walker, a driver and a cyclist and people like you OP piss me right off. What is the problem with moving a few inches to the side? You’d have to if someone was walking faster than you, someone coming past with a pram, on a mobility scooter or a kid on a scooter? Do you expect people to queue behind you?

Agree. I’m a pedestrian and I don’t mind letting a cyclist past me because many of the drivers in my area seem to pay more attention to other drivers than they do pedestrians and cyclists especially in residential areas where they treat it like a racecourse. OP sounds like the type of woman I encountered while I was en route to picking up my oldest (school was around the corner) and had a pram with my youngest and bags of compost. I asked politely if I could pass and she let me only to proceed to moan about me to the person on the phone she was with saying in an annoyed tone “I must have not been moving fast enough” (she wasn’t) so she seemingly expected me to wait behind her. If she had been paying attention, she would have seen me coming up behind ages ago. She didn’t expect me to confront her and ask her if there was a problem and then proceeded to tell me not to start with her because SHE had a bad day as if she hadn’t been rudely talking about a stranger a few seconds ago where they could easily hear her. Her day would have been a lot worse if I had hit her with my pram trying to manoeuvre around her.

@unwuthering

Lots of lycra in knots!

He came up right behind her and asked in an entitled manner for her to move. So he said, please. Does not make it nice. He could have said, please m'lady, and still been an entitled aggressive cock. Footpaths are not for bikes unless they are being ridden on by a small, accompanied child.

I don't think you understand what entitled means.

The cyclist was in the wrong. There's a big difference between that and being called an entitled aggressive cock.

They were cycling slow enough to say a full sentence next to a pedestrian. That says a lot. They said please. How is please aggressive?

Again, they were wrong. But no need for acting as if they're a child murderer.

I thought it was illegal too for them to be on pavements , they always should as they go past it or ring a bell once they're whizzing past . I confronted one two days ago and said cornered in my car Because they often appear from nowhere sometimes jumping at red lights . Then as a pedestrian walking as the London mayor wants us to do they're taking over the pavement with me either struggling to get past or them whizzing past and nearly knocking into me . When I did unofficial cycle training with my dad as a child he told me as an adult I had to learn to cycle on the road
So what's changed in 2021

I don't think you understand what entitled means.

I know exactly what it means.

The OP was upset enough by this supposedly "pleasant" encounter to start this thread. A man cycling on a pedestrian pathway and getting right up behind someone, as the OP described, is not being nice. It is an act of entitlement. If his manner in requesting she move out of his way - implying very clearly in his mind she was in his way, on the pedestrian pavement - had been in any real way "pleasant" that would still not have removed the shock of having a great wheel suddenly at your rear as you walk along a path.

@Mummyneedsacoffee

He asked politely and was clearly going at sensible pace. If he can use it .. why shouldn’t he? Maybe he’s not confident on the road atm..? And maybe he’s too slow on the road so safer on the dual use pavement. You’re making a big deal out of nothing.. sorry!

@30degreesandmeltinghere … why shouldnt they be on roads… on a road bike? You’ve clearly had a few bad experiences but not all of us are “entitled twats” most of the time its bad driving causing the issues .. not cyclists.

Rubbish. Pavements are for pedestrians and children on bikes not grown adults who know better. If he’s not confident on the road then he shouldn’t be on a bike. If he injures someone then I hope the book gets thrown at him. I would have told him no and to get on the road.

@unwuthering

I don't think you understand what entitled means.

I know exactly what it means.

The OP was upset enough by this supposedly "pleasant" encounter to start this thread. A man cycling on a pedestrian pathway and getting right up behind someone, as the OP described, is not being nice. It is an act of entitlement. If his manner in requesting she move out of his way - implying very clearly in his mind she was in his way, on the pedestrian pavement - had been in any real way "pleasant" that would still not have removed the shock of having a great wheel suddenly at your rear as you walk along a path.

I wish I had the mental energy to over dramatize non-events like you're able to.

OP didn't say she was scared or upset. She didn't say he told her to get out of her way. She didn't say anything to imply that he acted as if he was entitled to get past her.

Today my colleague said "can I use your computer please?" I didn't assume he thought he was entitled to use it. I thought he asked because he knew he wasn't entitled to use it.

@safariboot

If he had been walking, would you have come here and started a walker-bashing thread?

Yes, cycling on the pavement is against the law. So are loads of things loads of car drivers do all the time. There was in this case no real risk to anyone.

What a absolutely ridiculous comparison. It is not cycle bashing to expect grown cyclists to obey laws. Only on here could this be defended.

I wish I had the mental energy to over dramatize non-events like you're able to.

Soz your ego is wounded. Get off the pavements.

@MadeOfStarStuff

YANBU

It especially annoys me when it’s quiet residential streets that aren’t remotely dangerous for cyclists. If you can’t cycle down a simple quiet road safely then you shouldn’t be cycling in public at all.

Agreed.

@30degreesandmeltinghere

Cyclists shouldn't even be on the road imo. Cycle paths only.. Sat at a roundabout waiting to go in a city centre, entitled cyclist drove across my path, wobbled, sat on my bonnet, regained his balance and cycled off!! Not even a nod or apology!! Or stuck behind 2 riding side by side on a main road. Entitled twats most of them...

You sound like an entitled twat yourself

Unless it’s a child riding a bike you are meant to go on the road and I certainly won’t move out the way for one on the pavement. They don’t belong there I do. I’ve had numerous ones now where I am walking my dog and they come up behind us. I’m not moving so you need too. My council have put cycle lanes everywhere and they don’t get used it’s a waste of money here.

Just another anti cyclist thread pretending to be a about a legitimate concern.
Within the first page a poster call cyclists twats.

@unwuthering

I wish I had the mental energy to over dramatize non-events like you're able to.

Soz your ego is wounded. Get off the pavements.

I'm not on the pavements except when I'm walking.

What makes you think my ego is wounded?

I love these threads. So many posters bickering amongst themselves about drivers/riders/pedestrians and so rarely unite to demand an overhaul the fucking appalling state of UK roads, bike paths, bridleways, and footpaths.

It's like your government starts these threads on purpose (not an accusation of trolling, just an observation of what a convenient distraction these bunfights are from the real problem).

I suspect cyclists don't like stopping because it's difficult for them to do so. It's difficult for them to decelerate quickly and shift and position their body to straddle and stabilze the bike. I feel sympathy and concern for their vulnerability, but the fact that a bike is apparently such a struggle to control does indeed worry me.

I dismounted a bus today and went to cross the cycle lane to get to the pavement. A few metres to my left were two cyclists coming along at a fair pace. I suppose that I must have some sort of right to get to the pavement - since I can't stand in the road all day - but I could see by their faces that they were dismayed at the prospect of having to let me cross, because it would be tricky to get their speed down.

There's the problem, I don't think cyclists can easily slow when they've built up a lot of speed. I don't feel cyclists are completely in control of their vehicle. They either have to go at full pelt to stay in the flow of the traffic and keep it moving, or go slow, hold it up and have greater manoevrability.

Roads have been governed by laws and rules for decades, they haven't suddenly become like a BMX arena where you ride around being guided by courtesy and common sense. What on earth is entitled if it isn't thinking that you are so wonderful, healthy, ecological and enlightened about life's simple pleasures that you don't think you ought to follow the rules.

What makes you think my ego is wounded?

Why else would you go to such lengths to pick at random words and phrases in my post, and attempt to ridicule and disprove them?

Your sole contribution to this thread has been a detailed explanation of how you are not a bad cyclist, and then targeting my posts.

I am not the topic. How I express myself is not the topic. I don't give a flying fruitcake what you think of my prose style when posting on MN.

@TheSunShinesBrighter

Don't worry......at the speed I ride these days there's no chance of me hitting anyone 😂

@buffyajp

Not looking for an argument or to fall out with anyone … it sounded like he was going at a sensible pace .. and where I agree he shouldn’t be using a pavement with isn’t for dual use, we don’t know his story?

The OP has just made a mountain out of a molehill in my opinion (which I’m entitled to)

Cyclists can never win anyways. Today I approached a roundabout and a car cut me up… then had the nerve to shout at me… because I’m a cyclist. Btw … he was speeding, it was MY right of way AND he was holding a phone to his ear. He told me to go on the pavement .. or get a car lol

@Diverseopinions It's not hard to slow down on a bike as long as the brakes are working. Nor is it hard to control a bike. The reason it's not so fun to stop and start a lot on a bike is that you lose momentum which you then have to build up again so you've 'wasted' some of the effort you've put in building that speed. Nothing to do with it being difficult to keep your balance or actually execute the manoeuvre!

@Notebooksarefabulous sorry, but you are wrong. The Home Office guidance re the FPN clearly states that you may cycle on the pavement (with due consideration) if you believe the road is unsafe.

@Diverseopinions. This is a great (or terrible) example of what is wrong with our transport infrastructure. Both you and the cyclists have been let down by the design of that road