AIBU Cyclist Twats

[TractorAndHeadphones]

Walking down lovely canals with DP. Supposed to be romantic - but every 5 minutes we were interrupted by a cyclists whizzing along! Some had the courtesy to ring the bell but even so they rode straight at us instead of around us.

This really boils my piss because cyclists always complain that cars overtake dangerously and that’s it’s their god given right to hold up traffic. But cyclists can ride straight through pedestrians?

There was enough space for a cyclist to ride alongside us if they’d been slower ; even so you don’t expect people to walk in single file on canal roads which are meant to be enjoyed slowly! There were families in front of us, mothers with prams etc. Thé cyclists were probably scared of swerving into the lake but if you can’t control your bike then dont bloody ride!
It really ruined my day.

This has also happened on pavements with people whizzing along in the middle. Even if the road is dangerous there’s no need to go that fast.
AIBU to think that cyclists are twats and should be licensed?
People often complain that cars are rude to cyclists but IMO people in general are twats. Cars can do more damage but they’re not behaving worse than cyclists.

And dismounting! Sod that! I have work to get to!

Here we go. Don’t want to be inconvenienced by slower moving pedestrians themselves, but happy to hold up motorists on the road by blocking it en masse at 20mph.

(Not directing this at that particular poster per se, but I can well imagine the fucking MAMILs ascribing to this).

Cyclists are the road users least likely to harm you, by a long way.

On the whole, maybe.

But on the towpath they are the only vehicle that can harm a pedestrian, and we are talking about shared pedestrian/cyclist spaces here.

Also, as you said these number are from before COVID restriction and lockdown when cyclist numbers exploded, so I doubt those numbers are relevant at the moment.

I wish people (cyclists)would stop quoting the Highway Code and instead just use some common courtesy instead. If you are holding up a great queue of cars who cannot overtake then surely as a decent person you would let them pass, regardless of what the book says? I don't have to let other drivers out at junctions but I do because I'm not a prick, it's just decency which a lot of people on here seem to lack.

@PattyPan

It’s hardly a surprising conclusion given that firstly, there are vastly more cars on the road than cycles, and secondly that the power and mass of car is significantly greater.

Correct @FloconDeNeige, cars are inherently more dangerous (and these figures obviously don’t include the people who die as a result of air pollution). That is why we need to encourage more people to cycle rather than demonising them.

The worst path hoggers I’ve found are the park runners.

Near here they do an out and back run along a narrowish shared use path (National cycle route). Path is 4ft wide maybe. I made the mistake of dog walking at 9am recently (it’s quite a new park run) and felt like I was going to be trampled. Runners in both directions as the fast ones are returning. People coming up behind me couldn’t get past because of runners in the opposite direction. They were swearing and getting pissed off, running off the path one side of me onto the grass to get round at the same time someone else running past me on the other side. Dog was terrified and was tripped over more than once by people who didn’t see her. Bloody pedestrians. They were so selfish and entitled. 🤷‍♀️

On the plus side, runners are less likely to be a burden on the NHS, keeping healthy is a good thing to do in general

@DoesHePlayTheFiddle

Lycra-cyclists. Hate them. Riding two abreast to bring traffic to a near-standstill, or in groups of twenty so no-one can get by at all, or singly as if they own the road. There's a couple near Otley, a man and a woman, ride two-abreast everywhere, taking up as much room as a damned lorry.

Cyclists should cycle at a velodrome. It's designed for cyclists. Roads aren't. Cyclists on the road are a hazard, even if they're not trying to be (and to be fair, they don the lycra to demonstrate their twattish intent).

Ordinary cyclists, alone, normal clothes and some high viz, on their way to or from work, or cycling because they aren't old enough for a driving licence - yes, give them as much space and care as you can. Lycra-cyclists, ban them from the road.

Can't see how a couple cycling 2 abreast could possibly take up as much space as a lorry 🤣🤣

I cycle to work, wearing my lycra and shower when I get there. Which category does that put me in ?? I live in the countryside and work shift hours - you probably assume I'm one of those twattish bloody lycra clad cyclists out to annoy you. Share and we'll all get along

@CovidCorvid

The worst path hoggers I’ve found are the park runners.

Near here they do an out and back run along a narrowish shared use path (National cycle route). Path is 4ft wide maybe. I made the mistake of dog walking at 9am recently (it’s quite a new park run) and felt like I was going to be trampled. Runners in both directions as the fast ones are returning. People coming up behind me couldn’t get past because of runners in the opposite direction. They were swearing and getting pissed off, running off the path one side of me onto the grass to get round at the same time someone else running past me on the other side. Dog was terrified and was tripped over more than once by people who didn’t see her. Bloody pedestrians. They were so selfish and entitled. 🤷‍♀️

Is park run not a race? I’ve never been to one, but I would guess most people would take 30 minutes or less to run 5k, so not a huge amount of time just once a week to avoid that route? That said, people should be giving other users of the path space and not be close enough to trip over your poor dog and they certainly shouldn’t be swearing. Time not to take themselves so seriously I think,

OP is bu, but anyway. I walk a lot and cycle a bit less. The same people who are entitled cyclist and runners are entitled drivers. Or at least they belive in darwinism - the one who is stronger has the right to kill the weaker.

However, pedestrians who think stopping in the middle of the path is ok, are going to burn in hell.

Does heplay the fiddle, and were roads designed for cars then, even those older ones?

A lot of roads were, certainly. And if originally they were tracks for walkers or horseriders, they were not for cyclists. Cyclists are the interlopers.

I think cyclists were invented before cars

Cycles even

I think cyclists were invented before cars

That might be true, but if we play whatever was invented first trumps then walking wins by a lot.

@FloconDeNeige

And dismounting! Sod that! I have work to get to!

Here we go. Don’t want to be inconvenienced by slower moving pedestrians themselves, but happy to hold up motorists on the road by blocking it en masse at 20mph.

(Not directing this at that particular poster per se, but I can well imagine the fucking MAMILs ascribing to this).

This is the essence of the whole post 😂 Still bemused to see how thread has taken a turn into the evils of cars vs cycling when the issue was cyclist reactions to more vulnerable road users in comparison to cycling reactions to vehicles bigger than them.

Furthermore for people arguing that ‘we should be encouraging more people out of cars onto cycles’;

1. This is an invalid argument when people cycle for fun. In fact many have probably driven their cars, with the cycles, to certain locations when they could have just stayed home , run on a treadmill and been less polluting.

2. People cycling for commutes etc have to accept that obstructions are part of the route. Just like how in any other vehicle the number of other road users slow you down. If this takes you too long then the route is unfeasible.

Ultimately the only thing that will truly encourage more people to cycle are roads etc designed for cycles. Forcing more cyclists onto shared spaces is going to do quite the opposite as many councils have put up signs saying to be careful of pedestrians, dogs and the like. If you’re really bothered take action by writing letters to your MP, supporting council action and campaigns to create better cycling infrastructure. I have done these. Don’t know how many people here have.

Yes and cars lose by a hell of a lot more

Yes and cars lose by a hell of a lot more

I'm not bothered about cars. I want cyclists out of my walking spaces, especially inconsiderate ones.

I think the road outside my house is 'designed for cycles', because its designed for vehicles, you may disagree and think it's designed for cars

But why can’t you share the shared cycle / footpath? Why must I slow down cause you want to hog the whole path? It’s so bloody selfish!

I'm pretty happy to share walking spaces with cyclists, runners, scooters, dog walkers, pushchairs, wheel chairs, as long as none of those groups are being inconsiderate, but then again I don't consider it to be 'my walking space', it's everyones

Agree! The only issue I have had on the shared cycle path is tutting pensioners which pisses me right off as I give them priority and have done nothing wrong! I am allowed to cycle on the cycle path!

Cars will always stop to let people cross. Cyclists never do, but will happily give you the finger or shout at you.

This. #notallcyclists etc. but until cyclists not stopping at a red light or pedestrian crossing becomes as generally "taboo" as cars not stopping in the same situations, my respect and sympathy for cyclists is always going to be limited. Why don't ALL cyclists understand that these pretty reasonable rules of the road apply to them as well? Very few drivers would deliberately break a red light or just plough on through a pedestrian crossing when they can clearly see there are people waiting to cross. So why should cyclists be any different? It can be just as dangerous, as some of the posts on here show.

So yeah - limited respect and sympathy. Obviously I always do my very best to drive safely around cyclists and keep an eye out for bikes when I'm walking, but as a driver I wouldn't be offended by someone complaining to me about bad drivers if a significant number of us ignored traffic lights and basic rules of the road in the same way. Even the worst drivers I've seen in almost a year of being back on the roads again haven't done anything as stupid as breaking red lights or refusing to stop for pedestrians when they're supposed to.

Cyclists have to accept that enough of them behave badly enough on the roads to make a lot of people have a generally poor opinion of them, even while also acknowledging that it's "not all cyclists".

I'm pretty happy to share walking spaces with cyclists, runners, scooters, dog walkers, pushchairs, wheel chairs, as long as none of those groups are being inconsiderate, but then again I don't consider it to be 'my walking space', it's everyones

The only reason I don't want to share with cyclists is because they make it a dangerous place for walkers.

Why must I slow down cause you want to hog the whole path? It’s so bloody selfish!

Because it's safer when you slow down and because the Highway Code says so. Why is it selfish for other users to want to stay safe, but it's not selfish for you to whizz past? So everybody else but you is selfish? And you don't see the irony in this?

The vote is 71 to 29 in OP's favour, despite the squeaky wheels.