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.

Don't worry op, in this car-centric world, you will never be alone in your bitter hatred of cyclists

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

Give all cyclists on the road the space they need. We don’t want people taking to a car the minute they can get a licence, much better for road safety overall and the quality of our air if they carry on making their journeys by bike!

Cyclists really do have an equal right to the road, and shouldn’t be made to feel they need to retreat to the pavement or a car!

Of course they shouldn’t ride obstructively but they shouldn’t have to contend with impatient drivers when proceeding normally.

All the cycling courses in cities teach riders to occupy the centre of the lane because traffic, especially lorries, overtaking then within the lane is a major cause of fatal collisions.

They found that proportionately more women cyclists were being killed than men, because women were more likely to try and ‘make space’ for other vehicles.

There was enough space for a cyclist to ride alongside us if they’d been slower

Why should you expect other path users to slow down because you I presume want to hold hands the entire time? Either go single file when there are other path users or expect some close passes.

@IdrisElbow cyclists are supposed to ride two abreast to make it quicker for cars to overtake and to make it safer for themselves. They take up no more room on the road than a regular car (and if you can't manage to overtake a car, you may need a refresher course) and it stops cars trying to illegally squeeze past single file cyclists - you should always give a cyclist as much room as you would a car when you overtake.

I’m also a keen Walker and occasional cyclist. I walk shared use paths with friends every week, and in my experience most cyclists are reasonable and polite. However…

What many young ones don’t realise is that the elderly walkers they overtaking are often quite deaf. A bell is easiest to hear and recognise, calling out is generally missed - our walk leaders’ hearing aid has a range of about 4 metres for speech. Bicycles themselves make very little noise detectable even to those with decent hearing.

I think what @TastyToastie meant (and I agree) was, it is unreasonable to object to going single file for a few seconds to let cyclists pass on a canal path. Pedestrians usually have priority on those paths but cyclists still have a right to be there, provided they're being considerate and following rules. I do cycle but quite slowly, and I feel like I'm constantly stopping and getting off my bike to let faster cyclists or groups of walkers pass safely.

I'm not sure why bell ringing is objectionable? How else are cyclists supposed to alert people to their presence if they're otherwise unaware they're behind them? It's just courtesy and safety, surely? Sure, it's a way of asking the people being 'belled' to move to one side for a few seconds to let them pass. But surely the awful inconvenience of having to briefly move over is outweighed by the potential risks of cyclists having to slow right down behind walkers, or injury being caused?

even so you don’t expect people to walk in single file on canal roads which are meant to be enjoyed slowly

Who are you to dictate what people use the path for? Evidently some are using it for a commute.

@lockdownmadnessdotcom

It's those that shout and/or are audibly screaming up behind me at a rate of knots, then expect me to leap out of their way, who I will not accommodate. It's just basic manners

If you are walking along a path you stay well over the left and then the issue doesn't arise in the first place - people can pass safely on the right. If it's too narrow to pass at all, then obviously people have to wait until there is some sort of passing place.

I'm talking (as I said) about narrow canal paths. There isn't much room on them even if I'm 'staying well over the left', and obviously one side is bordered by the water. It's quite a precarious place to find yourself on the edge of. Not to mention, even if I'm to one side, some cyclists are riding on the other side and still seem to think I should step aside so they don't have to change their precious course.

you should always give a cyclist as much room as you would a car when you overtake

I always think this is a bit confusing and think it's going to be revised in the new Highway Code. I used to think it meant give the bike as much space as you would give a car when you overtake - ie the same clearance. But what it actually means is treating the bike as if it were as wide as a car and then overtaking it. Again, if one person reading this thread takes that away from it, it's a job well done by the OP.

I don't think there's a higher concentration of twats among cyclists than among any other group, you are just specifically noticing the twats (you have no way of knowing how many considerate cyclists chose an entirely different route rather than the canal path in order to avoid these problems).

Anything that puts people off cycling will just put more cars on the road, increasing pollution and carbon outputs and increasing traffic misery for all. So regulating cyclists more fiercely is not the way to go.

Instead, we should be making cycling easier and safer, getting more people out of their cars and onto bikes. If the roads feel safer for a bike because there are fewer cars and they are going slower, then the cyclists won't feel the need to use the off-road pavement routes so much (unless they actively want the gentle canalside experience, and can slow down happily)

And as a fast-walking pedestrian I wish more people would walk single file rather than spreading out in a line across the pavement, being completely oblivious to the small crowd building behind them or forcing oncomers to step into the road.

YABU to lump all cyclists together.

And YABU to want to walk side by side blocking the path so it’s dangerous for cyclists to get past you.

I’m a cyclist and I’m very courteous, I ring my bell, slow down and try to be the one that swerves off the path not the walker. But I have a perfect right to go down a canal path just as much as a walker does, and I don’t particularly want to endanger myself by swerving too much around people blocking the path. A little bit of consideration on both sides and everyone’s happy.

I’m sick of cyclist-bashing posts on here tbh.

Oh and by the way to people complaining about two abreast - this is the general advice to cyclists to ride like this when they can. So please don’t blast your horn at us or overtake dangerously just so you can get somewhere 2 seconds faster 😡

@Macncheeseballs

Don't worry op, in this car-centric world, you will never be alone in your bitter hatred of cyclists

Ah FUCK I have just realised that i put ‘cyclists are twats’ Sorry everyone I deliberately titled my OP ‘cyclist twats’ and was supposed to put ‘some cyclists are twats’

Hahahha no wonder a lot of responses were reacting to the word twat.

Sorry everyone this one’s on me - wonder if I can get MNHW to edit.

I stand by my points about needing to hold them to the same standards as car drivers though w.r.t consideration for other road users

As in ‘cyclist twats’ instead of ‘cyclists are twats’

Oh give over, yes some cyclists are annoying, some dog walkers are annoying, some runners are annoying, etc etc, but we all just gotta learn to share the same space and As HG Wells said, 'Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the human race'

[quote lochmaree]@altforvarmt here you are assuming that drivers are driving appropriately. some drivers object to cycling abreast because then they can't squeeze past![/quote]
Ah yes, fair point.

For all the people who want cyclists to get a licence to cycle, I wish the driving licence was attached to an awareness of what it’s like to be a cyclist with lorries, vans and cars zipping by with only a foot of space. It is petrifying. It’s one of the reasons so few women cycle in this country.

Rather than get angry and decide they’re arseholes, please give cyclists adequate space. They’ve got as much right to be there as drivers, and they too have families to get home to.

Not to mention, even if I'm to one side, some cyclists are riding on the other side and still seem to think I should step aside so they don't have to change their precious course

If cyclists won't stay to their left I just stop and force the issue. Same for other runners actually (usually men). I am pretty obstinate about holding the line on keeping left. Occasionally I have to deviate to avoid a dog, but I won't move for (male) cyclists and runners. But that's a different thread! I know what you mean, they do sometimes come up on their right and expect you to move over - just stop and tell them they should be keeping left. And if it's really narrow well obviously they have to slow down and stop. They may not like it but they do.

@Lockheart

And as a fast-walking pedestrian I wish more people would walk single file rather than spreading out in a line across the pavement, being completely oblivious to the small crowd building behind them or forcing oncomers to step into the road.

This is SO rude and entitled. The key, I find, is that as you approach them not to make eye contact and not to deviate at all from your path. It might take them a while to realise you're not moving for them, but they do realise in the end.

There was plenty of space for them to pass - if they’d slowed down

How does their speed have any impact on the size of gap they are going through?

It’s totally daft to imply more accidents are caused by cyclists to pedestrians but go unreported. The number of cars on the road compared with bikes means even if every single cyclist was a twat you’d still have more bad drivers. Cars are about 80% of traffic on roads.

Saying getting a car license is harder than a mythical bike license and therefore doable is also daft. Most cyclists also drive , we need people to chose bike over car more for individual journeys often not put up barriers.

If you’ve got a few cyclists it’s much easier to overtake them if they ride two abreast. You are effectively then overtaking for half the distance. You should always give cyclists 1.5m of space.

@Lockheart

And as a fast-walking pedestrian I wish more people would walk single file rather than spreading out in a line across the pavement, being completely oblivious to the small crowd building behind them or forcing oncomers to step into the road.

Amen to this

@lockdownmadnessdotcom

Not to mention, even if I'm to one side, some cyclists are riding on the other side and still seem to think I should step aside so they don't have to change their precious course

If cyclists won't stay to their left I just stop and force the issue. Same for other runners actually (usually men). I am pretty obstinate about holding the line on keeping left. Occasionally I have to deviate to avoid a dog, but I won't move for (male) cyclists and runners. But that's a different thread! I know what you mean, they do sometimes come up on their right and expect you to move over - just stop and tell them they should be keeping left. And if it's really narrow well obviously they have to slow down and stop. They may not like it but they do.

I stop too. And I do tell them. They often shout back at me as they screech off, the rude twunts.

@lockdownmadnessdotcom

It's those that shout and/or are audibly screaming up behind me at a rate of knots, then expect me to leap out of their way, who I will not accommodate. It's just basic manners

If you are walking along a path you stay well over the left and then the issue doesn't arise in the first place - people can pass safely on the right. If it's too narrow to pass at all, then obviously people have to wait until there is some sort of passing place.

Yes this is another thing that I don't get. If a path or pavement is narrow you walk, run or cycle to ONE SIDE rather than ambling bovinely down the middle. It's really not hard. But the amount of pedestrians out there who take up all the space and then act startled when someone else comes along and wants to get past is infuriating.

I don't care if they shout back. They need telling and even if they go home and say some miserable runner shouted at them on the towpath they might get told by someone else that she was actually in the right

Not to mention, even if I'm to one side, some cyclists are riding on the other side and still seem to think I should step aside so they don't have to change their precious course

Perhaps try walking on the left then. You will find people stop heading towards you.