To think cyclists should use cycle lanes

[Krispybake]

Today, a massive line of traffic was held up by a cyclist who was using a long main road when a cycle path (tarmacked the same as the road) ran parallel for the entire length of the road. Due to the volume of traffic coming in the opposite direction, it was impossible to overtake the cyclist and leave the safe distance so creating a huge tail back involving service buses, funeral cortege and multiple cars.
Genuine question, why do cyclists do this? If the cycle track has the same surface as the road, why will they not use it? Very annoying!

@PuffinPuffinPenguin Yikes, I’ll put my helmet on and wait for the barrage! 🤣

I’ve pulled over before mainly for my own sake, tbh. I hate having a line of traffic on my tail, it makes me nervous.

It is interesting that you cite the slow pace in the cycle lanes as the cause for some cyclists to use the road. How ironic that they then become the "slow pace" for other motorists. So it is OK for them to be frustrated at being held up but not other motorists?

Where is this amazing New Amsterdam because I want to go there?

I always recommend that people who complain about cyclists should spend a couple of hours cycling around a town one day and experiencing just how terrifying it actually is to cycle.
I am both a cyclist and a motorist, but commute by bike most days. At least once a day a motorist turns across my path without looking. They overtake far too close - sometimes you feel them brush against your arm. They open car doors in front of you. It is absolutely shocking how little care many motorists take.
And that’s before you get to the state of the cycle paths, the cars parked in them, the broken glass and potholes, the poor entry and exit points.
I have almost died several times cycling.
My partner broke four ribs and two vertebrae when a car turned across his path a few months ago.
Cyclists are just trying to stay alive, and if they’re on the road rather than the cycle path there will be a good reason, because no cyclist prefers to be in amongst the traffic where they are incredibly vulnerable.

The cycle paths where I live are beautiful, miles and miles of moorland was dug up and paved to make them and there is certainly no more litter on them than there is on the main road. The only cyclists I see using them are families with children, the rest of them would seemingly all prefer to sit amongst all the traffic on the main road breathing in exhaust fumes. It's not something I'd like to do I must admit.

Cycle lanes aren't always safe. It's actually often safer to be on the road, because you get fewer idiots pulling over/out of cycle lanes,.of can also force the car to take a wider pass etc.

the reason for the slow pace - I should have been clearer - is he woeful surfacing and bumps making the path not suitable for anyone cycling at speed. If there is no issue with the surfacing then although they still would still have the right to use the road then IMO it would be much safer for them on the cycle lane.

Most cyclists I know are very responsible citizens. Yes there are a few idiots about. But there are far far more idiotic drivers than idiotic cyclists IME.

YABU

I do own a bike and I do cycle, albeit not regularly. I sympathise with your issue of your cycle lanes not being fit for purpose. That is really not the case where I live though and I as I have explained several times, the cycle lane that could have been used today by the cyclist is a recent upgrade and runs alongside the actual road. It is visible from the road along its entire length and is almost equivalent to a hard shoulder although cars cannot pull into it or park on it as it is protected by bollards. The very reasons you give for finding cycling a nightmare at times is the very reason I would have thought gives weight to my argument that when cycle lanes are fit for purpose and function exactly like the road they run alongside, then they should be used!

But what harm does it do being held up for a while. They have just as much right to use the space as you 😉

Multiple reasons, I only use them if there is a 6 meter wall between them and the road, i.e. totally isolated from the road.

The issue I have with most cycle paths that make them more dangerous than using the road is
pedestrials who walk 2-3 abreast
walkers with dogs off the lead
walkers with dogs on a long lead
parents push prams/buggies
children running around with their parents
people riding scooters
glass
potholes
fireworks left on the path
cars turning in to side-roads across the cycle path
cars driving on the cycle path
cars parked on the cycle path
lamp posts in the cycle path

and I am sure more - the fact remains for me 90% of cycle paths are more dangerous for me than using the road.

Cycle lane and separate pavement, both separate from the road, only an idiot would cycle along it due to the roads crossing it, the exit lane further back from this that runs over it etc etc. It is safer to be on the road.

Nothing like the cycle lane I was describing. The one on this video is appalling in that it abruptly ends (although I would still personally use it where I could to avoid being on a road wherever possible). Today, the lane runs alongside the road for several miles.

Cyclists are just trying to stay alive, and if they’re on the road rather than the cycle path there will be a good reason, because no cyclist prefers to be in amongst the traffic where they are incredibly vulnerable.

This absolutist thinking really is a problem. Of course some cyclists are arseholes who choose road over cycle late because they are being awkward. Just like some cyclists are arseholes who cycle on pavements which are not shared paths and don't care about the safety of pedestrians. Pretending that all cyclists are saints is as annoying as the drivers who refuse to accept that many drivers are frankly unsafe and dgaf about cyclists.

The cycle path in that video is one I know well - I drive it every day. Never see any cyclists on it. Fortunately the road is wide enough that cars and bikes can share safely. The only accidents I've known are cars bumping in to each other (at low speeds) at the lights / roundabout, or idiots driving too fast (usually in the middle of the night) and wrapping their car around a tree. However, many other roads in the area have no cycle paths at all, pavements aren't wide enough to be shared use, and the roads are too narrow for cars to pass cyclists safely.

@Greysilverbluehair

"Joggers and pedestrians straying into the bike lane, many with headphones and oblivious to my bell. Again, this slows down the journey."

And another post giving the reason for not using a cycle lane using the phrase "slows down the journey." 😂😂😂😂
Welcome to the world of motorists where such cyclists inflict that onto others but hey, as long as they're OK!
Sooooo cyclists can't be "slowed down" by pedestrians or joggers (as that would be entirely unreasonable) but motorists just need to suck it up when said cyclists take to the road and cause the same issues? 🤔
Double standards!

There will likely have been a reason. If a cycle path is good. I’ll use it. 99% of the time it’s rough and cracked, bumps and tree roots. Plus thorns , rubbish and glass. Often end abruptly as well leaving you in a vulnerable spot as you try and rejoin.

And another post giving the reason for not using a cycle lane using the phrase "slows down the journey." 😂😂😂😂
Welcome to the world of motorists where such cyclists inflict that onto others but hey, as long as they're OK!
Sooooo cyclists can't be "slowed down" by pedestrians or joggers (as that would be entirely unreasonable) but motorists just need to suck it up when said cyclists take to the road and cause the same issues? 🤔
Double standards!

well cyclists have every right to be on the road so regardless of your opinion you will have to put up with it.

Also is it a cycle lane or a shared use path? Cyclists should not cycle more than 15mph on a shared use path. Recommendation not a law but probably sensible

Its the lycra clan that annoys me taking up all the road especially on a Saturday or rush hour rather than cycling in a single lane especially when a cycle lane has been designated for them they still use the road and my temper goes then. Cyclists getting from A to B I don't mind though and have patience for.

Oh noes! People out having fun in appropriate clothing, whatever next.

Was this in Sussex? I saw exactly the same this morning.

The one I saw was on a 2-lane road that leads to a dual carriageway. There's 100 yards or so where the limit is 30, approx a quarter of a mile where it's 40, and last bit, well over half a mile is NSL.

The man on the bike was furiously gesticulating at every car that managed to pass him, although the ones I could see gave him plenty of space, at least the 1.5m minimum, and a fair bit more in most.

At the end, the cyclist would have had to cross the road, carrying 60 mph traffic, to get on to the cycle path, or take his chances on the dual carriageway with traffic passing him at 70. Utterly mad!

The cycle track is well maintained too, at least according to my DIL who cycles it regularly.

South Coast....

Because some motorists seem to forget to give 1.5m room when passing just because the cyclist is in a cycle lane. They don’t seem to realise that a line of paint on a road doesn’t actually protect the cyclist against a close pass.

Not shared. Completely separate with clear differentiation between the two. The cycle lane is an extension of the road protected by bollards. I maybe should have been clearer in my original post that this is just like the road itself, i.e. no interruptions for junctions etc. It is quite new and is immaculate. I have not cycled along it but have walked the footpath next to it and have driven along the other side. I can see no reason why a cyclist would choose to drive on the road side when the cyclist side is EXACTLY the same.....no potholes, lovely tarmac etc. Yes, not all cycle lanes/paths are safe or useable so in these cases, of course they have every right to be on the road but I think in circumstances like today, the cyclist was just being awkward and causing a lot of unnecessary congestion.

If it is physically separated like the one in the photo it might just be that they missed the entrance to it by mistake and there's no safe place to join it further up.