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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that adult cyclists who ride on pavements are selfish & irresponsible?

250 replies

Rafi · 14/05/2009 19:22

I can understand it if there's a child on the back. But normally it seems to be some selfish idiot who thinks they can do what they want & never mind the pedestrians...

AIBU?

OP posts:
Pan · 14/05/2009 20:05

understand people complaining about risky behaviour, and rudenesses. No bikist on this thread does that when on pavements. But the title of thread and OP is a bit extreme IMHO.

OrmIrian · 14/05/2009 20:07

I don't agree at all. I have no problem at all with cyclist using the pavements as long as they also use some common sense and remember they don't have right of way there.

If a road is really busy and there is a reasonably-wide pavement, why not use it. Taking a bike on most busy roads must be terrifying and how many cycle lanes are there? But cyclist have to take account of other pavement users and be careful.

Meglet · 14/05/2009 20:14

Yab a bit u. In the centre of town and if pavements are busy then,yes they should ride on the road, presumably the traffic is pretty slow.

But I live in an average town with busy roads so I don't have a problem with adults on the path riding sensibly, as long as its not through the town centre. I walk nearly everywhere with a pushchair but I haven't had any near misses with cyclists. Occasionally some kids can be a bit reckless, but tbh I'd rather they were on the path than on a busy road. There are too many bad drivers and cyclists are vunerable. (I don't cycle btw).

Miyazaki · 14/05/2009 20:15

I cycle on the pavement all the time. I think it is actually responsible to cycle. And at the moment our roads aren't coping with cyclists very well, hence people using pavements. As more and more people cycle hopefully there will be more pressure to improve the situation - whether that be added cycle lanes, naked roads, whatever.

Miyazaki · 14/05/2009 20:19

btw - bad phrasing I don't only cycle on the pavement, but when I feel it's significantly safer!

cory · 14/05/2009 20:22

my main problem is that they travel so fast and it is far harder to hear a bike coming than a car

if bike riders were happy to accept near pedestrian speeds then I'd be happy

but expecting to be able to move as fast as the rest of the traffic on the pavement is risky behaviour

have read articles which specially promote bike riding because you can move faster than the rest of the traffic by mounting the pavement

I wouldn't mind about the cheekiness of ringing a bell, have come very close to being run down from behind several times this week alone

bratnav · 14/05/2009 20:22

YANBU my DSDs Mum was walking to her local shop and got run over by some twat on a bike, he was doing 20mph (ish) on the pavement. By the by, it was 3.20, so 10 minutes before school kicking out time

Original poster
Rafi · 14/05/2009 20:25

Pan

I admit to ranting after having to dodge the third pavement racer in three days with my DD

Trying to be reasonable & calm down, I can see why cyclists would find pavements safer than busy roads, & if I only saw the careful, considerate cyclists I doubt I'd mind.
But I see far more of the bikers who DON'T consider the pedestrians & they're just dangerous. We definitely need more cycle lanes.

OP posts:
gigglinggoblin · 14/05/2009 20:33

YANBU. I especially think cyclists who ride around small kids on the pavements are idiots, small children move around without warning and it doesnt matter how fast you are going they will still be injured if you fall on them. For some reason the idiot bloke on a bike who was doing just this seemed to think iwbu when I shouted 'watch out kids there is an idiot on a bike'. but i was right. also bear in mind adults may have special needs and act the same as kids, elderly people may find it intimidating.

i agree there should be better cycle paths but its never going to happen while everyone wants to use their car. doesnt mean cyclists have to the right to risk injuring pedestrians to save themselves the risk of being injured.

AnnieLobeseder · 14/05/2009 20:34

Like so many other things, it depends on the situation. When I'm on my big clunky bike with DD2 on the back, I ride on the pavement along the big A-road that runs through our village because we'd be flattened by zooming cars and trucks if I rode on the road. When I'm on my racing bike, and am myself zooming, I wouldn't even consider riding on the pavement because I'm going too fast and would cause a horrible accident.

All cyclists should employ the same common sense - decide whether they are safer to themselves or other on the road or the pavement, and then cycle at an appropriate safe and courteous speed!!!

tattifer · 14/05/2009 20:52

"I thought it was illegal"

£30 fixed penalty. Or contest it in court and risk paying court costs as well.

I have to say as a cyclist I refuse to cycle on the footway - I'm a road user and expect to be treated as one so I guess that means I have to act like one. I do not often stick to the cycle lanes - they tend to be narrow, and punctuated by deep gutters and drains. I ride about a third of the way out into the lane or in the middle (depends on speed of traffic).

There are some footways however (very low volume of pedestrian and next to busy roads) where I would not stop a cyclist except to advise them to slow down if cycling very fast. If they're cycling on busy footways I tend to prefer a firm talking to rather than issue a ticket.

bloss · 14/05/2009 20:57

Message withdrawn

tattifer · 14/05/2009 20:59

Bloss - if only they all did. Unfortunately there are many cyclists who act towards pedestrians just like the bad drivers on the road act towards cyclists...

EldonAve · 14/05/2009 21:00

YANBU
They should be on the road with or without a child in the back

Takver · 14/05/2009 21:02

I sympathise with both sides - luckily where I live there is very little traffic and the main "problem" that I have is that cars will hover behind dd & I rather than pass us even when you could get two buses past us sideways not that I am complaining but it is a bit mad that we have to stop before someone will drive past.

The worst of all worlds I thought was when I lived in Cambridge and there was a combined cycle path / pavement which was on the route past a primary school that was on the way to the Science Park (and therefore full of small children combined with techy pizza eating blokes - no stereotyping here honest - who wanted to cycle at 30mph because they were late for work).

jujumaman · 14/05/2009 21:07

YANBU, if you're not brave enough to go on the road then don't cycle at all. Or use a back road, which is what I do and take a bit longer. The other day a cyclist yelled "get out of my way" at me when I had stopped on the pavement to fix the buggy, drove round me cursing and swearing.

This reminds me of the slow drivers thread we had recently, apparently other cyclists are dreadful but everyone who posts on mn is well within their rights and perfectly considerate

hester · 14/05/2009 21:09

I don't mind so long as cyclists remember that pedestrians have priority - so go slow, give way, act courteously. I do understand that roads can be unsafe, but that doesn't justify taking over the pavements - after all, pedestrians don't have anywhere else to go! If the road is unsafe and the pavement is crowded, then cyclists do have another choice: they can get off and walk, until the pavement gets quieter or the road gets safer.

Just simple manners, really.

tattifer · 14/05/2009 21:10

Strange that - I find while all kinds of people cycle on the footway, it's the educated middle class ones that really really don't like being told they can't...

Pan · 14/05/2009 21:13

no, the 'dreadful' cyclists are the ones who people remember, not the considerate ones, though they are prob. in the majority, certainly on this thread.

it isn't a matter of 'bravery' to cycle on some roads. It would be foolhardy to do so. I like to be a bikist. I threaten no-one. It's a cheap and healthy way to get to work. I have a car also, and it is sometimes quiker to bike to work. So pavement cycling is here to stay.

NoIAmTheNewQueenofMN · 14/05/2009 21:15

YANBU. Pavements are for pedestrians, roads are for cyclists and motorists.
I'm a cyclist and would never cycle on the pavement. If the road's too scary or dangerous, what's wrong with getting off and pushing until it's safe to use the road again?

echt · 14/05/2009 21:31

Bikes - road. Simple, really. I'm a cyclist and have never ever cycled on the pavement. There's no excuse.

squirrel42 · 14/05/2009 21:47

If you can keep up at the same speed as the rest of the traffic, staying on the road is fine. You can keep well away from the gutter with it's drain covers, broken glass and assorted potholes and take up the same amount of space as a car. If you are less lycra-wearing and more rounded/unfit like myself, you usually end up going quite a bit slower and need to keep in to the edge so cars can overtake (or risk getting honked at by angry motorists when you dodge a broken bottle/giant hole in the road). So when going uphill along a narrow residential road where only one car can pass at a time, do you wobble slowly along the road and hold everyone up or move over to the pavement? I will happily admit that I sometimes de-camp to the pavement on that stretch of my commute home. I keep out of the way of pedestrians (rarely meeting them anyway) and am hardly bombing along; I say thank you if anyone steps to one side for me. Sure some of you may just say "get off and push!", and if I need to go down a busy pedestrian area then I will, but I don't see the point in essentially wasting a usually empty bit of pavement if I can use it safely.

echt · 14/05/2009 21:52

Not your pavement, squirrel. Get it?

hatesponge · 14/05/2009 21:55

I have started cycling over the last few months to try and get fitter. I am not the thinnest person in the world, and therefore am not always perfect balanced on my bike - in fact a lot of the time I am quite wobbly. I simply don't feel safe enough to ride on the road yet - maybe once I am more confident and feel more in control of my bike I will. However, I refuse to give up a good means of exercise because some people think i should ride on the road not on the pavement.

for what its worth i generally am going quite slowly and when i come upon pedestrians i will normally pull over to let them past then ride on.

fledtoscotland · 14/05/2009 22:14

YANBU

i personally hate all cyclists