Bl**dy Cycle Paths

[theboytaylor]

I am rather f**ked off this evening.

My commute from Charlton in SE London to the City takes me through Greenwich Park and down over a bit of a hill. I normally whizz down and slog back up the road, but this evening I chose to take the cycle path because there were quite a few cars on the road.

Now, the cycle path is alongside the road, on the right hand side of it as you face up the hill. This means that you are passing up the hill within feet of cars speeding DOWN the hill.

What with the rain and the fallen leaves it was a bit slippy and as I started to hit the main part of the climb I noticed there's also a nasty camber that slopes INTO the road! About halfway up, my back wheel lost traction, slid sideways down the camber and left me on my ar5e with the bike in the gutter.

Now, the only thing that was harmed was my pride - although I've scratched my new rear derailleur but had I totally stacked it, or tried to keep it together and wobbled, I would have ended up going into the f**king road into oncoming traffic.

Even on a dry day, I'm not sure that the cycle path would be an easy ride up the hill, what with the camber. Where's the sense in putting a cycle path there? If the aim is to provide a safe alternative to riding on the roads, then it's almost irresponsible offering a more dangerous route.

Rant over.

 

[Jake]

good that your still able to rant

 

[DJ]

I totally sympathise with you on the cycle path issue! The state of cycle paths in London is terrible! They are (for the most part) badly thought out, too small and never seem to go were I need to go. There are one or two exception I admit but considering there are more cyclists in London now than ever before (due to congestion charging) etc the funding for cycle paths is zilch. Local councils had a bit of a splurdge of putting paths in a few years ago and now seem to have simply stopped!

I could go on all night, but wont!

!

 

[Riding in Circles]

Cycle paths should be part of the highway traveling in the same direction as traffic or segregated completely.

 

[theboytaylor]

I find it even more annoying because all anyone asks me at work is "isn't it dangerous" and I tell them no, because the route I take is fairly good by London standards with plenty of bus lanes and space. Then, I get into trouble on one of the parts that's meant to make my life as a cyclist better!

Greenwich Park is run by the Royal Parks. They've recently put up a ridiculous gate at one entrance to force cyclists to walk their bikes 20 yards to the start of the cycle lane (a case of the few ruining life for the many), they often have 5 or 6 of their plastic rozzers making sure you only cycle in designated areas and I understand the Ghost Bike that commemorated Lennard Woods was taken down "with great reluctance" by those who put it there after some sort of hassles with the Royal Parks Org.

Maybe the busybodies at Royal Parks are just all twunts.....don't get me started on digging the place up for the 2012 Games for horse riding!!!!!!

 

[DJ]

Plastic Rozzer's

I love that expression.

We get them around here out for a jolly on mtb's!

 

[Gerry Attrick]

I reckon cycle paths vary greatly from the good to the unusable. A couple of miles from Attrick Towers lies a cycle path which is completely unusable either because the hawthorn hedge overgrows at eye height or because of uncleared hawthorn clippings when they have trimmed the hedge. Either way it is not a practical alternative to the road. Of course predictably when I use the road, the thick ignorant cage pilots beep and yell inane comments out of their windows along the lines of "use the cycle path", but hey, who takes any notice of those p******s?

 

[handsome joe]

Sorry to hear about the near miss. I know the cycle path and it is very steep. What concerns me is the how dark some of the path is. If my memory serves me correctly i think there was a fatal accident around the entrance to the park a while ago. My personal opinion is that they should pedestrianise around the village and market and stop cars driving through the park. Maybe thats taking it a bit far.

I heard about the plans for the horse track??????? I had a good laugh.

 

[snapper_37]

Tis why I hate cycle paths much prefer to ride on the road, even with loads of traffic. To much hassle with the above mentioned and peds, etc.

Agree totally. Total waste of time in Wolves. Always covered in glass, cars parked and other shoot from the piss-heads the night before anyway.

I do sometimes venture onto cycle paths - just to remind me how crap they really are.

 

[hackbike 6]

Cycle lanes near Southwark Bridge are terrible,must be all those lorries trundling all over them.

 

[hackbike 6]

Ironically I came off on that very corner 11th September (Chain broke) I think the accident was in the next week.

The road is all cracked up before the bridge and the turning onto the bridge is ok

Two lanes.I was in the cycle lane today and a motorcycle courier just before Southwark bridge going towards Waterloo decided to cut in without looking and when I blew the dual horn thingy he nearly fell off.

He had a L plate on so I wondered if I should have been more careful but I still hope he learn't from it.I suppose he thought that because I was a pedal bike I couldn't keep up with him.

Felt a bit guilty about that I was just hoping he learnt a lesson to look before you cut into the cycle lane.

Unfortunately the motorcyclists tend to use the cycle lanes there when they feel like it.

 

[Flyingfox]

I never use the cycle path in Greenwich Park - too many pedestrians using it!

 

[hackbike 6]

Fair enough.

 

[theboytaylor]

This from Greenwich Cyclists: http://www.greenwichcyclists.org.uk/newsletters/pp66.pdf
Apparently the Park authorities are considering changing the Cycle Path. Wonder how long that will take......

 

[jimboalee]

Never, never use cycle paths. As snapper37 says, they are a congragating area for broken bottles.
Keep on the part of the road where car tyres pick up the glass.

Read the Highway Code. A cyclist is a 'road user'. Rule 204 says so.