I met an idiot today.

[cyberknight]

Hi cycle chat members. First time poster here.

Reading through some of these threads about cycle path use, as I admit to being a bit baffled by what goes on during my commute on a daily basis. And was looking for insight.

A bit of background, I'm a low mileage commuter myself, since late last year. Due to daily time and school run constraints I do part of the journey by bike, part by car. For me it's a way of building in a bit of fitness each day without taking too much time out of the day if I were to do the whole thing by bike. Getting fitter and sleeping better these days which is great.

It's a rural route between town and city. The cycle part of my route is about half normal road and half cycle path beside dual carriageway, where I will always use the cycle path given the terrible performance of drivers' skills in general around cyclists.

Part of the driving part of my daily route is a NSL two lane with a dedicated shared path set back from the road, and yet very few cyclists ever use it, despite it being clean of debris and with a good surface (and more or less deserted of peds). I've used it a few times myself. There are no driveways for more than a mile. As a cyclist, and as a driver I just don't get why anyone would choose mixing it with the drivers going at 60 on an unlit road when the path is available just there.

There is another section where the road is narrow width country road, trees beside and overhead making it very dark, with a dedicated cycle path parallel built in the field behind the tree line, same issue, why doesn't everyone use it?

Reading some of the previous posts maybe speed is the issue, the time it would take to move to the path and then rejoin the road? It's the only reason I can think of so far?

I'm really looking to understand more than anything, I know absolutely it's everyone's choice whether to use the cycle path or road, I just don't get why the more dangerous option would get taken out of choice?

Any views would be welcome!!

I have a section of road that has a cycle path running along it that like you i choose to use rather than mix it with traffic that its norammly doing 60 -80 mph 2 abreast .
https://goo.gl/maps/FGQQU
Using this route adds a mile to my journey but avoids the roundabout of death which from personal experience in a car prior to cycle commuting is basically a free for all with drivers jumping out , randomly lane changing etc ...
https://goo.gl/maps/pf9jY

 

[HOU5EY]

I have a section of road that has a cycle path running along it that like you i choose to use rather than mix it with traffic that its norammly doing 60 -80 mph 2 abreast .
https://goo.gl/maps/FGQQU
Using this route adds a mile to my journey but avoids the roundabout of death which from personal experience in a car prior to cycle commuting is basically a free for all with drivers jumping out , randomly lane changing etc ...
https://goo.gl/maps/pf9jY

I use the cycle paths on my commute, I might have to cover slightly more distance this way but it's far safer. To be honest when I do drive in it is frustrating when I have to pass a cyclist riding along a 50 mph road at 25 when there's a perfectly good unused cycle path right next to them. I just can't understand why you would want to put your life in danger when your given the option not to.

 

[Mugshot]

I use the cycle paths on my commute, I might have to cover slightly more distance this way but it's far safer. To be honest when I do drive in it is frustrating when I have to pass a cyclist riding along a 50 mph road at 25 when there's a perfectly good unused cycle path right next to them. I just can't understand why you would want to put your life in danger when your given the option not to.

Just to check, if you have to pass a cyclist doing 25mph when there isn't a cycle path nearby you don't get frustrated?

 

[Markymark]

I use the cycle paths on my commute, I might have to cover slightly more distance this way but it's far safer. To be honest when I do drive in it is frustrating when I have to pass a cyclist riding along a 50 mph road at 25 when there's a perfectly good unused cycle path right next to them. I just can't understand why you would want to put your life in danger when your given the option not to.

I know. It must set you back, what, 30 or 40 seconds? How selfish of them. Don't they realise getting somewhere 30 seconds late makes your car explode? Luckily there's no cars doing things like slowing down for their convenience to slow you down too.

 

[HOU5EY]

It frustrates me that the cycle path has been put there for a reason, to save lives. If you are cycling along a faster road then cars approach you at a greater speed and because you choose not to ride on the cycle path away from danger then in this case it is the cyclist causing an unnecessary risk.

 

[andyfraser]

I use the cycle paths on my commute, I might have to cover slightly more distance this way but it's far safer. To be honest when I do drive in it is frustrating when I have to pass a cyclist riding along a 50 mph road at 25 when there's a perfectly good unused cycle path right next to them. I just can't understand why you would want to put your life in danger when your given the option not to.

There's a two lane road near me. It's a 40 mph limit so not the same but on my road bike I can maintain 20 - 24 if most of the way if I get green lights. If I use the cycle path next to it I have to slow down and stop several times for junctions and with pedestrians and other cyclists I'd struggle to hit 20 let alone maintain it so the road is quicker.

The junctions the cycle path crosses actually feel more dangerous than the road. Cars turn into them without indicating. You have to keep an eye on the lights so you don't end up trying to cross when the lights change to green and the cars just take off.

As I said above, I do use the cycle path on my hybrid and single speed.

 

[summerdays]

It frustrates me that the cycle path has been put there for a reason, to save lives. If you are cycling along a faster road then cars approach you at a greater speed and because you choose not to ride on the cycle path away from danger then in this case it is the cyclist causing an unnecessary risk.

But the recommended top speed on a cycle path is 18mph and it needs to be lower if there are pedestrians around. If it's the path I use then rather than being flat, it undulates up and down unlike the road beside it, then at junctions you normally need to give way to the traffic on the road twice. Of course if we changed the priority to to cycle path..... That would certainly improve things and if they didn't build things with dog-legs like this new bit they added this week... It would be better on the path...

 

[Markymark]

It frustrates me that the cycle path has been put there for a reason, to save lives. If you are cycling along a faster road then cars approach you at a greater speed and because you choose not to ride on the cycle path away from danger then in this case it is the cyclist causing an unnecessary risk.

Not what you said earlier. You've changed your post. You said you find it frustrating passing a cyclist doing 25 when you're doing 50.

 

[400bhp]

I use the cycle paths on my commute, I might have to cover slightly more distance this way but it's far safer. To be honest when I do drive in it is frustrating when I have to pass a cyclist riding along a 50 mph road at 25 when there's a perfectly good unused cycle path right next to them. I just can't understand why you would want to put your life in danger when your given the option not to.

Do you think a cyclist should be doing 25mph on a path?

 

[HOU5EY]

There's a two lane road near me. It's a 40 mph limit so not the same but on my road bike I can maintain 20 - 24 if most of the way if I get green lights. If I use the cycle path next to it I have to slow down and stop several times for junctions and with pedestrians and other cyclists I'd struggle to hit 20 let alone maintain it so the road is quicker.

The junctions the cycle path crosses actually feel more dangerous than the road. Cars turn into them without indicating. You have to keep an eye on the lights so you don't end up trying to cross when the lights change to green and the cars just take off.

As I said above, I do use the cycle path on my hybrid and single speed.

I think it really does depend on where you live as I see people saying you have to give way to driveways etc. I'm lucky as I don't seem to have any of this, just the odd roundabout to cross every mile or so. I guess everyone's commute is different, I might be nieve as I live in a fairly quiet town.

 

[summerdays]

The junctions the cycle path crosses actually feel more dangerous than the road. Cars turn into them without indicating. You have to keep an eye on the lights so you don't end up trying to cross when the lights change to green and the cars just take off.

I think that is one of the worst bits that they design bad crossings with poor visibility, and if the car on the road next to you is doing 50 mph it's a right pain! They don't make the islands in the crossings big enough for the number of cyclists trying to use them simultaneously and it can take a full cycle of the lights to get across a junction depending on the priority.

The only reason I'm using it is that I can't do 25 mph on the flat, and that's nice on mornings like this morning when I passed all the cars whilst I was doing about 12 mph!

 

[400bhp]

Here's a good example of why most cycle paths aren't used.

On the face of it, the cycle path looks good. However, you have to cross a fairly main road, which is done by the cycle path stopping and starting perhaps 15 yards from the junction. It's inherently dangerous and if I used the road for commuting I wouldn't use the cycle path.

So, for motorists that don't cycle, then I can see why some may get confused when they see a cyclist using the road.

The infrastructure is pish poorly thought out in the UK and is a hindernce not a help.

 

[HOU5EY]

It would be interesting to see some of the cycle paths in question. This is the one I use daily. Still some cyclists use the road. In my case I can't understand why apart from passing other cyclists but from the sounds of it not all paths are like mine

 

[andyfraser]

I think that is one of the worst bits that they design bad crossings with poor visibility, and if the car on the road next to you is doing 50 mph it's a right pain! They don't make the islands in the crossings big enough for the number of cyclists trying to use them simultaneously and it can take a full cycle of the lights to get across a junction depending on the priority.

The only reason I'm using it is that I can't do 25 mph on the flat, and that's nice on mornings like this morning when I passed all the cars whilst I was doing about 12 mph!

That's pretty much it. The section near Asda Walmat is 4 lanes and 2 islands and it can take a while to cross. On the road I just have to stop at one set of lights if they're red. Luckily I don't have to go that way so much any more.

 

[summerdays]

It would be interesting to see some of the cycle paths in question. This is the one I use daily. Still some cyclists use the road. In my case I can't understand why apart from passing other cyclists but from the sounds of it not all paths are like mine View attachment 81454

But would you want a cyclist doing 25 mph passing that child? What if they wobble off line? The paths I use can be a lot busier.