No wonder cyclists are hated

[presta]

Does no one ever contemplate leaving early just in case?

How early is early?

 

[Pblakeney]

How early is early?

20%-30% of expected journey duration as a rough rule of thumb guesstimate. I'd add more if going through a known congestion spot.

 

[All uphill]

I know you are joking but I did read of a, to me ridiculous, case where a farmer was held liable when his cows trampled and badly injured or killed a walker. Cows aren't really un unreasonable hazard to encounter in a field

Things are not always quite as newspapers report.

I know of two cases where people have faced serious charges when cows trampled and killed pedestrians, both reported as ridiculous in tabloids.

The first was when a fire engine tried to hurry up cows on the road by using their lights and sirens. Predictably the cattle stampeded and a human death resulted.

The second was a farmer trying to hurry up their cows with a similar result.

The details matter.

 

[Profpointy]

Things are not always quite as newspapers report.

I know of two cases where people have faced serious charges when cows trampled and killed pedestrians, both reported as ridiculous in tabloids.

The first was when a fire engine tried to hurry up cows on the road by using their lights and sirens. Predictably the cattle stampeded and a human death resulted.

The second was a farmer trying to hurry up their cows with a similar result.

The details matter.

To be fair there is that, and I may well be ill informed on the details. And I concede you could just be unlucky even though if I am fairly relaxed around cows, though once got cornered by bullocks and had to wave my anorak at them to get past. A friend was quite badly cut up in barbed wire trying to escape them after being chased, but on getting home all bloody and in tears, instead of the hoped for sympathy her country-raised fiancee's comment was "You stupid girl, you should have waved your arms and shouted 'shoo!' at them".

 

[Dogtrousers]

I know you are joking but I did read of a, to me ridiculous, case where a farmer was held liable when his cows trampled and badly injured or killed a walker. Cows aren't really un unreasonable hazard to encounter in a field just like one might encounter a cliff if climbing Ben Nevis and walkers should be prepared to react appropriately if they get a bit frisky, particularly if you have a dog with you as cows tend to intensely dislike dogs.

On the basis of what you have provided there, it's not necessarily ridiculous. I think it's entirely fair that farmers can be held accountable.

A case against a farmer for injuries caused by livestock isn't by definition ridiculous. Any given case may be ridiculous or may be reasonable depending on the details.

 

[Dogtrousers]

To be fair there is that, and I may well be ill informed on the details. And I concede you could just be unlucky even though if I am fairly relaxed around cows, though once got cornered by bullocks and had to wave my anorak at them to get past. A friend was quite badly cut up in barbed wire trying to escape them after being chased, but on getting home all bloody and in tears, instead of the hoped for sympathy her country-raised fiancee's comment was "You stupid girl, you should have waved your arms and shouted 'shoo!' at them".

Sheep are my limit. I won't enter a field with horses or cows. Can result in some interesting detours.

 

[Solocle]

Sheep are my limit. I won't enter a field with horses or cows. Can result in some interesting detours.

I had these chaps following me once... I think they were some distance away when I started to cross the field.

 

[raleighnut]

Quite a difficult one tbh. The southern side of the A6 is a bit more naff. But Cumbria is a very nice section indeed, and you've got the Peak District too.
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The A1, at 637 km, would be an epic journey, although obviously you need to allow the old route (Great North Road) for it to even be possible. And still end up with a lot of nasty sections of dual carriageway.

The A2 - mostly dual carriageway. My interest in it is Watling Street, which allows - no, requires - older sections where feasible.
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The A3 - mostly nasty. You get the Surrey Hills, but avoiding the Hindhead Tunnel is an additional faff.

The A4 - Mostly a very nice ride, some hills, but a well engineered road. 200 km, so a challenging day out. Time it right so that you do London-Reading at a quiet time of day, hopefully Bath-Avonmouth falls at a quiet time too.
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This is local enough to me that it would be my go-to road to one-shot one of the nine.

A5 - Watling Street again. Busy and nasty sections again, but I think you could make it work. Awesome in Snowdonia.
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A7 - Short and sweet, 150 km. Absolutely gorgeous, and low traffic. Nae bother.
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A8 - The shortest of all at 69 miles (nice). The old road is required, since in a lot of places it's entirely replaced by the M8. Sections are just grim.

The A9 - Very varied, a 450 km epic. If you allow the old road, it avoids the nastiness through the Cairngorns, and lets you focus on the scenery.
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Nice Pic of the A6 in Bakewell.

 

[Dogtrousers]

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I had these chaps following me once... I think they were some distance away when I started to cross the field.

Several decades ago I was touring in Dorset with a friend. For some long forgotten (and probably stupid) reason we ended up wheeling our bikes across a field. I looked behind me and to my horror a load of cows had appeared and were following us in single file. We stopped. They stopped. I have no Idea what was going on. But we lived to tell the tale.

 

[Solocle]

Several decades ago I was touring in Dorset with a friend. For some long forgotten (and probably stupid) reason we ended up wheeling our bikes across a field. I looked behind me and to my horror a load of cows had appeared and were following us in single file. We stopped. They stopped. I have no Idea what was going on. But we lived to tell the tale.

This was in fact near Cerne Abbas

 

[Profpointy]

View attachment 772240
I had these chaps following me once... I think they were some distance away when I started to cross the field.

What can happen is the cows, or even more so for bullocks, at the back think they are missing out so start running to catch up, then the cattle nearest you think there's a stamped behind them, so it can get a bit lively.


Anyhow I (edit: this bloke) got told off by his wife for winding the cows up but they were just being curious and friendly

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Many years ago I was walking along a country path with my partner (at the time) and our daughter

we came to a kissing gate but when we got there a cow came up and literally stuck its head in the gate so it would not open
we tried all sorts - but every time we approached the gate the cow put its head in the gate

eventually I persuaded my partner to stay being and I went on my own - and she let me through
I went back and came back with the 2 females - and the cow cam back

I realised that it was their voices
the cow was not at all happy with female voices - but was fine with mine

once I got them to keep totally quiet ( which was "difficult" - my daughter was fine but her mother was "not") then it was fine but the cow was looking very wary


and in the past I have seen cow that literally charged at a human - luckily he was on the other side of a fence but he had a dog and the cows were VERY unhappy

 

[markemark]

I had a terrible experience with a cow once. The steak was overcooked.

 

[Webbo2]

I was once crossing a field on a public footpath with 2 mates to visit a crag we were carrying bouldering crash pads which would have made us look large. There were several cows in the field who started to move our direction in a rather an assertive manner. Shouting and waving the pads at them discouraged them so we legged it over a wall to get away.
More recently a friend got trampled whilst walking with the dog in the Yorkshire dales.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I was once crossing a field on a public footpath with 2 mates to visit a crag we were carrying bouldering crash pads which would have made us look large. There were several cows in the field who started to move our direction in a rather an assertive manner. Shouting and waving the pads at them discouraged them so we legged it over a wall to get away.
More recently a friend got trampled whilst walking with the dog in the Yorkshire dales.

I have read that a lot of cows object to dogs in their field

and if you have one and the cows start running at you the best think to do if let the dog loose
the dog has a better chance of avoiding the cows if loose and you can get away and give it a way out of the field if you can open a gate and call it