Pavement cycling

[Debian]

Due to my bike being somewhat reshaped by a car on Tuesday I walked to work this morning.

Now, as some of you will know, I'm not completely anti pavement cycling so long as it's done courteously and if the road is busy / dangerous enough to condone it. I don't agree with it 100% but I do believe that there are occasions when it's justified.

I was really teed off this morning though. Walking down London Road in Worcester, a youngish female (early 20's I guess) cycled past me and clipped my arm with her handlebars. No sorry, just a belated "excuse me" after the event. I was miffed at this and shouted something like "pavements are for pedestrians, use the road!"

At this point she turned left at a junction, still on the pavement, I crossed the road and carried on walking. Blow me if she didn't cycle past me again, and again clipped my sleeve whilst making a silly "cuckoo" type sound. I just shouted "ignorant prat" after her and she made a shrugging gesture with one hand and merrily cycled off down a busyish pavement.

If I see her again I may just accidentally lean into her as she rides past.....

 

[BSRU]

Maybe she fancies you

 

[Debian]

Maybe she fancies you

Nice thought..... but I don't think so. I'm old enough to be her dad.

 

[potsy]

Nice thought..... but I don't think so. I'm old enough to be her dad.

Don't you mean Grandad

 

[benb]

Some girls like the idea of a sugar daddy.

 

[Firestorm]

In a short 300 yd walk from the station to my office this morning i saw 3 RLJ's, 2 cycling the wrong way up a one way street and 1 riding on a pavement and that is less than normal !

 

[Jezston]

Some people are just selfish pricks.

At least she wasn't driving a car.

 

[davefb]

[QUOTE 1196156"]
I'm with you -I encounter probably about 1 irresponsible, intrusive pavement cyclist in every 100 or so, so I don't have a problem with most of them. But on the odd occasion that one meets an individual such as yours, one is motioned to insert one's shooting stick into their front wheel.
[/quote]

i just think 'crikey, i can make the effort why can't you?' , sometimes they're cycling faster on the pavement, than i'd be going on the road for crying out loud.

okay, so sometimes i'll be on pavement or perhaps 'pedestrianised road, where delievery vans can go down', but i tend to go at 'fast walking pace', it just seems stupid and ignorant to do anything but!!

oh and, i dunno about shooting stick, but my normal walking shoes would survive the rear spokes.... so the tool who cycled the wrong way when he RLJ'd as myself and another person was crossing so very nearly found out...

i mean, i could understand if i'd walked into a road without looking, but i was looking, but foolishly towards oncoming traffic!

 

[Debian]

<br />Don't you mean Grandad <img src="http://www.cyclechat.net/styles/default/xenforo/smilies/whistling.gif" /><br />

<br /><br /><br />

Ooohhhh, unkind....

Theoretically possible I suppose, if I'd fathered her mom or dad at around 14.

 

[fossyant]

Some people are just selfish pricks.

At least she wasn't driving a car.

Quite.....thank god !

 

[hackbike 666]

That's why I don't like pavement cycling...people are too ignorant or stupid to do it safely in this country.

 

[gbb]

That's why I don't like pavement cycling...people are too ignorant or stupid to do it safely in this country.

Sadly, some people are too stupid and ignorant to do many things safely in this country...be it on foot, cycle or car

Like OP, i'm not totally against pavement cycling provided the paths empty and the road/junction/ is busy.
But i stopped at some TLs the other day, having just overtaken a pavement cyclist, who blundered along round the bend into the path of two young ladies walking, who then virtually had to scatter out of his way. He wasnt going fast, he just seemed to assume he had the right to blunder on regardless, no word from him of excuse me or thanks to the girls.
Stupid, ignorant, dangerous, fcukwit, brainless, feckless....perm any one from six.

 

[4F]

I refuse to move out of the way and have gestured that I will "clothes line" them if they get too close

 

[Midnight]

Due to my bike being somewhat reshaped by a car on Tuesday I walked to work this morning.

Now, as some of you will know, I'm not completely anti pavement cycling so long as it's done courteously and if the road is busy / dangerous enough to condone it. I don't agree with it 100% but I do believe that there are occasions when it's justified.

I was really teed off this morning though. Walking down London Road in Worcester, a youngish female (early 20's I guess) cycled past me and clipped my arm with her handlebars. No sorry, just a belated "excuse me" after the event. I was miffed at this and shouted something like "pavements are for pedestrians, use the road!"

At this point she turned left at a junction, still on the pavement, I crossed the road and carried on walking. Blow me if she didn't cycle past me again, and again clipped my sleeve whilst making a silly "cuckoo" type sound. I just shouted "ignorant prat" after her and she made a shrugging gesture with one hand and merrily cycled off down a busyish pavement.

If I see her again I may just accidentally lean into her as she rides past.....

This is why I am against cycling on the pavement. I accept that there may be some circumstances where it can be justified, there are far too many people now doing it, even when there is a perfectly safe (safer) alternative. Just this morning I saw a yoof cycling along a pavement when there was a perfectly good cycle lane, completely separated from traffic available running alongside! On the other hand, I was passed by a female cyclist on the pavement with a small child in a childs seat, she thanked me for moving to one side, and passed me safely. The woman with child actually made me think about this issue, and when carrying a child alongside a busy narrow road (as this was) then I think it is justifiable.

I've never cycled in a large city, so I can only guess what a nightmare city traffic can be like, but by cycling on the pavement, do we not give the impression that cycling on the road is too dangerous?

 

[StuartG]

I'm fascinated by this thread. I live/work/play in inner London. I go running along the streets twice a week, I walk them most days and in the last year been buzzed by bikes just once. Two young silly teenagers to be precise who were probably safer on the pavement than the road. Compare this with several illegally parked cars on the pavement all the time.

So what influences pavement riding or not? Clearly we have something (or lack something) which other places do not.