Ride on Left

[theclaud]

Yes, I thought so too - but he had an identity crisis by being on the cycle path (not the nearby footpath) but behaving as a pedestrian!

Skaters and suchlike tend to like the bike section of the path cos it often has a smoother surface. Certainly does on the ones down here - I didn't notice until I had a go on a skateboard. It doesn't mean they see themselves as being like bikes.

 

[Bman]

I had this quite a bit last summer. Idiots on BSO's riding on the wrong side of the road/cycletrack.

Now I just pull over to the left and stop, just to make a point. I will not open a gap to the left of me for them to pass through and I wont move round them.

Its a little more annoying when I want to overtake one of these fools. Usually they are kids (did their parents not even teach them what side of the road to ride on!?). I ask them to move left and will not undertake. Often they are completely unaware of my presence and instead of moving over to the left, the move further over to the right!

Again, I ask them to keep left and only overtake when they do. It seems to do the trick

 

[Arch]

Its a little more annoying when I want to overtake one of these fools. Usually they are kids (did their parents not even teach them what side of the road to ride on!?). I ask them to move left and will not undertake. Often they are completely unaware of my presence and instead of moving over to the left, the move further over to the right!

To be unwarrantably fair, if you asked me to step to the left, I'd have to think for a second, and so would many people. When you're also controlling a bike, the thought process can take longer. I'll often say "turn left" to a companion, when I mean right and vice versa - but you can rely on my gestures to be correct. If I point right and say left, I mean right - I guess forming the words takes up a little more brain function. Often when asked directions I have to make a gesture, look at my hand and then remember which side I mean to say, some of us just do.

And there may be an element of not hearing or understanding you clearly, of hearing 'move left' as 'I'm coming by on the left' - seems daft but when you're not expecting someone to speak to you, it's possible to mis-hear all sorts of things.

As for:

"did their parents not even teach them what side of the road to ride on!?" I suspect the answer is simply 'no'. I fear we have a whole generation of kids who weren't taught to cycle on the roads at all, to whom cycling is just a game that happens to get you places, because their parents didn't cycle for transport...

I agree it's frustrating: if you want to go fast, stick to the roads, but sometimes it would be nice to use an off road path without having to think for everyone else as well.

 

[4F]

Coming down a long shared cycle path today. Wind behind me (YAY) going at a far old rate.

I'm cycling on the LHS of the lane, but all the cyclists coming the other way seem to want to share the same bit of pavement. They're on their RHS of lane. So we end up with a game of chicken. Today I bottled ever time, as I'm doing over 20 mph and as they are fighting into the wind they'd be going a lot slower.

I think it's because that side of lane is furthest from the road. Wind direct was directly up/down lane no crosswind so it's not that.

Is this common? Do most cyclists think that cycle on the left is the rule or merely what you do on roads!?

20 miles an hour is way too fast for a cycle path....

 

[jugglingphil]

20 miles an hour is way too fast for a cycle path....

Map of path
North side of A612

This cycle lane is about a mile with almost no interruptions and rarely any pedestrians, so this speed is possible. However I'd agree the 20+mph is too fast for most.

 

[Black Sheep]

We had that. walk down the stairs on the left and up on the left to keep everything following.

Our school did this, one or two teachers used to use the middle of the stairs to get past but generally we were using the middle as an ''express lane'' where you had to play chicken for right of way.

A few months back, I saw two cyclists nearly collide and moan at each other.

The one going in my direction had stuck to the left.
The one going against my direction had been cycling on the "bike side" of the 2m wide, split lane cycle path. This was his right, or our left - putting us on a collision course.

Personally, I tend to to ignore which lane is for cycles and which is for pedestrians - because if all bikes were in the narrow bike lane zipping past each other in opposite directions it's bound to cause accidents.
As I see it, you just use the left lane, and like a road if you get stuck behind someone slow (pedestrian) in your lane, then you wait, or overtake if safe to do so.

I give way to cyclists coming up the hill and slow down to fit with pedestrians on the footpath if i have to move over. basically doing what I would want others to do.

Skaters and suchlike tend to like the bike section of the path cos it often has a smoother surface. Certainly does on the ones down here - I didn't notice until I had a go on a skateboard. It doesn't mean they see themselves as being like bikes.

many pavements around here have rumble strips across them every now and then, no idea why. The cycle path next to it has it running so that you don't rumble over it, which is more comfortable when skateboarding.

 

[Bman]

many pavements around here have rumble strips across them every now and then, no idea why. The cycle path next to it has it running so that you don't rumble over it, which is more comfortable when skateboarding.

I believe thats "tactile paving" for blind/partially sighted people

 

[Ticktockmy]

When I used to cycle to work here in Crawley, I found the problems was the east europeans, as they would ride on the wrong side of the cycle lane, because of course they in there minds were riding instintivly on the correct side.. I used to be interesting to say the least.

 

[campbellab]

Why do you stand to the right on the underground and undertake on the left?

 

[BentMikey]

Skaters and suchlike tend to like the bike section of the path cos it often has a smoother surface. Certainly does on the ones down here - I didn't notice until I had a go on a skateboard. It doesn't mean they see themselves as being like bikes.

Aye, and occasionally I've had cyclists swear at me to get off the cyclepath when I'm skating. Give them a piece of my mind every time since I have as much right to use it as they do.

 

[BentMikey]

As for when cycling and encountering someone on the wrong side, a whirling chainsaw on the front of my bike plus an airzound is fairly good at persuading them to move left.

 

[661-Pete]

I don't think there are any definite 'rules' that can be enforced on cycle paths. Pass one side - pass the other side - who knows? My only rule is - proceed at normal pace if the path is clear, ok, but if there's anything ahead: pedestrian, other cyclist, horse, whatever (or if you can't see round a bend): slow down to walking pace. There's a trade-off between segregation from motorists and being able to make fast progress.

I do recall nearly having a head-on with two cyclists, on the A23 segregated path near Brighton. They were riding two abreast on the narrow path, I was able to stop in plenty of time but they were caught out and one of them fell off. He was OK though.

 

[Cubist]

My favourite moment was on the York to Selby path. At one point it passes a pub and cafe or knick-knack shop of some sort. Cubester and I were on our way back, keeping to the left like everyone else was that day, except for the woman cycling towards us. She chose to ride alongside her partner, thereby taking up all of the path between them. She was absorbed in reading the sign outside the cafe, head turned to her right, oblivious of our approach. I called out a cheerful "heads up!" which she possibly didn't hear, and now our collision was almost inevitable. I braked hard, as did the following Cubester, and I shouted again, "Heads Up!" from about ten yards max. She looked up, swerved, stopped, and gave me such a mouthful for "bombing along the path at that sort of speed".

Fortunately Cubester's presence prevented me from forgetting my manners, and as I had seen a woman watching her from the frontage of the cafe, who by this time was shaking her head despairingly (thus handing my exasperated ego a moral advantage) I decided trying to educate the silly cow by swearing at her would be futile.

 

[Paco de Bango]

Talking of playing chicken:

Yesterday I was cycling through Hyde Park on the way home when I saw a group of - what can only be described as - ‘c*nts’ standing in the cycle path and kicking all the cyclists as they cycled past. As I rode up to them (On the LHS of the path of course ) one of them saw me and set himself up to give me a boot as I went past. I considerd my options – pretend he’s not there, give him a wide berth etc but decided to speed up and aim straight for him in a bizarre low-speed game of chicken. Just at the last minute he backed away and I laughed out loud in his chavvy rat-like face.

Victory for the slightly overweight middle aged man on a bike.

 

[asterix]

Nice one. I did the same in Brixton when some guy stood in front of me. Like you, I considered my options and arrived at the same conclusion.