The ignorant and self-righteous.

[Custom24]

Hi
Sorry that my second post is a bit of venting, but...
Near the end of my sodden commute to work today, on marked and signed unsegregated cycle/pedestrian path alongside the road (with oncoming cars etc beside me on my left). Up ahead old guy with small yappie type dog on the right (away from the road) walking towards me. Dog on lead. Old guy moves towards me, dog remains as is. I slow. Old guy is looking right at me. Lead is stretched out across path. I think nothing of it particularly until I am squeezing into the ten inches or so he's left me between himself and the kerb, and then I'm thinking "this is a bit tight".

Just as I pass him, he quietly says into my ear one word - "pedestrian".

Now it all clicks - he thinks I am in the wrong somehow, and he's tried to force me into the road into oncoming traffic to prove his point. I slam on the anchors and shout over my shoulder "This is a shared pedestrian/cycle path, there are blue signs on the lamposts, did you not see the signs?". I am inwardly impressed that I don't use any expletives.

But he just ambles away, not even bothering to look back at me.

One minute later at the bike shed the full rage hits me and I am tempted to go find him and make him acknowledge me. But luckily a work colleague turns up and I can share the tale with him and laugh about it instead.

But he's still out there, ambling along, terrorising cyclists, being self-righteous. Next time, I will aim toward his dog rather than the kerb. There is nice soft grass on the right if running over Rover throws me off.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

Don't take it out on the innocent dog for crying out loud!

Next time, run over the self righteous twerp at the other end of the lead instead!



Hello by the way.

 

[SomethingLikeThat]

This is why I hate shared use paths. Peds wander all over the place and never keep to their side.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

This is why I hate shared use paths. Peds wander all over the place and never keep to their side.

Shared's fine. People who can't share aren't.

 

[paul04]

Just put it down to Ignorance, his attitude would be "I'm right your wrong" don't worry about it, just laugh it off.

I use to get this alot when out running, people taking dogs a walk and using those stupid long retractable dog leads, the majority of people would bring the lead in, but a handful would more or less let you run on the road to get past.

 

[Drago]

I bet the temptation next time will be to plough into the dogs lead.

 

[tadpole]

Hi
terrorising cyclists.

Really? how did he Terrorise you?

 

[Nocode]

I use to get this alot when out running, people taking dogs a walk and using those stupid long retractable dog leads, the majority of people would bring the lead in, but a handful would more or less let you run on the road to get past.

Yeah, I had the same when out running once. I was just on my way back from a long run, running-up a hill towards my house, absolutely knackered (probably a bit delirious if the truth be told) and this group of teenage girls were 3 abreast across the pavement, could clearly see my running towards them and refused to move out of the way. I ended-up running in the road at the last minute and stupidly (because I was knackered and not quite with it) did so without looking behind me. Could've been nasty for me, but I was lucky... It seems most people think the order of priority goes; walking pedestrian, dog walking pedestrian, running pedestrian... Grrr! *RAGE*

 

[akb]

Could you not have politely said "excuse me" or similiar to save getting into the situation in the first place. Education, IMO, is better than retaliation.

 

[DCLane]

Just as I pass him, he quietly says into my ear one word - "pedestrian".

He's just suggesting that you need to be a bit faster, since your riding is clearly 'pedestrian'

 

[dodd82]

I can sympathise with the OP... in situations like this I find an incessant desire to explain to said person why they have got it wrong.

A personality defect that I am working on and succeeding in some but not all occasions

 

[I like Skol]

You have to remember, he is probably totally untrained and ignorant. You need pass no test or receive any training to become a pedestrian (a bit like a cyclist come to think of it ) so may be totally unaware of 'road sense' or etiquette. Just put this down to experience and continue in the knowledge that your superior ability allows you to deal safely with the uninitiated you may encounter.

On the other hand he may just be a miserable, spitefull old git who gets some sort of sad satisfaction from pissing people off, in which case you have nothing to gain from confronting him other than feeding his perverse pleasure!

EDIT: Hmmmm, that just goes to show how often I use expletives in my posts, I wasn't aware we had an auto-censoring function running in the background!

 

[Dave Angel Eco Warrior]

I use alot of shared use paths and most peds and dog walkers are very nice, they rain their dogs in or get them to sit as I go passed, and I always make a point of thanking them, you do get the odd one that is either hard of hearing or locked in conversation with a friend that dont hear you calling or ringing the bell, but thats understandable.

The ones that bug me are when a group of youngsters deliberaty block the path. You see that they have seen you as they have either turned to look in your direction when you sound the bell or were already walking towards you, then they turn to their mates as if to say watch this, then either turn their back on you and walk in the middle of the path, or start to weave acorss the path. its almost as if they get a little power trip from making you slow or stop.

 

[Peter Armstrong]

Really? how did he Terrorise you?

Because when he see cyclists he walks accross so his lead covers the entire path

 

[dodd82]

I use alot of shared use paths and most peds and dog walkers are very nice, they rain their dogs in or get them to sit as I go passed, and I always make a point of thanking them, you do get the odd one that is either hard of hearing or locked in conversation with a friend that dont hear you calling or ringing the bell, but thats understandable.

The ones that bug me are when a group of youngsters deliberaty block the path. You see that they have seen you as they have either turned to look in your direction when you sound the bell or were already walking towards you, then they turn to their mates as if to say watch this, then either turn their back on you and walk in the middle of the path, or start to weave acorss the path. its almost as if they get a little power trip from making you slow or stop.

Totally agree.

It seems to me that some people feel it's a weakness to give way or make room?