r04DiE
300km a week through London on a road bike.
OK, so do you now realise why people don't always want to use the cycle path?
Use the cycle path!!
- Thread starter RobWard
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OP
OP
RobWard
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Silverdale, Lancashire
Just like 1 or 2 drivers give every other a bad name.
Just like 1 or 2 HGV drivers give every other a bad name.
Just like 1 or 2 bus drivers give every other a bad name
Just like 1 or 2 cyclist give every other a bad name.
Yeah, I get it now #canofworms
- Location
- Glasgow
A wee cycle path story for you op:
I am conscious of being slow, I try not to impede traffic when I can but not at expense of my safety.
Green painted lane on the road, right between where cars want to turn left and I want to go straight on.
I'm not using the lane, taking the correct position on the road in view of joining the path further along: driver shouts "why are you not on the cycle path".
I am now on the cycle path, it drops me at traffic lights, in the left side of a bike box.
A taxi sits in the bike box. He wants to turn left, I want to go straight.
He calls me an idiot,
If I'd been on the road all along, I would have either ended up in front of him or behind him, my correct position middle of the lane, no clashing with the taxi driver.
But I used the shared path, like the car driver shouted me to do, now I'm an idiot to the taxi driver.
Tell you what: from now on I'm only using the roads, all cars can suffer behind me going 5mph.
I am conscious of being slow, I try not to impede traffic when I can but not at expense of my safety.
Green painted lane on the road, right between where cars want to turn left and I want to go straight on.
I'm not using the lane, taking the correct position on the road in view of joining the path further along: driver shouts "why are you not on the cycle path".
I am now on the cycle path, it drops me at traffic lights, in the left side of a bike box.
A taxi sits in the bike box. He wants to turn left, I want to go straight.
He calls me an idiot,
If I'd been on the road all along, I would have either ended up in front of him or behind him, my correct position middle of the lane, no clashing with the taxi driver.
But I used the shared path, like the car driver shouted me to do, now I'm an idiot to the taxi driver.
Tell you what: from now on I'm only using the roads, all cars can suffer behind me going 5mph.
r04DiE
300km a week through London on a road bike.
Where?
Nigel-YZ1
Guru
- Location
- Somewhere else... maybe soon.
Googling the Warrington Cycle Campaign Farcility of the Month is a good reason.
OP
OP
RobWard
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Silverdale, Lancashire
r04DiE
300km a week through London on a road bike.
Yes, sorry - I thought it had some relevance to what you'd already posted in the thread, rather than some random YouTube video.
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
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Jenkins
Legendary Member
- Location
- Felixstowe
A couple of examples from Suffolk
1 - The A1214 Kesgrave to Ipswich road has a cycle path or shared path running alongside for most of the length. Unfortunately the path crosses more than 10 side roads where priority is NOT with the path and all the houses are set back and have driveways crossing the path. Needless to say progress is much quicker on road.
2 - This is considered to be a safe section of cycle path by Suffolk County Council - six feet from oncoming traffic including HGVs with no barrier and generally not maintained, potholed and filled with whatever car and lorry drivers through out of their windows. Meanwhile there is a perfectly useable single track road with passing places every 200 yards or so that runs parallel to it that is NOT the recommended cycle route.
I could provide other examples of pointless, unusable "cycle paths" or shared paths if you wish, but these are some of the worst examples of why I generally won't use them.
1 - The A1214 Kesgrave to Ipswich road has a cycle path or shared path running alongside for most of the length. Unfortunately the path crosses more than 10 side roads where priority is NOT with the path and all the houses are set back and have driveways crossing the path. Needless to say progress is much quicker on road.
2 - This is considered to be a safe section of cycle path by Suffolk County Council - six feet from oncoming traffic including HGVs with no barrier and generally not maintained, potholed and filled with whatever car and lorry drivers through out of their windows. Meanwhile there is a perfectly useable single track road with passing places every 200 yards or so that runs parallel to it that is NOT the recommended cycle route.
I could provide other examples of pointless, unusable "cycle paths" or shared paths if you wish, but these are some of the worst examples of why I generally won't use them.
mcshroom
Bionic Subsonic
- Location
- Egremont, Cumbria
The picture posted is not the route you mentioned in the OP.
Having ridden it, the 'cycle path' on that section disappears at regular intervals, requires you to cross the road at least twice and jumps on and off of the road. That's before you consider the number of times you would have to give way to side roads. Added that route gets so choked with motor traffic most weekends the cars spend more time getting in the way of bikes than the other way round.
Anyway, the cyclists have a right to ride on the road, motorists are only allowed to drive on it under license
Also, as you're in Lancashire and the roads are paid for by Cumbria (my) County Council, unlike you I pay for that road
Having ridden it, the 'cycle path' on that section disappears at regular intervals, requires you to cross the road at least twice and jumps on and off of the road. That's before you consider the number of times you would have to give way to side roads. Added that route gets so choked with motor traffic most weekends the cars spend more time getting in the way of bikes than the other way round.
Anyway, the cyclists have a right to ride on the road, motorists are only allowed to drive on it under license
Also, as you're in Lancashire and the roads are paid for by Cumbria (my) County Council, unlike you I pay for that road
r04DiE
300km a week through London on a road bike.
Just a massive troll, like I thought.The picture posted is not the route you mentioned in the OP.
Having ridden it, the 'cycle path' on that section disappears at regular intervals, requires you to cross the road at least twice and jumps on and off of the road. That's before you consider the number of times you would have to give way to side roads. Added that route gets so choked with motor traffic most weekends the cars spend more time getting in the way of bikes than the other way round.
Anyway, the cyclists have a right to ride on the road, motorists are only allowed to drive on it under license
Also, as you're in Lancashire and the roads are paid for by Cumbria (my) County Council, unlike you I pay for that road
shouldbeinbed
Rollin' along
- Location
- Manchester way
Would you care to post a picture of the cycle path you refer to in your opening post please rather than a picture of a random nearby one that admittedly looks quite nice. Albeit there is not much evidence of a pedestrian pavement as well so I guess this path works as a shared facility and effectively makes the bike rider the more dominant and dangerous user, there is not a lot of signage visible to declare it a shared/cyclepath nor from what I can see in the pic any painted signage or designation between pedestrians and cyclists on the path. Not that such signage makes much difference anyway on similar facilities round my way, they remain a free for all and, even for a dedicated pootler on a 20kg utility bike such as me, a slower and more interrupted offering than the roads.
Overall mark: a good effort but still could do better.
Now let's see the one you have the original issue with cyclists not using.
Nigel-YZ1
Guru
- Location
- Somewhere else... maybe soon.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
Most 'shared use' cyclepaths are hazardous at above walking speed.
steveindenmark
Legendary Member
There is no doubt that cyclists can be just as big a twonkers on the road as car drivers. They are human. But I can go on Youtube and post dozens of clips of car, lorry and motorcyclists being total prats. Doing such stupid things that even you would agree.
The bottom line is cyclists are not obliged to ride on cycle paths even if they are there. There are many things that need to be done to make cycle paths attractive to cyclists. Decent widths, maintained surface, swept occasionally, free of overhang bushes and branches. Give cyclists the right of way.
If the OP rode on cycle paths he would know these things.
Is there a bit of trolling going on?
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