Hi, I had an argument with a fellow cyclist this morning.
On my route this is part of the cycle path that goes under a bridge, the entry and exit points have an incline, you cannot see who is entering the entry and exit when you are in the middle.
I usually ring my bell when entering and exiting the path so other people are aware of my presence.
Today I was coming towards this bridge and in front of me was a jogger and fellow cyclist. I shouted 'right hand side' to the jogger as a lot of joggers / cyclists are wearing headphones and then rang my bell. The cyclist in front undersrandly thought I was ringing and shouting at him, he wobbled a bit then stopped. I had no choice to stop, he also put himself at an angle so I could not pass. The cyclists exiting the bridge and other path users were wondering what was going on.
He then said 'are you ******* kidding me'
I replied 'dont come to close, I was letting the people know we were entering the bridge'
He replied 'they can see us'.
I replied 'you will be surprised how many people can't see you even with a hi Vis jacket on'.
We parted ways and I passed him further on, when going passed I said 'have a nice cycle' and he smiled back.
I will admit I should have thought about ringing the bell at the bridge when a cyclist was in front of me and not passing. This has become a habit which I will continue to do as it has saved me from being hit / hitting other path users.
The perils of cycle paths.
On my route this is part of the cycle path that goes under a bridge, the entry and exit points have an incline, you cannot see who is entering the entry and exit when you are in the middle.
I usually ring my bell when entering and exiting the path so other people are aware of my presence.
Today I was coming towards this bridge and in front of me was a jogger and fellow cyclist. I shouted 'right hand side' to the jogger as a lot of joggers / cyclists are wearing headphones and then rang my bell. The cyclist in front undersrandly thought I was ringing and shouting at him, he wobbled a bit then stopped. I had no choice to stop, he also put himself at an angle so I could not pass. The cyclists exiting the bridge and other path users were wondering what was going on.
He then said 'are you ******* kidding me'
I replied 'dont come to close, I was letting the people know we were entering the bridge'
He replied 'they can see us'.
I replied 'you will be surprised how many people can't see you even with a hi Vis jacket on'.
We parted ways and I passed him further on, when going passed I said 'have a nice cycle' and he smiled back.
I will admit I should have thought about ringing the bell at the bridge when a cyclist was in front of me and not passing. This has become a habit which I will continue to do as it has saved me from being hit / hitting other path users.
The perils of cycle paths.