Cycle Paths

[Cyclezee]

The highway code advises you not to use cycle paths if you go over a certain speed (can't remember what it is), so you probably shouldn't be using them anyway unless you want to. I found that the only warning for pedestrians that works is the "bring bring" traditional ones if you can find a metal one. The plastic ones break straight away.

We have over 175 miles of Redway network (shared pedestrian and cycle path) in Milton Keyes which is expanding all the time and the official speed limit is 15mph.
There is no seperation between cyclists and pedestrians.
We have all the hazards already mentioned dogs on and off leads, stray children, headphone users and cyclists that ride like lunatics on the wrong side and cross junctions without checking if it is safe to do so.
Quite a number of the cyclists are not originally from the UK and are not aware that they should ride on the left.
Another hazard is poor condition of some of the older parts of of the network which are not adequately maintained, particularly the areas where tree roots have broken up the surface.
Although the Redways may not be perfect they are much better for cycling than mixing it with traffic and exhaust fumes on the roads.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Tree roots! I forgot about them. The ones we have are absolutely lethal. There's one lot at the bottom of a sharp drop of the cycle path that hit my back so hard that they made me see stars.

 

[Gubbins]

Tree roots! I forgot about them. The ones we have are absolutely lethal. There's one lot at the bottom of a sharp drop of the cycle path that hit my back so hard that they made me see stars.

Is that seeing stars without a telescope?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Never mind a telescope, I could see them even with my eyes shut.

 

[jackhandy]

Quite a number of the cyclists are not originally from the UK and are not aware that they should ride on the left

They instill a bit of interest to a spell on the Camel Trail, which is, near'nuff, flat & quite boring to a local simply using it to get from a-b.

I'm normally clipping along at about 13mph, just above assist level 2 for excercise, while the norm for puff-powered hire-bikes seems to be about 10mph, so I pass lots of other riders.
I tend to slip into a bit of a fuque (if that's the word) after a few miles, and get yanked back into reality when I realise the family coming t'other way ain't moving over.

 

[Cyclezee]

They instill a bit of interest to a spell on the Camel Trail, which is, near'nuff, flat & quite boring to a local simply using it to get from a-b.

I'm normally clipping along at about 13mph, just above assist level 2 for excercise, while the norm for puff-powered hire-bikes seems to be about 10mph, so I pass lots of other riders.
I tend to slip into a bit of a fuque (if that's the word) after a few miles, and get yanked back into reality when I realise the family coming t'other way ain't moving over.

Ah tourists JH, don't just love them, good for the economy though

I was in the Lake District last weekend visiting relatives, up there tourists are affectionately know as crag rats.

When I was a kid being brought up a couple of miles from Lake Ullswater, I couldn't quite understand what the attraction was when they could go somewhere like London........I now know why

 

[Gubbins]

I have noticed that wherever pedestrians and cyclists share a path small black bags seem to appear at random intervals! They seem to come from nowhere as if by magic cos I have never seen anyone depositing them. Here's a tip.... Don't run over them cos they contain a foul smelling brownish substance that sticks in your tyre treads.

 

[electric.mike]

I have noticed that wherever pedestrians and cyclists share a path small black bags seem to appear at random intervals! They seem to come from nowhere as if by magic cos I have never seen anyone depositing them. Here's a tip.... Don't run over them cos they contain a foul smelling brownish substance that sticks in your tyre treads.

Sorry but your talking **

 

[Gubbins]

There are other advantages besides dodging the bipedal public.......
Normally you cant get closer than 30 metres of these, but they dont seem worried by bikers.

 

[wissy]

End of September I'm free after 47 years paid work and never yet got a liking for it.
Taking 'Early Voluntary', sod the Ofsted!
We've a mixed bag of cycle paths in our neck of the woods ( South Leicestershire) one or two really good ones near me but others are potholed and full rubbish.
The best ones are a ways from the road the ones right by the road seem to get all the bottles and chip wrappers thrown onto them.
Do agree on extending dog leads, those can be a bleddy nuisance.

Getting 3rd 'Ofsted' in 2 years yet again after summer hols.

 

[wissy]

Bell is a waste of time nowadays isn't it? Nobody ever hears it because they are all wearing blydi headphones and cannot hear a damned thing.

 

[Gubbins]

Bell is a waste of time nowadays isn't it? Nobody ever hears it because they are all wearing blydi headphones and cannot hear a damned thing.

Ah yes, but playing devils advocate.....
Why shouldn't I go for a pleasant stroll with my dire straits rattling my eardrums with all these bar stewards on bikes wanting me to step to the side .. and in doing so I have just stood in some dog poo!

 

[Gringo]

Ah yes, but playing devils advocate.....
Why shouldn't I go for a pleasant stroll with my dire straits rattling my eardrums with all these bar stewards on bikes wanting me to step to the side .. and in doing so I have just stood in some dog poo!

That's the price you pay for walking on a shared usage cycle/footpath, if you don't like it just walk on pedestrians only footpaths
And dire straits,

 

[Woosh]

Bell is a waste of time nowadays isn't it? Nobody ever hears it because they are all wearing blydi headphones and cannot hear a damned thing.

Wissy
We do an electric horn on our Big Bear. It is really loud. Most people would hear it above traffic noise or music.
It would probably scare the living daylights out of pedestrians though, 'specially the elderly.

Hatti

 

[GloveMakingMan]

I use both. Electronic horn for long distance and corners, bell for short distance. Don't startle and annoy them by using an electronic horn from close distance and don't use them near dogs!

 

[wissy]

Are these horns actually legally allowed?

 

[JohnCade]

Don't see why not. I had a boat fog horn taped to the handlebars at one time in London. Drivers about to pull out in front of me without looking stopped PDQ when they thought a bloody great truck was going to hit them broadside.

Still got a canister fog horn about somewhere...

 

[axolotl]

I don't see why not either. As far as I can tell, there is no legislation on audible warning devices for bikes. The highway code suggests they're optional:

https://www.gov.uk/rules-for-cyclists-59-to-82/overview-59-to-71

"Let them [pedestrians] know you are there when necessary, for example, by ringing your bell if you have one."

The law for vehicles that do more than 20mph is also impressively vague:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1986/1078/regulation/37/made

There is of course a law against endangering other road users and I guess that could be used against someone with a really excessively loud horn that had the potential to damage people's hearing.
But within limits, I think you have to do what you can to ensure your safety.

 

[Kinninvie]

No such thing as a cycle path round here apart from a section of old railway track bed in the middle of nowhere and you cant speed on that because you would skid off on alll the dogs**t !

 

[flecc]

There are other advantages besides dodging the bipedal public.......
Normally you cant get closer than 30 metres of these, but they dont seem worried by bikers.

Probably true of much wildlife. Muntjac deer normally vanish at the first hint of a human nearby, but one day cycling up an easy incline on a local lane, a pair of them trotted calmly alongside me for a couple of minutes, seemingly completely unaware of what I was, despite my staring straight at them.
.