pedestrians and cyclists

I have given myself two days to calm down about this, but now I have to
say it.

Now, I hate dumb pedestrians as much as the next cyclist (note, "dumb"
not "all" or even "ignorant" pedestrians) but what is with that hurry
seen in the Coro Drive bike path users? Yep, peak hour, it's slow,
pedestrians get in the way. Deal with it. You know you won't be able to
stay at 30km/h the whole trip. Don't pretend otherwise.

Don't duck through little itsy bitsy gaps. If a cyclist is sitting out
from the edge a bit, don't immediately complain as you pass them, maybe
they were trying to avoid the glass. If I'm overtaking a pedestrian so
that my lane is temporarily blocked, and you're approaching from the
opposite direction, it's probably smart to not cross to my side of the
path. If I slow down until it's safe to pass a pedestrian, and I'm
holding you up, TOO F'ING BAD!

People who take risks like that are giving cyclists a bad name and
putting us all in danger. If you nearly take someone out at high speed
because they were walking too slow and blocking you, do you think
they'll be patient next time they see a cyclist on the road? Do you
think they'll make a conscious effort to give way? Doubt it.

T

not happy,

also not hippy

Another one I hate is when there's a specially built shared cycle
walking path built away from the road to provide a safer alternativ
for bikes and people. Pedestrians always seem to walk side by side wit
a dog or two on a lead and pretend not to hear / see you coming u
behind them. They just expect you to go around them onto the gras
often where there are cat head burrs that puncture your tyre i
seconds. You'd think pedestrians could show a bit of consideration an
'share' the path rather than see how much of it they can take up an
how far they can make a cyclist ride around them

--
Courtancer

Well said Tamyka. Too true. The same goes for cyclists who run re
lights. I cannot control my sheer frustration when I see this an
often scream at people who do this.

I got told the other day to "get a bell". All I did was ask a bunch o
pedestrians, walking 6 abreast in the city Botanical Gardens, if I coul
please get through. Just a simple question, asked nicely. Anyway
considering all 6 of them were overweight females with plenty of fles
(read: stretch marks, celliulite, bellybutton that would fit
watermelon) on show, I figured it must have been a huge energ
expenditure for them to move 2 steps across

--
Lotte

My theory is that people generally do not walk around very often anymor
& therefore lose the cognitive skills of being aware of what’s abou
them when they do go for a walk.

Watching old b/w movies from the turn of the century you see peopl
look this way & that because horse-drawn vehicles didn’t stop as fas
etc – pedestrians had no choice really.
My other theory is that pedestrians see anything outside of a roadwa
as their own, therefore cyclists have to “go around”.
In my time riding around I’ve come to the conclusion that up agains
any other path user, I come out as the 2nd class citizen (therefore
take to the grass etc)

--
Marx SS

"Lotte" wrote

Well said Tamyka. Too true. The same goes for cyclists who run red
lights. I cannot control my sheer frustration when I see this and
often scream at people who do this.

See my rant in the "sooky lala" thread..

I got told the other day to "get a bell". All I did was ask a bunch of
pedestrians, walking 6 abreast in the city Botanical Gardens, if I could
please get through. Just a simple question, asked nicely. Anyway,
considering all 6 of them were overweight females with plenty of flesh
(read: stretch marks, celliulite, bellybutton that would fit a
watermelon) on show, I figured it must have been a huge energy
expenditure for them to move 2 steps across.

hehe... ;-)
I'm sticking with my "avoid bike paths at all costs" method.

hippy

Marx SS wrote:
My theory is that people generally do not walk around very often anymore
& therefore lose the cognitive skills of being aware of what’s about
them when they do go for a walk.


My solution: bolt a trailer bike to the back, put a four year old on it,
and arm them with a horn that honks loudly. I guarantee everyone on the
path will know you're there.

DaveB "in need of earplugs for the next family ride"

"Marx SS"
In my time riding around I've come to the conclusion that up against
any other path user, I come out as the 2nd class citizen (therefore I
take to the grass etc).

We are second-class citizens.. in their minds. I try to
reduce possible conflict by slowing, riding around, etc.
Just think of all the benefits you can get from not just
maintaining 30kph all the way home..
- braking
- standing starts
- sprintervals
- trackstand practise
- use the breaks in flow to try wheelies :-)
- take your road bike off-road - they still work ya know!

hippy
- positivity in usenet may not reflect reality ;-)

hippy Wrote:


[snip]

hehe... ;-)
I'm sticking with my "avoid bike paths at all costs" method.

hippy

I'll second that - roads are for bikes and bikes are for roads.

OTOH, I know the bit of path that Tamyka is complaining about. The road
that runs parallel is probably even slower for cyclists at peak hour.

I face a similar problem crossing Darling Harbour on the old Pyrmont
Bridge... lots of pedestrians wandering about and no specific bike
lane. The bit between the bridge and King St is a section only about
200m long that is only about 4 pedestrians wide. Fortunately, most
walking commuters know to keep left - it's the tourists you have to
watch.

Ritch

My own shared path rule: If you're in front of me, I'll avoid hitting
you. If you're behind me, you avoid me!


--
ritcho

"hippy" wrote in message
...
"Marx SS"
In my time riding around I've come to the conclusion that up against
any other path user, I come out as the 2nd class citizen (therefore I
take to the grass etc).

We are second-class citizens.. in their minds. I try to
reduce possible conflict by slowing, riding around, etc.
Just think of all the benefits you can get from not just
maintaining 30kph all the way home..
- braking
- standing starts
- sprintervals
- trackstand practise
- use the breaks in flow to try wheelies :-)
- take your road bike off-road - they still work ya know!

hippy
- positivity in usenet may not reflect reality ;-)


I personally like the idea of keeping rolled up printouts of this particular
thread to stuff down the back of their neck as you go past.

Lotte wrote:
....snip.....

I got told the other day to "get a bell".

ROFL. Have been told the same, but the problem is that it still doesn't
fix the problem.

If you have isolated pedestrians, then a few rings from wide away will
alert them to your prescence (so long as you are travelling slow) and
most give you a wide berth/ the complete path.

The worst is crowded paths when you have to ring the bell close to them.
I'm thinking of installing a seat on my front rack. The number of times
I've been on one side of the path ready to slip around the, ring the
bell and they immediately jump sideways in front of me.