Just looking for somewhere to vent

For me the cyclist is completely in the wrong and should be punished . When riding on a shared path as a cyclist you should slow down and be prepared to stop when approaching walkers or animals. Giving a audible warning like "passing on the left " would have probably avoided this incedent and if you hit something stop.

As this was a 14 week old puppy I would suspect the dog would be on a lead.

I commute on the C2C most days, and I've renamed it the Canine2Canine because of the numbers of dogs being walked. I also have a dog and do walk him on shared paths (most around here are shared). I always keep him on a lead. I always keep an eye out for other dogs, and people on bikes, and wind his lead back in as soon as I see anyone on a bike, and have never had a close call

Most owners are great and keep the dogs on leads, but a surprising number are just left off the lead by the owners or on the long leads, which is really selfish and irresponsible, especially so when it's busy. It's bad for the others sharing, and it's bad for the dog. I've had a few near misses and I am very careful as I do not want a faceplant as a result of a dog.

I reckon most of the bile and hate spouters on that thread fall into the selfish bastard category of dog owners that don't give a thought about anyone or anything else.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBFFrsvgu1Y

'Don't worry, he biodegradable'*

*when you have no choice to make light of the darkness.

The story infers the guy rode over dog by choice - who he hell does that ? You'd probably go over the bars.

Dogs are a total menace on paths, and I don't blame the dogs, but the owners, seen plenty kids come off bikes trying to avoid dogs that head for their front wheel.

Those stretchy leads are rather antisocial too.

What happened IF TRUE is terrible and the cyclist should have gone to the local police station and given his side of the story (and for all we know he might well have done). It also raises the question what can/could the owner do it's a public place, also if a dog (not cats) runs into the road/cycle path the owner is responsible for the damages.

P. S. was on a road in Windsor great park not long ago when I came across/cycled towards a woman walking down (her) left hand side of road holding extending dog lead in her right hand, where was the dog? yep you guessed it on the other side of road!

The really priceless comment on that thread is this one;

Quote:

The roads have difficulty coping with all of the traffic made up cars/ vans/ trucks and so on they just were not intended to accommodate cyclists as well.

Yeah. The roads didn't exist until we had cars/vans/trucks. And obviously it's not the vast amount of cars/vans/trucks that are the problem, it's the bikes. F*cking dummy.

I've had to stop many times on shared use paths due to dogs turning under my wheel at the last moment. Trouble is they literally follow their nose. As they hear the bike behind them they turn their head to look and presto turn right into your path. I kind of expect it now and anticipate it happening. If it's a pup then I really don't mind stopping to say hello as they are always excitable little things.

Oh god, that is one of the most depressing reads I have had for a while.

For a start... its unbelievable that everyone took one persons completely biased version of events, not only at face value, but most decided to add extra malice and evil to the motives of the grey haired cyclist.

Then just add all the usual 'hate' justifications and you have a beautifully dark and depressing read.

I particularly liked the lady that wrote something like... 'ok, its not fair to paint all cyclists with the same brush, some will have morales, however this mans actions show that most don't'

All we know, and hell, all the woman knows is that a cyclist hit a dog. Everything else is pure conjecture.

The chap may have been mortified.

The key take away for me, is that actually there is a massive issue with the perception of cyclists in this country that needs to be seriously looked at.

The other point is that yet again, we are shown that dual access paths simply do not work. Some cyclists are indeed dicks that ride inappropriately, many, many more are simply people commuting on a path that pedestrians will be primarily utilising for leisure purposes... that is always a recipe for disaster.

Anyone moaning about a cyclists reluctance to wait and slow to the leisurable speed of pedestrians in these circumstances only needs to think about their own feelings when they come across a cyclist on a road in their car...

OK on further reading, he did stop, I apologize.

Yes the actions of this cyclist were disgusting weather the dog was hit deliberately, or by accident and not stopping to check, and I am not for one second saying this person shouldn't have his bollox removed, for giving the rest of us a bad name if nothing else.

But, I have a feeling the dog may not have been under control, I have to agree with 'him up north' dog walkers are a bit of a bug bear of mine too, I have grown up on a farm and we have always had working dog, they're perfectly behaved, with the possible exception of the new pup, but shes not 6 month old yet, so why can other people not get there dog at least mildly under control.

If you read the post the original poster comments; "a group from the ymca where coming in a different direction and they all slowed down and stopped for the pup." If the dog was under control no one would have had to stop for the thing.

Can't blame you for not engaging in that conversation yourself. Just reading Mr "Jo O"' makes my blood boil.

That said, the mentioned cyclist sounds like an awful person if he behaved as described there. "Stupid dog"?! What the heck does he expect, it's an animal for crying out loud ...

Yes, some people deliberately don't control their dogs. Not the animal's fault, though. Run over the owner, not the poor dog!

Dog walkers are a bit of a bugbear of mine. I use the local Sustrans cycle route a lot and every time I do I find myself taking evasive action because someone can't or won't control their dog and, at the same time, is oblivious to other users. I know it's shared use and, as such, I don't expect to have the route to myself. I just think there should be shared responsibility too.

Still, what happened in the post you linked to isn't nice. I'd have been mortified.

Funnily enough, I've hit a dog when going through a park. I was just on my way to get a bag of coffee on a saturday morning, definitely not going fast, and a dog sprinted under my front wheel, coming from nowhere. It was awful. I fell off (and did a helluva stylish roll), and my very first thought was for the stupid animal. Was it ok? It was. I'd have been so cut up if it was hurt.
On a side note, the people who picked me up and checked me for bruises were not the middle class hipsters taking their morning strolls, but a homeless man and a chap who sold possibly stolen bikes at the end of the park. So hey, maybe the best lesson to take away is not to judge a book by its cover.