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Strava users told to cut speed on canal towpaths – "They're hardly the Alpe d’Huez"

Cyclists hitting speeds of 20mph or more as they aim to become King of the Mountain … well, Towpath

Speeding cyclists in London and elsewhere are being urged not to treat towpaths as race tracks in attempts to set the fastest segment times on Strava, with an organisation responsible for their upkeep telling road.cc that besides safety issues, securing bragging rights on them is “a hollow victory,” hardly comparable to setting the fastest time up the Alpe d’Huez.

With the Easter holidays upon us and the seasons shifting slowly into Spring, canal and river towpaths will be an increasingly popular destination for people looking to enjoy the outdoors, whether on foot or bike.

But the traffic-free routes also encourage some cyclists to chase Strava segments at speeds of around 20 miles an hour or more, an issue of concern for other towpath users as well as those who live on the water.

That’s despite bodies responsible for towpaths, such as the Canal & River Trust, putting in place codes of conduct that ask people to be considerate to others, including that cyclists should ride at a sensible speed and give way to people on foot.

Dirk Vincent, one of the trust’s towpath rangers, told road.cc: “London’s towpaths are a great way for cyclists to get around but they’re not suitable for racing or time trials.

“These paths, full of really interesting historical features and rich in wildlife, are increasingly popular with other cyclists, walkers, joggers, boaters and families just feeding the ducks so it’s fairly obvious that trying to be a Strava ‘King of the Mountain’ on a towpath is pretty dangerous.

“They’re hardly the Alpe d'Huez so frankly a personal best here is a pretty hollow victory anyway - so why put yourself and others at risk?

“We’ve spoken with Strava about our concerns and where we receive reports of cyclists racing or doing time trials then we’ll flag that route as unsafe for racing.”

He added: “We recently launched our ‘Better Towpaths for Everyone’ policy which, as a general rule, gives priority to the slowest user on the towpath. This also sets out how people can enjoy the waterways safely and responsibly to ensure that they remain calm, tranquil places for everyone.”

His views are echoed by Sustrans, which develops and maintains the National Cycle Network, much of which runs on towpaths.

Jon Usher, community and engagement manager at the sustainable transport charity, told us: “‘Sustrans doesn’t condone the use of apps that encourage competitive time setting on shared use paths.

“Our published code of conduct clearly states that pedestrians have priority in these environments.

“It’s disappointing to still see irresponsible behaviour from a minority of users and we would call on the cycling community to flag segments which are clearly inappropriate for these speeds,” he added.

While popular commuter routes such as the Regents Canal in London see high levels of activity on the ride sharing app and website, the issue isn’t just confined to the capital.

A blog post published on Narrowboatworld.com highlights more than 1,000 attempts by in excess of 500 cyclists on an eight-mile Strava segment on the Bradford & Avon Canal in Somerset, with the current KOM standing at 19 miles an hour.

The poster, Ralph Freeman, points out that since that is an average speed over the segment, the rider in question will have exceeded that at times.

After outlining to readers how Strava works and acknowledging the attraction of what are, after all, routes free of motor traffic, he says: “So, many dog walkers and boaters who have described upgraded towpaths as becoming 'race tracks' are not far off the mark.

“These virtual time trials would explain why some of the Lycra brigade will not slow down for anything and just bawl at other towpath users to 'get out of the way'.

“Do you realise, you selfish person mooring your boat up to set a lock, that you could be ruining some rider's best time ever and their chance to go number one on Strava? Shame on you!”

Elsewhere, a two-mile stretch of the Oxford Canal running from Wolvercote to the edge of the city centre has a current Strava King of the Mountain with a speed of just under 20 miles per hour.

On that length of towpath, as in other places, the issue isn’t just one of potential conflict with residents and other users, many of whom may have small children or dogs with them – there’s also wildlife to consider.

The presence of rare water voles on the Oxford Canal delayed a planned upgrade to the path a few years ago, and breeding wildfowl such as ducks, geese and swans are also of course a common sight on inland waterways, with their offspring hatching at this time of year.

Back on the Bradford & Avon Canal, however, Mr Freeman isn’t convinced that either the Canal & River Trust or Sustrans, in promoting leisure activities on the towpath such as cycling, are helping the situation.

He claims the organisations, along with local authorities, are “bent on transforming our peaceful towpaths into time trial courses for a small minority to commandeer,” adding, “all I can say is well done! Your plan is working.

“Where is English Nature when you need it?” he asks. “I bet the local wildlife, herons in particular are not amused by these so-called improvements. Another peaceful haven for contemplation destroyed, but for what purpose?

TR McGowran, road.cc contributor, London canal boat dweller, cyclist and volunteer towpath ranger, gave us his own take on the issue. He said:

The towpaths in London are a popular car free route that can dissect London from east to west. They may be free from cars but they are far from being free from traffic. Parts of the towpath in central London get over 1,000 users per hour at peak times in the morning.

Most of the towpath is about 1.5 metres wide and this is shared with pedestrians, joggers, cyclists, dog walkers, anglers, push chairs, more joggers, and on top of this there are people who decide to live by the towpath in boats, like me.

The call for work in the morning sends a lot of people into some sort of frenzy to rush to their desks and this sees the mix of towpath users develop a neon streak as cycle commuters push a little bit faster through the busy greenway with a chorus of frantically pinged bells, the backfiring of the 'Two Tings' campaign to alert other towpath users of a cyclist’s presence but now seems to have become more of a siren to get people to get out of the way, an often futile and noise-polluting annoyance to any boat dweller as most walkers and joggers have earphones plugged into their lugholes.

The towpath is a shared pathway that pedestrians have priority on but the attraction of a motor vehicle-free route is exploited by those who want to use it as a rat run. A timed rat run with people scoring Strava times.

He added that he rode the Mile End to Limehouse section “conservatively and considerately” to see what his average speed would be, and it turned out to be 14 miles per hour.

But with City commuters living in north or west London likely to join the towpath closer to City Road, he added that on that particular stretch, “the towpath is very quiet and there are no boats moored other than a couple of maintenance barges, it is easy going as it is slightly downhill.

“There is good visibility although there are few bridges to pass under but these do have guard rails.”

Most cyclists of course are considerate when using towpaths; here’s a group of 40 students and staff from a school in the Netherlands riding along the Oxford Canal last month, on bicycles hired from local business, Bainton Bikes.

Picture copyright: Steve Reynolds; all other pictures copyright Simon MacMichael

Do you cycle on towpaths, in London or elsewhere? If so let us know your thoughts about whether they are appropriate places to try and set Strava KOMs in the comments below.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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26 comments

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kaicycle | 8 years ago
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Just looking at the average speed hardly tells the full tale, does it?

There's a massive difference between trying to do 20mph down the towpath on a sunny Sunday afternoon (it'll never happen) and pottering along at that speed at 5am on a December commute.

It's the same on bridleways and mountain bikes, you can smash down stuff at 10pm on a dark, wet winters night confident that there's nothing unlit coming the other way, apart from the odd badger, RIP badger.

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arfa | 8 years ago
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Flag the segments, end of story. Takes seconds to do and muppets will go elsewhere. It's a sad reflection of the need to exercise judgment for those unable to do so.

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jimmerang15 | 8 years ago
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On the tow path near the Imperial War Museum en route to mediacity (salford) an avg of 20mph wouldn't even get you in the top 50. Think the 'king' there is doing 28mph and there's a lot of walkers kids, tourists etc. Perhaps strava will need to start checking segments before they go online in future, I've seen a couple that go through lights also.

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BigglesMeister | 8 years ago
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Ranger TR McGowran should Just flag the segments as dangerous, end of problem. Instructions here ..

https://strava.zendesk.com/entries/20959312-flagging-a-segment-as-hazardous

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sgcoates | 8 years ago
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I have a 16 mile towpath commute with scenic quiet bits, busy dog walking bits and even busier city centre bits. I go fast where its quiet and slow where it's not. I slow right down to go round people/dogs and ding my bell when approaching from behind.

But, going slowly all the way would simply take too long from door to desk. A blanket speed limit of say 15mph would force me onto the road, which is 2 miles shorter but heavily traffic congested.

I don't think high speed in itself is the problem, it is the inappropriate use of high speed.

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CanAmSteve | 8 years ago
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Trying to "make time" on a shared-use path? One warning, one fine, then crush the bike - people like this ruin it for responsible cyclists

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Brown dog | 8 years ago
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Around my area a lot of the canal paths are part of the cycling network and tend to get used a fair amount. I allways shout "" coming past you on the left/right " followed by " thanks " as I pass. Not realy had bad experiences with pedestrians or dogs.

As for cyclist using canals because the. Poor road infrastructure is rubbish , using the canal path is often a more direct route and it is also fun to explor our countries heritage.

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dotdash | 8 years ago
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When I ride on the tow path I always ring my bell, and of course the person listening to music with headphones in always hears me.

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Colin Peyresourde | 8 years ago
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I have logged my rides up and down on the canal. I've not created any segments because I was just logging base miles. I never can figure when these 'record' times have been set, but I don't see many people racing. Occasionally I see some people that appear to barrel their way through every bit of traffic.

Generally people on the canals give consideration to each other. Though, much like the roads, people are oblivious to each other at times. I've been cruising down the Canal when boat users have just launched themselves into the tow bath without checking. But again, the thing you see on the road is the same on the canal, cyclists with little awareness of what's around them.

I slow down when approaching pedestrians, other cyclists and dogs. It's common sense. I know, being a pedestrian too, that bike traffic can be a nuisance If your out for a leisurely walk. But during commuting periods people (cyclists and walkers) are just trying to get where they are going.

Bell dinging is useful, but I use it through tunnels, and occasionally to alert people to my presence. But if you do it all the time it becomes meaningless and annoying.

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Bikebikebike replied to Colin Peyresourde | 8 years ago
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Colin Peyresourde wrote:

Bell dinging is useful, but I use it through tunnels, and occasionally to alert people to my presence. But if you do it all the time it becomes meaningless and annoying.

No, you should do it when overtaking pedestrians (or cyclists). Having walked down the towpath it's a shock when someone buzzes past you and you didn't know they're coming. There have also been quite a few times I'm swerving round a puddle or pothole, and I nearly get knocked off by the person who's pulled up silently beside me.

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mcmahonsport | 8 years ago
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It only takes one person to create a Strava section and that does not mean everyone else is 'doing' them.

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Mungecrundle | 8 years ago
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Not a Strava / Garmin user, but surely it's not beyond the wit of the application developers to simply place an upper speed limit on restricted sections and void any uploads above that speed?

Don't get me wrong, I'm exactly the sort of overcompetive a'hole who would try and break a PB on a Strava section when not appropriate which is partly why I don't use a logging device. However it is entirely unreasonable for cyclists to put slower and more vulnerable path users at risk for the sake of a few seconds off a meaningless record in the same way as we don't like it when car drivers put us at risk for a few seconds off their journey.

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Curto80 replied to Mungecrundle | 8 years ago
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Mungecrundle wrote:

Not a Strava / Garmin user, but surely it's not beyond the wit of the application developers to simply place an upper speed limit on restricted sections and void any uploads above that speed?

Don't get me wrong, I'm exactly the sort of overcompetive a'hole who would try and break a PB on a Strava section when not appropriate which is partly why I don't use a logging device. However it is entirely unreasonable for cyclists to put slower and more vulnerable path users at risk for the sake of a few seconds off a meaningless record in the same way as we don't like it when car drivers put us at risk for a few seconds off their journey.

The article touched on this without really explaining it but Strava does have this. Segments that are deemed hazardous don't have leaderboards, so whilst it will still record your time it takes out the element of competition with others that causes the issues.

Fair play to the towpath police for their "priority for the slowest user" policy. That's how it should be on the roads.

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rnick | 8 years ago
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A little sad really, a Strava segment on a busy canal path. Why not head a little further east and have a play on the Olympic Park circuit - where a 20mph average would probably leave you at the back of the under 12 kids race.

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dnmvisser | 8 years ago
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If there really are 1000s of people on London towpaths that are like the ones on the pictures, it either means that there is no alternative route to get somewhere, or that the towpaths are better than the alternatives.
So the root cause (again) is the sorry state of cycling infrastructure over there in the UK  22

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OnTheRopes replied to dnmvisser | 8 years ago
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dnmvisser wrote:

If there really are 1000s of people on London towpaths that are like the ones on the pictures, it either means that there is no alternative route to get somewhere, or that the towpaths are better than the alternatives.
So the root cause (again) is the sorry state of cycling infrastructure over there in the UK  22

Or maybe riding along a canal with a group of like minded people in a civilsed manner is a enjoyable way of spending some time?

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mrmo | 8 years ago
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time and place, you may be sensible on a tow path others certainly aren't. Anywhere where cyclists and pedestrians and dogs mix together in any numbers really is not a place to have a Strava segment.

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vonhelmet | 8 years ago
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Sounds like a great way to fall in the canal when something unexpected happens. Does carbon float?

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Rory Mackay replied to vonhelmet | 8 years ago
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It does, have a look at some of the pictures from Gent-Wevelgem.

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Joeinpoole | 8 years ago
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Good heavens! None of those Dutch students or staff are wearing either helmets or hi-viz clothing!

Do they think that cycling is a relatively safe activity that does *not* require PPE ... a bit like walking? Crazy!

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Alf0nse | 8 years ago
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I run on the towpaths near me and they do seem a little mamil heavy

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badback | 8 years ago
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Flagged one or two segments on shared paths around my local patch.

There's a time and a place for pushing yourself - normally on the road when your not sharing your space with pedestrians, pushchairs & toddlers.

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gazza_d | 8 years ago
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At the risk of coming across a bit "Keith Peat" speeds not really the issue here, it's being responsible.

If the path is quiet, then I don't see the harm in putting the hammer down & stretching the legs. I sometimes do that on the traffic free paths I use, but only then quiet.

I am responsible and do slow and allow for other users when they are around

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Bob's Bikes | 8 years ago
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I have to agree with Dirk Vincent and the others, why on earth would you want to do 20mph+ on a towpath. you will just be giving ammunition to all the I hate cyclists brigade and missing (hopefully) all the wildlife and beatiful views.
If you want to go fast man up and race the cars on the road, there's nothing better than overtaking Mr audi.

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gdmor10 | 8 years ago
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Ride on a shared canal path in Reading every day and makes sense to slow down. Seems crazy to run strava sections where there could be kids around or people pushing prams.

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Metaphor | 8 years ago
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What a way to generate hostility towards cyclists!

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