Passive Aggressive Pedestrians

As a (2) dog owning, car driving cyclist these comments are very illuminating. Whilst we had lockdown (remember that) I went out of my way to say 'hi' to all the walkers, riders, joggers etc that were outside with nothing else to do, and there were LOADS of them. There are less now as some have gone back to work, but there's still more than normal.

Why did I say hi? Two reasons, one a positive spin, so that people who'd not done this sort of thing before might be surprised / encouraged that people were so friendly outside of their cars. Secondly, the cynical approach was that it might remind the daft 4x4 drivers who don't know the width of their modern vehicle that cyclists are actually human and can be polite.

Bigger picture folks.

A scenario I'm now becoming very aware of ( whether I am cycling, jogging or even walking ) is pedestrians walking side by side, who then separate themselves to both sides of the path. This means my having to pass inbetween them.  And too close for social distancing. In which case I just stop to figure something else out.

 So these days I tend to call out ahead of my approach, "single side of the path please".  Is this a reasonable request from me - especially in our new normal; or does it sound rude to be marshalling them so, on their walk

Basically we need to demonstrate the behaviour we'd like to see from drivers! What's so hard about that?

Oh the tut - tutters. They're the worst. They glare and stand in front of their dogs / children to shield them as if I am a machete wielding, bubonic plague infested, son of satan hurtling past on a flaming chariot rather than a middle aged bloke on a city bike pootling along  at 5mph

i'll just leave this here. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCL5UfCKJuY

Even with my loud ass horn, people still walk side by side then act all surprised or even hostile when they find themselves next to a bicycle. The signs tell you its not a pavement any more, its shared with bicycles- why not expect to see bicycles and keep single file? 

My touring/work horse has a bell as I use it mostly for working tours in Edinburgh and frankly the bell is the best most useful thing on the bike, I never realised until I started riding in a city a lot. 98% of people are appreciative of a well timed bell ding, some are stone deaf/have head phones in (some good bell dinging can usually cut through) and there is always a few that jump 10ft in the air whatever you do. 

On the roadie however I am very rarely on shared paths so I dont have a bell and it can get frustrating during the times I am but I think its a case of just reigning it in, using a jovial "beep beep" and ALWAYS expecting the worst. 

this is my weapon of choice- 

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

better than a bell. 

I hate shared paths. I'd rather be on the road getting beeped or shouted at. They don't work. The only time a bicycle and a pedestrian mix on a route that actually goes from one destination to another, as opposed to being a route in a town centre, is when children on little bikes use them. Thats the only time they work. Anyone else is probably going to be cycling at at least ten miles an hour. Thats three times a walking pace. So its the same as cycling on a road at ten mph with cars passing you closely and beeping at 30 mph.  If you put your speed up to whats a suggested maximum of 18 mph, its like cycling at 10 mph on a road with cars beeping and coming past you at 60 mph.  And if you remain on the shared path at 30 mph, it is exactly the same as a car coming past you as you cycle at ten mph, beeping and travelling at 100 mph right next to you. It really does not work and i loath councillors who do this. Cheap it may be, but it is good for nobody but very very slow cyclists.  You should not have to slow down for pedestrians on a shared path, it should be wide enough and marked so that you can go as fast as you like, without coming anywhere near them. Pedestrians are to cyclists what cyclists are to non cycling car drivers. They dont want us on the road with them, and pedestrians dont want us on paths with them. So dont try to mix us, put us on high speed seperated routes from both motor traffic AND walkers. 

this approach hasn't been mentioned yet 

https://youtu.be/XXBxV6-zamM?t=4461

I often ride on towpaths. I don't have a bell, but try to approach pedestrians slowly from behind with a polite "excuse me" when I think it's close enough to be heard.

It's the ones with headphones that annoy me, I find myself just behind them shouting at the top of my voice, to no avail. They don't half jump though when I tap them on the shoulder!

There's always the nightmare scenario, Three abreast on a country lane with headphones, and a couple of dogs on long leads

Seriuosly though, we should know from riding in traffic that pedestrians have absolute right of way, and deserve our consideration.

Covid-19 has added a new class of extra nervous pedestrian. You're riding along a road, the adjacent footpath is wide (maybe even on the opposite side of the road) yet the nervous pedestrian presses themselves as far over as they can, some even push themselves into hedges. 

I have this almost uncontrollable urge to shout 'boo'. 

Dog walkers on 'shared' cycle paths are usually pig ignorant arseholes. Took my lad out, doing about 7 - 10 mph and it's such a major inconvenience for them to put the dog back on the lead. He literally had to stop to avoid this piece of crap sausage dog going under his wheels. Obviously the owner looks at us as if we shouldn't be there.

If anything, dog walking should be banned as the owners clearly don't clear up looking at my local paths. Literal dog toilet.

Good lord, I'm not sure who's worse, the pedestrians, drivers or cyclists having read these comments.

I was always told to treat everyone on the roads as an idiot, that they are all out to kill you.

Likewise, on a shared path I always try to treat other users as actual people, you know, who can converse with each other. Use a bell if you really must, but it comes across as aggressive regardless of whether that is the intention or not.

Far better to slow down, state clearly your intentions in a calm voice, for instance "coming through on your left" and then thank them for moving over. If they are over dramatic, diving into the hedgerow give them a gentle dig, make a joke of it, we all need a laugh right now.

Obviously, it also depends on where you live and the cycle traffic on your local paths, but most pedestrians I come into contact with are absolutely fine unless you are pedalling like the clappers. There's always the odd one, usually a dog walker, but I just throw them in the river!!

However, one thing that is often overlooked in these situations is that your local pedestrian is usually one of your local drivers too. Giving them some respect may just give them the opportunity to respect you some other time on the road. Being nice, costs nothing and might work to your advantage out on the roads.

Nothing quite as irritating as the sarcastic comment from a pedestrian assuming you should thank them for not being particularly helpful. We can all get it wrong sometimes, but I'll decide when you behaviour is requiring or thanks and when mine is needing an apology, thanks. 

Why wouldn't you thank someone for pulling their dog out of your path, even if you thought their action was unnecessarily swift?