Silent approaches…

This post has made me
This post has made me reconsider my whole approach to cycling and my mates on Strava can look forward to ’12 mph average, saw some lovely sunflowers’.

Who on earth passes groups of

Who on earth passes groups of walkers closely at speed on a bike?!

Nobody I know of.  And very very few on here I imagine. 

@bromsongsmith you might be directing your ‘advice’ to the wrong group of people..

You’ll generally find that experienced cyclists make better, more safety aware pedestrians and drivers. 

And be careful to avoid stereotyping. All cyclists are pedestrians too, but I wouldn’t dare to assume all pedestrians wander the lanes allowing pets and children all over the road, as you have described! 

PS when walking or running I always face oncoming traffic on the lanes I use EXCEPT when there is a sharp right hand bend. Then I’ll cross to increase my visability and reduce the chances of being hit. 

PPS does anyone know why, when cycling, cars pass me more closely than when I am jogging? Anybody else experienced this and anyone have any theories why this is the case? I often wonder if it’s a lack of empathy with cyclists and their vulnerability, which is possibly being demonstrated by the poster of this thread too?

adamthekiwi wrote:

brooksby wrote:

And pedestrians should be treating cyclists as vehicles and not as “oh, its just a cyclist”.

Nobody here is invoking ‘victim blaming’.  The closer analogy might be if a group of cyclists were cycling along a narrow lane (so, a road, not just some little bridleway/green lane, presumably) filling the entire roadway such that a car (or, indeed, another cyclist) couldn’t get past, and then complained that the driver didn’t use their horn or the cyclist their bell to let the club know they were there.

I know plenty of pedestrians who listen for a car then happily step out into the road – without looking – if they don’t hear one.

But I don’t know any cyclists that speed close and silent past a group of pedestrians. 

Everyone I know would ring a bell or call out, and slow down if there were children or animals wandering around (I do wonder why the OP is happy to let them wander about on a road anyway…?  That is a completely separate issue from walking facing or with the expected traffic flow).

I probably didn’t word my thoughts very well – but your analogy is a good one: if a cyclist who had been in a group taking up most of a quiet country lane was on here complaining about a car (let’s say an electric one, so no noise) that had zipped past them without warning, I doubt many of the denizons of this group would have started suggesting that the fault lay with the cyclists not leaving enough room. That is exactly what, it seems to me, a lot of posters are suggesting about the OP’s walking group.

Everyone I know would also ring a bell or call out and additionally slow down. Anyone who doesn’t is an @sshat – I’m simply suggesting that deflecting criticism to the walking group is disingenuous.

I think you’re conflating two different issues. A group of cyclists using a country lane are generally following the Highway Code (as long as they’re not more than two abreast) and are treated as vehicles. Pedestrians not facing the traffic are not following the Highway Code and are not considered as vehicles. Thus, the situation is different.

In general, the public roads are a shared resource, so we should be considerate and actually share them with other users. This means that as pedestrians, we should use pavements when available and walk facing the traffic when there are none. Not being in control of your dog/children is inconsiderate and dangerous – especially if you’re on the “wrong” side of the road. It’s not victim blaming – it’s simply pointing out which parties are being inconsiderate and not actually sharing the roads.

For me, you inspired a bit of

For me, you inspired a bit of vitriol when you become a little preachy, such as

“Surely, cycling at a more leisurely speed of about ten to fifteen miles an hour on a lovely sunny English day might give you time to enjoy the scenery as compared with racing speeds in excess of 30 mph?  Why not use an ‘Off-Road’ track for speed and endurance training?”

Riding at 30mph is generally within the speed limit, especially as most rural roads have a 60mph limit. I understand your issue and always shout a warning before passing pedestrians in the road, but I dislike being told I am only welcome on our lovely country roads if I fit in to a Famous Five style of cycling.

I, for my part, shout warnings and slow down when there is a hazard, for my own safety rather than anyone elses, but I do also expect the pedestrians to do the same by controlling dogs and kids and walking on the sensible side of the road, ie, facing oncoming traffic. If we all accept responsibility for our own part in the problem, rather than finger pointing it would definitley help.

brooksby wrote:

And pedestrians should be treating cyclists as vehicles and not as “oh, its just a cyclist”.

Nobody here is invoking ‘victim blaming’.  The closer analogy might be if a group of cyclists were cycling along a narrow lane (so, a road, not just some little bridleway/green lane, presumably) filling the entire roadway such that a car (or, indeed, another cyclist) couldn’t get past, and then complained that the driver didn’t use their horn or the cyclist their bell to let the club know they were there.

I know plenty of pedestrians who listen for a car then happily step out into the road – without looking – if they don’t hear one.

But I don’t know any cyclists that speed close and silent past a group of pedestrians. 

Everyone I know would ring a bell or call out, and slow down if there were children or animals wandering around (I do wonder why the OP is happy to let them wander about on a road anyway…?  That is a completely separate issue from walking facing or with the expected traffic flow).

I probably didn’t word my thoughts very well – but your analogy is a good one: if a cyclist who had been in a group taking up most of a quiet country lane was on here complaining about a car (let’s say an electric one, so no noise) that had zipped past them without warning, I doubt many of the denizons of this group would have started suggesting that the fault lay with the cyclists not leaving enough room. That is exactly what, it seems to me, a lot of posters are suggesting about the OP’s walking group.

Everyone I know would also ring a bell or call out and additionally slow down. Anyone who doesn’t is an @sshat – I’m simply suggesting that deflecting criticism to the walking group is disingenuous.

adamthekiwi wrote:

I’m a bit disappointed with some of the responses here, given how quickly (and justifiably) commenters on these fora shout “Victim blaming!” whenever a cyclist struck by a car is criticised for any aspect of their riding.

While lots of folk are correct in pointing out that the HC suggests that walkers *”should be prepared”* to walk single-file facing the traffic, this is not law and, as the OP points out, the roads are there for *all* to use. Any cyclist should, at the minimum, make their presence known in a non-threatening manner well before encountering pedestrians, and should (IMO) slow down considerably on approach and until past – it can be just as scary for a pedestrian to be passed by a cyclist at 35kph as it is for a cyclist to be passed by a car/van/lorry at 90kph.

Cyclists should be offering as much respect and care to pedestrians as we expect from motorists.

And pedestrians should be treating cyclists as vehicles and not as “oh, its just a cyclist”.

Nobody here is invoking ‘victim blaming’.  The closer analogy might be if a group of cyclists were cycling along a narrow lane (so, a road, not just some little bridleway/green lane, presumably) filling the entire roadway such that a car (or, indeed, another cyclist) couldn’t get past, and then complained that the driver didn’t use their horn or the cyclist their bell to let the club know they were there.

I know plenty of pedestrians who listen for a car then happily step out into the road – without looking – if they don’t hear one.

But I don’t know any cyclists that speed close and silent past a group of pedestrians. 

Everyone I know would ring a bell or call out, and slow down if there were children or animals wandering around (I do wonder why the OP is happy to let them wander about on a road anyway…?  That is a completely separate issue from walking facing or with the expected traffic flow).