log in
register

Mothers! A buggy blockade

  • Creator
    Topic
  • July 29, 2019 at 12:53 pm #29962
    tommyraleigh

    As I rode into work along a shared use path this morning, I approached some mothers with buggies. They were walking side by side and took up the whole path. Obviously I slowed right down and did my best to call a cheery ‘cyclist’ to them, and they still didn’t look best pleased at having to let me past. Is it fair that they take the whole of a busy path at peak commuting time, or should I wind my neck in? Are they technically in the wrong or is it just poor form? I’d prefer that they learn the meaning of ‘shared’ path, but bunny-hopping a baby seems a little much! What to do?

  • Creator
    Topic
Viewing 13 replies - 31 through 43 (of 43 total)
1 2 3
  • Author
    Replies
  • July 29, 2019 at 5:43 pm #946989
    0
    kil0ran

    Never get between a bear and

    Never get between a bear and her cub.

    Buggies are a female dick extension – get used for all sorts. My favourite is mums edging buggies into the road to encourage drivers to stop, without a thought for their darling offspring. And of course, their use as juggernauts (the original meaning) on the school run, crushing all before them as they push them head down, one handed, catching up with Love Island and gramming duck faces to their literally tens of followers as little Tyler is into his tenth game of the day on Fortnite*

     

    *most of this is literally true round here, except the kid is probably called Benji and the buggies are made Bugaboo or Stokke

     

    Getting back on topic, never expect priority on shared-use paths. Most peds won’t have even spotted the signs, and if they have, they’ll be walking on the cycle section rather than the ped section, or whichever has the best desire line. What we actually need is some sort of AR app that highlights precisely what type of path they’re walking on or maybe a proximity sensor*

    *alternatively, just paying fucking attention in once a while rather than walking around in noise-cancelling Beats headphones with ambient turned down to zero.

    July 29, 2019 at 4:50 pm #946987
    0
    dobbo996

    Back in June 2014 I was

    Back in June 2014 I was commuting through Bute Park in Cardiff. The paths are wide and, in the mornings, quiet. Anyway….it was a lovely sunny June morning and I was feeling good. Up ahead of me were two young women with pushchairs, end-to-end, chatting and taking up nearly the whole width of the path. “Excuse me ladies”, I shouted out, expecting them to give me a little space to get past. They didn’t budge an inch. I had slowed to jogging pace and moved out to the very edge of the path.  Big mistake as there was a gap between the edge of the path and a metal strip. My front wheel went into the gap and before I could do anything the bars were torn out of my grasp and down I went. It’s what  motorcyclists call a front washout.

    I went down so hard it was like the hand of God had come down and slapped me into the tarmac. I knew something was very wrong when I found I couldn’t stand up. Broken collar bone. The paths are constructed of used razer blades mixed with flint so my left side – upper arm to thigh – looked like I’d been mauled by a very pissed-off tiger. Lots of blood. One of the ladies walked over and said “Ooo, I think that was my fault”, and walked off with her mate, leaving me to bleed on the path.     

    July 29, 2019 at 4:41 pm #946985
    0
    peted76

    What about Mini Scooters

    What about Mini Scooters though! Fantastic article on the daily heil – ‘Scourge of the Streets’ – the whole thing could have literally been written by the Daily Mash

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2683876/How-mini-scooters-scourge-streets-Theyre-middle-class-children-little-terrors-reaching-speeds-25mph-ending-tears-petrified-pedestrians.html 

     

    Ref: your nattering buggy mummies, I don’t think there’s anything to be done, just get a bell, be polite, keep calm and carry on. 

     

     

    July 29, 2019 at 3:45 pm #946983
    0
    FluffyKittenofTindalos
    brooksby wrote:
    hawkinspeter wrote:
    Seems a bit selfish to me to take up the whole shared path and not be on the lookout for others. Still, it’s not as bad as the parents with buggies on trains that ignore the instruction to fold them up and instead take up the only space available for bikes (it’s literally the only place on the train that bikes are allowed).

    Still, could be worse…

    Don’t forget the parents with buggies who decide that they’ll take up the ‘please give this space up for a wheelchair user’ space, on buses.  Sorry, bit OT.

     

    Someone I know was on a bus where a huge row blew up over such a dispute, with the bus passengers dividing into tribes depending on whether they supported ‘team disabled’ or the gang of ‘exhausted harrassed mums’.

      Ended with he bus driver throwing a huge strop and refusing to drive any further and everyone having to transfer to another bus.

     

    Another reason for anyone who isn’t in one of those groups (and some of those who are) to never to bother with public transport and to stick to active travel.  Those bus things are mobile riots waiting to happen, I tell you.

    July 29, 2019 at 3:06 pm #946981
    0
    morgoth985

    I find a friendly “Good

    I find a friendly “Good morning” combined with a loud freehub works well to announce my presence.  Even the professionally offended find it hard to challenge that.  I have a feeling that calling “cyclist”, however cheerily, might not be as well received.

     

    July 29, 2019 at 2:59 pm #946979
    0
    Legs_Eleven_Worcester

    You have come face to face

    You have come face to face with the sense of entitlement bestowed on women after six or seven decades of feminism. 

    Your next test will be to walk down the street and not move out of the way of females coming in the opposite direction.   Just make sure you look your best, as you’ll be on YouTube before you get home.

    July 29, 2019 at 2:01 pm #946977
    0
    brooksby
    bechdan wrote:
    accept and continue with life, nothing we can do to change these things, same with dog walkers, construction work, etc.

    Its not right but its not wrong either

    True.  Its just kind of rude and definitely not sharing the path.

    But if it were cyclists blocking a path and not letting mums-with-buggies past, mumsnet users would be baying for public hangings…

    July 29, 2019 at 1:59 pm #946975
    0
    brooksby
    hawkinspeter wrote:
    Seems a bit selfish to me to take up the whole shared path and not be on the lookout for others. Still, it’s not as bad as the parents with buggies on trains that ignore the instruction to fold them up and instead take up the only space available for bikes (it’s literally the only place on the train that bikes are allowed).

    Still, could be worse…

    Don’t forget the parents with buggies who decide that they’ll take up the ‘please give this space up for a wheelchair user’ space, on buses.  Sorry, bit OT.

    July 29, 2019 at 1:36 pm #946973
    0
    hawkinspeter
    quiff wrote:
    hawkinspeter – why on earth is this a stock photo? Who commissioned it? I have two theories. Either (a) you own alamy and can bend it to your squirrelly will; or (b) your squirrel photo searches are driving trends in stock photo companies. “Right team, we’re seeing unprecedented demand for pictures of squirrels right now. Squirrels in berets, squirrels in the maillot jaune, squirrels who look like Alaphilippe or Pinot. Just bring me squirrels! You, the one who normally does tedious shots of office stationery and co-workers deep in discussion – you’re reassigned to squirrels!”   

    The only reasonable explanation is that there’s a community of wealthy squirrels that wish to provide employment for their attractive partners.

     

    July 29, 2019 at 1:24 pm #946971
    0
    quiff

    hawkinspeter – why on earth

    hawkinspeter – why on earth is this a stock photo? Who commissioned it? I have two theories. Either (a) you own alamy and can bend it to your squirrelly will; or (b) your squirrel photo searches are driving trends in stock photo companies. “Right team, we’re seeing unprecedented demand for pictures of squirrels right now. Squirrels in berets, squirrels in the maillot jaune, squirrels who look like Alaphilippe or Pinot. Just bring me squirrels! You, the one who normally does tedious shots of office stationery and co-workers deep in discussion – you’re reassigned to squirrels!”   

    July 29, 2019 at 1:08 pm #946969
    0
    hawkinspeter

    Seems a bit selfish to me to

    Seems a bit selfish to me to take up the whole shared path and not be on the lookout for others. Still, it’s not as bad as the parents with buggies on trains that ignore the instruction to fold them up and instead take up the only space available for bikes (it’s literally the only place on the train that bikes are allowed).

    Still, could be worse…

     

    July 29, 2019 at 1:06 pm #946967
    0
    Tinbob49

    1) no it’s not fair, and 2)

    1) no it’s not fair, and 2) they really should be aware it’s a shared path, but 3) you won’t get far expecting people to acknowledge this or do anything about it.

    Shared paths are not great, because of this problem – pedestrians don’t realise that bikes actually use them sometimes.

    Yes, they are numpties for looking at you disapprovingly, but nothing you can do about that.

     

    July 29, 2019 at 12:56 pm #946965
    0
    Anonymous

    accept and continue with life

    accept and continue with life, nothing we can do to change these things, same with dog walkers, construction work, etc.

    Its not right but its not wrong either

  • Author
    Replies
Viewing 13 replies - 31 through 43 (of 43 total)
1 2 3
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.