A Rant
It’s not often I hold a particularly strong view on something, and it’s even less often I blog about it, but there is one thing when driving that really annoys the heck out of me. Cyclists who ride on the road when there is a perfectly good cycle track running parallel. Cycle routes are generally a good thing for both drivers and cyclists. For foreign readers I’m talking about paths/sidewalks that have been converted in some way to accommodate cyclists or specially built paths that might follow an alternative route to a common destination.
Actually it’s the times where there’s a track that run parallel to the roads that I’m particularly refering to. There’s a prime example of this (as was encountered tonight, in fact) near my home. A road that runs between two residential areas (Peel Common and Stubbington). It’s a 40mph road, quite narrow and curved, so passing a cyclist can be tricky and dangerous. It’s also a busy road, is used by traffic going between Gosport and Southampton. A few years ago the path was resurfaced and widened for cyclists to share the path with pedestrians. Traffic lights were installed at either end of the road for cyclists to safely cross the road. Most cyclists (including myself when I used to cycle to Stubbington) use the track and it’s quite a nice, safe route (field next to it, so no driveways or other hazards either).
So why, with this new route running parallel to the road, do a few cyclists continue to ride on the route oblivious to the risks they are putting theirselves, and other road users in? Is it because they are stubborn, ignorant or just lazy? Of course, they’re perfectly entitled to use the road - cyclists have as much right to occupy the road as cars, horseriders and pedestrians - but this is missing the point. They’re causing a danger and an obstruction that could otherwise be simply avoided if they used the route provided for them.
Comments please! But please, no ‘you’re just a snobby road user who thinks you own and have a right to the whole road’ comments - they’re not really useful to anybody and since I’ve cycled for years as well I’d like to think my thoughts are a bit less shallow than that!
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May 7th, 2004 at 4:27 am
He’s probably neither stubborn, ignorant, or lazy. Maybe he thinks it’s insulting that they want to put him on a path with 2 mph pedestrians, and get off and wait for the ‘real’ traffic at intersections. A typical bike speed on flat ground is between ten and twenty mph. How many do you suppose would fit on that little path before there started to be a problem?
Next time you’re stuck behind a cyclist on this road maybe think about why you really need to pass him anyway. Is it really that much slower? Try going his speed for a ways. Bored? I don’t blame you. You’re stuck in a padded isolation tank. Think about how much fun he’s having though. Maybe you should consider joining him.