Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

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honesty
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by honesty »

reohn2 wrote:I think we as a group are,in that we're,to a greater or lesser extent despised at worst and unliked at best,by elements of every other type of road user.
We need to ask ourselves why that is,sometimes it's unfounded and sometimes justified.It's some cyclists actions that define that justification.
I can't help other road users prejudices or other cyclists bad cycling, but I can as a cyclist go some way to try to dispel them by being courteous and considerate to others.


I work in IT. It is a known thing that IT is only noticed by staff when it doesn't work. People can go 364 days of the year with a fully working computer and they don't think of IT once or thank the people responsible for it, on the one day it breaks IT support are the devil incarnate and all the worlds woes are their fault.

its the same with cyclists.
reohn2
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by reohn2 »

honesty wrote:
reohn2 wrote:I think we as a group are,in that we're,to a greater or lesser extent despised at worst and unliked at best,by elements of every other type of road user.
We need to ask ourselves why that is,sometimes it's unfounded and sometimes justified.It's some cyclists actions that define that justification.
I can't help other road users prejudices or other cyclists bad cycling, but I can as a cyclist go some way to try to dispel them by being courteous and considerate to others.


I work in IT. It is a known thing that IT is only noticed by staff when it doesn't work. People can go 364 days of the year with a fully working computer and they don't think of IT once or thank the people responsible for it, on the one day it breaks IT support are the devil incarnate and all the worlds woes are their fault.

its the same with cyclists.

I'd agree with that.........



.........IT workers are the devil incarnate :mrgreen:
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byegad
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by byegad »

[XAP]Bob wrote:I regularly see wheelchair users on the local path, not on the railway line 'cos that's almost impossible for them to access... except at one end (those anti cycle barriers don't only stop us)


Yes the barriers stop me on my recumbent trikes and wheelchair users. As I ride three wheels I find many cycle farcilities are totally barred to me. I know they put the barriers up to stop illegal motorcyclists but they also bar loaded DFs, and any longer or wider users too. Taken to the ultimate point of barring illegal access, you could build a steel gate and leave it locked. The motorcyclists will smash down fences to gain access and nobody else will use it. At least that would separate the illegal motorcyclists from the rest of us.
"I thought of that while riding my bike." -Albert Einstein, on the Theory of Relativity

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Ayesha
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by Ayesha »

honesty wrote:
reohn2 wrote:I think we as a group are,in that we're,to a greater or lesser extent despised at worst and unliked at best,by elements of every other type of road user.
We need to ask ourselves why that is,sometimes it's unfounded and sometimes justified.It's some cyclists actions that define that justification.
I can't help other road users prejudices or other cyclists bad cycling, but I can as a cyclist go some way to try to dispel them by being courteous and considerate to others.


I work in IT. It is a known thing that IT is only noticed by staff when it doesn't work. People can go 364 days of the year with a fully working computer and they don't think of IT once or thank the people responsible for it, on the one day it breaks IT support are the devil incarnate and all the worlds woes are their fault.

its the same with cyclists.


That's because,,,,

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the vicar
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by the vicar »

Cant work out the 'quote' function, but I do take Cunobelin's point about 'no hierarchy' on a shared path. It just troubles me that those cyclists who do act inconsiderately generally do so because of the hierarchy in their head, i.e they are using a VEHICLE and are in a HURRY and therefore have PRIORITY. When oppressed becomes oppressor and all that......
MikeF
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by MikeF »

reohn2 wrote:
Cunobelin wrote:
There should be no hierarchy at all, but reasonable shared use.

It is no-one's "turf", and anyone who claims or thinks that any single group has more "right" to use or act in an unsafe manner is being unhelpful to say the least.

I think it only fair to be considerate to walkers on shared paths,consideration means being prepared to give way,slow down and even stop for families and dog walkers,etc.This would be the same as a car driving through crowded town centres at a reasonable speed (I know this doesn't happen most of the time,but IMHO it should,cars should forced to slow to sub 20mph where appropriated)
I agree about "turf" TBH it's everyone's "turf" but in the presence of cyclists the pedestrian is the vulnerable road/path user and as such should be given priority.

Good point.
On shared paths cyclists who have problems with other users ARE a problem, but they don't realise it!
A bell is a great asset and will give 5 to 10 seconds warning - pedestrians may not always hear it, but if they don't you also can be prepared that they are not aware of your presence.

reohn2 wrote:
Mind you we must be unique!

I think we as a group are,in that we're,to a greater or lesser extent despised at worst and unliked at best,by elements of every other type of road user.
We need to ask ourselves why that is,sometimes it's unfounded and sometimes justified.It's some cyclists actions that define that justification.
I can't help other road users prejudices or other cyclists bad cycling, but I can as a cyclist go some way to try to dispel them by being courteous and considerate to others.



+1
"It takes a genius to spot the obvious" - my old physics master.
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reohn2
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by reohn2 »

MikeF wrote:A bell is a great asset and will give 5 to 10 seconds warning - pedestrians may not always hear it, but if they don't you also can be prepared that they are not aware of your presence.....


I removed all bells from my bikes some years ago as using one needs one of my hands,both of which I need to control the bike or brake and I find bells aren't always appreciated or heard.
I simply shout "excuse me can I get by" or "ding,ding" in a friendly manner.I find the human voice to be more acceptable to pedestrians.
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661-Pete
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by 661-Pete »

reohn2 wrote:I find the human voice to be more acceptable to pedestrians.
It's also more acceptable to horses! A bell can spook a horse, but a human voice usually doesn't.

I don't use a bell, partly because they take up precious real estate on the handlbar, but also because the 'compulsory' bell on new bikes is such a pusillanimous affair, you'd get a better 'ding' by tapping a spoon on the handlebar. I'm also of the 'excuse me' persuasion, and I find it generally pays dividends (a smile from a pedestrian you're passing, makes up for a hundred scowls...).
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reohn2
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by reohn2 »

661-Pete wrote:
reohn2 wrote:I find the human voice to be more acceptable to pedestrians.
It's also more acceptable to horses! A bell can spook a horse, but a human voice usually doesn't.

I don't use a bell, partly because they take up precious real estate on the handlbar, but also because the 'compulsory' bell on new bikes is such a pusillanimous affair, you'd get a better 'ding' by tapping a spoon on the handlebar. I'm also of the 'excuse me' persuasion, and I find it generally pays dividends (a smile from a pedestrian you're passing, makes up for a hundred scowls...).

Yep,that's what I find too,much more civilised to speak than some clanking symbol/cymbal :wink:
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Mr. Viking
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by Mr. Viking »

the bell on my bike makes a pathetic (and slightly camp) "ding-dong" I think I will have to look at replacing it with one of these:
Image
which seem surprisingly loud and are nice and cheerful
Mark1978
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by Mark1978 »

Tarmaccing the cycle paths makes them usable by everyone. As for horses that can't canter - well you shouldn't be cantering horses on a shared use path anyway.

Cars have the motorways and the entire road network.
Pedestrians have footpaths and footways alongside roads
Cyclists have some of the road network and cycle paths, it's the one place where cycles should have priority!
reohn2
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by reohn2 »

Mark1978 wrote:Cyclists have some of the road network and cycle paths,

Most of the network and if the law were adhered to and enforced by the pathetic excuse for a police force cyclists would be far sfer on them


it's the one place where cycles should have priority!

But the path in question isn't a cyclepath exclusively,it's a shared use path and as such pedestrians should have priority.
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by [XAP]Bob »

reohn2 wrote:
it's the one place where cycles should have priority!

But the path in question isn't a cyclepath exclusively,it's a shared use path and as such pedestrians should have priority.


And the pedestrian should be ceding passage to the disabled pedestrian (blind, deaf, CP, wheelchair/ whatever).

It's not a question of who has priority - but to whom do you cede position
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
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reohn2
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by reohn2 »

[XAP]Bob wrote:
reohn2 wrote:
it's the one place where cycles should have priority!

But the path in question isn't a cyclepath exclusively,it's a shared use path and as such pedestrians should have priority.


And the pedestrian should be ceding passage to the disabled pedestrian (blind, deaf, CP, wheelchair/ whatever).

It's not a question of who has priority - but to whom do you cede position


Agreed,the most vulnerable should be treated with the greatest respect and not the "might is right" situation we seem to have.
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Ayesha
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Re: Kenilworth Greenway ripped up in the Spectator

Post by Ayesha »

I live close to that path.

The cyclists that use it don't read The Spectator and don't visit this web forum.
They read stolen copies of Men Only and visit Yogscast.
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