Dog walkers or horseriders?

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MDC
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Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by MDC »

Who gets your vote for the most irritating?
Mark1978
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by Mark1978 »

Dog walkers by a country mile. Horse riders are usually in good control of their animal and well aware of their surroundings. Dog walkers are polar opposite.
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Redvee
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by Redvee »

Another vote for dog walkers. They are either letting their dogs roam free on shared use pathes etc or have their dog on an extended lead across the path which is nigh on impossible to spot till the last moment.
It is cause of dog roaming free 'under control', as the owner put it, in Staple Hill tunnel that I gained my first capped tooth last year, riding slowly through the tunnel slowly as is right and I spot a couple walking their, what I thought was one, dog so I move to pass them and as I did their second dog walked straight into my path giving me less than 1m to avoid it. I stop with help from the dog's ribs and the momentum means I end up on the front wheel only and land on my chin and my teeth crash together, luckily my tongue was clear otherwise I would have bit through it.
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Si
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by Si »

Neither. IME the most irritating are the small minority of thoughtless people who have no regard for the well being of others. This mall minority is not restricted to members of the horse or dog owning masses, but can be all sorts of people including cyclists....for instance the MTBer that flew down the hill straight at us the other day and hit an elderly member of my party.

I find that blanket stereotyping specific groups, such as horse riders or dog owners, as the 'most irritating' does nothing but drive further divides between groups who should be able to share the paths and roads in peace if we all just spared a little more consideration for others.
Michael R
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by Michael R »

Si wrote:Neither. IME the most irritating are the small minority of thoughtless people who have no regard for the well being of others. This mall minority is not restricted to members of the horse or dog owning masses, but can be all sorts of people including cyclists....for instance the MTBer that flew down the hill straight at us the other day and hit an elderly member of my party.

I find that blanket stereotyping specific groups, such as horse riders or dog owners, as the 'most irritating' does nothing but drive further divides between groups who should be able to share the paths and roads in peace if we all just spared a little more consideration for others.


Agreed Si. I get infuriated with mountainbikers who ride with no consideration for people or the environment. Sadly some churn up soft ground and think it fun.

Not to say some walkers, cyclists, dogwalkers and horse riders are * awkward.
Ant
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by Ant »

+1 to Si's comments.

Rode on the canal the other day behind a couple of cyclists, one of whom had a local cycle club t shirt on. They were bombing along the narrow towpath, passing people on benches at 15mph+ with inches to spare and scaring dogs and their walkers left right and centre, never once gave way to other users of the path. I had to stop several times to apologise for them. Neither of them seemed to have a bell either. Totally selfish, but they certainly looked like "proper" cyclists to me.

On any off road shared path the cyclist should always be prepared to stop immediately for dogs/children/wildlife etc. Even dogs on short leads can easily jump across your path as they are often stronger than the person holding the lead. If you hit something then you are probably at fault because you are riding too quickly for the conditions.

I was also riding the canal recently and a couple walking ahead would not give way to me despite several bell rings and a cheery "excuse me!". But then they were both deaf so fair enough. I stopped, we all smiled, everyone's day was allowed to carry on happily and I lost approximately 10 seconds on my journey home.

If I want to go fast, I ride on the road.
Mark1978
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by Mark1978 »

It's not always a question of cycle path or parallel road. It's more often a question of cycle path or parallel motorway / dual carriageway.
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Si
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by Si »

Mark1978 wrote:It's not always a question of cycle path or parallel road. It's more often a question of cycle path or parallel motorway / dual carriageway.


Yes, but the fact that the behaviour of the traffic on the parallel dual carriageway / road makes it unpleasant to ride there doesn't give anyone the right to ride in a way that makes it unpleasant for other path users (be they on foot, horse or bike) to use the path.
Mark1978
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by Mark1978 »

Si wrote:
Mark1978 wrote:It's not always a question of cycle path or parallel road. It's more often a question of cycle path or parallel motorway / dual carriageway.


Yes, but the fact that the behaviour of the traffic on the parallel dual carriageway / road makes it unpleasant to ride there doesn't give anyone the right to ride in a way that makes it unpleasant for other path users (be they on foot, horse or bike) to use the path.


Wasn't saying it does, but I'm just saying "go on the road" isn't always a realistic option.
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Si
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by Si »

Mark1978 wrote:
Si wrote:
Mark1978 wrote:It's not always a question of cycle path or parallel road. It's more often a question of cycle path or parallel motorway / dual carriageway.


Yes, but the fact that the behaviour of the traffic on the parallel dual carriageway / road makes it unpleasant to ride there doesn't give anyone the right to ride in a way that makes it unpleasant for other path users (be they on foot, horse or bike) to use the path.


Wasn't saying it does, but I'm just saying "go on the road" isn't always a realistic option.


I don't think that was the option, rather it was: "go on the road IF YOU WANT TO GO FAST".....which is a slightly different thing.

Of course, you don't have to go slow on all paths, all of the time...if you can see that it is perfectly safe to get a move on then that's fine....but this isn't always the case. And, of course, some people seem incapable of making this judgement - e.g. the MTBer that hit my friend.
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al_yrpal
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by al_yrpal »

I ride a MTB on bridleways and permitted shared paths. I always give way to horseriders, pedestrians and am careful with dogs. A small minority of MTBers seem to act like morons around others. And then there are the usual phsyclists who get us all a bad name.

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Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
Ant
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by Ant »

+1 Si again!

Fair enough, some roads are not sensibly contemplated on a bike, but if the alternative is shared with others, then you have to accept giving way at any given moment. My example of the ignorant riders on the towpath (not MTB'ers by the way, from a local road riding club) was that their speed was inappropriate for the conditions when there were others about. That speed is OK on a towpath when no one else is around (even thought the odd duck or goose might not agree).

Ultimately we all have to remember that a network of navigable paths and roads are a luxury afforded to everyone who lives in the UK and their use should be appreciated as such. We don't individually own them and the only real problems arise when people act as though they do...
MDC
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by MDC »

The thing about dog walkers is that they actually need to be present to be a nuisance whereas horse riders can churn up a path and leave it unrideable.
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meic
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by meic »

Hmm, I disagree on that point.

Dogs leave even more disgusting evidence of their passage.

Watching the poor council workers trying to strim the edge of our cycle path was literally sickening.
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Si
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Re: Dog walkers or horseriders?

Post by Si »

Everyone lea ves something - had to stop a cyclist chucking an old inner tube into the hedge in a SSSI yesterday.
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