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Post by Deleted on Jun 23, 2014 15:24:36 GMT
As I've not been cycling long I've started to notice everything... Cycle paths that go along the pavement and the lines just continue on each side of a concrete bollard - with the bollard right in the middle of the path. Some seem to have just had the ground flattened and tarmac thrown on top so the tree roots start pushing up through it They never trim the trees along them so you end up with a face full of branches sometimes they're on a path that's barely wide enough for pedestrians, nevermind sharing with a bike Always seem to be the worst part of the road. Ran out of tarmac and just used rocks
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Post by oldtimer on Jun 23, 2014 18:11:50 GMT
Same as much of the above. Starngely enough , had to deliver the van to a garage today, so naturally took the bike to get back. there's one section where the road crosses the river (on a bridge !!) and it's horribly narrow, and .... there's a cycle path. Normally I don't use them (the OH does) , but i thought I'd be the model citizen-rider. 400m of lovely smooth tarmac. 300m of no surface-grit-glass followed by 800m where the nice men had just cut the hawthorn hedges.
And that's the problem . Cycle paths are unreliable, so why bother. If a bloke in a car has a chat with me I tell them to ring the local council, get them to surface and sweep the cycle path, and then I'll use them.
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Post by chas on Jun 23, 2014 21:22:02 GMT
They are a pet hate of mine, lots of inappropriate ones sprang up a few years ago when councils got grants from central government for them. 2 in particular really grated : I used to commute on a nice wide fairly quiet road (was the main road before a dual carriageway took the bulk of the traffic)which the council painted lines down the side for a cheap cyclepath. If you followed the path you were supposed to go onto the pavement and give way to traffic at every side road instead of having right of way on the main carriageway. Also instead of cars clearing the road of glass and debris it was all thrown onto the cyclepath making it unrideable so the road was effectively narrowed. The 2nd was near home where a canal leisure path comes out on a narrow road they built an unnecessary central refuge causing a pinch point as if they expected every cyclist to leave the road and go on the canal. I was nearly taken out by a car there when it was first built, with my daughter in a child seat on the back. (I think Captslog rides that way and will know it)
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Post by wardyuk on Jun 24, 2014 10:10:43 GMT
If you followed the path you were supposed to go onto the pavement and give way to traffic at every side road instead of having right of way on the main carriageway. That! single most annoying thing about even the best surface cycle path...
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Post by Radchenister on Jun 24, 2014 10:23:16 GMT
Yep, this is the main issue why many of the better conditioned ones don't work for sports bikes / commuters / training / exercise, aside from ped's and dogs etc if it's a busy one - fine if you're out with your toddler on stabilisers but not for getting on with it, which is why we end up on the road. As said previously, this is our right - I find getting on with it through town, riding fast like a motorcyclist but ready to back off works reasonably well. Most drivers give you space, a proportion want to drift near you and edge you out. I don't do it a lot but when I do, I own my space but am ready to bail - I fully expect to be 'got' at some point but will do my best to avoid it, life's full of risks, reduce them or don't take them by all means but when you do, best understand you're doing it and go at it with alertness and rigour.
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Post by ChrisD on Jun 24, 2014 15:52:09 GMT
I'm really grateful to you all for expressing your thoughts and experience here. I really do hope the interest in cycling at all levels continues to spiral and the momentum might just raise the profile of the very issues discussed here, with some help from the likes of key voices like Boardman and Co.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2014 20:14:40 GMT
I have to use the cycle path near my house to get anywhere decent or ride the national speed limit dual carriageway, which im not up to yet. If I go left the path looks good but its like riding on cobbles with lots of side roads to cross for about a mile. This then turns into the best piece of tarmac anyone could wish for as its just being re surfaced but only about 500 meters has been done so far with the other mile after it dug up which is shocking. If I go right I get the cobble effect followed by side roads and then it narrows to just about being able to ride. All the bits that have been dug up and shocking repairs. &as mentioned before the ones they put on the road are covered in glass etc. On the whole for me I can live with them near me as most are reasonable for my use and I feel more comfortable using them than braving 60mph+ drivers that that most are more interested in everything else but whats on the roads ahead.
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robf
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Post by robf on Jun 26, 2014 20:11:05 GMT
I tried to use a cycle path tonight on a new route I was trying out. Turns out I couldn't cycle on it, so had to walk. Purely because the lazy council hasn't kept it. To avoid getting stung to death I had to dismount and push my bike infront of me to avoid the nettles!Check out my 21.5 mi Ride on Strava: app.strava.com/activities/158493925
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Post by Radchenister on Jun 26, 2014 21:10:27 GMT
Eh? Reckon you can get up that OK, yep it needs a trim but ffs (?) - that's just being prissy IMHO.
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robf
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Post by robf on Jun 26, 2014 21:25:54 GMT
The is about as foot of nettle less path and in some places the nettles went all the way across. Also brambles on the other side. I've been called lots of things in my time, a pussy is definitely not one of them.
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Post by Radchenister on Jun 26, 2014 22:04:01 GMT
Didn't call you that, Freud would have something to say about the leap in word associations - what I see there is a perfectly navigable path and some good old British whinging .
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Post by Deleted on Jun 27, 2014 0:15:45 GMT
Every single time I have tried to use a cycle path around here there's people walking in it, 2-3 abreast sometimes and walking a dog. Other times Ive gotten some weird situation where there's an oncoming cyclist that seems to want to cycle head on into me.
There are often deep drains in them, cars blocking them, loads of roads cutting across them and so on. I find in my experience it's more dangerous to use them and significantly more hassle and time consuming.
They are fine if you are pootling along at 10mph. Cycling at 25mph in one, suicide.
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Post by cosybike on Jun 27, 2014 1:55:28 GMT
They are no good for a road bike or commuter wanting to get somewhere quick. You just cant do 30mph on them safely. I'd remove a load of shared use ones and the ones that throw you back on to the road every 500metres to a set of traffic lights with no cycle specific sequence. Or the ones that just stop on the pavement with no clear access to anywhere. I got shouted at to "get in" the other day. there was loads of space. The Bus driver and everyone else managed to pass with plenty space. So I beat fanny baws to the junction and saluted as he went past. You just have to rise above these people. I like colorado style paths and the swiss routes that actually go somewhere. Just before the last part of the M74 opened you could cycle and walk it. You could get from rutherglen to the city centre really quick. It's actual road sized paths we need connecting decent hubs. Then I predict we will get bike jams. High level paths above main routes into cities, no stops unless absolutely necessary. That's why cyclists jump red lights. Its a wee bit to do with safety on occasion but mostly it is to reduce amount of energy used. Most of them don't even know. I stop for reds during the day for good public relations. At night when noone is around and on the rare occasion when personal safety may be more of an issue then i don't think any reasonable person would be that bothered. farm7.static.flickr.com/6129/5970809065_5be39b4fcb_z.jpg
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Post by derekv4 on Jul 2, 2014 12:01:14 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2014 22:58:40 GMT
"Use of these facilities is not compulsory and will depend on your experience and skills, but they can make your journey safer" ^ I was stopped by a community officer this morning whilst slowing down for traffic lights, whilst on the road. Admittedly there was a cycle lane adjacent to me but this was on a dual carriageway meaning if i were to use this I would have to cylce an extra 0.7 miles, turn around and come back on a pedestrian path or in heavy traffic to get to work. I used this phrase to a tee, got a snigger from her and she pulled out her paperwork to issue me a fine. This was the moment I mounted my steed, clipped in and cycled off with a smile on my face knowing she had no vehicle, and no presidence.
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