towpath cyclists

[Bettie Boo]

Ok, just to make sure I've got this correct....

 

When we do get the boat and move aboard, over and above the really big 3 safety concerns that I was already aware of (fire, sinking & carbon monoxide poisoning) you kind folks have enlightened me by reading the different posts that there are indeed at least 4 more to be considered.....

 

1) Although the thought of going through tunnels already had me terrified, I never once considered the thought that we may be met by a boat coming towards us in the opposite direction, and then to add to that little revelation, I find out that people take canoes, dinghy's and small power boats through OMG do they realize there are people just learning how to handle 22 tons of floating steel using the same tunnels????

 

2) I now informed on this thread I could either be ran over by "Hells Angles" racing and doing "wheelies" on bicycles as I'm walking back from the pub in the dark because I forgot my flashlight in the pub

 

3) I need to watch out for hidden booby traps (lightly buried boards with nails sticking up) as I push the bicycle along the towpath in my sandaled feet because I've bought too much shopping to ride the bike - hence ending up with a nail in my foot and punctured tires as well

 

4) If When I fall into the canal, there's some nasty bug which I will more than likely get because I've screamed entering the water and swallow a couple of mouthfuls and will need to go to the hospital

 

Never mind the Helmsman course - there should be Health warning, and advise to take out Major health/life insurance on all those sites you read when thinking of making this lifestyle change, you know the ones....they warn you about the unpleasantness of emptying the cassettes, getting set up with a doctor, no post code etc etc

 

B~

[Beaker]

 

2) I now informed on this thread I could either be ran over by "Hells Angles"

 

I wonder what Pythagoras had to say about these?

[MtB]

It's 'tyres' over here...

 

 

MtB

[Bettie Boo]

It's 'tyres' over here...

 

 

MtB

LOL

 

Well in my defence, I did say "puncture" instead of "a flat tire tyre"

 

B~

[Grace and Favour]

 

I wonder what Pythagoras had to say about these?

A couple of squares equals another square?

[ChimneyChain]

Not just cyclists that tend behave stupid, but motorcyclist should also be put in the same category. As a regular on the A40 the speed at which they fly past stationary cars is astounding, if any did fall of or hit the back end of a car or truck then they certainly deserve it.

 

Darren

[Guest]

Interpret whatever you wish. I have witnessed outlandish examples of bad cycling on towpaths and roads. On a towpath the pedestrian has to leap for safety or it is he that gets hurt. On a road I would have expected the cyclist to be a bit more careful but often it just isn't so.

 

As an example, in Denton Manchester yesterday I was waiting at red lights at a busy road junction when not one, but two cyclists independently went through the red lights and across the junction without even slowing.

 

As I said, roads can bite back and nowhere did I use the word ALL.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

 

There is no doubt that there are reckless cyclists just as there are reckless motorists/HGV drivers even bus drivers.

 

My point was that it was unsympathetic to imply that recklessness on the part of the cyclists was a factor in the recent spate of deaths in London, we don't know what the cause of those deaths were

 

On the subject of cycling in London some interesting comments by the Met Commissioner yesterday for anyone contemplating it.

 

Met Commissioner 'would not cycle' in London

[furnessvale]

 

There is no doubt that there are reckless cyclists just as there are reckless motorists/HGV drivers even bus drivers.

 

My point was that it was unsympathetic to imply that recklessness on the part of the cyclists was a factor in the recent spate of deaths in London, we don't know what the cause of those deaths were

 

On the subject of cycling in London some interesting comments by the Met Commissioner yesterday for anyone contemplating it.

 

Met Commissioner 'would not cycle' in London

I never said or even implied any such thing. I said "London's roads have the ability to bite back".

 

Another person may well have taken the view that I meant the biting back was entirely unjustified on totally innocent cyclists. Your interpretation says far more about you than it does about me.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

[Guest]

I never said or even implied any such thing. I said "London's roads have the ability to bite back".

 

Another person may well have taken the view that I meant the biting back was entirely unjustified on totally innocent cyclists. Your interpretation says far more about you than it does about me.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

 

Of course you are implying it - as much as you protest you are not.

 

The use of the words 'bite back' implies in retaliation for some wrong doing on the part of the cyclist. If you had dropped the word 'back' then it would have read more like the way you are now claiming it was intended.

Edited November 23, 2013 by The Dog House

[Jigsawged]

I think some cyclist forget that the towpath is a footpath with people strolling along enjoying the canal net work.Push bikes should all have a registration and some sort of insurance, at least then they could be reported and even claimed against in the event of causing damage or injury.I find that most cyclist are happy to moan about how dangerous the roads are but then do the same to pedestrians on footpaths as they mount kerbs and whizz by making people leap out of the way.

Well said!

[Jigsawged]

Ok, just to make sure I've got this correct....

 

B~

And you thought it was a gentle pastime !! Have a Greenie Betty Boo for making me laugh so much just as I was about to swallow a mouthful of tea. Must go and clean up now!

[Roadsteam]

 

1) I don't know. Your post would carry more weight if you had told us!

 

2) A cyclist needs about 2'6" at handlebar height, plus a bit for balance.

 

Hope that helps.

 

MtB

Sorry i was assuming that readers would generally be familiar with the location. I would estimate the width to be over 12ft at the point i was stood. So the remaining 9ft was not enough for her.

[Dottyshirl]

Give me 24 ft width and I still end up in the cut ...... Is this relevant lol

[ChimneyChain]

Give me 24 ft width and I still end up in the cut ...... Is this relevant lol

Most girls only want 8"

 

Darren

[Barry]

Most girls are lucky if they get six

[tree monkey]

Most girls are lucky if they get six

6 they want 6!!!!!!!!!!

[Graham Davis]

Sorry i was assuming that readers would generally be familiar with the location. I would estimate the width to be over 12ft at the point i was stood. So the remaining 9ft was not enough for her.

Why do you think we all know every little bit of what I presume is a bridge in Oxford?

Some people have probably never ventured that far south!!

[Thorfast]

I was told by a friend in Germany that if you are caught there by the police for a cycling offence they can add the offence or points to your driving licence ( I realise that a small minority of cyclists may not have a driving licence ). Seems like a good idea to me.

Perhaps we should have a road users licence that includes cyclists and horse riders etc, I think they should at least sit the written test that learner drivers have to take.

 

To me it is all a matter of education. You can buy a bike and ride on the roads that day with no 'road education' at all....where is the common sense in tha on our modern roads?

[The Pipe]

I was told by a friend in Germany that if you are caught there by the police for a cycling offence they can add the offence or points to your driving licence ( I realise that a small minority of cyclists may not have a driving licence ). Seems like a good idea to me.

Perhaps we should have a road users licence that includes cyclists and horse riders etc, I think they should at least sit the written test that learner drivers have to take.

 

Yep. Drunk incharge of a bike will get you banned from your car, boat, aircraft, horse and maybe breathing licence. Everything is tied together, the police do tend to be more sensible than UK. I staggered of the "S Bahn" in Munich comming from the October Fest fished my coat out of the car and started to walk stagger the 2 miles to my appartment to be met at the bottom of the steps by the police who said "get in Hr Evans we stall take you home, collect your car tommorow afternoon!"

[jam]

What I cannot understand is the current lack of licensing for cyclists on canal towpaths. I remember in the days of BWB cyclists had to have a permit to cycle on towpaths (I still have one!) but since the formation of CRT this seems to have been destined into history.

[alan_fincher]

What I cannot understand is the current lack of licensing for cyclists on canal towpaths. I remember in the days of BWB cyclists had to have a permit to cycle on towpaths (I still have one!) but since the formation of CRT this seems to have been destined into history.

 

I don't think it had anything to do with the formation of CRT, did it? Surely the requirement was dropped before then, under British Waterways?

 

As the total requirement was to log onto a website and print off your own piece of paper, and, as nobody ever checked them anyway, in my experience, it would seem to me that the right thing was done in discontinuing it.

 

What evidence do you have that the old arrangements gave any benefits whatsoever?

[john6767]

 

I don't think it had anything to do with the formation of CRT, did it? Surely the requirement was dropped before then, under British Waterways?

 

As the total requirement was to log onto a website and print off your own piece of paper, and, as nobody ever checked them anyway, in my experience, it would seem to me that the right thing was done in discontinuing it.

 

What evidence do you have that the old arrangements gave any benefits whatsoever?

I also thought that is was CRT that had dropped that, although I agree that the old requirement to have a permit achieved nothing and no cyclists even knew that they needed one anyway. The other thing that I think has changed under CRT is that it is now allowable to cycle on all towpaths, where as before with the permit system it was only certain towpaths where cycling was allowed, and I thought that was the point of the permit in that it highlighted where cycling was/was not allowed.

 

To me the trick here is for CRT to come up with a way of getting some financial contribution from cyclists, for as well as the dangers that some of them pose, they cause quite a bit of damage to the surface particularly this time of year.

[alan_fincher]

 

To me the trick here is for CRT to come up with a way of getting some financial contribution from cyclists, for as well as the dangers that some of them pose, they cause quite a bit of damage to the surface particularly this time of year.

Of course if a cyclist, (or walker, or angler, or any other canal user), is s UK tax payer then they already do make a financial contribution to CRT funds, albeit no more than someone who doesn't choose to visit those waterways for any reason. But most of us pay, even if not boat owners.

[john6767]

Of course if a cyclist, (or walker, or angler, or any other canal user), is s UK tax payer then they already do make a financial contribution to CRT funds, albeit no more than someone who doesn't choose to visit those waterways for any reason. But most of us pay, even if not boat owners.

That's a fair point, ever tax payer pays something. It's really about making an additional contribution that I meant, and not really targeted so much at the casual cyclist but the "serious" ones all kitted out and with the heavy duty mountain bikes. Their use seems over and above the norm and they do the most damage.

[jam]

 

What evidence do you have that the old arrangements gave any benefits whatsoever?

 

I would say that the benefits were to other casual users of towpaths in that applying for a permit also made the cyclist aware of the do's and don'ts of cycling on a shared facility.