Riding on rural Public Footpaths

j_l

As a spin off from the riding on paths thread, how do you feel about riding on footpaths in rural areas.

Is it something you do, would do.

Comment please.



I will say some of the best rides I have done have been on footpaths and I don't feel guilty one bit :shock:

chedabob

If I can access it easily, I will do. There's plenty of "footpaths" in south Manchester that have nothing blocking cyclists at all.

cooldad

Except you'd probably get hacked off at pedestrians on cycle trails

weescott

I have no qualms about riding on rural paths:






The features make for an.....interesting ride.

butcher of bakersfield

I do it all the time.

cooldad wrote:

Except you'd probably get hacked off at pedestrians on cycle trails

Can't say I've ever had a pedestrian hacked off at me for riding footpaths. They generally smile and say hello. In fact most of them step to one side and let me past, while they give a smile and a hello!

If I barged straight past, even if they had stepped to one side, I'd expect them to be hacked off. And if the roles were reversed and they were just as inconsiderate on the trails, I'd be hacked off too. I wouldn't be hacked off for them being there.

It's not a fair comparrison though. The only difference between myself and pedestrians on a footpath, is the two wheels beneath me. I'm in no way an inconvenience or a menace to them.

JimmerG

I do ride on foot paths - but with a nod to weescott's post - I do it rather 'sheepishly' If I do come across pedestrians who look like they're abouto be offended - I slow right down, almost to a stop, I apologise, look sheepish and continue. It usually works. If they kick up a fuss - I smile and play the old "I'm a bit lost, could you help me out" card.

Works every time.

j_l

If I am honest I don't see the issue with riding foot paths as long as you are courteous and polite and keep off the popular ones, but some go unused for months if not years so why not use them?

Ramblers want the right to roam but are not willing to share access with other users, it's a bit one sided don't you think.

Round here (north devon) I normally do a short route early in the morning round Baggy point, over the top to Putbrough then on to Wolly, it's a lovely ride and if I am there at 6am no one is to know.

When I lived in Bucks I would ride footpaths all the time in the Chilterns as did many others, only on occasions did people comment and I always politely asked them why they objected, they very rarely put forward a good reason for me not to be there.

welshkev

cooldad wrote:

Except you'd probably get hacked off at pedestrians on cycle trails

by me there's a huge cycle network and it's full of people and there dogs walking up the cycle paths and getting arsey with me riding on them (not everyone) and also on the flip side there's a lot of foot paths and bridleways that i ride on that noone really seems bothered by as long as you are respectful of other users

projectsome

welshkev wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Except you'd probably get hacked off at pedestrians on cycle trails

by me there's a huge cycle network and it's full of people and there dogs walking up the cycle paths and getting arsey with me riding on them (not everyone) and also on the flip side there's a lot of foot paths and bridleways that i ride on that noone really seems bothered by as long as you are respectful of other users

this

paul.skibum

I tend to avoid them in vafour of the bridleways but I have to say a couple of times recently I have gone onto footpaths due to being lost or having gone the wrong way and they present the best way back on track - some of them are fantastic - tight singletrack, lots of trees and none of the churned horse hoof marks you get on the BW's

So I do but as a rule I dont.

TheNorthernTrain

I just do it. I'm always courteous to other users and will usually stop and let them pass, if i get harassed i either ignore it and carry on or as has been said previously, claim you're lost. Footpaths provide some great trails and i'm not about to give up using them.

BorisSpencer

north-sure wrote:

I just do it. I'm always courteous to other users and will usually stop and let them pass, if i get harassed i either ignore it and carry on or as has been said previously, claim you're lost. Footpaths provide some great trails and i'm not about to give up using them.

+1.

I find that once you're more than half a mile from the nearest houses the chances of seeing anyone is very remote.

Live and let live mixed with some common sense.

chedabob

cooldad wrote:

Except you'd probably get hacked off at pedestrians on cycle trails

That's because quite often we're doing 20mph+ on those trails. Also pedestrians wreck cycle trails by walking over berms and the lips of jumps.

Cferg

Do it regularly, offroad I'm sure it's perfectly legal, in Scotland anyway, as in woodland walkways etc. Most people say give way to walkers, people with their dogs etc. but on the most part they give way to you as you are going a heck of alot faster than them and it's easier for them to get out the road than you, saying that obviously I slow down 99% of the time and let them past as much as possible but they generally move for you

Anonymous

BorisSpencer wrote:

Live and let live mixed with some common sense.

This. Wholeheartedly.

Anonymous

J L wrote:

Ramblers want the right to roam but are not willing to share access with other users, it's a bit one sided don't you think.

Indeed, and it's a myth that Ramblers cause no damage to the land.

I'm understanding of the law, though I'm happy to point out to moaning walkers that the law doesn't forbid cyclists on footpaths, it just doesn't give them a right.

Footpaths for me though are just like bridleways. They provide access to singletrack . And neither group has particular access to most of the singletrack around unless it's an official bike trail with land owner sanction. Walkers need to be reminded that if they want to rant about where people can and can't roam, they should stick to where they are allowed, i.e. footpaths and leave the rest to us

Anyway, I try to be courteous and stop, let people past or wait patiently for them to let me past, and I'll be careful if they're with kids or dogs. There are definitely some inconsiderate cyclists about that are part of the cause of conflict. There are some right miserable gits though that will deliberately block the trail and there are those that seem to have a near heart attack if they hear you approaching even at a slow speed (and more so if you ring a bell, and yet they're the ones who insist we should have one!).

bails87

That's a blurry :oops: example of a bit of footpath near me. No reason at all why it's dangerous for me to ride a bike there, but not on a bridleway. I really think we need the Scottish system in England and Wales.

meesterbond

bails87 wrote:

That's a blurry :oops: example of a bit of footpath near me. No reason at all why it's dangerous for me to ride a bike there, but not on a bridleway. I really think we need the Scottish system in England and Wales.

What if you accidentally hit Harry Potter?

bails87

meesterbond wrote:

bails87 wrote:

That's a blurry :oops: example of a bit of footpath near me. No reason at all why it's dangerous for me to ride a bike there, but not on a bridleway. I really think we need the Scottish system in England and Wales.

What if you accidentally hit Harry Potter?

What if I deliberately hit him?

captainfly

I use them all the time localy, as for walkers I just be polite and on a side note was having a chat with the local local bobby as I was pusig my bike up a ridicusly steep and rock 'public footpath' that leads to and old quarry/woods, and he didn't seem at all bothered, it is the kids who drink and cause trouble or hurt themselves falling off some of the drops or riding motorcyles that are the issue. Even talking to rangers it is horse traffic that stop lots of the trails localy being bridalways the coucil doesn't care about cyclist using them and neither do the farmers, some of which I know from the pub.

GWick

I use bridleway/rural paths all the time and try to be as courteous as possible, i.e., calling out (I don’t use a bell), slowing down, sometimes stopping to allow people to pass. The majority of the time it’s been fine with a few minor exceptions. So I feel it’s perfectly acceptable to use paths if you are responsible about it. Legally I couldn’t tell you where we stand so must research into this.

On the flip side, I encounter discourteous behaviour all the time especially on recognised cycle routes, from walkers, joggers and dog owners. Examples below were on NCN14, a major route forming part of the C2C. I’m sure you have all had similar experiences.

1. One Foot in the Grave. Old deaf walkers that can’t hear you until you are on top of them, despite numerous called warnings. They have a heart attack when they finally realise you are there. One fella told me I should not be riding where people are walking and I said yes it was shocking that there were bikes on a national cycle route. What is the world coming to?

2. The iPod Bubble. Like above they can’t hear you. Tried calling several times when coming behind a jogger and had to resort to shouting. Then got a mouthful for scaring said jogger who told me I should get a bell, to which I replied they wouldn’t hear it with the iPod blaring anyway.

3. The Ignorant Git (dog owner’s part 1). The majority of dog owners will stop and restrain their dogs and I will in turn slow right down and say thank you. However you always get the dog owner who looks at you like you are dirt and let’s dog dance in front of your wheels while you are brought to a complete standstill.

4. The Hobbit and the Hellhound (dog owner’s part 2). Tiny people that own huge slavering beasts that fancy your leg for a snack. I was once held up for a good few minutes, while tiny lady desperately tried to keep her huge dog away from me. Every time I moved, it lurched towards me, barking, fangs bared and dragged tiny person of her feet. Red faced and sweating, she would drag it away but as soon as I moved, we were back to square one. All the while, she’s telling me between breaths, not to worry as pooch is harmless. Aye right.

5. The Lazy Sh*tbag (dog owners part 3). Dog owners that go to the trouble of scooping turds into plastic bags but then tie the bags to tree branches/bushes like some copraphiliacs Xmas decorations. This doesn’t actually affect my cycling but WTF!!!

bails87

GWick wrote:

1.
One Foot in the Grave. Old deaf walkers that can’t hear you until you are on top of them, despite numerous called warnings.

Can't win with these, you're either moaned at for riding past without any warning or moaned at for shouting.

4.
The Hobbit and the Hellhound (dog owner’s part 2). Tiny people that own huge slavering beasts that fancy your leg for a snack.

I've had people casually tell me, "watch out, he'll probably try to bite you as you go past....."
But not call the dog back, or try to control it. Just tell me it's going to attack me. Yeah, thanks a bunch.

5. The Lazy Sh*tbag (dog owners part 3). Dog owners that go to the trouble of scooping turds into plastic bags but then tie the bags to tree branches/bushes like some copraphiliacs Xmas decorations. This doesn’t actually affect my cycling but WTF!!!

At least they pick them up. I agree, take it home/put it in a bin. But there isn't much worse than having a good blast through a decent section, stopping for a breather and suddenly thinking "what's that smell....".

It's why I use a mud guard even when it's not muddy

Anonymous

GWick wrote:

2. The iPod Bubble. Like above they can’t hear you. Tried calling several times when coming behind a jogger and had to resort to shouting. Then got a mouthful for scaring said jogger who told me I should get a bell, to which I replied they wouldn’t hear it with the iPod blaring anyway.

As someone who has to look after my hearing, it really saddens me that so many people these days have their headphones or earbuds so loud that I can clearly hear what they're listening to as I ride past.
The fact they'll likely be partially deaf by 50 seems lost on them.

TheNorthernTrain

yeehaamcgee wrote:

GWick wrote:

2. The iPod Bubble. Like above they can’t hear you. Tried calling several times when coming behind a jogger and had to resort to shouting. Then got a mouthful for scaring said jogger who told me I should get a bell, to which I replied they wouldn’t hear it with the iPod blaring anyway.

As someone who has to look after my hearing, it really saddens me that so many people these days have their headphones or earbuds so loud that I can clearly hear what they're listening to as I ride past.
The fact they'll likely be partially deaf by 50 seems lost on them.

I am slowly starting to realise that my hearing is important :oops:

My reckless teenage years probably havn't helped much though. Gigs every other night, subjection to stupidly loud music during band practices, subjecting to myself to hours of loud music day after day through my ipod!

Though I bought some in the ear headphones, they are brilliant, £20, they block out most of the outside noise (stuff buying bose noise reducing headphones) so you don't have to have them loud at all. Though this still creates the problem of not being able to hear other people.

Anonymous

Even with headphone level set quite low, you'd be shocked at the pressure levels they cause in the ears.
This is particularly true of in-ear type earbuds, which can make the problem far worse.


And oh yeah, Dog crap in plastic bags tied to trees really annoys me, more than anything else on the trails and paths. That sh*t ain't ever going anywhere like that :evil:

Cj83

i thought it was illegal so often go out my way to avoid footpaths. i think it is also a shame though because when you get into the real rural areas (at least where i live) some of the bridleways look like they've never been used for about 10 years they are so overgrown let alone the footpaths. opening up the rural ones like scotland would do wonders for the trails we have access to (look at the amount of footpaths on the average OS map - some of them have got to be good!).

the thing that usually puts me off footpaths is that they normally start with a style and assume that is to keep people on two wheels out and i reluctantly obey...

chedabob

bails87 wrote:

GWick wrote:

1.
One Foot in the Grave. Old deaf walkers that can’t hear you until you are on top of them, despite numerous called warnings.

Can't win with these, you're either moaned at for riding past without any warning or moaned at for shouting.

Pour some water on your brakes as you get close to them and then slam them on. The noise will scare the living daylights out of the gormless egits.

bails87 wrote:

4.
The Hobbit and the Hellhound (dog owner’s part 2). Tiny people that own huge slavering beasts that fancy your leg for a snack.

I've had people casually tell me, "watch out, he'll probably try to bite you as you go past....."
But not call the dog back, or try to control it. Just tell me it's going to attack me. Yeah, thanks a bunch.

Tell them you'll probably punch it in the snotter if it does.

GWick

At least they pick them up. I agree, take it home/put it in a bin. But there isn't much worse than having a good blast through a decent section, stopping for a breather and suddenly thinking "what's that smell....".

I think its the fact that left alone it can decompose, as opposed to fermenting for months in a plastic bag.

Several years ago, when I first encountered the Sh*tebag phenomenon I was out walking with my kids and I had no idea what they were. Imagine my horror when my youngest girl who was on ahead about 50 metres, squeezed one of these bags only to have it pop everywhere.

From that moment on, these people have earned my eternal hatred :evil:

Anonymous

Cj83 wrote:

i thought it was illegal so often go out my way to avoid footpaths.

It's an odd one. It's not "illegal" to ride on footpaths, but it's not strictly "legal" either. It's at the discretion of the landowner, basically.

butcher of bakersfield

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Even with headphone level set quite low, you'd be shocked at the pressure levels they cause in the ears.
This is particularly true of in-ear type earbuds, which can make the problem far worse.

My ears begin to hurt after a short period with headphones, at any volume. I don't know why, it's just always been the case. I can only get away with proper big, cinema style ones.

Cj83 wrote:

the thing that usually puts me off footpaths is that they normally start with a style and assume that is to keep people on two wheels out and i reluctantly obey...

You'll generally find that a footpath that begins with a style isn't a footpath at all, and ends up taking you through miles of fields that you end up walking through because it's like riding through a giant bowl of lumpy custard with grass growing out of the top, which isn't much fun at all.. That's my experience anyway.

Anonymous

What the hell is a cinema style headphone? :shock:

Actually, nevermind, this is alreayd being taken off topic far enough