Ignorance...

fallingoff

Just wondering how do you deal with ignorance,blatant ignorance to be more precise.
Where I ride there are walkers,horse riders and cyclists,are we the outcasts?
I've noticed when I'm riding I give consideration to others around me,I don't whizz past I give plenty of room when pasing,etc,etc..
But what I'm finding increasingly is the ignorance of others even when they're walking towards me.
I bear left when possible as early as possible but some seem determined to collide..why???
If I'm alone ok but if I'm with my daughter (11y.o) I'm not so happy but for her sake I ignore it.
Today I went out and 3 people (1m,2fm) were walking towards me,again I moved left to no avail the ignorant woman wasn't budging and there was plenty of room between them.
Yesterday I rode up behind a man and woman and slowed down,the man glanced back and saw me at which point he made himself as wide across the path as possible.
Why?And don't mention dog owners whose dogs are "under control" with 12 foot leads...apologies for the rant it's been brewing for a while :oops:

fatlad

All they wan't is confirmation that they have pi$$ed you off. Don't give them the satisfaction.

Give them sympathy that there mother was obviously a £10 tom crack ho and their unknown dad did a runner and was not around to teach them manners.

If I got into a "discussion" with every nob on the trails, id never get anywhere.

Wooosaaaaa

butcher of bakersfield

I never get this. Ever.

Very occasionally there'll be people who just seem oblivious, or just don't care much, but I don;t mind stopping if I have to. 90% of the time I find people actually step off the path/trail/etc to let me past.

I keep waiting for people to shout at me. But they never do.

cooldad

I don't get it neither. I generally slow right down, say hello and smile at people.
I regularly ride through Windsor on a road ride, so probably similar people.
Strange?
Or Karma.

Tim.s

I just bunnyhop over them.

Oooooosh.

fallingoff

cooldad wrote:

I don't get it neither. I generally slow right down, say hello and smile at people.
I regularly ride through Windsor on a road ride, so probably similar people.
Strange?
Or Karma.

You don't get many people walking on the road ..try the Thames tow path or the Jubilee river..
It's not everybody but it's enough to get annoying...funny never see them in the winter... :shock:

cooldad

I meant the paths through Windsor Great Park. On the MTB I prefer singletrack, so not many people. The fire roads in between have to be shared.
I tend to avoid paths with lots of walkers. If you are barrelling along busy paths with kids, pushchairs etcs you need to expect hassles or slow down to walking pace. They are entitled to a relaxing stroll, believe it or not.

Phillw454

Can't say I get too much of this either. Most dog owners are nice enough to call their dogs in if there not on a lead. Or if I am passing a couple out on a ride/walk they tend to pull over, even if they are a bit slow in doing so I always say thanks in the hope next time they see a biker they will do the same.

On the other side of the coin if I come up fast on a walker, dog without a lead etc I slow right down to give them plenty of space to pick what to do. I'm sure there is a forum somewhere moaning about how MTBers are always in the way.

fallingoff

cooldad wrote:

I meant the paths through Windsor Great Park. On the MTB I prefer singletrack, so not many people. The fire roads in between have to be shared.
I tend to avoid paths with lots of walkers. If you are barrelling along busy paths with kids, pushchairs etcs you need to expect hassles or slow down to walking pace. They are entitled to a relaxing stroll, believe it or not.

I have no problem in The Great Park either and as my original post I do take care to facilitate other users but it doesn't seem to get reciprocated,do they think they have more rights than us?We shouldn't be there?I cannot fathom their "intolerance" or ignorance whichever it is.. :roll:

fallingoff

Phillw454 wrote:

Can't say I get too much of this either. Most dog owners are nice enough to call their dogs in if there not on a lead. Or if I am passing a couple out on a ride/walk they tend to pull over, even if they are a bit slow in doing so I always say thanks in the hope next time they see a biker they will do the same.

On the other side of the coin if I come up fast on a walker, dog without a lead etc I slow right down to give them plenty of space to pick what to do. I'm sure there is a forum somewhere moaning about how MTBers are always in the way.

You get some then..and you don't mind...
I am that MTB'er they're moaning about...

cooldad

No you are quite right. Everyone should get out of your way.
You are v.v. important.
Everyone else is ignorant and intolerant.


But I think it is past your bedtime.

antfly

Get a loud bell and ding it early, it gives them plenty of time to move.

cooldad

Still not sure why you expect other people to move. Maybe they expect you to move.
Ride up behind me and give me a loud ding and you'll end up in the canal.

antfly

They obviously think they should move because they always do. Oh, and I don't ride along the canal, it's not my idea of fun. You might be able to father a child but you sure aint cool.

fallingoff

Read my post before you advise,I do give but I also expect to take is that bad?
Cooldad..still cool if someone gets in your childs way purposely..mmm.
I never promoted myself as important,perhaps they've had dealings with "rufty-tufty" bikers like you hence their attitudes eh?!
I asked how people dealt with it obviously you have your own way...
Which canal is that BTW?... :roll:

cooldad

antfly wrote:

They obviously think they should move because they always do. Oh, and I don't ride along the canal, it's not my idea of fun. You might be able to father a child but you sure aint cool.

No, but if you could read you would notice that the OP was talking about the Thames tow path.

But if you think cool is being an arrogant little tw4t it's probably past your bedtime too.

antfly

Again with the insullts, it's just not cool, man. I think impregnating a female has gone to your head, telling everyone to go to bed all the time.

cooldad

I don't see it as something to deal with. I rarely get in anyone's way, and people rarely get in mine.
If they do, walkers have right of way, so I'll go round them.
I am not rufty tufty at all as you put it. I am actually pleasant to most people.
Possibly why I don't seem to have any problems, as seems to be the case with most (although not very many) previous posters.

fallingoff

Hey let's not let this degenerate into an forum slanging match,there's no need..I only asked for opinions and people have different views.
Bells are fitted as a legal requirement so they can be used accordingly,the result of throwing someone in a canal would be assault by a walker on a cyclist ..and why? because he/she/they rang a bell.hardly a defence..
I tend not to ring my bell as I find it"cheeky" but I will wait patiently if the walker hasn't noticed me,it's the ones that notice but don't react,we are all using the same path,lets share,easy..
TBH they are pleasant route that's why they are busy but we can all enjoy them,cheers for the feedback all..

cooldad

antfly wrote:

Again with the insullts, it's just not cool, man. I think impregnating a female has gone to your head, telling everyone to go to bed all the time.

Where did you get the impression I was in the least bit cool? You may have noticed I'm a grumpy bastard.
Although you do seem a bit hung up on impregnating females. Don't worry your time will come.

cooldad

@fallingoff no worries. I would never really throw anyone in the canal.
Wouldn't mind turning the horses into dogfood though. Big smelly sh1t machines.

antfly

Then you should really change your username to "grumpy bastard", your current moniker is somewhat misleading.

t0pc4t

I don't rise to it, it's only going to screw up my ride if I sit there getting annoyed about others. I do have a particular hatred for joggers with ipods on cycle paths but me getting angry about it isn't going to upset the jogger, it's going to upset me.

paulbox

t0pc4t wrote:

I do have a particular hatred for joggers with ipods on cycle paths but me getting angry about it isn't going to upset the jogger, it's going to upset me.

But at least it's easy to scare the sh!t out of them...

I'm with the OP on this, yes it's up to us to take care of others, but when people don't make any efforts to move / look after their kids / keep their dogs out of the way etc. it pee's me off. Yes I will ride off the path to try and keep out of their way, but just a little bit of effort on their part would be appreciated.

nozzac

I think it goes without saying that pedestrians are expected to move aside for cyclists but that cyclists should move to the side, give warning, slow down and give them enough time to do so

In fact pretty much everyone, be they walkers, cyclists, horseriders etc, should move aside for people who are moving faster than they are coming from behind. If they don't then a path would become like a road with massive tailbacks. It would be ridiculous.

If they are meeting face on then each party should move to the side and allow each other to pass.

Most people do follow the rules and so I would say that people who don't do this are very much ignorant of the unwritten rules of polite public engagement.

I hardly ever get this to be honest. Last night I was at the top of the Wall at Swinley and there was a large family group who had stopped half way down plus others stopped right at the bottom. As soon as they saw me coming down they moved aside and called ahead to clear the way because it was clear that I was going to be doing some serious speed by the bottom and would need it to get to the top on the other side. That's just plain common sense and politeness. Obviously I thanked them as I sped past.

One thing you do get at Swinley though are the occasional dog walkers using the mountain bike area. On several occasions I've met a them walking up Deerhunter whilst I've been doing like nearly 30mph coming down it. I don't yell at them but I do say that they might want to get off the path because others will be coming down even faster and they could get seriously hurt. I guess they just don't realise what they are walking into.

.blitz

As always it all depends on where you ride but round our way everyone is so...nice. I think people have got used to seeing bikes around Cannock (after 15 years) and pretty much everyone seems to have accepted the idea that we are all having a good time whether on foot, horseback or on a bike.

No need to be an arse and ruin it for someone you don't even know and will probably never see again

ThePriory1978

NozzaC wrote:

Last night I was at the top of the Wall at Swinley...

Of topic.

Whats the wall?

bails87

A while ago, on the road bike, I passed one group of proper 'red sock brigade' ramblers on a single lane country road, so plenty of room for single file walkers and me if we boh moved over. But there was one bloke who steadfastly stayed in the middle of the road despite all the calls of "bike" from the rest of the group, and then said "slow down" as I passed him at just under 15mph, having already slowed from 25ish. The rest of them were fine and all gave a smile or a 'hello' as I passed them and said thanks.

Most people are ok though. Smiling and politely saying 'excuse me' removes a lot of potential for people to be annoyed at you. Always seems to work, even when 'my friend' rides on footpaths.

nozzac

ThePriory1978 wrote:

NozzaC wrote:

Last night I was at the top of the Wall at Swinley...

Of topic.

Whats the wall?

Just that big dip in the fireroad on the way to the top of the "expert mountain bike area" - well on the way if you're coming from the reservoir anyway. People call it the wall or I've heard itc called the rollercoaster. It's a pretty steep up and down in the road with very loose stones on it.

Some youtube vid here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPOIcWHxWrE

ThePriory1978

Cheers Nozza. I know it, but didnt by that name.

allen.coulson

I don't get the hassle too often but got nothing but hard face when I was hammering down some part of the southb downs. I think that some people perceive cyclists as being reckless and some people are genuinely tw@s. The bell thing is interesting you really have to be subtle - I know I'd be annoyed if someone was ringing at me to get out of the way. I guess that thanking them helps too.

Horses are tricky to deal with - it is best to approach them from behind really quietly (in your Hummer) horn it and stab it with a javelin and electric drill the owners kneecap whilst flametrowering as many genitals as are available. No bell though.