Man (taken) down

The Rookie
The Rookie Posts: 27,812
edited May 2015 in Commuting chat
Cycling home minding my own business, on a dedicated cycle path, come round a left hand corner to find another cyclist coming the other way about 8" out from my side of the road, brake hard (was doing about 18mph according to Strava) and almost stop by the time I hit him (bar end hooked up on my elbow) and fell off in the nettles.

Rider was a foreigner and he'd set off on the right hand side by mistake and his natural reaction was to move further to the right when I came the other way, a few bumps and scrapes and an impressive bruise on the inside of my right elbow where it hooked up on his bars

He was incredibly apologetic, no damage to the bike, so shook hands and went on our ways, I did remind him he really needed to keep left not right though!
Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.

Comments

  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 25,738
    I would guess at 60-70% of cyclists keep to the right on dedicated paths in my area.
    It is not only foreigners.
    I still cannot fathom out why.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • itboffin
    itboffin Posts: 20,052
    Jesus Christ will everybody stop getting shot!
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Hmm I'm sure we keep left in the UK! To be fair most people on this path either keep left or go down the middle (it's about 8' wide) so if I keep left it's usually not an issue, trouble was he naturally pulled further right when he saw me which was the worst thing he could have done!
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • sswiss
    sswiss Posts: 354
    itboffin wrote:
    Jesus Christ will everybody stop getting shot!

    Lock stock, ain't that the truth. :D
  • lockstock666
    lockstock666 Posts: 131
    sswiss wrote:
    itboffin wrote:
    Jesus Christ will everybody stop getting shot!

    Lock stock, ain't that the truth. :D

    No idea what you are going on about :D

    Dedicated cycle path? What is one of those? What happens when a "walker" uses it?

    Most cycle paths here are dual use with a thick white line down the middle which is ignored by walkers and especially dog walkers.
  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    There is a footpath next to the cycle path for walkers, its on Private land and isn't a footway next to a road, so a dedicated cyclepath it is and that is what one of those is if you were struggling to understand when I told you what it was!

    Had it been a walked I could have stopped anyway, the problem is that the cyclist was coming towards me and reducing my stopping distance when simply being on the right side of the path would have meant it wasn't a problem.
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.

Categories