Cycle Paths
- Thread starter Paul J
- Start date
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You're not legally bound to do anything you don't want to apart from not ride on motorways.
If you want to ride on the road, feel free. Riding around peds takes forever as well. As long as you're an assertive and confident (and reasonably quick) rider, you'll be fine. Stay on shared paths if you tootle at 4 mph though, because you'll likely be killed by somebody not expecting you to go so slow.
(This is for the UK though, anywhere else - i have not the foggiest).
If you want to ride on the road, feel free. Riding around peds takes forever as well. As long as you're an assertive and confident (and reasonably quick) rider, you'll be fine. Stay on shared paths if you tootle at 4 mph though, because you'll likely be killed by somebody not expecting you to go so slow.
(This is for the UK though, anywhere else - i have not the foggiest).
stephen.rooke
Senior Member
you can ride on the road, theres a shared cycle path near where i work but i use the road as its faster and safer. too many kids around who dont look for cyclists and people pulling out of driveways etc and not looking
guitarpete247
Just about surviving
- Location
- Leicestershire
No you don't have to use them.
Sometimes they are the best option for where you want to get to or the safest route. Other times they take you in the wrong direction or are a poor surface with potholes, broken surfacing, glass etc. which I would avoid. If your riding companions want to use them let them.
I spent a couple of hours pootling around Loughborough yesterday I used the excellent cycle routes in places and popped onto the road a couple of times when there were pedestrians with children ahead of me or when the paths didn't go where I wanted to go.
Sometimes they are the best option for where you want to get to or the safest route. Other times they take you in the wrong direction or are a poor surface with potholes, broken surfacing, glass etc. which I would avoid. If your riding companions want to use them let them.
I spent a couple of hours pootling around Loughborough yesterday I used the excellent cycle routes in places and popped onto the road a couple of times when there were pedestrians with children ahead of me or when the paths didn't go where I wanted to go.
stephen.rooke
Senior Member
would be nice if the local councils kept cycle paths in good condition, the ones around chester seem to be really bad lately
- Location
- Shrewsbury, Shropshire
You have a legal right to use the road if you wish, unless it's what is classed as a "special" road ie: motorway and certain dual carriageways. If you are riding above a certain speed (I believe it's 18mph but I may be wrong) it's even recommended that you don't use the cycle path.
However, from a personal point of view there are certain roads locally where I would not consider using anything other than the cycle lane due to high traffic speed and comparitively narrow road lanes.
You are not forced to use them - the decision is yours.
However, from a personal point of view there are certain roads locally where I would not consider using anything other than the cycle lane due to high traffic speed and comparitively narrow road lanes.
You are not forced to use them - the decision is yours.
Pedal pusher
Veteran
- Location
- Alloa
I have been using cycle paths round my way for a while using my MTB but now I have a road bike I'm not do keen because of all the glass. Not sure if the local council can or should do anything about it
daSmirnov
Well-Known Member
- Location
- Horsham, UK
I'll stick to the road, as one is legally permitted to use.
But in Horsham we have to deal with crap facilities like this that take five or six times as long to go around and have you dismounting half a dozen times:
Most cycles lane are crap, shared use paths even more so. Far more likely to have a collision with a ped than a car IMO.
But in Horsham we have to deal with crap facilities like this that take five or six times as long to go around and have you dismounting half a dozen times:
Most cycles lane are crap, shared use paths even more so. Far more likely to have a collision with a ped than a car IMO.
Sounds like most people prefer to stay on the road rather than keep switching. I was more nervous or cautious on a cycle path thaen in the road. Like the one in the vid above I was worried a ped was gonna come out of the building, or a car come out of a driveway. Think I'll stick to the roads.
simon.r
Person
- Location
- Nottingham
I use a mix of road / cycle lane and the mix varies almost on a daily basis. It's not just the quality of the cycle lane, but the time of day, volume of traffic and even the weather that influence my decision which to use. There are some parts of my route where, even as a reasonably experienced and confident rider, I feel very vulnerable on the road, especially when traffic volumes are high. Other parts I feel safer on the road due to, as said above, pedestrians and driveway entrances.
I do get slightly irritated by cyclists who insist on always using the road even when there is a very good cycle lane available.
I do get slightly irritated by cyclists who insist on always using the road even when there is a very good cycle lane available.
We seem to have some roads where the footpath is shared on one side of the road but not the other, and gives way at junctions every hundred yards or so, whereas using the road on the other side is a clear run, so I take the road. There's another road where the shared-use path is on the same side as me, but it's a pain getting onto it from the road and I'm only on it for a few hundred yards before turning left and it's a clear straight road for any traffic that wants to overtake.
skudupnorth
Cycling Skoda lover
- Location
- Astley,Manchester
The ones i have tried out are pretty badly planned by people who have definatly never ridden a bike ! The only paths i actually enjoy are the trails like the Trans Pennine,Monsal,Manifold ect but they are for non-commuting days and nothing like the rubbish they paint on the road systems ! Stick to the road,it's our legal right !
