Cycling on the pavement

[Dunbar]

[quote name='swee'pea99' timestamp='1280742948' post='1349210']
Or pogo sticks...
[/quote]

And a bag of sweets?

And most of the ones I've seen are scruffier than a scruffy thing.

John

 

[GrumpyGregry]

You can search all you like but you won't be able to buy a postcard of Solihull. This is the council's mandate to keep the riff-raff away.
We issue our cycle coppers/border patrols with body armour JIC some riff-raff from somewhere else try to get in.

Any newbies who apply to reside in the borough are offered accomodation on the Monkspath Estate, next to the 24hr Tesco, Mc D's and the Land Rover dealership.
If they can endure the steady stream of joggers from the Virgin Active health club, and the continuous flow of BMWs and Jaguars on test drives, they are promoted to the B91 postcode.

Sounds suspiciously like Crawley to me.

 

[Dunbar]

Sounds suspiciously like Crawley to me.

Only since Jasper Carrot took over!

 

[Norm]

You can search all you like but you won't be able to buy a postcard of Solihull. This is the council's mandate to keep the riff-raff away.

Hey, Jimbo, you knew that you couldn't write that without someone checking, didn't you.

 

[Norm]

You can search all you like but you won't be able to buy a postcard of Solihull.

I thought I was going to be looking all night for exciting postcards of Solihull, but I'm going to give up now as I don't think I'll ever be able to beat the Edwardian cycling lovelies in this view of the High Street.

 

[snailracer]

As far as I can tell, there is no relationship between legality and pedestrian safety when riding on pavements.

Many cycle "paths" are narrow pavements with the odd bike sign on them, with lots of pedestrian traffic to boot.

Many pavements are wide, have few pedestrians and run alongside busy roads but aren't designated as cycle paths.

This makes no sense, which is one reason why this recurring debate never goes anywhere - you can't come to a sensible conclusion if nothing makes sense to begin with.

 

[kevcampbell]

As far as I can tell, there is no relationship between legality and pedestrian safety when riding on pavements.

Many cycle "paths" are narrow pavements with the odd bike sign on them, with lots of pedestrian traffic to boot.

Many pavements are wide, have few pedestrians and run alongside busy roads but aren't designated as cycle paths.

This makes no sense, which is one reason why this recurring debate never goes anywhere - you can't come to a sensible conclusion if nothing makes sense to begin with.

i don't think the police in dagenham care, i think they just care around the more major cities like central london, there are so many mad drivers in dagenham, sometimes you have to stay on the pavement, too many boys in corsa's and fiesta's

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I thought I was going to be looking all night for exciting postcards of Solihull, but I'm going to give up now as I don't think I'll ever be able to beat the Edwardian cycling lovelies in this view of the High Street.

Good grief man! Ladies on bicycles, it'll be the vote next and then where will we be...splutter, cough, choke ... thud


Nice find, Norm

 

[jimboalee]

I thought I was going to be looking all night for exciting postcards of Solihull, but I'm going to give up now as I don't think I'll ever be able to beat the Edwardian cycling lovelies in this view of the High Street.

The horse and cart on the right hand side is standing outside a pub which was called 'The Malt Shovel'. John Constable sat and painted a scene of a horse and carriage waiting outside the pub, viewed from the pavement opposite ( Corner of High St and Dog lane ).

He was a guest at the Granville's home and presented the painting to the family. The Granville's home later became a girl's school and the Constable painting went missing.

Check your attic for 'The lost Constable'. Its worth £20m.

 

[jimboalee]

I thought I was going to be looking all night for exciting postcards of Solihull, but I'm going to give up now as I don't think I'll ever be able to beat the Edwardian cycling lovelies in this view of the High Street.

The one lady is in 'Dominant primary' and the other has Scalped her on the other side of the friggin' road

 

[iAmiAdam]

I do and will continue to cycle on the pavements, for the one day I cycled on the road, I got stupidly passed by two cars and left hooked by an ambulance. Good job I was on the ball.

 

[RedBike]

The vast majority of cyclists I see commuting ride on the pavement. In fact it's rare that I see a cyclist on the road!

 

[Midnight]

[QUOTE 1148415"]
... Or is it just because the cheapest solution to the requirement is to put up a bunch of shared use signs?
[/quote]

I think you've hit the nail right on the head there.

 

[Hockeynut]

Confidence - Self-assurance, feeling of certainty, trust.
Ability - Skill, competence, dexterity, aptitude.

If someone lacks the trust and/or competence to cycle on the roads then how is that not a training issue? If they want to improve their confidence and handling skills, there are plenty of places to practice without cycling on the pavement.

This thread is definitely making for some interesting reading. My gf & I have only recently got bikes (after years of not cycling). And until we are feeling more confident and stable to ride on busier roads, we are taking the pavement, but only where it's not busy with pedestrians. This is until we've built up a bit of confidence. However, we wouldn't do this in a pedestrian dense area, like a town centre.

 

[Peter10]

I really don't see the point in those MTB cops.

I mean, why do they need front suspension? Surely a hybrid style bike would be more suitable to their needs (pretty much all roads/pavements). I would have thought that a bike chase along a rough track would be pretty rare.

And why do they insist on cycling in twos next to each other in the middle of the road at 5-8mph. I've lost of the number of times I've had to pull right out to scalp a pair of slow moving coppers.

I think I saw mentioned somewhere that the only training they have to do is bikeability 2 which is aimed at 10-13 year olds.

Why don't we give them roller blades instead like the French?

You would be surprised where some of them end up going on bikes to deal with crimes. They don't always use bikes to chase criminals, they use it to attend calls & appointments which don't require a car. They also use them to patrol areas which are too large to be done on foot (or wouldn't be practical to do on foot).

The course is only done for liability reasons, that way, the health and safety executive can say "You were shown how to use the bike safely and what equipment you needed. It is your fault you crashed (unless hit by a car etc)" That way, compensation will be lower. It also covers someone who may drop dead from a congenital illness. The force will be covered due to the fitness test they have to do. The police have to cover all aspects of health and safety. There is another course that covers chasing suspects, which is more about dealing with traffic & road conditions, again so if someone crashes, they can prove they were given training. Also, it is a way for the force to know that people can actually ride a bike safely, some people don't learn how to ride as a child.

To be honest, I get really frustrated at people who criticise the police who don't have a clue what they need to do (not aimed at the person I am quoting here btw I was just answering his questions). I know of many police officers who have made some significant arrests from being on bikes, riding 5mph two abreast. They see things that the average Joe doesn't, simply because they are intentionally looking for it and have experience of what to look for. The police is full of health and safety rules, down to how long their high visibilty jacket sleeves must be. I could rant on all day, but some people wont ever understand.