Shared Path Usage.. Etiquette for Cycles?

[funnymummy]

Sorry to go OT, and sorry to sound like a total snob ... but ... funnymummy - would you mind using the standard fonts?

Shocking pink AND ... oh God ... comic sans ... I just can't bear to look at it! Sorry!

I'm dyslexic, I can't read black on a white background.. I have to highlight posts to be able to read them, I just type in a colour I can read

 

[asterix]

Just wondering if there was any 'official' rules when on a shared path?
We have a cycle path that runs all along the coast, the part from my house to Worthing is clearly segerated & marked Cyclists on the green, Bipods on the normal (not that it stops them wandering in your way)
The other direction used to be segregated, but the council decided last year to remove the white lines on a 2 miles stretch & make it shared use - giving right of way to pedestrians.
I have my youngest son (6) in front of me on his bike & am towing my other son (8) who is disabled on his trailer. I have always taught them to be polite & say Excuse me or Thnak you when passing or approaching pedestrians.
And I always worked on the principal that we should treat these sort of paths like the roads... Basically ride on the left hand side.
Most days we use this path we only encounter one or two people, but yesteday being the nicest day of the year so far made it very busy - To the point I had to get off & push!
I tried to keep to the left, but had folks walking towards me...You can spot me with my trailer a mile off, but they seemed to delight in walking down the path staright at me, some even veered into my path in what seemed a deliberate manner. I was riding at less then 5mph which makes streering even tricker with my son on the back.
It just seems that since the council gave pedestrians the 'right of way' they seem to think that we should stop or even get off the path for them to pass, twice my youngest was forced onto the pebble beach - causing him to actulay fall off his bike - as someone just walked in his way, both times they could clearly see him coming towards them & did not bother to even chcek he was ok, just carried on walking. Once I tried to move so far over, the left wheel on my sons trailer ran off the path tipping him over the pebbles, One person did stop & help me, but several others passed some even tutted - His trailer clearly has a big disabled sticker accross the back

So is there a rule for which side we should ride on, on shared paths or do we just have to put up with inconsiderate people?

In York it works pretty well but I always slow down a lot and prepare for anything. Really the road is for cyclists not the foot path!

 

[funnymummy]

Really the road is for cyclists not the foot path!

It's not a footpath, it's a cycle lane that runs alongside the pavement...

Like the 'green' by the way

 

[funnymummy]

I thought it very nice and sweet,

Thnak you

 

[summerdays]

Thnaks Summer - I don't intimidate easily,

I meant from the point of view that your 6 year old could accelerate far quicker onto a roundabout than you could with the extra weight on your bike - that would be scary for me!!! Plus at 6 they aren't ready to understand the complexity of roundabouts ... I'm having problems explaining them to my 13 yo.

 

[snorri]

The thread title asks about etiquette, I usually adopt the same rules on joint user paths as would apply on the roads, walk on the right and cycle on the left.

 

[funnymummy]

I meant from the point of view that your 6 year old could accelerate far quicker onto a roundabout than you could with the extra weight on your bike - that would be scary for me!!! Plus at 6 they aren't ready to understand the complexity of roundabouts ... I'm having problems explaining them to my 13 yo.

He can accelerate quicker then I can on my road bike LOL!!!

And yes, trying to explain the complxities to him, is like my eledst trying to explian his quantum physics homework to me *Insert blank face, tumbleweed rolls past, Mummy walks away shaking head*
He's just about mastered a right turn, but I only let him do that on quiet roads, the busy ones we pull over & wait to walk accross!

 

[funnymummy]

The thread title asks about etiquette, I usually adopt the same rules on joint user paths as would apply on the roads, walk on the right and cycle on the left.

ROFL... thats depends on whose right & whoes left

 

[funnymummy]

My very first venture on to cycle paths was last Friday, I cycled fro Kielder into the center of Newcastle, the last 12 mile from Prudhoe were on cycle paths. Besides the fact it was a rather bumpy surface, even though it was tarmaced, making for very uncomfortable riding! What puzzled me was other cyclists, there did not seem to be a keep on the left rule, every pass seemed to be 50/50 whether it would be to the left or the right; Quite fun really but not what I had expected. Is this normal for cycle paths?

The majority of the Cycle users along the stretch we ride do observe the keep left rule, of course you will alawys get the odd one that doesn't stick to that rule - but you'll get that in any walk of life!
Which was what prompted me to ask if there was a rule when sharing a path with pedestrians
And WTG on your ride

 

[Norm]

Sorry to go OT, and sorry to sound like a total snob ... but ... funnymummy - would you mind using the standard fonts?

Shocking pink AND ... oh God ... comic sans ... I just can't bear to look at it! Sorry!

I'm dyslexic, I can't read black on a white background.. I have to highlight posts to be able to read them, I just type in a colour I can read

Well said, FM.

A colleague uses blue glasses to help her black-on-white thing, apparently they work pretty well but she gets the same sort of thoughtless comments that we see above.

 

[funnymummy]

Thnak you Norm
I normaly wear tinted glasses - But silly me left them at work on Friday, schools closed for 2 weeks, although I can get in at the end of this week as we have some gardening work going on & the caretaker will be in.
I used to have a laminate film over my screen, but last week my son thought it would look pretty cut up into stars! New one has been ordered & am waiting on delivery, until then my font will have to be pink & I will have to keep highligthing over everyones texts to be able to read them, which really is a pain, but i'm not moaning

 

[coffeejo]

OT, and possibly moving into a discussion best suited for another thread, BUT ... is there / could there please be an option to automatically change font / background colours and size to suit the reader? (FWIW, I get a headache from reading light/bright font colours on white and large font sizes...!)

ETA FM, not a criticism / request to change, just a point emphasising that one-size-fits-all doesn't exist!

 

[funnymummy]

No critiscism taken Jo, I know how hard it can be to read certain fonts/colours, i've changed the font i've been using to one bcak to the standard one, I can try other colours, but just can't use black/dark colours
Maybe i should start a Test Page to see what is best all round?

 

[coffeejo]

No, no, you use what works for YOU, my post was merely to see if there was an option for ALL the colours and fonts to be determined by the user instead of being set by the forum, IYSWIM?

 

[coffeejo]

I've started a new topic - as you were!