Search found 35 matches

by mark1964
5 Nov 2019, 1:51pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Something new to watch out for! - suspiciously fast (motor-)bicycles
Replies: 84
Views: 13101

Re: Something new to watch out for! - suspiciously fast (motor-)bicycles

Cycling home in the dark last week, spotted a guy riding one of those monowheels on the road (currently illegal one understands). Ok, it had red LEDs on it, but no front light, no horn/bell, guy was swerving around people with his hands in his jacket pockets no doubt trying to look Mr Cool. No shoulder checks and certainly no indicating!. Contender for the Darwin awards?. I kept my distance....
by mark1964
28 Oct 2019, 3:46pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Something new to watch out for! - suspiciously fast (motor-)bicycles
Replies: 84
Views: 13101

Re: Something new to watch out for!

Never mind e-bikes, what about those silly mono- 'hoverwheel' things?. Nothing hovvering, but they can really motor. No signalling, no lights, no horn/bell just some fool swerving around like they're enacting the Death Star trench scene from SW4 :evil:
by mark1964
23 Oct 2019, 1:32pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Cars suddenly parking on the pavement without indicating thoughts.
Replies: 7
Views: 1186

Re: Cars suddenly parking on the pavement without indicating thoughts.

OMG, yes, this is a major annoyance of mine.

I learnt to drive in 1981 and had an Uncle who was a professional instructor. Being family, he was free to swear at me when I got things wrong. He's long dead now, but he did impress into me that you DO NOT drive & park on pavements.

Its rife now, isn't it?.

Standing with my bike outside local shops a few weeks ago, waiting to cross road, car coming down hill mounts pavement to stop about 1m from me. Thought what would happen if drivers foot slipped on wrong pedal.... :evil:

This is Portland St, Bristol on my commute home. RHS used to have pavement, but now one long driveway (thanks a bunch, South Glos Council planners you idiots!! :twisted: ). People don't use bays properly, plenty of cars mount & drive along it if road blocked by other cars turning. Stupid design.Yellow arrow shows path some drivers take - along former pavement.

Portland St.jpg


Outside local shop on quiet Saturday morning, double yellow lines outside shop, single yellow & legal all-day parking about 20m away. Bloke in 4*4 mounts pavement & parks completely in the middle of the pavement so he (fat bloke) has only 2m to waddle into the shop. Lazy git.
by mark1964
11 Jun 2019, 1:40pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: E-scooters
Replies: 32
Views: 5750

Re: E-scooters

There's a bloke uses one on the Bristol railway Path and it does motor!.

These things aren't, as far as I know, street legal and certainly should not be ridden on footpaths or cycle-paths. Before anyone accuses me of being puritan since I happen to think that a segregated cycle path should not be used by motorised traffic, it's worth noting that Amsterdam has now banned 30 mph mopeds from it's cycle lane network.

Why? (IMHO, daft idea originally).

Well, given that these things aren't limited like e-bikes, it's the same problem: mixing faster moving motorised traffic in with slower moving, on average, non-motorised traffic. If it's applicable to mopeds, why not e-scooters?. The only difference is fossil fuels vs lithium batteries.
by mark1964
3 Sep 2018, 12:51pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Its Ok to park across cycle lanes and footpaths!
Replies: 28
Views: 3404

Re: Its Ok to park across cycle lanes and footpaths!

Unfortunately, some people see any empty space as a parking space. Last week I was commuting as usual along Cattle Market Road in Bristol and had just mounted the segregated path when some numpty tow-truck driver coming from the other direction casually drove up into the middle of the cycle path, right in front of me!. He got a bit shirty when I asked him to move, clearly avoiding the double yellow lines on the road & thought the cycle path made a handy parking space!. He'd not broken down, was not ill etc - there was no excuse for veering up onto the path.

I passed my driving test in 1981 and have noted in recent years it seems to have become perfectly acceptable to drive up onto the pavement.
by mark1964
12 Jul 2018, 1:36pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Given a girly slap by a motorcyclist on the railway path.
Replies: 41
Views: 3611

Re: Given a girly slap by a motorcyclist on the railway path.

I have been commuting along the B2B path for ten years now and have had a few encounters with 'motorbike yoof'. the last one was back in April this year, idiot came racing towards me on full size scrambler bike, swerving around other cyclists & pedestrians. I've often seen 'pit bike' on the path and once came across these morons:

[youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VbBp6gD-8g [/youtube]

If you have an encounter, try to record any distinctive markings for the cops. These idiots don't have reg plates and they often wear full face helmets with mirrored goggles. I always report things like this to the police. Where did this happen? - your video seems not to work. Needless to say, mopeds/motorbikes are banned from the path.
by mark1964
12 Feb 2018, 1:52pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: The future of the Bristol Railway Path
Replies: 19
Views: 2322

Re: The future of the Bristol Railway Path

It seems to me that they are looking at the 'path of least resistance' in fear of annoying motoring lobby groups. it's easier to take space from pedestrians & cyclists isn't it?. Thousands use this route every week, myself included. In fact, it's one of the reasons why I bought a house near it.
As an engineer, they've got massive problems with this one since in the decades since the railway closed, businesses and home shave been built right up to the fence. For instance, at a place called Clay Bottom (no, seriously!), the route does a tight S-bend, due to homes being built in the 1980's. It gets close to a road here too, so which is to go in straightening the route fro a tram?. Yep, lose the houses since we aren't in the business of taking roadspace away from cars, are we? (actually, Bristol did do this in 1992 when it shut Redcliffe way and restored a Georgian square). In addition, there are massive problems with slope stabilisation, bridges etc. And where is it going to go?. The current path spits you out on an industrial estate!.

Hopefully it'll get bogged down and wither on the vine. Please go and sign this petition mentioned above against a relief road that would better serve as a cycling & walking route.

https://brislingtonrailwaypath.weebly.com
by mark1964
7 Feb 2018, 1:19pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: The future of the Bristol Railway Path
Replies: 19
Views: 2322

The future of the Bristol Railway Path

Apologies if covered elsewhere, but the suits responsible for transport policy in the SW are once again gazing at the old Railway Path with envious eyes....
https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bris ... ol-1157315

Warning: Ad laden hell of a website :(

Some of us suspected that old bad ideas weren't really dead... :(
by mark1964
7 Feb 2018, 1:14pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Baldwin Street cycle path (Bristol)
Replies: 12
Views: 1293

Re: Baldwin Street cycle path (Bristol)

Typical Bristolian parking. Free legal space on road, but a few metres too far for someone to walk, so shove it on the pavement. I almost collided once with a 'texting zombie' along here. Ironically, the bloke stepped out onto the path while staring down at his mobile, stepping right on top of a big white bike symbol painted on the asphalt!.
by mark1964
29 Nov 2017, 1:33pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Squirrels!
Replies: 72
Views: 6515

Re: Squirrels!

Hit one on the Bristol Railway Path a few months back. Definitely hit it, stopped expecting a corpse, but nothing!. A few days later a guy on a road bike in front of me also hit one.
by mark1964
29 Sep 2017, 9:19am
Forum: On the road
Topic: Pedestrians that think they're the path police (rant)
Replies: 42
Views: 5830

Re: Pedestrians that think they're the path police (rant)

The Bristol post is well known to the cycle community here in Bristol as being fairly anti-cycling. They recently published a dumb 'article' on their website stating that since Cattle Market Road is temporarily closed to traffic and has blue advisory 'Cyclist dismount' signs on it, that somehow we are breaking the law by not dismounting. However, the same article goes on to mention that dismounting is not mandatory and no-one is breaking the law. So why the article?. It's effectively about non-law breaking. But the way it was headlined and worded, one can see that this particular horrible tabloid is trying to manipulate public opinion, as usual.

Now it would appear that a self appointed 'community group' is running an 'experiment' on the Easton part of the Bristol Railway path that appears to involve stenciling yellow 'slow down' signs on the path and other psychedelic scrawls. Their website, called Up Your Street:
https://eastonandlawrencehill.org.uk/co ... ilway-path

They seem to have identified cycling as the 'problem', but reading their publicity, for a shared-use space, they don't seem to have factored in the modern phenomena of 'texting zombies' (google it to see how they are dealing with in in Europe), peds with MP3 players and dog walkers. I have witnessed two accidents on the path here in 10 years of commuting, both caused by dog walkers allowing their pets to run out onto the path. Again, no mention of this in the 'experiment' blog. Hmmmm.... Seems a bit of a flawed and bias experiment to me. They seem to be pushing all of the risk onto cycling. If it's a shared space, peds have equal responsibility and duty of care. Frankly, the stencils on the path would be more appropriate for the texting zombies to remind them to watch where they are wandering.
by mark1964
12 Apr 2016, 1:01pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Just been to Amsterdam, what a difference!
Replies: 21
Views: 2266

Re: Just been to Amsterdam, what a difference!

I was in Amsterdam last year for the Dutch Kingsday celebrations. I was struck by the increased number of mopeds being ridden in the cycle lanes which is legal over there. My B&B owner, who used to ride one himself back in the 90's, commented that numbers had risen to such a level that they were becoming a problem. Always thought it was a bad decision by the Dutch to allow this, wouldn't be legal over here (but that doesn't stop some moped riders getting on cycle paths etc).
by mark1964
30 Mar 2016, 1:13pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Most Annoying and Potentially Dangerous Motoring Manoeuvre.
Replies: 50
Views: 4770

Re: Most Annoying and Potentially Dangerous Motoring Manoeuv

One that annoys me:

Sat in ASL at junction, turning right. Motorcyclist pulls up on my left into box, ignoring rules :evil: . Quite clear they are turning right...from a left hand position :twisted: . I now have a fast moving vehicle attempting to cut through on my inside, ignoring the rules of the road simply so they can get to the front of the junction. You would never get a car turning right and another car pulling up on the left, trying to cut around you as you leave the junction but Bristolian bikers seem oblivious of the safety implications of crossing a cyclists path. I occasionally reposition my bike in front of them to stop this, only to be given either a disapproving look or a middle finger. I'm a cyclist using the cycling facility provided for me. These idiots are abusing a cycling facility that they have no right to use.
by mark1964
29 Mar 2016, 1:13pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Horses and bicycles - who has priority?
Replies: 87
Views: 5938

Re: Horses and bicycles - who has priority?

I always give horses a lot of room since they can spook easily whereas my bike doesn't. Stop until they pass, smile and be polite.
However, I don't think they should be on the shared use pathway for cyclists and pedestrians though. Horses are not generally permitted on the Bristol Railway Path, but some riders do take their mounts on:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exic943xH9Q
by mark1964
29 Mar 2016, 1:04pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Deliveroo
Replies: 67
Views: 22281

Re: Deliveroo

Bmblbzzz wrote:Is there actually a sign on Cattle Market Rd saying motorcyclists should dismount? Or does it say they should use a different route or something like that? Cos if it's actually suggesting motorcyclists should push their bikes under the bridge, it's pretty ridiculous. Far too heavy and too much drag! Either allow riding or (better in this particular case) keep motor vehicles out till the works are over.


Yes, there was at the early stage of the development when the Heras fencing was right over to the edge of the pavement, thus reducing the width of the path. This guy on the moped came through then, whereas there were times when I would walk with my bike through that narrow part. This morning while coming through - the path is much wider now with all the new works - there are no signs but there was a moped rider who followed me through. Pushing mopeds would be Ok, but I agree about full sized motorbikes. Technically, that would be riding a motor vehicle on a pavement, which is not permitted. It looks like they have added a separately coloured bike lane which is a different texture to the paved section (this was never as wide as it is now) that leads under the railway bridge to connect with the off-road cycle lane on the right hand side.