Off the road - which side of the track?

[hemo]

Cycle ways and shared tracks/trails are not the place for speeding morons that you encountered, they should be on the road. The guys speed and inconsideracy where always going to be his downfall and nearly yours.
I cycle also on the left as per one would do on the road but once off the road on trials etc is is very surprising as what others do, for instance if walking on the road with no pavement most walk in to traffic so they can see said traffic. This also is often applied by walkers on shared path's.

Agree with what has been said, the guys only defence in being totally wrong was to go on the verbal attack, I probably despite his injuries would have laughed at him and told him his downfall was all his own doing.

[hemo]

Looking at the bigger picture, it is morons like this who speed along without a care for other users who give cycling in general a bad name, it is the few like him who give cause for the anti bike feeling from gov't, media and the public.

[awavey]

There's nothing really I can say which hasn't been said before. However, when it comes to mixed cycling and walking (and even horse riding) paths, whichever side of the path you are on is less important than the rule 'travel at a speed that you know you can stop, within the distance that is visible to you'.

yep I kind of think asking what side of the track is the wrong question to focus on, though I know its something people do obsess about, and yet the important bit is just ride sensibly & safely, how you choose to implement that is your choice imo.

[gazza_d]

I've had similar experiences in the past, although not with anyone hitting a fence, but a few near misses.

I always default to the left unless there is someone walking there or another good reason such as big potholes.

It saves the holey cokey dance when you meet someone coming the other way.

By the sounds of it I would guess that the other cyclist in the original post would have crashed anyway with the surprise of finding another cyclist there. That could have been people with dogs or kids. I'm gonna suggest that their riding was inconsiderate at best.

[iandusud]

I ride regularly on local shared use paths and I regularly encounter cyclists coming towards me riding on the right. The temptation is move over to the right to pass them but I don't (apart from anything else should they decide to move over to their left and we were to collide I would be at fault). I slow down and keep to the left and wait for them to move over, or not, in which case I come to a standstill as do they or they move over at the last moment. I am continually confused by this. Why do some people think that they should ride on the r/h side of the path when they wouldn't ride on the r/h side of the road? Is it because they expect approaching walkers to be on the on the right and therefore think they should do likewise?

[peetee]

I ride regularly on local shared use paths and I regularly encounter cyclists coming towards me riding on the right. The temptation is move over to the right to pass them but I don't (apart from anything else should they decide to move over to their left and we were to collide I would be at fault). I slow down and keep to the left and wait for them to move over, or not, in which case I come to a standstill as do they or they move over at the last moment. I am continually confused by this. Why do some people think that they should ride on the r/h side of the path when they wouldn't ride on the r/h side of the road? Is it because they expect approaching walkers to be on the on the right and therefore think they should do likewise?

It’s strange isn’t it?
What I used to find frequently when riding through the New Forest was the habit of walkers, heading towards you and spread across the wide gravel road, to notice you, see you move to one side (always the left, I might add) then chose to move to the very same side to block your way.
Strangely it seems to be a local phenomena as I don’t come across this behaviour in the south-west.

[offroader]

My paraphrasing

too much brake power
... modern disc systems.... dangerous

With the exception of my first adult bike, a rod operated spoon and stirrup equipped Hercules (if memory serves), every bike I've ever owned has been capable of locking front and/or rear wheels on a loose surface! If you're trying to tell me that was the safest bike I've ever ridden be prepared for the sound of hysterical laughter!

[offroader]

It’s strange isn’t it?
What I used to find frequently when riding through the New Forest was the habit of walkers, heading towards you and spread across the wide gravel road, to notice you, see you move to one side (always the left, I might add) then chose to move to the very same side to block your way.
Strangely it seems to be a local phenomena as I don’t come across this behaviour in the south-west.

This is much less of a problem now as even in the middle of the forest half the walkers are too glued to a phone to be aware of anything approaching

I don't think it's really a local phenomenon as I've encountered the same thing around the world. However the ever popular New Forest has so many miles of tracks that walker/cyclist interaction is just more common

It's been different this year, the forest has been relatively deserted

[cycle tramp]

My paraphrasing

too much brake power
... modern disc systems.... dangerous

With the exception of my first adult bike, a rod operated spoon and stirrup equipped Hercules (if memory serves), every bike I've ever owned has been capable of locking front and/or rear wheels on a loose surface! If you're trying to tell me that was the safest bike I've ever ridden be prepared for the sound of hysterical laughter!

Given that the motor industry has spent millions developing and installing anti-lock brakes on many powered vehicles, why is it accepted that a bicycle being able to lock its wheels is a good thing - especially if we accept that a locked front wheel means that it's no longer possible to steer the cycle?

[Jamesh]

Pre covid I was asked to escort some African students back to Bradford along route 66 (route 66 it isn't!)

They were riding on the right all the time, it was hairaising to watch! Why were they doing it?

Obviously they were from French speaking countries where they drive on the right.

Made perfect sense!!

[offroader]

My paraphrasing

too much brake power
... modern disc systems.... dangerous

With the exception of my first adult bike, a rod operated spoon and stirrup equipped Hercules (if memory serves), every bike I've ever owned has been capable of locking front and/or rear wheels on a loose surface! If you're trying to tell me that was the safest bike I've ever ridden be prepared for the sound of hysterical laughter!

Given that the motor industry has spent millions developing and installing anti-lock brakes on many powered vehicles, why is it accepted that a bicycle being able to lock its wheels is a good thing - especially if we accept that a locked front wheel means that it's no longer possible to steer the cycle?

Oh come on. Every cyclist knows that skids are cool and impress all the girls!

But seriously, I never said the ability to lock the brakes was great, I simply pointed out that it isn't something that came about because of the devil's disk brakes

However where do you draw the line on braking force? Brakes that won't lock a wheel on a dry road will lock them up on a wet road. Are they too strong?
Brakes that won't lock on a wet road probably will on a loose dirt surface. Are they too strong?

Are you really saying that bikes should only be allowed braking systems incapable of locking a wheel on a gravel surface? That's going to result in bikes unable to descend a steep Alp when loaded with touring kit

The only practical solution is antilock/attitude control as fitted to motorcycles and I can't imagine anyone wants to see that inflicted on cyclists

Or we carry on as is with relatively powerful braking and hope that idiot riders learn from their mistakes

I don't think there is an ideal solution to this problem

[mjr]

My paraphrasing

too much brake power
... modern disc systems.... dangerous

With the exception of my first adult bike, a rod operated spoon and stirrup equipped Hercules (if memory serves), every bike I've ever owned has been capable of locking front and/or rear wheels on a loose surface! If you're trying to tell me that was the safest bike I've ever ridden be prepared for the sound of hysterical laughter!

Bet you were more careful about speed being applied, though!

[pwa]

I have ridden bikes with all sorts of brake, including hydraulic disc, and the dodgy part is the first half hour of getting used to what is and isn't on tap at your fingertips. After that, you grab the levers with a better feel for how much pressure is required for the effect you want. If you put someone on a bike with cantis, and all they are used to is hydraulic discs, they will find the first steep downhill bend a bit unnerving because they won't be used applying a firm grip of the lever. And a sudden change from cantis to hydraulic disc will also create problems for a short while. The systems aren't dangerous. Lack of familiarity is the problem.

But with any braking system, no matter how good it is, your stopping distance on a loose or wet surface will be greater than on a firm, smooth and dry surface.

[jgurney]

What I used to find frequently when riding through the New Forest was the habit of walkers, heading towards you and spread across the wide gravel road, to notice you, see you move to one side (always the left, I might add) then chose to move to the very same side to block your way.
Strangely it seems to be a local phenomena

Do you mean that on seeing a cyclist coming, oncoming pedestrians going the other way moved to their right? That is exactly what they should do - pedestrians are supposed to walk on the right.

[offroader]

Bet you were more careful about speed being applied, though!

I probably should have been but the only safe* speed for that behemoth was stationary in the shed and I needed to get to school...
It did teach me a great deal about getting into and out of tight scrapes mostly unscathed though

*Even stationary it's planetary level weight made it a severe crush risk to an 11 year old me