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Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 10:05am
by westofsouth
On Sunday, while riding from Bradford on Avon to Bath on the canal towpath, I suddenly found myself lying on my back with the bike on top of me. Why had this happened? .....I had hit a 4" tall steel mooring spike partially hidden in the grass just a few inches from the edge of the track. Why had I left the track? .....evasive action to avoid a small child on bike coming toward me. The child had been following his parents, looking where he was going, and then suddenly veered towards me.
A little later, on the faster tarmacked Bath - Bristol railway path, I noticed a young boy watching me approach, then, when I was within a few feet, he walked straight at me. Fortunately, his arm was grabbed by a panicked parent before any damage could be done.
This high risk behaviour is not confined to the under fives. On this often crowded mixed-use railway path I observed a number of individuals (and also a group of three) travelling at high speed - apparently time-trialling on light weight road bikes. Very dangerous on this busy and narrow path where both young and old are walking and cycling.
Can anyone explain this behaviour?
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 10:18am
by jezer
I don't know why they do it, but I am familiar with both the routes you are talking about. Even adult walkers on the towpath are sometimes so slow to move over that you have to virtually stop, or end up in the canal. I don't cycle on them any more for those reasons.
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 11:07am
by Audax67
When I was about 4 my big sister one day took my hand and led me across the road slap in front of a bike, saying with all the authority of her 7 years that "sure, a bicycle won't hurt you".
Now kids aren't daft. We had been schooled in road safety and told emphatically by our parents never to cross the road when cars, buses and lorries were about, but I can't recall any lessons, from them or from teachers later on, to the effect that a 13-stone adult bowling along on a pushbike could be just as dangerous. Possibly they even taught us, by omission, that they weren't. Furthermore we had trikes, and the "big" children had two-wheelers, so we probably had the impression that they were toys to some extent. When road-safety lessons at school involved bikes the children were on them, not in front of them.
I can't remember what happened to the cyclist we walked in front of - he probably wove round behind us, muttering a few choice words into his beard.
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 11:23am
by Ayesha
westofsouth wrote:On Sunday, while riding from Bradford on Avon to Bath on the canal towpath, I suddenly found myself lying on my back with the bike on top of me. Why had this happened? .....I had hit a 4" tall steel mooring spike partially hidden in the grass just a few inches from the edge of the track. Why had I left the track? .....evasive action to avoid a small child on bike coming toward me. The child had been following his parents, looking where he was going, and then suddenly veered towards me.
A little later, on the faster tarmacked Bath - Bristol railway path, I noticed a young boy watching me approach, then, when I was within a few feet, he walked straight at me. Fortunately, his arm was grabbed by a panicked parent before any damage could be done.
This high risk behaviour is not confined to the under fives. On this often crowded mixed-use railway path I observed a number of individuals (and also a group of three) travelling at high speed - apparently time-trialling on light weight road bikes. Very dangerous on this busy and narrow path where both young and old are walking and cycling.
Can anyone explain this behaviour?
They won't have been Time Trialing. A TT course would NEVER get authorised if it was on a shared path with pedestrians.
They will probably been having a private race between themselves on bikes they bought so they could look like raceboys. This behavior is called "Dick swinging".
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 11:35am
by al_yrpal
I agree with Jezer. I think when there is a preponderance of pedestrians on a canal or river path, cyclists should keep away. Unfortunately there are also people on bicycles, some of whom are irresponsible, and grouchy cyclists who insist on 'their rights' blind to common sense, and these people get us all a bad name. One shouldn't put at risk old people and little kids in this way. Cycle somewhere else.
Al
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 12:06pm
by thirdcrank
I'm not sure if it's necessary to stay away completely (although an area used by pedestrians would not be my idea ofd a good place for cycling.) IMO, the main point is that everybody has a duty to be aware of their surroundings ane particularly to be careful in the presence of the vulnerable. Young children are about as vulnerable as it gets so they should be shown the utmost consideration. This level of consideration is also required of pedestrians towards children eg when pushing a supermarket trolley or wielding a wire basket.
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 3:35pm
by iviehoff
Cycling down a fairly narrow one-way street this morning (or at least, made narrow by the parked vehicles), the woman cycling a short distance ahead of me moved somewhat away from the left hand kerb while slowing down, stopped, and started dismounting on the right hand side of the bike, ie, into the centre of the road.
At least she was cycling in the correct direction. One meets plenty of cyclists cycling the wrong way down one-way streets, and many of them cycle on the right hand side of it (from their own perspective). Why do they do that?
Last week I followed another cyclist down that road, who had a heavy trailer, and thus was rather slower than me. As she kept on making sudden large movements to the left and right, I was unable to pass.
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 6:39pm
by aprildavy
Possibly anything that isn't nailed down is a threat. I was brought down by a free range chicken, quietly pecking away at the saide of the road. Except that as I approached it chnged into panick mode and ran and then flew straight into my front wheel. This knowcked the wheel side ways anddown I went, sliding along the road, getting some nasty road rash. After fixing myself, then the bike I carried on.
Okay, I was only doing about 15 mph, but I suppose I should have slowed down more. I conciously didn't slow down, since I thought their was no risk of it doing a 180, and then a short take off - but I was wrong!
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 6:46pm
by Ayesha
aprildavy wrote:Possibly anything that isn't nailed down is a threat. I was brought down by a free range chicken, quietly pecking away at the saide of the road. Except that as I approached it chnged into panick mode and ran and then flew straight into my front wheel. This knowcked the wheel side ways anddown I went, sliding along the road, getting some nasty road rash. After fixing myself, then the bike I carried on.
Okay, I was only doing about 15 mph, but I suppose I should have slowed down more. I conciously didn't slow down, since I thought their was no risk of it doing a 180, and then a short take off - but I was wrong!
You're lucky it wasn't a frozen chicken. It would have had all your spokes out.
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 9:11pm
by Redvee
You want danger on the Bristol - Bath cyclepath? How about a couple letting their dogs roam free in the tunnel then claim they were under control when I hit one and came off? Rode into the tunnel and slowed down, saw the couple and as I passed them dog 1 came from the far side of the tunnel, opposite to the path which caught my attention and drew it away from dog 2 alspo roaming free in the tunnel. Dog 2 had my front wheel in it's ribs.
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 10:16pm
by Vorpal
aprildavy wrote:Possibly anything that isn't nailed down is a threat. I was brought down by a free range chicken, quietly pecking away at the saide of the road. Except that as I approached it chnged into panick mode and ran and then flew straight into my front wheel. This knowcked the wheel side ways anddown I went, sliding along the road, getting some nasty road rash. After fixing myself, then the bike I carried on.
Okay, I was only doing about 15 mph, but I suppose I should have slowed down more. I conciously didn't slow down, since I thought their was no risk of it doing a 180, and then a short take off - but I was wrong!
I narrowly missed a free range chicken on Friday! It was out in the road. I slowed as I approached. It noticed me when I was a few feet away. I thought it would run for the closest side of the road; the way it was facing. This chicken did a 180 & scrambled for the opposite side of the road. I braked & it's tail feathers sort of whooshed as my wheel clipped them. I was very glad that neither of us was any slower, or I'd probably have had a matching case of road rash. Stupid bird!
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 10:20pm
by thirdcrank
Vorpal wrote: ... Stupid bird!
[canteen humour deleted.]
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 10:21pm
by Malaconotus
Vorpal wrote:I narrowly missed a free range chicken on Friday! It was out in the road. I slowed as I approached. It noticed me when I was a few feet away. I thought it would run for the closest side of the road; the way it was facing. This chicken did a 180 & scrambled for the opposie side of the road. I braked & it's tail feathers sort of whooshed as my wheel clipped them. I was very glad that neither of us was any slower, or I'd probably have had a matching case of road rash. Stupid bird!
My minor mishap yesterday shows that free-range guinea fowl, while tastier, are equally prone to such reckless behaviour.
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 10:44pm
by LollyKat
Why did the chicken cross the road....?
Re: Experimenting with risk and danger
Posted: 24 Oct 2011, 11:43pm
by Redvee
In recent weks I've had numerous squirrels cross my path along with a partridge last week but the closest encounter with wildlife apart from above was a rabbit that escaped being run over by my front wheel by a hare's breadth
