Cycling UK Forum

So, there I was guarding The Lady Wife's bicycle while she finished rummaging in the charity shop, when round the corner over the road comes a young chap on an old hybrid. He looked to be in his early 20's, and was wearing a suit. The hill's not very steep, but he was obviously in his lowest gear. He was also on the pavement, or footway as it now seems to be called.

I watched spellbound as he wobbled past two old ladies and continued up the pavement until he reached the zebra crossing, at which he stopped, feet up, against the stripey pole of what used to be called the Belisha beacon, with his front wheel in the road, on the crossing.

To my surprise, the car coming down the hill stopped, as then did the two going up the hill. Matey boy sur sa bicyclette then rode across the crossing, mounted the pavement on "my" side of the road, then continued his journey up the hill on the pavement. I saw one elderly couple stand aside to let him pass them, and one trademan type bloke do likewise.

The whole performance left me with the impression that this was a regular routine for him. Quite why none of the pedestrians hurled abuse at him, or at least stood their ground and forced him into the road (or as I believe it to be nowadays, the carriageway), I have no idea. Seriously, any alien witnessing the event would have assumed it to be a normal everyday occurrence.

Am I in a minority nowadays in that I consider such behaviour to be well out of order? Why do people put up with it? OK, I can understand it if the rider is the type who would doubtless offer violence if shouted at or if it happens in parts of the country in which it doesn't pay to upset the natives, but when it's in a reasonably affluent part of the country and the offender looks a bit of a wimp? I don't understand.

And what is the legal position re riding a bicycle across a bog standard zebra crossing?

Am I in a minority nowadays in that I consider such behaviour to be well out of order?

Depends on how he was riding - if he was showing scant regard for others on the pavement then I'd agree that it was out of order. If he was going slowly and giving others a wide berth (they moving out of his way due to their own choice and good will rather than to prevent being mown down), then I would say that he was unwise to be on the pavement but I wouldn't be for stringing him up on the top. Let's face it, if it was a shared use path then exactly the same thing would have happened only there'd have been some extra paint splashed around. And, indeed, such arrangements of slow cycle traffic and peds sharing a space happen happily in other countries where cycling is more popular.

From the point of view of the ped, perhaps they saw no reason to get into a confrontation if they did not feel threatened in the first place? Indeed, the thought of cycling on the road probably so horrified these non-cyclists that they may have seen it as entirely reasonable for the chap to be on the road.

Obviously it is legal to cycle on a zebra crossing (other wise you'd not be able to continue your journey along the road). The illegal bits would be the being on the pavement at either end. As he wasn't a ped I'd guess that he did not have priority over the cars that stopped for him, thus the cars did not have to treat him like a ped using the crossing. However they did stop for him so he was free to continue.

Personally, I used to find pavement cycling abhorrent, but now I've mellowed to it a bit. I can see why some people do it, and as long as they do it in a very careful way with respect given for other pavement users, I'm not really that bothered (apart from believing that they'd mostly be better off on the road with a bit of training, etc).

This scenario and versions of it have been discussed in detail on here before, so I'll not give act and section, but this is how I see it:-

1. Riding a bike on the footway is illegal.
2. Cycling across a zebra crossing is not an offence, but a rider must give precedence to any pedestrians on the crossing.
3. Anybody riding across a zebra doesn't get precedence over motor traffic just because they are on a zebra, but if they are walking and pushing a bike, then they are pedestrians.

I am once again obliged to you, m'lud.

I thought someone pushing a cycle is a cyclist and does not get right of way over a Z.Crossing.
However if they pick up and carry their cycle it becomes 'luggage' carried by a pedestrian.

danfoto wrote:So, there I was guarding The Lady Wife's bicycle while she finished rummaging in the charity shop, when round the corner over the road comes a young chap on an old hybrid. He looked to be in his early 20's, and was wearing a suit. The hill's not very steep, but he was obviously in his lowest gear. He was also on the pavement, or footway as it now seems to be called.

I watched spellbound as he wobbled past two old ladies and continued up the pavement until he reached the zebra crossing, at which he stopped, feet up, against the stripey pole of what used to be called the Belisha beacon, with his front wheel in the road, on the crossing.

To my surprise, the car coming down the hill stopped, as then did the two going up the hill. Matey boy sur sa bicyclette then rode across the crossing, mounted the pavement on "my" side of the road, then continued his journey up the hill on the pavement. I saw one elderly couple stand aside to let him pass them, and one trademan type bloke do likewise.

The whole performance left me with the impression that this was a regular routine for him. Quite why none of the pedestrians hurled abuse at him, or at least stood their ground and forced him into the road (or as I believe it to be nowadays, the carriageway), I have no idea. Seriously, any alien witnessing the event would have assumed it to be a normal everyday occurrence.

Am I in a minority nowadays in that I consider such behaviour to be well out of order? Why do people put up with it? OK, I can understand it if the rider is the type who would doubtless offer violence if shouted at or if it happens in parts of the country in which it doesn't pay to upset the natives, but when it's in a reasonably affluent part of the country and the offender looks a bit of a wimp? I don't understand.

And what is the legal position re riding a bicycle across a bog standard zebra crossing?

Sounds like another case of one of us thinking they have a right to behave as though no one else counts. I do cycle on pavements where it's simply convenient, is a short cut or the road is particularly dangerous. But even then not if I see pedestrians on them. If one appears I either stop until they pass or put the bike on the road. Selfish prats like the bloke in your post do us all a disservice (and I bet he's an RLJer too).

(and I bet he's an RLJer too)

A rather difficult trick for a pavement cyclist to perform, I would have thought.

meic wrote:

(and I bet he's an RLJer too)

A rather difficult trick for a pavement cyclist to perform, I would have thought.

A what? Acronyms exclude the less seasoned forum viewers/lurkers

Claireysmurf wrote:

meic wrote:

(and I bet he's an RLJer too)

A rather difficult trick for a pavement cyclist to perform, I would have thought.

A what? Acronyms exclude the less seasoned forum viewers/lurkers

Red Light Jumper.

RLJers = Red Light Jumpers... am surprised Claire did not think of you as newbie/not so seasoned person on here lol

Yes it is against how many of us were brought up but it is not unusual behaviour for nearly any town or city in Little Britain these days. I guess if he did not actually cause any harm and was careful to go around peds etc.

I guess many peds might not want to get into a confrontational situation, it is not worth it,

It is not necessarily behaviour I would think ok, but there again go abroad and many cycling activities we view as abhorrent is perfectly acceptable. No one seems to bother about cyclists riding the wrong up a one way street, going thru a red light where it is safe to do so, riding around a pedestrianised area. etc etc. Somewhow everyone just seems to get along without causing any problems.

eileithyia wrote:RLJers = Red Light Jumpers... am surprised Claire did not think of you as newbie/not so seasoned person on here lol

Yes it is against how many of us were brought up but it is not unusual behaviour for nearly any town or city in Little Britain these days. I guess if he did not actually cause any harm and was careful to go around peds etc.

I guess many peds might not want to get into a confrontational situation, it is not worth it,

It is not necessarily behaviour I would think ok, but there again go abroad and many cycling activities we view as abhorrent is perfectly acceptable. No one seems to bother about cyclists riding the wrong up a one way street, going thru a red light where it is safe to do so, riding around a pedestrianised area. etc etc. Somewhow everyone just seems to get along without causing any problems.

A prettier piece of self justification I've never read. Sadly we cant make up our own laws.

[quote="eileithyia"]RLJers = Red Light Jumpers... am surprised Claire did not think of you as newbie/not so seasoned person on here lol
quote]

Although I first balanced without stabilisers 39 years ago, I do feel a newbie/numpty in comparison with many on the forum (sorry for the thread drift)

Claireysmurf wrote:

eileithyia wrote:RLJers = Red Light Jumpers... am surprised Claire did not think of you as newbie/not so seasoned person on here lol
quote]

Although I first balanced without stabilisers 39 years ago, I do feel a newbie/numpty in comparison with many on the forum (sorry for the thread drift)

I think he was talking about moi.

ukdodger wrote:

eileithyia wrote:RLJers = Red Light Jumpers... am surprised Claire did not think of you as newbie/not so seasoned person on here lol

Yes it is against how many of us were brought up but it is not unusual behaviour for nearly any town or city in Little Britain these days. I guess if he did not actually cause any harm and was careful to go around peds etc.

I guess many peds might not want to get into a confrontational situation, it is not worth it,

It is not necessarily behaviour I would think ok, but there again go abroad and many cycling activities we view as abhorrent is perfectly acceptable. No one seems to bother about cyclists riding the wrong up a one way street, going thru a red light where it is safe to do so, riding around a pedestrianised area. etc etc. Somewhow everyone just seems to get along without causing any problems.

A prettier piece of self justification I've never read.

Yes, well, apart from the fact that she wasn't trying to justify anything that she did, rather she was merely making an observation (with out condoning ) on pavement riding and people's reactions to it.

Si wrote:

ukdodger wrote:

eileithyia wrote:RLJers = Red Light Jumpers... am surprised Claire did not think of you as newbie/not so seasoned person on here lol

Yes it is against how many of us were brought up but it is not unusual behaviour for nearly any town or city in Little Britain these days. I guess if he did not actually cause any harm and was careful to go around peds etc.

I guess many peds might not want to get into a confrontational situation, it is not worth it,

It is not necessarily behaviour I would think ok, but there again go abroad and many cycling activities we view as abhorrent is perfectly acceptable. No one seems to bother about cyclists riding the wrong up a one way street, going thru a red light where it is safe to do so, riding around a pedestrianised area. etc etc. Somewhow everyone just seems to get along without causing any problems.

A prettier piece of self justification I've never read.

Yes, well, apart from the fact that she wasn't trying to justify anything that she did, rather she was merely making an observation (with out condoning ) on pavement riding and people's reactions to it.

How do you know it's 'she'?