Cycling UK Forum

While the section of the Somerset/Bristol Avon through Bath does have vertical piling walls with nothing but a near useless safety-line, that section has also recently been fenced. Nothing that would stop a determined drunk, but more than adequate for a cyclist, drunk or sober, to bounce off

Most other stretches are natural banks with a lot of tree branches etc as an aid to scrambling out. In theory, the river has a towpath from Bristol to Bath as it was made into a navigation in the late 18th C owing to the shocking state of the roads (fill ye pothole didn't really get going until cyclists came along . . . In practice much of the countryside sections of the towpath today are a muddy single track and not really suitable cycling territory.

Anyone really worried about cycling into a river should maybe wear one of these

Re Messing about on the river: firstly, it's on and not in, and secondly, the opening line goes "When the weather is fine".

recumbentpanda wrote:While the section of the Somerset/Bristol Avon through Bath does have vertical piling walls with nothing but a near useless safety-line, that section has also recently been fenced. Nothing that would stop a determined drunk, but more than adequate for a cyclist, drunk or sober, to bounce off

Most other stretches are natural banks with a lot of tree branches etc as an aid to scrambling out. In theory, the river has a towpath from Bristol to Bath as it was made into a navigation in the late 18th C owing to the shocking state of the roads (fill ye pothole didn't really get going until cyclists came along . . . In practice much of the countryside sections of the towpath today are a muddy single track and not really suitable cycling territory.

When I cycled into the centre mainly along the towpath on December 30th a good deal of it was not fenced....

Ferdinand

DaveP wrote:....., towpaths are never going to be a cycle expressway due to poor surfaces and sharing with dog walkers anglers et al. Enjoy them for what they are -

...

Probably the best summary of the whole discussion, and a succinct description of all UK cycle facilities since the dawn of time, except that most facilities do not have anything enjoyable to compensate for the dangers and inconvenience.

I see that e-bikes now seem to have the Dutch asking what a cycle expressway is (1).

(1) http://road.cc/content/news/140409-dutc ... peed-limit

I hope towpaths never become cycle express ways, I love cycling them, I enjoy the odd bumpy section, I love the interesting/strange people I meet I often come across elderly people walking their dogs and I wonder if they would do so if they became more crowded with bikes, as has been mentioned they aren't wide enough but they are wide enough for fun and enjoyment. Ohh and did I mention the wildlife!

I had an impromptu bathe in the Grand Union Canal in February a few years ago. The towpath was sticky mud which suddenly let me go. Yes; only a yard or so deep so could retrieve bike and head home AFAP. My woollen jumper dried very quickly but the cotton coat remained cold and wet. Main casualty was a camera. Paid for replacing electronics but left with blur in the optics.

it sucks, but when something like that happens I add another adventure story

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As one of the `thasands' who regularly use the canals for what they are meant for I would just like to point out that the toe path isn't there for the benefit of cyclists , They may not have too many horses on them at the moment but boats do need access to the bank for a great deal of reasons. Cyclists and walkers are there by licensed permission only, and should bear in mind that too much moaning could result in them being banned all together from large stretches of toe path. We boaters certainly wouldn't want long stretches of railings requiring having to look for `special' gaps complete with safety gates and wotnot.

jb wrote:As one of the `thasands' who regularly use the canals for what they are meant for

Transporting goods?

As another one of the thousands, I'd point out that the canals were built for the transport of freight... not for well-to-do holidaymakers.

I'm a narrowboat owner and very grateful for this wonderful resource, but I don't believe that my ownership of a floating caravan gives me any more claim to the waterways than any other leisure user. There's enough space for all of us. No, not every towpath is suitable for cycling, but if us boaters want exclusive use of the waterways then we really ought to start using the BCN, the Rochdale, and other parts of the system where there are many more cyclists than boaters. (And yes, I have done the Rochdale, and loved it.)

They may have been built for goods but the goods now are paying holiday makers for lots of businesses, and I believe that there is more boat traffic now than there ever was in their industrial heyday.

As someone who regularly uses the toe paths to cycle on I certainly would not want to have it stopped (for one thing it encourages money to be spent on an all-round recreation facility). But there are many things on canals that seem ripe for the health & safety Nazis to pounce on and indeed surprise me they got this far. so it seems best not to make waves - as it were.

jb wrote:They may have been built for goods but the goods now are paying holiday makers for lots of businesses, and I believe that there is more boat traffic now than there ever was in their industrial heyday.

Well you're defiantly not using them for their intended purpose. Nor as originally intended are the users paying a commercial rate for the use, the Canal & River Trust receives millions in grants under the Governments enjoyment of the countryside Policy.
You're also completely wrong about cyclists and walkers being there by licensed permission, the only people requiring a license are boaters, I understand most towpaths to be permissive paths.
They are a great shared use leisure and transport facility, it's a shame when anyone of any group, boaters, anglers, walkers, cyclists, have a problem with the sharing part of that.

I don't know why you think I've a problem with others using them ,I've just pointed out you use them at your own risk.

You do need a license to use the toe path as pedestrian or cyclist but its not enforced. The fact that a licence is theoretically meant to be obtained is to give the waterways authority the right to shut down any toe path immediately should the need arise & to prevent them becoming a right of way; plus they do not have to provide a diversion which would be the case if it were a public right of way.

The Waterways will give you a licence for the grand sum of £0.00 if you apply for one.