Union Canal -Cyclists

[56anawthat]

Merrymac - is that the B1345 you are talking about? If so I had a similar experience with a 'peloton" of cyclists a week past Saturday. As if that wasn't bad enough one poor guy had become separated from the group and he was causing his own back-up of traffic. Fortunately they turned left at the junction with the A198 while I was going right. We had a cavalcade of about 12-15 cars as a result of them making it difficult to pass. How is that green?

I also have experience of this. I encountered a major holdup on the A198 on Saturday which was caused by just two of them, cycling slowly line abreast and making it as difficult as possible for anyone to pass on this busy road. You would think they might realise they were a moving accident black spot and occasionally shift int line astern to let other traffic past. But no, they presumably felt entitled to use the road any way they liked. And it was probably deliberate. After about a mile I just managed to get passed them but with plenty traffic the other way no one else did. Traffic was piled up as far as I could see behind.

[Jam Tarts 1874]

Maybe if cyclists followed the guidance given by Scottish Canals, everyone would be a bit less angry at cyclists:

 

https://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/activities/cycling/union-canal/

 

 

• Alert walkers by ringing your bell and always give way to walkers.
  
• The towpath is often only 1m wide, and can be wet and uneven. Take extra care. It is being upgraded and widened in sections.
  
• Dismount at all road crossings, bridges, aqueducts and blind bends and at canal weirs, including cobbled weirs.
  
• Tandem bike users ? please be aware that you will need to dismount and lift your bike through the gates, as they are not wide enough to cycle through.
  
• Do not speed, speed causes accidents!
  

 

Personally I love it when a cyclist is cycling towards me on the Cross Keys aqueduct!

[Brian Whittaker's Tache]

 

Personally I love it when a cyclist is cycling towards me on the Cross Keys viaduct!

 

 

Do you really? What is it you love? The sight of a man in lycra? Rippling muscles? Shorts so tight you tell his religion? Do tell?

[Konrad von Carstein]

Do you really? What is it you love? The sight of a man in lycra? Rippling muscles? Shorts so tight you tell his religion? Do tell?

Why zoom in that point when the rest of his post provides ample evidence that many cyclists are disregarding their own and others safety by treating the tow path as cycle expressway?

[William H. Bonney]

Do you really? What is it you love? The sight of a man in lycra? Rippling muscles? Shorts so tight you tell his religion? Do tell?

Keep talking....

[zoltan socrates]

Dog walkers on tow paths, especially off the leash, how is it that dog walkers seem to presume everyone lovess their stinking shit maker?

 

Get them on the leash, you want respect you earn it

 

Fwiw what is the point, other than commuting, to go on a tow path? Hardly cycling unless off road is your thing and off roaders arent your lycra clad clan

[...a bit disco]

Dog walkers on tow paths, especially off the leash, how is it that dog walkers seem to presume everyone lovess their stinking shit maker?

 

Get them on the leash, you want respect you earn it

 

Fwiw what is the point, other than commuting, to go on a tow path? Hardly cycling unless off road is your thing and off roaders arent your lycra clad clan

 

I do it to keep fit.

 

Used to cycle from Westburn to the Basin at Fountainbridge and back. These days though, there seems to be a lot of cyclists ignorant to their surroundings and other towpath users on that section.

 

I now cycle out towards and past Ratho. Not entirely empty but a lot quieter.

[Geoff the Mince]

Cyclists are phanies .

[Brian Whittaker's Tache]

Why zoom in that point when the rest of his post provides ample evidence that many cyclists are disregarding their own and others safety by treating the tow path as cycle expressway?

 

Why not? Giving it the Big I Am with the undertones of violence/retribution towards cyclists, why not respond with something as ridiculous? Given some of the well thought out responses on this thread, I didn't think it would be that out of place!

[merrymac]

Merrymac - is that the B1345 you are talking about? If so I had a similar experience with a 'peloton" of cyclists a week past Saturday. As if that wasn't bad enough one poor guy had become separated from the group and he was causing his own back-up of traffic. Fortunately they turned left at the junction with the A198 while I was going right. We had a cavalcade of about 12-15 cars as a result of them making it difficult to pass. How is that green?

Thats the ones every Saturday!! and some evenings. Really concerned for a bad pile up happening.

[merrymac]

Sometimes I drive to work, sometimes I cycle. My route is newtongrange to opposite Heriots. It can be a bit hairy at times but for an old city like Edinburgh I think the cycling infrastructure isn't too bad.

 

My route is A7, a few roundabouts but I keep off the road over the white lines mainly, then Dobbies to gilmerton is shared pavement for cyclists / pedestrians (never many of the latter on that stretch).

 

Then from gilmerton into town it's cycle lanes (great apart from the parked cars) and then a lane across the meadows to work.

 

Takes me about 35-40 mins to cycle that 8.5 miles, normally takes me longer to drive and I don't have to pay for parking if I cycle , plus it's obviously a lot healthier for me and others not inhaling my exhaust fumes.

 

Some / most people are dicks,especially to strangers. That they are on a bike, in a car or walking, is secondary to that sad fact.

 

Picking up on one of your points (being given the front space at junctions, it surprised me when I first started cycling to work that I'm often off the mark quicker than cars but I don't bother trying to get into the box (missus!) if it's not safe to pass the cars in front.

 

On the peleton argument, using the example given (3-4 abreast and 15 deep) that's 40-60 bikes. As a car driver I'd much rather wait and pass them as a group than try to pass them individually- although I'd never ride two abreast just because it's allowed.

 

All road users need to calm down and treat people the same as they would if they accidentally bumped into them walking down the road or in a pub. We're all very apologetic in that example but turn into angry idiots on the road. It's pathetic.

The  whole point of the peleton argument is that you virtually cant get pass or it is dangerous to try to do so on this particular road.This causes long tail backs and lots of frustration. my point may not have been obvious but my concern is for the safety of the cyclists,who will undoubtedly come off worst in the event of an accident.

[All roads lead to Gorgie]

A lot of fair points being made on this thread but an awful lot of WUM posts are spoiling the argument. On your bike I say to them.

[Victorian]

Trying to win an argument by not actually presenting one sounds a bit like that 'automatic liability' for car-bike accidents that some cyclists were advocating a while back.

[John Findlay]

I have a lot of proven counter arguments for most points on this thread but I'm not going to get into arguments with the haters.

 

Carry on as you were!

You want someone else further down the thread. To put up or shut up. So why don't you follow your own advice?

[merrymac]

I'd feel the same if I was driving mate but the entire point is that a cyclist has just as much right to be on the road as a car driver. Totally appreciate it's a pain to have to slow down but car drivers (like me) have to remember that roads have been in use for tens of thousands of years and cars have been in use by the majority for 40 or 50 years.

 

If a large group of cyclists is annoying you, why not take the next on the left / right and go a slightly different route? East Lothian has loads of almost parallel roads. Surely it would be quicker to take a slight detour than raging behind the slower road users.

BB - totally agree that "a cyclist" has as much right on the road. This is a very large group of cyclists conducting a race on public roads. i would have thought that some sort of permission would have been required but the police seemed unaware. They do not "annoy" me, I am long past getting annoyed on the road, but they do other drivers, and i as i have said before it is their safety i am most worried about. I have seen too many close calls,as drivers try to pass without realising how long the group is.Me I just trundle along behind them.

[Costanza]

I cycle to work with part of my route cycle path and road and I see some cyclists and some drivers acting like impatient arseholes.

Cyclists jumping red lights,going too fast on a path; drivers not giving enough space when overtaking, cutting up cyclists at junctions (an idiot did this to me at the shore because he couldn't be delayed for a few seconds).

 

Its almost as though the common denominator is people rather than them being cyclists....

 

Still it's amusing to read the cyclist generalisation in this thread from the diving lobby.

For what it's worth, I have a no visible lycra policy but the die has been cast it would appear....

[Konrad von Carstein]

Now that the thread has generalised into cyclists versus the world I'd like to try and bring it back to the original comment which is cyclists ( in general) treat the Union Canal towpath as some sort of expressway with zero thought for other users of this fine resource. Myself and at least one other poster have given up walking on the canal due to the utterly selfish actions of cyclists, not car users, not peletons; Cyclists using a TOWPATH. This pees me off more than it should but I'm really fecked off that going for an amble along the canal is now not a thing that I want to do.

[Ray Gin]

Sounds like some of you will enjoy this:

 

[pablo]

I've personally never had a problem with cyclists when driving around. If there's anything, it would be the wobbly ones that I notice the most. Older biddies and the like taking off and getting up to a max of 10mph need more watching than the Bradley Wiggins types.

 

Abusing the canal path is a bit shit though. Again, I only use it now and again from Harrison Park in to Fountainbridge and it's predominantly pedestrians on that stretch.

 

Don't really get the seethe over cyclists.

[Ray Gin]

Now that the thread has generalised into cyclists versus the world I'd like to try and bring it back to the original comment which is cyclists ( in general) treat the Union Canal towpath as some sort of expressway with zero thought for other users of this fine resource. Myself and at least one other poster have given up walking on the canal due to the utterly selfish actions of cyclists, not car users, not peletons; Cyclists using a TOWPATH. This pees me off more than it should but I'm really fecked off that going for an amble along the canal is now not a thing that I want to do.

 

I assume you were towing a barge as you were walking, yeah?

[Deevers]

Used to take my dogs down to the canal on an evening for a walk. I found that most cyclist were OK, and reasonably considerate. There was however quite a number who were riding along the towpath as if their very life depended on it. I watch one very nasty exchange between one and an angler that endec with the arrogant pedal pusher getting a dull one. Can't be bothered with the Argo so it's a place I avoid for evening walks these days.

[Harry Potter]

Slightly off topic but cyclist relevant . I live in East Lothian and travel regularly on the Drem road. A cycling club from Edinburgh use this for their mini "Tour de France" cycling at high speed always 3-4 abreast and 10-15 deep. They always end up with a huge line of traffic stuck behind them and lots of frustrated drivers,its an accident waiting to happen!! Called the police as I thought cyclists were max 2 abreast as per Highway Code but Mr Plod said this was only a recommendation and I should phone the club and advise my concerns, as they could do nothing (nothing new there then). I am not being difficult have seen a number of near misses, and this is an accident waiting to happen, and will be carnage if it does.Just don't think they should be conducting a race unsupervised on busy public roads.

 

Thank you - rant over .

Think my hand would be on the horn.

[cannonfoda]

Slightly off topic but cyclist relevant . I live in East Lothian and travel regularly on the Drem road. A cycling club from Edinburgh use this for their mini "Tour de France" cycling at high speed always 3-4 abreast and 10-15 deep. They always end up with a huge line of traffic stuck behind them and lots of frustrated drivers,its an accident waiting to happen!! Called the police as I thought cyclists were max 2 abreast as per Highway Code but Mr Plod said this was only a recommendation and I should phone the club and advise my concerns, as they could do nothing (nothing new there then). I am not being difficult have seen a number of near misses, and this is an accident waiting to happen, and will be carnage if it does.Just don't think they should be conducting a race unsupervised on busy public roads.

 

Thank you - rant over .

same thing through here in boness. falkirk bicycle club think its ok to be d!cks going through town... 15 side by side speeding until they hit first hill then 2mph with 10 cars stuck behind them for 5 minutes... never once looking behind. try to mention it on their facebook page and got blocked!!! worse than the posters on here in the conspiracy thread.

[BigCGilmour]

same thing through here in boness. falkirk bicycle club think its ok to be d!cks going through town... 15 side by side speeding until they hit first hill then 2mph with 10 cars stuck behind them for 5 minutes... never once looking behind. try to mention it on their facebook page and got blocked!!! worse than the posters on here in the conspiracy thread.

That's not entirely true then is it. But again goes to show the ignorance of people particularly where cycling is involved. Crack on though

[cannonfoda]

That's not entirely true then is it. But again goes to show the ignorance of people particularly where cycling is involved. Crack on though

sorry bigc but have dashboard cam to prove said behaviour. Ive nothing against bikes btw - just ignorant or dangerous behaviour - from bikes, cars or walkers.

 

anyway I'm away to pickup bairn 1's first proper bike.

[...a bit disco]

Think my hand would be on the horn.

[GlasgoJambo]

I assume you were towing a barge as you were walking, yeah?

[3fingersreid]

Many years ago before the tow path had tarmac I was walking along the canal with my young Labrador , year old maybe , walking a bit in front of my dad , when a cyclist hurtled past clipping the dog and putting me into nettles , he laughed

He got level with my dad , 6"2 17 stone Scots guardsman , and found himself going for a swim . The only words spoken was a gentle , careful where you're going young man .

 

These days most cyclists are fine , we generally say thank you to each other when I move out their way if they've warned us they're coming , however pricks on a bike can do one . In the same way irresponsible dog owners can gtf too

[Seymour M Hersh]

Walkers think they own the tow path, cyclists think they own the tow path. Perhaps if everyone just behaved with a little decency and etiquette then everyone could enjoy the canal towpath. Dogs on a lead though.

[...a bit disco]

Walkers think they own the tow path, cyclists think they own the tow path. Perhaps if everyone just behaved with a little decency and etiquette then everyone could enjoy the canal towpath. Dogs on a lead though.

 

Pretty much nailed on.

[...a bit disco]

 

Open goal Jonno.

 

[Cade]

https://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/activities/cycling/

 

The canal towpath is open to cyclists, but watch out for the bumps and narrow sections.

Safe cycling

• Alert walkers by ringing your bell and always give way to walkers.
• The towpath is often only 1m wide, and can be wet and uneven. Take extra care. It is being upgraded and widened in sections.
• Dismount at all road crossings, bridges, aqueducts and blind bends and at canal weirs, including cobbled weirs.
• Tandem bike users ? please be aware that you will need to dismount and lift your bike through the gates, as they are not wide enough to cycle through.
• Do not speed, speed causes accidents!

[BigCGilmour]

sorry bigc but have dashboard cam to prove said behaviour. Ive nothing against bikes btw - just ignorant or dangerous behaviour - from bikes, cars or walkers.

anyway I'm away to pickup bairn 1's first proper bike.

Would love to see it.

It's Very rare for 30 riders to go off in bunch, would normally be halved based on ability. 2mph is getting off your bike kinda pace. Normally would use Carriden Brae but occasionally may have used A993... don't get the speeding bit as quick run would be no more than 20mph... (unless downhill)

 

Given all that the club isnt perfect but I'd like to think a few minutes delay on your journey isn't the end of the world particularly on a Sunday morning.

 

Hopefully your bairn gets the cycling bug. IMO a little bit of patience from all road users would make all the difference. Everybody is in such a rush to get nowhere nowadays!

[cannonfoda]

Would love to see it.

It's Very rare for 30 riders to go off in bunch, would normally be halved based on ability. 2mph is getting off your bike kinda pace. Normally would use Carriden Brae but occasionally may have used A993... don't get the speeding bit as quick run would be no more than 20mph... (unless downhill)

 

Given all that the club isnt perfect but I'd like to think a few minutes delay on your journey isn't the end of the world particularly on a Sunday morning.

 

Hopefully your bairn gets the cycling bug. IMO a little bit of patience from all road users would make all the difference. Everybody is in such a rush to get nowhere nowadays!

if i manage to get modern technology working I'll share the link. As I said not anti cycling.

 

I stay bottom of the brae and followed them from tescos all the way to the top of the brae. def more more than 20 in group and no way travelling at less than 30mph through town all bunched together - cut corners at bottom of brae and a few were almost taken out by van coming down the way... would not have been van drivers fault either. then the loooooong slooooow drag up the hill. not once did anyone look behind themselves.

 

Bigcg: take it you cycle with them? if so give them a gentle reminder on manners please.

[BigCGilmour]

if i manage to get modern technology working I'll share the link. As I said not anti cycling.

I stay bottom of the brae and followed them from tescos all the way to the top of the brae. def more more than 20 in group and no way travelling at less than 30mph through town all bunched together - cut corners at bottom of brae and a few were almost taken out by van coming down the way... would not have been van drivers fault either. then the loooooong slooooow drag up the hill. not once did anyone look behind themselves.

Bigcg: take it you cycle with them? if so give them a gentle reminder on manners please.

Yes I do cycle with them. I'll also be sure and have a word.

 

Again it's a no win situation for the cyclist, we use that road occasionally (rarely go through Bo'ness) to avoid the traffic on the main road.

[cannonfoda]

Yes I do cycle with them. I'll also be sure and have a word.

 

Again it's a no win situation for the cyclist, we use that road occasionally (rarely go through Bo'ness) to avoid the traffic on the main road.

if it was facebook i would give a like here.

 

we could do with infrastructure right enough... that road from boness to ferry and from boness to lithgy is crying out for combined cycle and walking path. i would dump car if it was safe to but road to edinburgh via ferry is dangerous.

 

anyway back on topic... solution two paths on canal one on right bank one on left. one for walking one for bikes.

[Cade]

if it was facebook i would give a like here.

 

we could do with infrastructure right enough... that road from boness to ferry and from boness to lithgy is crying out for combined cycle and walking path. i would dump car if it was safe to but road to edinburgh via ferry is dangerous.

 

anyway back on topic... solution two paths on canal one on right bank one on left. one for walking one for bikes.

Not enough room on both sides.....the other bank is people's back gardens