That town is empty so you are not a menace. On the other hand, were you to ride like that on a busy day you would be grossly irresponsible. Pavements are for pedestrians at all times and not a free area for cyclists. There are blind and deaf people using pavements where they would not expect to find someone darting by at 20 mph. There are toddlers who are unpredictable.... no, don't ride on pavements please.
@Tonanti216a Thanks for your considered and polite contribution. I agree that it would be inappropriate to ride in an inconsiderate manner across any busy area full of pedestrians, irrespective of whether it is a pavement or not. As it turns out, this is not a "footway by the side of a road" but is a pedestrianized area with no signs prohibiting cycling, so it is perfectly OK to cycle there when there are few people present.
If we expect others to respect the rules and abide by them then so should we, I say walk - you kind of answer your own question by admitting it is only a short section on pavement, so by definition it would only take a couple of seconds to walk it. It would only take a car a couple of seconds to cross the same bit of pavement and use the same short cut, but that would be considered ridiculous, or simply double standards???
@u4987 I do have some sympathy with this point of view. It is similar to the reason I don't go over the stop line at red lights even when there is absolutely no danger of coming into conflict with other traffic. I guess the argument is that even if the law is an ass, it is still the law.
I think the accusation of double standards is unfounded. Almost all my videos show instances where someone has done something stupid that directly threatens my safety. I am threatening no-one's safety here.
As a pedestrian, I hate when people cycle on the pavement (when it isn't a shared use footpath, of course) when there's a perfectly usable road nearby.
But this location seems perfectly fine, since there's no adjacent road and as you say the pavement is very wide. Perhaps the appropriate council should look into an official cycle route over that part?
PS. Looked quite uncomfortable on the cobbled bit!
@omfgmouse Good suggestion. I'll see whether it's possible to get this change made, though I expect the cost would be quite high as it would involve changing the pelican crossing at the end to a toucan crossing.
You've already saved yourself a considerable detour so what's the problem walking a few yards? We're quick to criticise those who abuse cycle facilities (cycle lanes, ASLs, sheffield stands etc) with similarly weak arguments.
I hate to pander to the cyclist haters who would use seeing you as justification for claiming cyclists always break the law so I say #uck it ride! People are well aware of the tiny minds of these people so it makes no difference
It looks like you are doing no harm; I'd just be prepared to dismount if I saw anybody even a car. I'm probably being paranoid there but I hate giving perpetuating the myth that only cyclists ignore the laws.
That town is empty so you are not a menace. On the other hand, were you to ride like that on a busy day you would be grossly irresponsible. Pavements are for pedestrians at all times and not a free area for cyclists. There are blind and deaf people using pavements where they would not expect to find someone darting by at 20 mph. There are toddlers who are unpredictable.... no, don't ride on pavements please.
Tonanti216a 3 months ago
@Tonanti216a Thanks for your considered and polite contribution. I agree that it would be inappropriate to ride in an inconsiderate manner across any busy area full of pedestrians, irrespective of whether it is a pavement or not. As it turns out, this is not a "footway by the side of a road" but is a pedestrianized area with no signs prohibiting cycling, so it is perfectly OK to cycle there when there are few people present.
MrGrumpycyclist 3 months ago
tbh , I see enough cars drive the wrong way up that road you avoid by going on the pavement...
davefb 9 months ago
If we expect others to respect the rules and abide by them then so should we, I say walk - you kind of answer your own question by admitting it is only a short section on pavement, so by definition it would only take a couple of seconds to walk it. It would only take a car a couple of seconds to cross the same bit of pavement and use the same short cut, but that would be considered ridiculous, or simply double standards???
u4987 11 months ago
@u4987 I do have some sympathy with this point of view. It is similar to the reason I don't go over the stop line at red lights even when there is absolutely no danger of coming into conflict with other traffic. I guess the argument is that even if the law is an ass, it is still the law.
I think the accusation of double standards is unfounded. Almost all my videos show instances where someone has done something stupid that directly threatens my safety. I am threatening no-one's safety here.
MrGrumpycyclist 11 months ago
As a pedestrian, I hate when people cycle on the pavement (when it isn't a shared use footpath, of course) when there's a perfectly usable road nearby.
But this location seems perfectly fine, since there's no adjacent road and as you say the pavement is very wide. Perhaps the appropriate council should look into an official cycle route over that part?
PS. Looked quite uncomfortable on the cobbled bit!
omfgmouse 11 months ago
@omfgmouse Good suggestion. I'll see whether it's possible to get this change made, though I expect the cost would be quite high as it would involve changing the pelican crossing at the end to a toucan crossing.
MrGrumpycyclist 11 months ago
I would say that is ok as long as you defer to peds. Keeping your speed down also helps.
finbat 11 months ago
I'd dismount and walk.
You've already saved yourself a considerable detour so what's the problem walking a few yards? We're quick to criticise those who abuse cycle facilities (cycle lanes, ASLs, sheffield stands etc) with similarly weak arguments.
ilscozzese 11 months ago 3
I hate to pander to the cyclist haters who would use seeing you as justification for claiming cyclists always break the law so I say #uck it ride! People are well aware of the tiny minds of these people so it makes no difference
TheVexatiousLitigant 11 months ago
It looks like you are doing no harm; I'd just be prepared to dismount if I saw anybody even a car. I'm probably being paranoid there but I hate giving perpetuating the myth that only cyclists ignore the laws.
HLaB75 11 months ago