CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Cycling News
Cyclist fell into harbour trying to avoid his dog
(41 posts)-
Posted 10 years ago #
-
Guy in Plymouth not so lucky when he went into the harbour and was trapped between the wall and a fishing boat. Cycling on harbour walls tricky. Also dogs cause a lot of bother.
Posted 10 years ago # -
What they mean is "Dog owner falls in harbour trying to avoid his own dog". Which makes a change from all the times dog owners have nearly knocked other cyclists off.
Nice of the Evening News to report on trivial stories 50 miles from Edinburgh. No doubt comments will open later.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@ Bruce macadam
EEN claims to cover all lothians. So Eyemouth not so far. If you think EEN bad try East Lothain Courier, all murders and other crimes. Mixed with church fetes. Not sure how it reflects the life of that local authority.
Posted 10 years ago # -
But were the boats wearing a helmet?
Posted 10 years ago # -
Plymouth guy was suspected bike theif trying to avoid police, I believe.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Always aim for the dog. :)
Posted 10 years ago # -
EEN claims to cover all lothians. So Eyemouth not so far.
Still twice as close to England as any part of the Lothians.
Posted 10 years ago # -
"Always aim for the dog. :)"
Is that like 'aim for the pedestrian'? If they keep walking , no prob; if they freeze go behind them.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Yes, although I have yet to achieve it in reality as instinct always seems to make me turn in front of the ped/dog...
Safest thing is slow down and use it as a sociological experiment on the subject of whether dog owners feel any sense of responsibility over the actions of their hound. This may be particularly revealing if it happens to be your own dog that causes you to fall in the harbour. :D
Posted 10 years ago # -
Maybe it's the part of the city that I commute through, but I've never had a problem with out of control dogs or inconsiderate owners when I've been on the bike. I'm interested to know where the packs of wild canines are in Edinburgh.
It might be that I like dogs but don't have one of my own*, so am pleased to see one and will usually smile at both the dog and owner. I also slow down to pass them just as I would for a pedestrian.
I think some cyclists' attitude to dogs is similar to some drivers' attitude to cyclists.
*we had a beautiful black lab on home trial from a rescue, but sadly she was too stressed out by the noise of the main road we live on, so she went to to a quieter rural home. Broke my heart.
Posted 10 years ago # -
There seems to be a lot of dogs that dawdle on the path from leith to Roseburn. I always slow down when see one but some do go past a little fast maybe.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Always slow for dogs, never hit one yet. Owners occasionally say thanks.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Never hit a dog yet, apart from one horribly topped/sliced drive on the seventh at Braids One. Sickening noise and I was utterly ashamed but the dog seemed not to be too bothered.
Posted 10 years ago # -
dawdle on the path from leith to Roseburn
Doesn't sound like a major problem. There are pedestrians and cyclists who dawdle on that path too. I'm frequently fall into one of those groups. And (some) drivers view cyclists as dawdling on the road.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Dawdling dogs aren't (generally) the problem - it's the darting ones!
And ones on long 'invisible' leads.
Though of course the bigger problem is owners who don't think they should be controlling their dogs - or imagine that they are doing!
But yes - some cyclists don't 'cycle for the conditions' (adequately) and/ or expect everyone to get out of their way.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@IWRATS: I hit a sheep with a sliced drive at Brora. Again the sheep didn't look too bothered - it might not have felt it through its fleece.
Posted 10 years ago # -
I've been on the bike. I'm interested to know where the packs of wild canines are in Edinburgh.
I've only ever come close to hitting a dog in Edinburgh on one occassion, very late at night on MMW. Owner (playing with phone and oblivious to her charges or other path users) was walking on one side of the path with a dog on a leash when all of a sudden the other dark little dog scuttled out from behind the tree line in front of me. Collision was narrowly avoided. I tried to offer some advice about keeping a dog under control on a cycle path at night, for its own safety, but got nothing but grief in return (along the lines of "you'll be done for murder").
I've had an out of control dog chase/try bite me on the Restalrig path once before. The owners response to my shout for him to control the beast was to challenge me to what I believe is known in some circles as a "square go" and then threaten to kill me.
I'm always wary of dogs off the leash on the path as they are want to change sides at will as they explore for interesting smells or when the owner calls them. I'm also always wary of same on those extendable leashes as on many occassions a dog has suddenly run across to the other side of the path, towing the clothesline behind it. I do not count dogs off the leash or on an unlocked extenda-leash as being under control. No matter how well behaved they normally are and how well they usually respond to commands, they're just animals with animal instincts and urges and if some interesting quarry or a nice-smelling dog of the opposite sex is present they will do their own thing.
The main problem I have experienced with dogs when cycling is not the dogs at all but owners who don't appreciate that part of the way a shared path works is to share it. My main bugbear is how one person plus one dog seem so able to take up an entire path, usually by dog walking on one side, owner on the other, forcing you to pass between them, which is the least desirable way to go about such things. There is one elderly dog walker in particular I pass regularly on the Corstorphine/Pinkhill path who is very recalcitrant about making even a small amount of room to allow us to pass eachother, despite early and polite bell ringing. He occasionally has a conference with other elderly dog owners in the middle of the junction with Traquair Park Lane which is something of a grey-haired, bunneted road block.
If you cycle on a shared use path, you should expect dogs and cycle accordingly. If you walk your dogs on a shared use path, you should expect cyclists and control your beasts accordingly. I vaguely remember someone posting some advice (don't think it was legislation) about dogs needing to be on a leash within x. m of a shared use path.
I would never intentially try and hit a dog, but if push came to shove and it was a choice between me bailing off the bike into a holly bush or a dog getting a clip, I value my own safety/wellbeing higher than that of anyone's dog.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Golf seems to be a dangerous game for animals….
Posted 10 years ago # -
NMW can be dodgy when walkers stay on the pedestrian side, but throw balls for dogs on the meadows proper with e inevitable consequence that Dogs then run across the cycle path section unexpectedly
Posted 10 years ago # -
There is one elderly dog walker in particular I pass regularly on the Corstorphine/Pinkhill path who is very recalcitrant about making even a small amount of room to allow us to pass eachother, despite early and polite bell ringing.
Is it a chap with two dogs, one gorgeous Lassie-a-like rough collie and another wee Scottie-type? That chap can be a bit unwilling to move, but I know to take it slow past him and his dogs are both very well behaved. He's pleasant enough if you are on foot - I've often said hello to him.
Sounds like I've been lucky with my experiences up to now.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@algo
Braids One is the anti-Menie. Natural, cheap and open to all. Read this and weep;
http://www.trumpgolfscotland.com/
Come to think of I have hit another dog. Smacked a farm dog with a Kryptonite lock when it tried to unseat me on the B851 many moons ago.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@kaputnik
Do not forget the towpath's Maximum Spaceman. Border Collie on a lead to sweep out extended perimeter and Border Terrier off the lead for surprise/ninja sorties from the undergrowth. Aluminium walking stick to knit the extenda-lead into something more convoluted.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@Stickman, that's him. The collie is old and has bad feet and occassionaly wears slippers. The dogs are fine and well behaved. The owner less so.
Posted 10 years ago # -
The collie is old and has bad feet and occassionaly wears slippers. The dogs are fine and well behaved.
Sadly I think that collie is no longer with us (or at least isn't being taken for walks any more). I spoke to the owner about the slippers once and they were special pressure-relieving shoes that were for the dog's arthritis. They allowed the dog to get out for walks; pre-slippers it was very limited in how far he could go.
The collie he is out with now is a younger female model.
Posted 10 years ago # -
Kaputnik, I'm also guessing that we pass each other regularly!
Posted 10 years ago # -
@Stickman, probably only if you go west-east in the morning. If you were going east-west (same as I) then we would probably never cross.
Posted 10 years ago # -
@IWRATS - apologies for frivolity or any suggestion of similarity between the Braids and Menie - I was just amused by the threat of golfers to dogs, dogs to cyclists and by transitivity golfers to cyclists, or by cyclicity cyclists to golfers….
Posted 10 years ago # -
We used to cycle to the golf course with our clubs over our shoulders, you don't see that much now.
I am good on golf theory (my dad was a club pro) fixed the chair of Pentlands branch's swing problems on referendum day. Think that might have been his favourite bit about the day.
Used to play braid hills but it is quite hilly. Also carricknowe where I played my finest eight holes until nearly being hit by a ball which knocked me off my stride on the ninth. Almost no one plays golf anymore.
Posted 10 years ago # -
"apologies for frivolity"
Surely the least necessary combination of keystrokes possible on CCE?
Posted 10 years ago #
Reply »
You must log in to post.
posts
