Was the city-bound eejit who passed me between the WoL turnoff and the aqueduct at 5:30 last evening - powering along hunched down over his tri-bars.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Commuting
Today's rubbish canal cycling
(144 posts)-
Posted 9 years ago #
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Was the tube who was heading into town as I was heading out and thought that he was just going to force his way between me (on the left) and a pedestrian (on the right) only to find my MTB has quite wide handlebars. He had to make an emergency stop to avoid collecting the pedestrian. Obviously it would have been too difficult to slow down a bit until I'd safely passed the pedestrian.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Is there a good canal cycling thread anywhere?
I was (gasp) jogging on the canal this morning and as I reached a chicane, a cyclist also came up behind me and stopped to let me go through first. I let her go though. I needed an excuse to pause....
Posted 9 years ago # -
Was on the canal today too (not at rush hour) certainly busy -
Joggers too!!
Posted 9 years ago # -
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f321/Richard_Pearson/TRIBAR_zpsczgztydh.png
@Chug This him? Came across him this morning on my way in.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Sorry can't get the picture to embed properly, just shows the bushes to the left.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Looks like it - a very similar blue top.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Did anyone else have the misfortune of encountering the bow-legged MTB plank wearing a blue t-shirt and black shorts on the canal towpath heading out of town yesterday around 17:30? He whizzed past me, overtaking blind underneath one of the bridges, then overtook three pedestrians on their right despite an oncoming bike which had to brake to avoid a collision.
Posted 9 years ago # -
You had me worried there. I was on the canal yesterday on my MTB wearing a blue top and black shorts, but it was not me. ;-). I had to check my video to make sure though. I am usually very considerate passing people on the canal.
Posted 9 years ago # -
I too was on the towpath yesterday in a blue top and black shorts. Luckily I was heading into town in the evening, so it doesn't sound like it was me either.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Seems unlikely that it was anyone on here. I was cycling behind a pedestrian who was walking under the bridge, waiting until I could see that it was clear ahead. I was just about to pass when the plank shot by at top speed. He had made no adjustment at all for the blind corner. He had no way of knowing it was clear, was going too fast to stop and nowhere to go if someone was coming the other way.
Blue top and black shorts seems a common colour combination - I was wearing that too.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Apologies to the quite polite woman cyclist this morning on the towpath.
When you said quite politely "Can you not wait" to the peloton in front of me who were overtaking the pedestrian I should not have told you you were in the wrong.
You were partially in the right but as you had not slowed down you were also partially in the wrong.
I am sorry as probably out of earshot I did give a mea culpa to the rest of the peloton as I then overtook them and we were all quite jolly, whereas you were maybe left on your own thinking you had been hard done by and maybe this has happened before when in fifty fifty scenarios you have been forced to wait. Never nice. Sorry.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Hope you get the chance to apologise in person 'next time'.
Posted 9 years ago # -
see posts on aqueduct etiquette thread
Posted 9 years ago # -
Bringing this back to life after two almost head on collisions in the last two days.
1) Bearded chap meandering on bike towards me at the section of canal opposite the cottage with the posh outdoor decking hot tub thing. He was clearly distracted and not looking at the path at all despite travelling at speed. He slinked across the path when I was about 10 metres away and jerked back straight after a shout from me. He then raised his hand as if I'd swerved across and into his way. Very confusing. Sort of reminded me of aggression from drivers when they do something wrong react with shouting.
2) Young lady coaching the EDI uni mens rowing guys on the canal path this morning. Strong meander across the path as I approached so I had to shout. Again completely oblivious and clearly was confused about what she might have done.
Should point out that I'm happy to go slow and ring the bell but in both of these the meander was so sudden as to have caused an accident with someone less alert.
Hopefully they don't meet each other coming in opposite ways...
Posted 6 years ago # -
Riding from the airport where I'd dropped my hire car on Wednesday morning, I was passed incredibly closely by a few cyclists of the older persuasion. I was "all the way left" and they still passed incredibly close to my handlebars leading me to come to the conclusion that they are either
a) Incredibly spatially aware and were trying to show off
b) really lucky to not have had an accident yetPosted 6 years ago # -
c) both?
Posted 6 years ago # -
The cyclist who drifted right as they were approaching me west of Meggetland, causing me to shout, brake and start falling into the hedge in anticipation of the likely head-on collision just now. Fortunately they avoided me and apologised. A cyclist who I had recently overtaken caught up as I got going again and said that they were glad that they had let me overtake them.
Posted 6 years ago # -
https://twitter.com/edinpolsw/status/1032888424964005889
"SW CPT officers are at the Edinburgh union canal this morning encouraging users to
#sharethespace. HOW FAST IS TOO FAST? "Posted 6 years ago # -
"how fast is too fast"?
Interesting question. Depends on relative as well as absolute speed, does it not?Someone driving at 60mph on a nice straight road is fine, someone doing 60 on the other side of the road as they pass me is fine, someone doing 60 next to my elbow is not.
Someone doing 18mph on a straight and otherwise unoccupied section of the towpath, fine. Someone cycling more slowly but weaving around pedestrians / other cyclists, not fine.
I suspect others will disagree.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Hoping for some good canal cycling tomorrow as we attempt to cycle from Bowling on the Clyde to the Falkirk Wheel along the Forth and Clyde Canal and then on to Edinburgh on the Union canal.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Is that a Crazy Detector the officer's holding? Looking for Katherina maybe?
Posted 6 years ago # -
I am somewhat in two minds about this, because they were standing outside Craiglockhart school and I had just had a couple of folk cycle quite inconsiderately around the 5yo scooting to school on the towpath, but on the other hand they were standing there with their speed gun thingy targeting cyclists while parents were busy not 40 yards away parking all over the the KEEP CLEAR zigzags at the school back entrance.
Posted 6 years ago # -
I was cycling along that way this morning by chance.
I have my rather fetching long sleeved green Torm brand top on. Kind of Retro with a wee white and red stripe.
I don't mind being filmed if asked.
I was not asked.
Here is the dialogue
Gembo [quite pointedly] What are you up to?
Polis: [slightly taken aback at being asked the question he normally asks] Educating cyclists
Gembo: [acting even more stupid than ususal] What about?
Polis: Correct behaviour on shared use paths
Gembo: Shared, yes, i do behave properly myself as do most cyclists. As it is shared why don't you educate everybody, dog walkers etc
Polis: Yes we will
Gembo: Byt the way have there ever been any incidents?
Polis: Yes sometimes there is an altercation and this has develped into fights
Gembo: That is people not cyclists
Gembo: By the way how much is this costing?
Gembno: Also what about that stupid legislation being introduced when that woman was tragially killed by the cyclist
Polis: I am bored now
Turnip cyclist then overtakes cyclist who has stopped at the bridge leading through to the Basin. FFS the confirmation bias so strong that all of my great Gembo Cop education in vain.
Cops pal then arrived in civvies so I left.
Have a nice day y'all
p.s. Fimm cop says 15mph fine but 18mph or 20mph not. This is at a shared use bit though.
Posted 6 years ago # -
“cop says 15mph fine but 18mph or 20mph not”
Interesting.
Wouldn’t disagree as such, BUT 20 fine if no one else about, 15 maybe too fast if more than one pedestrian keeping to one side and walking towards you.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Cop is full of mince.
Were they checking for bells on bikes? Every near incident I've had has involved someone not tinging at a bridge. Which, in turn, has made me a somewhat manic bell-ringer.
Posted 6 years ago # -
Wish I had dropped the kids at school today as I too would have passed the polis and asked politely to remind dog users to attach a freaking lead. Oh and ask walkers to walk on the right to see oncoming traffic. Share the space #my@r$£
Posted 6 years ago # -
About the only thing that flaming "dangerous cycling" consultation taught me was that the current offences of dangerous or careless cycling apply only on roads. So the polis are somewhat without teeth in this matter...
Posted 6 years ago # -
cop says 15mph fine but 18mph or 20mph not. This is at a shared use bit though.
The Police are being economical with the truth of their intentions. They know fine well that a cyclist is not required to know their precise speed, and to apply an objective standard is unprofessional and deceptive.
But behaviour is subjective, and behaviour is at the root of positive and negative experiences on the canal path. Setting an arbitrary speed limit is nothing more than a way to justify stopping one person and not another.
I'm sure many of us would dislike walking the canal path, for all the same reasons we observe in other people cycling on it in a rubbish manner. I would have said that 15mph was also too fast if near people walking. Even 10mph is going three times as fast as walking.
Posted 6 years ago #
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