"Jeff Mowatt" wrote the following in:


Thanks all for those thoughts. I'm pleased to learn that there's a
concensus that the pavement should be a place for walking and one
shouldn't need to be looking over one's shoulder all the time for
cyclist appearing from nowhere.

A few years back I signed up with that London cycling campaign but
cancelled the subscription when I heard their director talking on
the BBC, trying to justify the very thing we are talking about
here. His argument being that it was understandable since our
roads are too hazardous, which of course they are, but it doesn't
mean we have to intimidate others.

From his hysterical statements, the young man in my example quite
obviously believed he was standing up for a cause, the freedom to
engage in healthy exercise unipeded by the nuisance of
pedestrians. To be fair there are many pavement cyclists who defer
to those who might not be aware of their presence, but there's a
growing trend for quite the opposite, a kind of street fascism
which is not that far removed from his expression of individual
freedom and we don't even have the sound of jackboots to alert us.

I must admit to being a regular pavement cyclist. I often cycle on the
way to and from my local station and while I try as much as possible to
stay on the road, there are some stretches where the nature of the road
forces me to cycle on the pavement. In particular there is one stretch
with speed bumps so numerous and severe that it's both uncomfortable
and tiring to cycle there, and another where the traffic is so fast and
constant that it is near impossible and extremely dangerous to cross
the road to get to the correct side for cycling. There is a mini-
roundabout that should make it easy for a road user to join the faster
road, but in practice this roundabout is ignored by almost all drivers
even if you're in a car. If you're on a bike you have no chance
whatsoever.

On the stretches where I do cycle on the pavement I show as much
respect as possible. I avoid pedestrians and slow down and cycle behind
them at walking pace, keeping a good distance away from them, if they
are blocking the whole pavement.

--
message by Robin May, founder of International Boyism
"Would Inspector Sands please go to the Operations Room immediately."

Unofficially immune to hangovers.