Walking and cycling

[yorkie]

We've all been asked to walk or cycle, wherever possible, due to both the Covid19 crisis, and also for environmental reasons.

Another good reason to walk or cycle is that many people are unable to carry out their usual exercise routines; more sports are slowly being allowed as easements progress (e.g. tennis, golf) but walking and cycling is, for many people, the best substitute we have!

I know it's not possible for everyone to walk/cycle especially those with mobility issues, but I've created a poll with a range of options; it will be interesting to hear if travel habits have changed.

I have also created a separate thread to discuss any trips you have done (or are planning to do) along disused railway lines, which can be found at: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/cycling-and-walking-disused-lines.204975/

 

[Tetchytyke]

We are a two-car family and still use them, but when I'm going into town I will usually walk there and get the bus back. It's a nice walk down, and getting the pushchair the bus is much less of a faff than folding it then putting the child in her car seat.

It also helps that the bus, for a 3-mile journey, is a bargain £1.30.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Selected the second option, but as I am a home worker and hate shopping so have it delivered whenever possible, basically every journey I make is a leisure journey. So it's a bit skewed with me.

 

[AM9]

Walking is normal for me, supplemented by local bus rides. Weekly walking in surrounding areas in Chilterns and some other Herts, Beds and Bucks locations. As some of the car parks in those areas have been closed/blocked, I've done a few 'eye test' drives to check their reopening.
I've done more cycling on local roads in the last 10 weeks than the last 5 years. There are some single lane country roads near home that normally I wouldn't cycle on as they are seen as rat runs by impatient car and van drivers, but so many locals have been using them for walking and cycling that the erstwhile irresponsible motorists have been taught to resoect other road users. My cycling has moved from a short 3 mile jaunt at flat speeds of around 8-10 mph to longer trips of up to more than 10 miles* with average road speeds between 10 & 12mph.

* One of those runs was 15 miles to Hatfield and back. The outward ride was along the Alban Way, - quite tedious having to wait whilst people who spread right across the path, fail to hear (or choose to ignore) a cycle bell when on a shared path that is also part of the NCN.

 

[Bletchleyite]

* One of those runs was 15 miles to Hatfield and back. The outward ride was along the Alban Way, - quite tedious having to wait whilst people who spread right across the path, fail to hear (or choose to ignore) a cycle bell when on a shared path that is also part of the NCN.

Yesterday I did the Bedford route with a friend, he has one of those cheap "single ting" bells and I have a proper Dutch "crown bell", you know, the traditional "rring-rring" type one. People weren't hearing his but everyone was hearing and responding to mine. They're only a fiver or so off Amazon, I really do strongly recommend upgrading to one.

 

[Domh245]

Lockdown didn't really change anything for me! I have a car, but always walked to uni/get groceries etc. At the start of lockdown I was only really going out of the house to go shopping but I'm now going for almost daily walks. My only recent trip in the car was to the tip (or at least, an attempt to go the tip!) to get rid of it's old battery that had died whilst it'd been sat!

 

[AM9]

Yesterday I did the Bedford route with a friend, he has one of those cheap "single ting" bells and I have a proper Dutch "crown bell", you know, the traditional "rring-rring" type one. People weren't hearing his but everyone was hearing and responding to mine. They're only a fiver or so off Amazon, I really do strongly recommend upgrading to one.

I also have an electric 'hooter'?, one of those that can be heard from inside a car, yet there are still walkers who seem to think that it doesn't mean them. Note, these are not the walkers who walk with earphone plugs in, no doubt turned-up loud, walking down what is essentially a slow traffic road.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I also have an electric 'hooter'?, one of those that can be heard from inside a car, yet there are still walkers who seem to think that it doesn't mean them. Note, these are not the walkers who walk with earphone plugs in, no doubt turned-up loud, walking down what is essentially a slow traffic road.

I'd stick with a bell, it's a sound specifically associated with a bicycle. "Crown bells" are plenty loud enough.

 

[alxndr]

I am walking/cycling less simply because I am going out less. I now only really go from home to work and vice versa, especially now its too hot for me during daylight hours to enjoy being outside. My bike also needs repairing but that's not an option at the moment.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I am walking/cycling less simply because I am going out less. I now only really go from home to work and vice versa, especially now its too hot for me during daylight hours to enjoy being outside. My bike also needs repairing but that's not an option at the moment.

Bike shops are allowed to open and have been throughout the lockdown.

 

[alxndr]

Bike shops are allowed to open and have been throughout the lockdown.

I should have been clearer, visiting one is not an option for me at the moment. I am aware that they are open, but I'm not dealing well with everything having changed and even necessary food shopping has been proving a massive problem.

 

[Bedpan]

I do like it when cyclists give a ring as they approach me from behind, and I always make a point of thanking them. There's nothing worse than being taken by surprise as a silent bicycle swishes past you, inches away, just as you are about to move to the other side of the path, say to look at something or pick some blackberries, or even just not giving you the opportunity to stand aside to let them pass.

 

[PeterY]

My aim is to cycle more miles than I drive each year. Cycling got off to a slow start this year because of the wet and windy winter, then the lock down with the suggested 1 hour daily exercise. Luckily the timing police weren't about, some of the days it may have been nearer 1.5 hours
I'm now back up to my minimum of 100 miles riding a week.

 

[PeterC]

I am no longer making any "journeys" on foot - ie going somewhere for a specific purpose but compensating by taking more time out of the house explicitly for exercise.

Pre Covid I would walk to the shops once or twice a week, have a coffee at a friendly independent cafe and catch the bus back to the village. Now I drive to the shops for the priority shopping at 7:30.

 

[Bald Rick]

I’m walking about the same, but to different places: eg walking to shops that I would normally drive to rather than walking to the station and then from the station the other end to work. Also ‘walk and talk’ whilst on phone calls etc.

I’m cycling a LOT more, but that’s for fun / exercise rather than instead of using the car. Well over 2,000km since lockdown.

I've done more cycling on local roads in the last 10 weeks than the last 5 years. There are some single lane country roads near home that normally I wouldn't cycle on as they are seen as rat runs by impatient car and van drivers, but so many locals have been using them for walking and cycling that the erstwhile irresponsible motorists have been taught to resoect other road users.

Probably some of those lanes are near me. In the first few weeks of lockdown the traffic reduced so much that it was rare to see a car on these lanes. Now traffic is back to normal, however drivers seem to be more wary and expecting walkers and cyclists.

 

[AM9]

... Probably some of those lanes are near me. In the first few weeks of lockdown the traffic reduced so much that it was rare to see a car on these lanes. Now traffic is back to normal, however drivers seem to be more wary and expecting walkers and cyclists.

The lanes I am using are around Potters Crouch, so I think a bit further from you. It was very convenient when Hatfield Road from Oaklands to Smallford was closed one way and very pleasant to cycle along.

 

[Bald Rick]

The lanes I am using are around Potters Crouch, so I think a bit further from you. It was very convenient when Hatfield Road from Oaklands to Smallford was closed one way and very pleasant to cycle along.

I’m through there most weekends. Haven’t been to the Hollybush for a while though!

 

[JohnMcL7]

I started cycling a few years back when I bought a car with a diesel particulate filter and wanted to avoid short trips and I was needing to come home each day to walk the dog. I've really become a big fan of cycling for both transport and leisure and rarely use the car.

During lockdown I've barely been travelling for transport as I'm mostly working from home and rarely going to the shops but I've increased my leisure cycling after signing up to do a virtual lejog virtual challenge to make up for missing my usual group rides. For leisure I normally favour the mountain bike but I've mostly been on the road bike to get the miles in and been really enjoying the quieter roads but a couple of weeks ago there was a noticeable increase in leisure traffic and over the last week it's become a lot worse. It's probably just back to normal but just feels particularly unpleasant having a lot of near misses even on quiet back roads designated as cycling routes.

 

[PeterY]

The lanes I am using are around Potters Crouch, so I think a bit further from you. It was very convenient when Hatfield Road from Oaklands to Smallford was closed one way and very pleasant to cycle along.

At some point I must've passed you. The know the lanes around the Potters Crouch area very well. If I'm road riding it's in the vicinity of the Redbourne area.

 

[Bald Rick]

At some point I must've passed you. The know the lanes around the Potters Crouch area very well. If I'm road riding it's in the vicinity of the Redbourne area.

We’ve probably all passed each other!

 

[al78]

Asking me to walk and cycle is asking me to do what I already do. I do nearly all local journeys (within five miles) by bicycle, except when I want to transport something bulky or an awkward shape to my allotment that can't realistically be transported on a bike. With the slight easing of restrictions I will probably do more bike and hike trips to the local countryside, I am fortunate to live in an area where there are plenty of nice five-ish mile circular walks within 15 miles of my house. I am also fortunate to have decent quiet back routes into town which conveniently avoid the super-annoying traffic lights on the bypass around the town centre.

 

[al78]

I do like it when cyclists give a ring as they approach me from behind, and I always make a point of thanking them. There's nothing worse than being taken by surprise as a silent bicycle swishes past you, inches away, just as you are about to move to the other side of the path, say to look at something or pick some blackberries, or even just not giving you the opportunity to stand aside to let them pass.

I have noticed that since lockdown, the bell seems to incite far more response (cooperation) when using the shared paths. I ring my bell a good 20-30 meters back and the pedestrian turns around, sees me, and moves to the side to make a gap for me, and I pass slowly and say "thank you". It used to be the case that I rang my bell and got completely ignored most of the time.

 

[Clip]

We have a car but we dont use it much.

Unless its raining on the way in to work

 

[DynamicSpirit]

I do like it when cyclists give a ring as they approach me from behind, and I always make a point of thanking them. There's nothing worse than being taken by surprise as a silent bicycle swishes past you, inches away, just as you are about to move to the other side of the path, say to look at something or pick some blackberries, or even just not giving you the opportunity to stand aside to let them pass.

That's interesting. I have a bell (took the trouble to put one on my bike a couple of years ago), but I've found in practice I feel quite reluctant to use it. Aside from having to take a hand off the handlebars, ringing the bell so I can get past pedestrians feels to me a bit like sending the message, 'hey, out of my way!' - not polite. But you're saying, that's not how it comes across to you?

Usually, if I can't considerately and safely get past someone on a path, I tend to just slow down and stay behind them for a few seconds - usually they'll become aware of me and step aside, and if not, I can always call out, 'Hello!'.

 

[JohnMcL7]

That's interesting. I have a bell (took the trouble to put one on my bike a couple of years ago), but I've found in practice I feel quite reluctant to use it. Aside from having to take a hand off the handlebars, ringing the bell so I can get past pedestrians feels to me a bit like sending the message, 'hey, out of my way!' - not polite. But you're saying, that's not how it comes across to you?

Usually, if I can't considerately and safely get past someone on a path, I tend to just slow down and stay behind them for a few seconds - usually they'll become aware of me and step aside, and if not, I can always call out, 'Hello!'.

Much the same as me, I slow down letting the freewheel click away to make some noise and if people don't hear that then I just ask to go by which I find usually works well and people are happy with it. When I started cycling I did try using a bell but I found it often gave people a surprise which some people were annoyed with so I quickly stopped using it.

 

[AM9]

That's interesting. I have a bell (took the trouble to put one on my bike a couple of years ago), but I've found in practice I feel quite reluctant to use it. Aside from having to take a hand off the handlebars, ringing the bell so I can ...

If you have to take your hands off the handlebars to ring the bell then it is either in the wrong place or the wrong type.

... Usually, if I can't considerately and safely get past someone on a path, I tend to just slow down and stay behind them for a few seconds - usually they'll become aware of me and step aside, and if not, I can always call out, 'Hello!'.

That works with some pedestrians, as long as they aren't talking, tending to children or listening to earphones. Provided that a bell is rung well before reaching walkwers, I generally don't think it's anything like 'hey, out of my way!'. Of course a few deliberately ignore such a warning but they tend to be the type that's obsessed wiith their own importance and if you go slowly behind them will get some satisfaction in ignoring you then.
When I'm walking I normally give an acknowledgement of a sensible warning.

 

[Non Multi]

That's interesting. I have a bell (took the trouble to put one on my bike a couple of years ago), but I've found in practice I feel quite reluctant to use it. Aside from having to take a hand off the handlebars, ringing the bell so I can get past pedestrians feels to me a bit like sending the message, 'hey, out of my way!' - not polite. But you're saying, that's not how it comes across to you?

Usually, if I can't considerately and safely get past someone on a path, I tend to just slow down and stay behind them for a few seconds - usually they'll become aware of me and step aside, and if not, I can always call out, 'Hello!'.

Bells are also very useful when approaching a blind junction or bend, down descents, and in tunnels or underpasses. As AM9 says use it when you're further away, not when you're ready to pass, so the ring doesn't startle them.

 

[LexyBoy]

I wasn't sure whether to choose option 1 or 3 - went for 3 in the end although I don't have a car. Prior to lockdown I used the train to commute at least part of the time (often would cycle in one direction and train the other in order to make it in time for school pick ups/drop offs). Not been on any public transport since lockdown so more cycling but also less travel in general.

It would be lovely if habits changed and more people realised they don't have to drive everywhere, but I'm not holding my breath. The potential long-term damage to public transport is also a concern for the (potentially) car-free.