Bike collision on canal path

As the nice boat man who used to be near the Coy Carp in Harefield had next to the canal- for duck's sake slow down!

There's tame Heron there and its all gangly and needs TLC as it wouldn't come off best if hit by a bike.

Now I do have a bell on both my MTB's for going round bridges etc, anywhere you can't see its a bell job AND slow down in readiness too. Yes I hurtle along the track at high speed and its wonderful, but anyone or thing and the speed is brought right down, and if its peeps I speak to them to ask if I can squeeze by them, ringing a bell says "oi! buzz off outa my way!" in my view.

I have been ridden at by a horde of riders going down to Uxbridge totally oblivious to me in their path- shall we say I was cross? Then there was the time I joined the towpath and was just so lucky as this guy came down the path by the lock ie downhill at massive speed, and if there'd been a coming together it would, and could only be bad.

In my view its fantastic riding providing you respect others, and they respect you, if in doubt slow down.

At Fran's caf, just up from the Swan and Bottle in Uxbridge, I'm told by Fran that a cyclist knocked a barge person into the filling lock by accident, the barge person drowned......

Last summer I was heading along Regents Canal in Islington, had just ridden up to Camden and back. Was a hot n sunny day, real nice. Took it easy due to the large amount of foot and bike traffic. Then I hear a sports whistle being blown in the distance up ahead, again and again, getting rapidly closer. 2 knobs on bikes scream towards & then past me and a bunch of peds with little children etc at what must be close to 30 miles an hour. Needless to say everyone was pretty pissed, cue shouts of "idiot, wanker" etc.

I don't know what their game was, but WABC. They probably ended up in the drink further down.

On bells, I picked up a good one from Two Wheels Good in Stokie a while back. It's dutch made, compact and has one of those tough rubber band type things to attach it to the bars, meaning it fits any diameter handle bar. Defo need it for the canal.

I use the stretch of Regents Canal between Broadway Market and Limehouse Basin most days, and I have experienced all of the ills of canal riders that others report, but still find it more pleasant than the road. The most annoying one is probably bike users who think that other cyclists' bells ringing under bridges is a signal which doesn't apply to them, which happens fairly regularly. However recently plastic speed bumps were added in a couple of places directly before bridges, which makes passing under the bridges really awkward. It's particularly bad as one of the bridges has very little space to pass, so you have to slow to a crawl anyway, and at those speeds the risk of the speed bump deflecting the front wheel in an unpredicatble fashion is elevated.

Basically I don't think that these bumps are positioned effectively to reduce speed (in the middle of long open stretches would be better), but they are positioned perfectly to bounce cyclists who are already making a slightly awkward manuever, into the drink. Does anyone know who got them installed and on what pretext?

I love riding the canals, and just rode up and down the entire length of the lea valley park (just under 60miles) along the towpaths. Although there are a different set of dangers* to the roads, i think relatively speaking they are much safer, and make it easier to enjoy riding for riding's sake.
Plus there are some beautiful settings, and no hills!

It's important to make sure people know you are coming up behind them in advance, say thanks when they move over, and slow the fuck down under bridges!

Are there any canal-specific rides or routes organised through this forum or anywhere else?

*the odd rough surface, passing under bridges, oblivious headphone wearing joggers, crazy dogs, trolls.

I'd join the Lee Navigation then cycle the Regents canal on my old commute. It was stunning in the mornings, massive carp would flop over in the water and flash their fish belly white. Gave me the creeps, they were huge! Gave up on it and used Vicky Park and Hackney Road instead, cyclists going too fast would piss me off. I did actually collide with a jogger, I rang the bell and went to pass her on a wide bit and my bar caught her and she went down. She was furious but she had earphones in and didn't hear my bell. I made sure she was ok and told her I had insurance but she told me to bugger off.

There's no reason to go fast along there, it's narrow and crowded, tow paths are for pootles, not fast commutes.

ive been thinking of doing the Leeds-liverpool canal ride. The photos have convinced me to, theyre amazing.

johan; glad youre okay. it could have ended alot wetter

The tarmac-ed ride is amazing and fast.

There's no reason to go fast along there, it's narrow and crowded, tow paths are for pootles, not fast commutes.

On the segments of the canals in london, this is true, its very very busy, narrow and the people that do use it are generally oblivious to everything else.

In other parts of the country, they do make for brilliant, quick, traffic (vehicle & ped) free routes to work :p And the odd people you do come upon are generally friendly as hell or at least acknowledge your presence etc etc.
The only real hazards are of the steaming pile variety.

im going for a 60 mile round trip on the canal today to go look at a liveaboard. just saw this

http://www.waterscape.com/things-to-do/cycling/permit

tow path bicycle permit -- WTF.

@pisti - where's your dad and any chance he'll help me find a boat to buy if this one doesnt work out?

Prob just me, but I detest cycling by canals with a vengence only reserved for route-canal work itself: too many peoples with small children, dogs, and not enough run off space on one side without a dunking.

That and shouting 'ting-ting' 'cos I don't have a bell gets really boring.

Weird but in the first paragraph "Before cycling on towpaths owned by British Waterways, you will need to obtain a free cycle permit. However, you are not required to hold a cycle permit in** Scotland or London."
** so should be OK. Don't see who would enforce it either way.

never heard of that permit thing before. maybe its new, or maybe it doesn't matter because of potential impending break up of BW?

Whats the boat like? thought about it for years, but my budget would only stretch to a beat up northern (lancs) ex works ancient rusty boat (which is actually perfect for me, as I want erm 'character' and a challenge. All to the soundtrack of a pre-war 2stroke hit & miss diesel engine.

On the segments of the canals in london, this is true, its very very busy, narrow and the people that do use it are generally oblivious to everything else.

In other parts of the country, they do make for brilliant, quick, traffic (vehicle & ped) free routes to work :p And the odd people you do come upon are generally friendly as hell or at least acknowledge your presence etc etc.
The only real hazards are of the steaming pile variety.

+1 to this - In Birmingham I run + cycle along the canals and can go for miles without seeing another soul, pretty rough in places so only for the MTB tho

Nah, you've had to have a permit ever since I can remember. But I've never seen it asked for.

BW land is not public land and the permit was always a token of that. As it proved unenforceable in London, they withdrew the requirement a few years ago. I don't know why there's no permit system in Scotland.

BW land is public, but they have a "no cycling" byelaw, and the permit is their way of allowing cycling without the cyclist breaking the byelaw. They don't though have a meaningful system for enforcement, it used to be one patrol officer per canal, and cycling without a permit wasn't high on their list of things to do, mostly it was boat licences, so the chances of being stopped are small and the chance of being prosecuted even smaller.

^ this. I lived on a boat in wilsden junction for a while, and the cycling licence was never enforced.

As far as I remember, the permit is simply something you print off the web page.

I don't mind riding along canals. They can be a bit slow at times, but I quite like an afternoon ride up north along the Lee (up to Waltham Abbey and back). Not too many people, and if you can manage the smell of sewage for a while once you get past Edmonton, it's quite pleasant. Easiest way out of the M25 without dealing with the hell that is London suburbia.

it's tottenham that smells

nothing better than a nice trip along the canals up to the M25 and beyond on the Lee Valley is a lovely ride
the peado's thin out a bit once you get uo tp the A406
from there on it's like a ride in the country

it's tottenham that smells

Get over it, bitter liverpool fan.. :)

BW land is public, but they have a "no cycling" byelaw, and the permit is their way of allowing cycling without the cyclist breaking the byelaw.

Ah, OK. I always thought it was private land but with public access permitted, as opposed to public land as such.

never heard of that permit thing before. maybe its new, or maybe it doesn't matter because of potential impending break up of BW?

Whats the boat like? thought about it for years, but my budget would only stretch to a beat up northern (lancs) ex works ancient rusty boat (which is actually perfect for me, as I want erm 'character' and a challenge. All to the soundtrack of a pre-war 2stroke hit & miss diesel engine.

Interesting comment regarding the break-up of British Waterways. is cycling along the canal about to become the Kantean trial that taking a bike on a train has become?

Interesting comment regarding the break-up of British Waterways. is cycling along the canal about to become the Kantean trial that taking a bike on a train has become?

What's a 'Kantean trial'?

I'm guessing he meant Kafkaesque

trying to imagine what a Kantian trial would be like

Kant was a german philosopher. I presume he must have mused, speculated and philosophised long and hard on the subject of not being able to book a spot in the guard van at the same time as booking a ticket or not being able to cross central London at peak times (even if it is 05.45am) and other such deep subjects

What's a 'Kantean trial'?

It's one where they give you a really really long sentence, but only determine your guilt or innocence right at the end? (a Kant stylistics joke for the cognoscenti).

Horatio's right, I meant Kafkaesque. It looked wrong when I typed it but I didn't clock why.

Too many Germans (or those writing in German, as I believe Kafka was a Bohemian).