Shared use crash today

Mostly I avoid shared use paths, but there are a few bits I use, mainly to
avoid badly done traffic calming on the roads. Today's crash was on a
shared use path that leads from the north into the centre of Newmarket,
and is claimed by Sustrans to be part of NCN51.

The crash was not with a ped, nor a ped's dog, which I've always thought
were the major hazards, no it was with another cyclist. The route in
question has a number of housing developments to the side and gaps in the
fencing to allow access to the path from the developments. The fencing
between development & path is dense enough that it's not possible to see
through it and high enough you can't see over it.

So, the teenage boy delivering the evening paper comes shooting out of a
gap in the fence just as I'm cycling by at 5pm. We both go down, and find
he's got a bent front wheel but no personal injury, I've got a skinned
elbow and a slightly bent handlebar.

Rather than kill him and burn the body (TM), I get his front wheel a lot
straighter than it was, and slacken off his front brake, so it's just
about ridable. When I tell him he'll probably need a new rim, the kid
says "what's that?". So I point to rim and tell him that upmarket ones
can be a few hundred quid. This is not an upmarket one, so I estimate
he's in for 5 to 10 pounds, plus the labour for rebuilding the wheel.

"My dad will kill me" says the kid, "Now there's an idea" think I. Feck,
at his age I had a write-off crash every year, but it was always a solo
crash and I always got home without help. Even when I wasn't allowed back
to school (due to lots of visible stitches and purple painted face) I
could manage the 6 mile walk to bike shop & back to get the bits needed to
start the rebuild.


So, that's it. No more urban shared use paths for me.



Mike

Mike Causer whizzed past me
shouting

"My dad will kill me" says the kid, "Now there's an idea" think I. Feck,

So, that's it. No more urban shared use paths for me.


Don't be put off if you don't succeed at your first attempt.
Keep trying and soon our letter boxes will be empty of unwanted
freesheets and our recycling'll be half the weight.

NB you can use the papers for burning the body.

--
Sue ];(

What goes down must come up again - Confucius' Law of Mountain Biking