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A Nasty Moment

 01-Nov-2008
Posted At : 4:27 PM | Posted By : Russell
Related Categories: Russells' Daily Grind
Mood: Upset
Now reading: Gabaldon


I dropped the MX-6 in to the local garage yesterday morning for a service and tune up. The local garage is about 3km away, so I walked home.

About two-thirds of the way home I came to a steep rise. Here the footpath narrows and is edged by a retaining wall on one side, the road on the other.

I'd just started on the up-slope when a cyclist careered past me at high speed - on the footpath. I barely avoided being struck, plastering myself against the retaining wall. He shouted something over his shoulder. Some imprecation, I assumed.

It wasn't, actually. He was trying to tell me his children were coming along on their own bikes, but I couldn't make it out. I stepped back on to the path and a moment later a little girl crashed into me. She went sprawling into the gutter.

A moment later we'd pulled her to her feet. Her face, hands and knees were badly abraded, poor wee thing. Bystanders flocked from everywhere, and the unanimous opinion was that I'd done something terribly wrong by hurting the girl. I pointed out the cycle lane right next to the footpath, but no one seemed to care.

The father, though, shook my hand and assured me he didn't blame me. He took his daughter off to the doctor's. I don't think anything was broken, but she did take a terrible fall. She must have been going 30km/hr when she hit me.

Two things. Why do cyclists think they can use footpaths with impunity - especially when purpose-built cycle lanes exist? And a middle-aged man hasn't a prayer when accused of hurting a little girl. I was a little shook up by being hit, a lot shook up by the girl's injuries, but very hurt by the reactions of the bystanders.

Comments (10)

Comments

What kind of caring father teaches his children to ride on footpaths when there are cycle paths right beside?

Posted By Sharyn / Posted At 11/1/08 6:08 PM

Makes me scratch my head, I tell you.

Posted By russellk / Posted At 11/1/08 7:29 PM

That's people for you.

I hope you're okay, though.

Posted By Amanda Pillar / Posted At 11/2/08 12:30 PM

Reminds me of my favourite bike related incident from my youth (and there are several) - I was hurtling down our favourite bike path, which had a 90 degree corner and you could take it at full speed, if you positioned yourself right and there was no one coming the other way... There was, Mum and two kids on their bikes, and 13-year-old me on my bike hit the young boy with his training wheels, and both bike and myself somersaulted over the young boy and landed on the other side of the path. Mother was distraught over me, I was distraught over son, we were both fine - I didn't even scratch myself up (ah, the indestructability of youth - plus I bounce a lot).

Indeed, lesson learned - bike paths are for bikes, footpaths for pedestrians and lack of vision (whether a corner or a hill) MUST be respected.

Oh, remind me to tell the story of when my brother decided it would be a good idea to ride down a set of stairs. Doctors still tell him not to drink because of the brain damage... And the time another brother, riding innocently down the road, went straight into a car door because an unsuspecting driver dared to open it... And the time my Dad crashed his motorbike and couldn't walk for two weeks because of the inter-leg damage...

My family really shouldn't be allowed on bikes. :)

Posted By Nicole Murphy / Posted At 11/2/08 2:24 PM

Very distressing all round I'd say. I hope you weren't hurt Russell. I mean the physics thing, equal reaction and so on. Poor girl but I agree...what was wrong with the bike path? I see it a lot here, which freaks me out on the road. I swerve to avoide a cyclist and see the bike path just adjacent and get annoyed by the risks to the drivers and cyclists alike.

Mind you in Canberra we have shared pedestrian and bike paths and talking a walk sometimes can be really dangerous.

Posted By Donna Hanson / Posted At 11/2/08 4:43 PM

No damage done to me - she whacked me on the hip with her handlebars but most of her momentum was spent on the asphalt, not on me.

I don't mind cyclists using the footpath as long as they exercise care. After all, mobility scooters use the footpath too. It might be helpful for these users to imagine the odd pedestrian on the footpath, and not to go speeding down hills when the base of the hill is invisible.

But when a cycleway is right next to you, why not use it?

Posted By russellk / Posted At 11/2/08 5:53 PM

And you're absolutely right, Nicole.

Posted By russellk / Posted At 11/2/08 5:54 PM

Hey Russell, that was incredibly dunb of the father; it's not actually brain surgery to keep an eye on your kids and not show off the way he was doing. :-( People will always amaze, that's where all the good stories come from I s'pose. :-)

Posted By Dave / Posted At 11/4/08 4:17 AM

These are probably the same people who walk on the road when there is a perfectly good footpath right next to them.

You'd best be careful Russell, a hip injury at your age... **runs away and hides**

Posted By Jo Kasper / Posted At 11/5/08 4:12 PM

I think I know where you were Russell and it isnt a place to take kids for a bike ride even on the road as it is pretty busy. You are lucky you didnt get seriously injured. Imagine if you had been taller! :-))

Posted By Linda / Posted At 11/5/08 6:04 PM