Cycling & Mountain Biking

» Jill Browne - which side of the trail

In the UK, do mountain bikers stay on the left- or right-hand side of the trail when they pass each other? Is it the same side as the cars drive on the road?

And if there are walkers and cyclists on the same road / path / trail - where should everyone be when they pass each other?

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» JonS101 - which side of the trail

In response to which side of the trail posted by jillbrowne:
Hey, good question.
We don't really have formal rules about this in the UK. The official position on rights of way is that bikes should defer to pedestrians but in practice I've found that walkers will nearly always step aside if there's room to do so - which there generally is. There are occasional reports of bike/walker conflict more usally in or near urban areas. I've virtually never experienced it in the Lake District. I have far more often experienced walkers holding gates open for us! I do always try to give plenty of warning and to be prepared to slow down or stop if necessary, and always say hello and thanks.
On purpose-built trails like Grizedale there should be no walkers except at a few crossing points and bikes are directed to go one way round.

-- posted by JonS101

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» hughtaylor - which side of the trail

In response to which side of the trail posted by JonS101:

You'll find walkers and cyclists peacefully co-existing on all of the 7Stanes routes in Scotland as well Jon. When I'm walking I do my best to move out of the way of cyclists and when I'm on my bike I find that other walkers extend this courtesy to me.

-- posted by hughtaylor

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