Cycling/Walking around the city

galwaycyclist

Iwannahurl wrote: »

Just guessing here, but I suspect there's plenty of room on Merchant's Road for a contra-flow cycle lane. Political will may be lacking, however.

Clearly if there is room for a row of parked cars then there is room for a cycle lane.

Iwannahurl

Car-parking, plus two traffic lanes.

I'm not sure whether Merchants Road has potential for more pedestrian traffic, given the nature of the locality, but clearly there is room for wider paths/lanes of some description.

sorsha

This town and most of the drivers has no respect for cyclists and pedestrians -its a shame!

ben.schlomo

sorsha wrote: »

This town and most of the drivers has no respect for cyclists and pedestrians -its a shame!

Met a cyclist on the footpath on Cross St on Saturday, needless to say i didnt move! Im not a motorist but the amount of idiotic things cyclists and pedestrians do is astounding and leads to their bad rep from drivers.

sorsha

ben.schlomo wrote: »

Met a cyclist on the footpath on Cross St on Saturday, needless to say i didnt move! Im not a motorist but the amount of idiotic things cyclists and pedestrians do is astounding and leads to their bad rep from drivers.

There are cyclist idiots too, but it doesn't change the fact that Galway is the most cyclist unfriendly town I've been to!

antoobrien

sorsha wrote: »

There are cyclist idiots too, but it doesn't change the fact that Galway is the most cyclist unfriendly town I've been to!

Unfortunately in my years of cycling and driving around Galway I've seen too many incidents like that to pay any attention to claims that the city is not friendly to cyclists, because in my experience the cyclists rarely do themselves any favours.

I've always found that as a cyclist if I assume that motorists can't see me and regard them as being as unpredictable to you as you are to them, it makes life a lot easier.

As a motorist, I just assume that the cyclist will do the exact wrong thing for the situation and 19 times out of 20 my assumption is right.

I'd say the bigger problem is that a lot cyclists don't know how to handle bikes and/or do things that are just plain daft. I've lost count of the amount of cyclists I've seen stopping in a high gear and waiting to move off before trying to change into a low gear - instead of changing down as they're stopping or lifting the back wheel and changing the gears (not as hard as it sounds), with the result that as they try to move off, they are crunching gears (blocking other cyclists behind them, a big problem on certain cycle lanes in Dublin) and often weaving across the road.

For the plain daft category, I didn't think it was easy to do three things that could make it more likely to get hit in just a few seconds, but what I saw a few weeks ago while waiting at the wellpark side of the lights at Moneenagehsa would beggar belief if I wasn't so cynical about how other people use the roads.

Potential collision #1.
I was waiting at at the lights at to turn right when a bike came up behind weaving in and out of the cars - not particularly safe as the traffic can start moving at any time and it makes it a lot harder for carts to see you on the bike, thus harder to avoid.

Potential collision #2.
After weaving his way up the queue he proceeded to stop beyond the white line on the extreme right hand side of the junction - again both the wrong place (should be on the left of the lane of intended travel) and not the smartest thing to do as all the traffic will be on his left and crossing to the right instead of the right and he is placing the traffic directly behind him instead where he has no chance of seeing it, instead of on his right and outside where he has a reasonable chance of monitoring traffic to avoid any vehicles that take the turn slightly wide.

Potential collision #3.
When the lights turned green, the lad proceeded to cycle straight on across the junction cutting across the the right turn lane to go straight on. I couldn't see if he decided to go back across the the left or mount the footpath on the right, so I don't know if he had to cross back across the left lane again - I'm hoping he went on the path because anything else just does not bear consideration and puts his health in danger. Even if going to mount the footpath, he should have been on the left of the lane instead of the right.

The moral of the story: roads are dangerous enough places without doing things that increase your chance of getting hit.

topcat77

Cycle to work every day and consider my self a sensible cyclist. My favorite is the cyclist that will wear all the safety and hi-viz gear and still run the red lights. Get's me annoyed when i see cyclists running red lights, i feel it destroys the image of all cyclists. What can be done?

antoobrien

topcat77 wrote: »

Cycle to work every day and consider my self a sensible cyclist. My favorite is the cyclist that will wear all the safety and hi-viz gear and still run the red lights. Get's me annoyed when i see cyclists running red lights, i feel it destroys the image of all cyclists. What can be done?

If they have a driving license give them penalty points, regardless they should get the same fine on the spot as motorists if/when they're caught. Considering the amount of times motorists are caught running red lights though, good luck trying to implement it.

I heard an ad on the radio recently (I think it was the RSA) with the ad being a commentary from the cyclists p.o.v. as if he cycling the tour de france along the road. The ad ends up with him being knocked over after ignoring road markings and crossing into traffic. Graphic ads like that might help the ones that don't seem to take their own safety seriously.

joeKel73

Since a few weeks ago I've started cycling to work every day - 8.5km across the city and the same back in the evening. My biggest gripes so far;

• Drivers that don't indicate - huge issue in Galway for both cyclists and pedestrians. Cars just take a left turn across your path without notice or onto a connecting road you're walking across after deeming it safe (followed by a beeping of a horn!).
• Fellow cyclists that run red lights. I see it several times every day... really giving cyclists a bad name. :mad:
• Lots of bits of broken glass on the few cycle paths that there are. Look to be from smashes on the main road but don't get cleared from the cycle paths.

beardybrewer

I hate this thread as it's just become a rant and vent about bad behaviour of either motorists or cyclists.

Motorists: go moan about cyclists in the motorists forum.

Cyclists: go moan about motorists in the cycling forum.

Anyone got a question about cycling in Galway please post by all means!

topcat77

What about moaning about other cyclists?

joeKel73

Drivers that indicate and give cyclists some space are sound - thanks guys!

biko

newkie is right, we need more local flavour and less blah blah

My contribution, I will soon start biking again now that it's getting warmer. Have a lovely Dutch style bike, great around the city.
Maybe we should get a bike-along going?

joeKel73

True. On that note - can anyone recommend any nice cycle routes out from the city and back?

I'm a total novice yet (haven't done more than 10k on a single cycle) so would be interested in nice 15km, 20km, 30km, 40km (etc) cycle routes to work up through.

topcat77

the cycle to Barna golf course is nice. great views on a nice day, bit of a hill but makes it rewarding.

sorsha

antoobrien wrote: »

Unfortunately in my years of cycling and driving around Galway I've seen too many incidents like that to pay any attention to claims that the city is not friendly to cyclists, because in my experience the cyclists rarely do themselves any favours.

I've always found that as a cyclist if I assume that motorists can't see me and regard them as being as unpredictable to you as you are to them, it makes life a lot easier.

As a motorist, I just assume that the cyclist will do the exact wrong thing for the situation and 19 times out of 20 my assumption is right.

I'd say the bigger problem is that a lot cyclists don't know how to handle bikes and/or do things that are just plain daft. I've lost count of the amount of cyclists I've seen stopping in a high gear and waiting to move off before trying to change into a low gear - instead of changing down as they're stopping or lifting the back wheel and changing the gears (not as hard as it sounds), with the result that as they try to move off, they are crunching gears (blocking other cyclists behind them, a big problem on certain cycle lanes in Dublin) and often weaving across the road.

For the plain daft category, I didn't think it was easy to do three things that could make it more likely to get hit in just a few seconds, but what I saw a few weeks ago while waiting at the wellpark side of the lights at Moneenagehsa would beggar belief if I wasn't so cynical about how other people use the roads.

Potential collision #1.
I was waiting at at the lights at to turn right when a bike came up behind weaving in and out of the cars - not particularly safe as the traffic can start moving at any time and it makes it a lot harder for carts to see you on the bike, thus harder to avoid.

Potential collision #2.
After weaving his way up the queue he proceeded to stop beyond the white line on the extreme right hand side of the junction - again both the wrong place (should be on the left of the lane of intended travel) and not the smartest thing to do as all the traffic will be on his left and crossing to the right instead of the right and he is placing the traffic directly behind him instead where he has no chance of seeing it, instead of on his right and outside where he has a reasonable chance of monitoring traffic to avoid any vehicles that take the turn slightly wide.

Potential collision #3.
When the lights turned green, the lad proceeded to cycle straight on across the junction cutting across the the right turn lane to go straight on. I couldn't see if he decided to go back across the the left or mount the footpath on the right, so I don't know if he had to cross back across the left lane again - I'm hoping he went on the path because anything else just does not bear consideration and puts his health in danger. Even if going to mount the footpath, he should have been on the left of the lane instead of the right.

The moral of the story: roads are dangerous enough places without doing things that increase your chance of getting hit.

I was refering more to infrastructure in this Town rather than to how cyclist act on the road.
There are almost no cycling paths in Galway -I had a nice bike but I sold it, as I don't enjoy driving between cars.

antoobrien

sorsha wrote: »

I was refering more to infrastructure in this Town rather than to how cyclist act on the road.
There are almost no cycling paths in Galway -I had a nice bike but I sold it, as I don't enjoy driving between cars.

Fair enough, but every town I've ever been to has the same argument (which sounds silly when you hear cyclists in Dublin complaining).

beardybrewer

J o e wrote: »

True. On that note - can anyone recommend any nice cycle routes out from the city and back?

I'm a total novice yet (haven't done more than 10k on a single cycle) so would be interested in nice 15km, 20km, 30km, 40km (etc) cycle routes to work up through.

Try Spiddal and back. Nice views either direction and you can reward yourself with a break and a pint. There is a fairly well known triangle of Galway - Moycullen - Spiddal which would make a fun day.

http://www.kearneycycles.com/galway-bicycles-trails.php?dtl=50

Zoom out a couple clicks to see the triangle. There's a few other routes suggested there.

sorsha

antoobrien wrote: »

Fair enough, but every town I've ever been to has the same argument (which sounds silly when you hear cyclists in Dublin complaining).

I come from the city that has over 30km cycling paths and you can just cycle from one side to other not using roads at all.
I know Galway is just a small town and its impossible to have that many and long, but it should be a bit better.
This is what I miss most in here. More green areas and cycling paths.

galwaycyclist

sorsha wrote: »

I come from the city that has over 30km cycling paths and you can just cycle from one side to other not using roads at all.
I know Galway is just a small town and its impossible to have that many and long, but it should be a bit better.
This is what I miss most in here. More green areas and cycling paths.

No it probably is possible. The problem is that within the city council there is hostility and indifference to growing cycling in the city.

The city's planners could have ensured that the docklands land reclamation included provision for a cycling route along the coast and linking through to Renmore. There are various small country lanes that could have been preserved and linked up to provide mostly traffic free routes. (Millers lane etc)

There are various potential routes around the city that people have been highlighting for years.

Seaneh

J o e wrote: »

True. On that note - can anyone recommend any nice cycle routes out from the city and back?

I'm a total novice yet (haven't done more than 10k on a single cycle) so would be interested in nice 15km, 20km, 30km, 40km (etc) cycle routes to work up through.

Cycle from Town towards Barna, turn right at the hotel and cycle up the hill past the golfcourse, turn right at the junction on the main road and then back into the city, it's about 25km in total, should be doable in under an hour for anyon who's comfortable on a bike.



For a longer spin, cycle to spiddal and then up the hill to moycullen and then back to the city, between 45 and 50km and a nice cycle.

http://goo.gl/maps/0GTFc 23km

http://goo.gl/maps/UEuGq 45km

http://goo.gl/maps/EYIH1 55km

http://goo.gl/maps/M9Sle 100km


Those would be the better cycles in the area.

Brad768

J o e wrote: »

True. On that note - can anyone recommend any nice cycle routes out from the city and back?

I'm a total novice yet (haven't done more than 10k on a single cycle) so would be interested in nice 15km, 20km, 30km, 40km (etc) cycle routes to work up through.

I'm on an iPad at the moment so it's a bit difficult to map all them but I'll post a few later
Moycullen-Spiddal (or in reverse) is probably THE most popular cycling route in Galway. Lovely scenery and there's a bit of climbing involved as well

I generally find Galway motorists not too bad. I would say the biggest thing is not looking in mirrors before turning left!!

ben.schlomo

Brad768 wrote: »

I'm an iPad at the moment so it's a bit difficult to map all them but I'll post a few later
Moycullen-Spiddal (or in reverse) is probably THE most popular cycling route in Galway. Lovely scenery and there's a bit of climbing involved as well

I generally find Galway motorists not too bad. I would say the biggest thing is not looking in mirrors before turning left!!

Apple really are technology masters if they can make Ipad's cycle now, amazing stuff.:pac:

Brad768

ben.schlomo wrote: »

Apple really are technology masters if they can make Ipad's cycle now, amazing stuff.:pac:

haha fixed

btw is there many boardies here who are on strava? http://www.strava.com/athletes/1227052 That's my profile for anybody who would like to follow. Would be good to put a few names to the faces (bikes?) around Galway

biko

I think we should start gently, like a bike ride from city centre to some pub in Salthill.

joeKel73

Thanks for the route suggestions - great stuff!

paulgalway

J o e wrote: »

True. On that note - can anyone recommend any nice cycle routes out from the city and back?

I'm a total novice yet (haven't done more than 10k on a single cycle) so would be interested in nice 15km, 20km, 30km, 40km (etc) cycle routes to work up through.

One option is to join mapmyride, registration is free.

Select 'Maps' , put in a minimum distance, and it will identify routes around any location that you enter.

ratracer

J o e wrote: »

Drivers that indicate and give cyclists some space are sound - thanks guys!

Drivers that indicate and give cyclists some space are - generally cyclists themselves IMO.

Brad768

Here are a few of routes I had saved from when I started
1)Down to Silverstrand, 14km
2)Turn right at Barna up towards the Golf Club and turn right back towards town 20km
3)Similar to the second route, but just travel straight on to the N5925km
4)Out to Furbough and turn right and just ehm...follow the country roads lol. I had a gps by this point so I didn't have to worry about getting lost lol 30km
5)Nice ride on a summers day, loads of cyclists around here. Simply straight to Spiddal and back. 37km
6)Moycullen-Spiddal, my favourite 44km

Seaneh

Brad768 wrote: »

Here are a few of routes I had saved from when I started
1)Down to Silverstrand, 14km
2)Turn right at Barna up towards the Golf Club and turn right back towards town 20km
3)Similar to the second route, but just travel straight on to the N5925km
4)Out to Furbough and turn right and just ehm...follow the country roads lol. I had a gps by this point so I didn't have to worry about getting lost lol 30km
5)Nice ride on a summers day, loads of cyclists around here. Simply straight to Spiddal and back. 37km
6)Moycullen-Spiddal, my favourite 44km

You really should be doing the sipddal - moycullen route in the opposite direction, the winds are usually from the south and east so you're cycling into them uphill if you're going moycullen to sipddal! Same for the route past the golf club!

Unfortunately it's impossible to avoid cycling into the wind on the way back to town from the west!