Towpath Cyclists

I have come across something interesting on the British Waterways site. To cycle along a towpath owned by BW you must be in possession of and display on you bike a BW cycle permit.

It is illegal to cycle along a towpath owned by BW without one. Next time your fishing a canal and have cyclests blasting along you can phone the police to complain if they do not have a valid BW cycle permit.

If the police bother to take any notice is another matter.

yes we`ve discussed that before, I am a towpath cyclist and have had licences in the past, we discussed this on bikemagic and apparently most of them don`t seem to bother with a licence, basically we should report all those who don`t, we should also report all anglers who cause an obstruction along towpaths and don`t have a fishing licence, it works both ways of course. It is however unlikely that the police will get involved.

On many canal stretches it's difficult to sit on a box and not cause an obstruction due to the narrow path.

Personally, I'd much rather that the Police were given the time to concentrate on important things, such as assault, burglary, muggings, rapes etc.

Frankly, I'd be embarrassed to call the Police to complain that someone has had the audacity to ride a bike past me whilst I am fishing.

Mike.

Personally, I'd much rather that the Police were given the time to concentrate on important things, such as assault, burglary, muggings, rapes etc.

I can`t really see the police wanting to get involved with stuff like that Mike when the need to clamp down on those with a brake light out appears more important!

On many canal stretches it's difficult to sit on a box and not cause an obstruction due to the narrow path.

yes it is Matt, and thats why we all need to be courtious towards other towpath users, most of my time as a towpath cyclist is spent talking to fellow anglers on the banks

I'm with Monk on this one Twitch. Your rights, as far as they go, on a towpath are generally to pass and to re-pass, whether or not in consort with navigation (ie. walking your tow-horse along the tow path towing a barge). Sitting down and fishing is pretty un-arguably a breach of those rights even if not causing an obstruction. When you're not moving you are neither passing nor re-passing but exceeding your implied rights to be on the towpath at all.If a tow horse and barge were to be approaching then where would you be ? Slap bang in the obstructive way. Old law but still good law.

And if your rod or pole extends sufficiently far into the towpath as to be at risk from a passing Cyclist (or anyone) then it is you that is in the wrong as causing an actual obstruction.....

So I'd keep those busy little fingers off the mobile phone buttons. We've got enough trouble with the likes of PETA and Canoeists without pissing off both the police and BW officials with what they will perceive as completely nuisance calls about cyclists. Seems like a pretty quick way to get up a sufficiently angry head of steam at BW HQ to get angling banned along the towpaths if we're that silly.

Agree with you on courtesy and room to pass by on the towpath. It does work very well when towpath users do give consideration to each other,but when you have cyclists who think they have right of way and become abusive to ANYONE, (fishing or walking, <u>its even more of a B$£^*&d when your in a wheelchair</u>), who gets in there way.

some cyclists are very inconsiderate, if however you are very careful and your actions well timed, you can manuver in such a way that the cyclist can accidentally be knocked into the cut, i`m tempted to link this thread to Bikemagic, but Graham will probably give me a good kicking./forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

Not a hijack but just in passing.... may amuse.

I had a canoeist the other day on the Wey in Guildford. The club members there are generally OK but there's the odd shit. One of them decided he was going to go through my lines at speed after every one of 40 odd others had politely gone past on the mid to other side of the river.I was fishing the near bank margin shelf and had no real reason to think that anyone would go through my line or be inconvenienced in any event - and the proper canoeists weren't. But Sh*t head decided he'd practice his 'Racing start' from ten paces away, less than two feet from my bank and with no way I could reel in in time

Well sh*t head learned very quickly just how thin, cutting and bloody strong braid can be in contrast to old fashioned Mono ! Round hisneck as he ploughed through.... only this time, unlike mono, it didn't break. Then hand clutching in horror at throat and over he went, rolly polly olly and bloody cold at this time of the year /forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif.

Just in passing, if it happens to you then be sure to point the rod straight down the line so it doesn't take any stress and break, Plustrap the line from coming offthe spool by putting a finger on the spool, not the line.....

Made my day.A little heartfeltexchange of viewsfollowed....as he tried in vain to untangle or break the braid. The cuts to his finger will no doubt heal in due course. Slowly tho, slowly....nasty dirty infective stuff river watercan be.

Whilst it wasn't deliberate on my part I have to say that canoeists might well have to start to rethink their behaviour a little when it comes to modern lines. Certainly anyone deliberately crossing my linesin future will be going over as hard as I can hold onto the line.

And before anyone gets on their high horse I used to do quite a bit of canoeing in my younger days - three canoes on top of a mini ???? - and its not canoeing or angling, its just manners and reasonable behaviour, which this tit singularly did not have.

PS. Anyone who wishes to link this to CanoeMagic or similar please do... I'd rather some manners and lessons were learnt on both sides (the anglers who use a catty to fire maggots in canoeists ears, or depth charge their hulls with two ounce leads deserve just as much of a kicking IMHO) and canoeists would seriously do well to be informed of and beware of the existence of braid lines.

The balance has undoubtedly altered in favour of the canoeist coming off very much worst..... being turned over on the Wey was the matter of a moment's wetting and effing and blinding, hitting a 30lb braid line the same thickness as a stainless steel cheese cutting wire while white watering in the likes of the Ribble doesn't bear thinking about. Something someone friendly to canoeists might care to pass on to one or two of their clubs / forums in rather lighter and fluffier terms than I am capable of....

Just in passing, if it happens to you then be sure to point the rod straight down the line so it doesn't take any stress and break, Plustrap the line from coming offthe spool by putting a finger on the spool, not the line.....

Evan, comments like yours above (and your general musings in the above two posts)beggar belief.

Unless I am very much mistaken, you have specifically recommend that people should deliberately take steps that will intentionally maim and injure people (not to mention the added danger of causing the caneoeist to capsive and become tangled underwater and drown). I would be extremely grateful if you could kindlypoint out to me what your problem would be with releasing the bail arm under the abovecircmstances and allowing the canoeist plenty of slack line and, thus, an opportunity to realise the error of their chosen route safely and without injury?

As regard user names - Evan 'Not Mighty at All'; I couldn't have summed it up better myself. The recommendations in your above posts and the delight you appear to have taken from injuring someoneenjoying their hobby are trulypathetic.

Mike.

If you don't point the rod down the line then the rod will obviously either snap or be dragged into the river.

If you don't hold the spool then you will have extremely dangerous braid whizzing up through your rod rings in a way that could very easily take a finger off (I was using 8 lb braid mainline which has the same diameter as 1 lb mono.....*). Plus which the line is more likely to break if you trap it, like pulling for a break against a snag, which is what I was expecting to happen once he'd hit the line. I was expecting to be broken as usually occurs in such circs, I was as surprised when he went over as he was.

And I'm not advocating anything that will intentionally maim or injury anyone. Indeed, I thought I adequately expressed my contempt for the firing maggots and two ounce attack brigade ??

The point you are manifestly ignoring is that this chap was the entire and deliberate agent of his own misfortune. If he hadn't thought it would be fun to trash my lines none of this would have happened. The fact is that modern strength tackle changed his nasty little prank into his problem and not the anglers for a change - which came as just as much of a surprise to me as it did to him when the line didn't give.

And as I point out in my second post, the possible consequences with heavier tackle meeting a canoeist in heavier water genuinely do not bear thinking about and I think canoeists should genuinely be warned.They are not to know we are now using lines 8 times as strong for the given diameter asmono unless they are told.

I have no wish for anyone to be injured, whether intentionally or unintentionally. So maybe drop down off the high horse for a moment and do something a bit more positive than fulminating at me by way of passing the message on to your canoeing friends ?

*ding ding*

It sounded to me more like the canoeist (that canoeist not all canoeists) specifically decided to plough through Evan's lines when his friends had successfully and easily avoided them.

I don't think Evan condoned maiming or drowning however taking delight in in arse getting his just desserts through his own actionsis a pastime we can all enjoy.

Hmm, too slow.

PS. Funny, I thought I started contributing to this thread in favour of facilitating peace and mutual co-existence between anglers and cyclists mutually 'enjoying their hobby'.

If only canoeists like the chap concerned had takenthe same message on board in the first place rather than seeking to 'pathetically' injure my enjoyment of my hobby all would have been sweetness and light.... Oh well.

For starters, just a few quotes from Evan:

.... may amuse.

Then hand clutching in horror at throat and over he went, rolly polly olly and bloody cold at this time of the year /forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif. (please note the use of the smiley)

Made my day.

The cuts to his finger will no doubt heal in due course. Slowly tho, slowly....nasty dirty infective stuff river watercan be.

Certainly anyone deliberately crossing my linesin future will be going over as hard as I can hold onto the line.

As I said earlier Evan -I find it pathetic that schadenfreude appears to be a more important hobby to you than angling.

Responding to you most recent post, again can you please explain to me your logic. You appear to be concerned by 'exctremely dangerous, braid whizzing through your rod rings. Please can you now explan to me how you manage to cast, reel inor play fish taking line off the spool without beingpetrified by the terrifying phenomenon of 'whizzing braid'?

Also, if you are that bothered about snapping, or losing your rod I cannot see how your best course of action could be anything other than to release the bail arm?

Ido, however,accept your point that the canoeist inquestion may possibly have been being a bit of an idiot in this particular circumstance. However, I wouldn't deliberately run over someone who had foolishly and idiotically stepped out into the road in front of me.I take no pleasure in causing injury.

Evan, as your background research into me suggests, I have already passed some very useful messages onto my 'canoeing friends'. I shall now do the same to my 'angling firends' and suggest that ayone who want to improve their understanding of canoeing (or, indeed angling!!) clicks on the '1 article' icon on my posts.

Mike (who is only too happy to point out that I both angle and canoe)

"Evan, comments like yours above (and your general musings in the above two posts)beggar belief".

Mike I think you need to read between the lines a bit more (no pun) and lighten up mate, don`t take things too serious, I dread to tell you what I`ve called my teddy bear/forum/smilies/smile_smiley.gif

Sorry Monk, but the name of your teddy bear is the least of my worries. I am currently far too busy making sure nobody finds out how much money I have secretly donated to the Labour Party/forum/smilies/big_smile_smiley.gif

Mike.

In normal fishing braid doesn't go shooting through the rod rings at the speed engendered by a canoeist at racing speed after a racing start.

You tell me how to open the bail arm safely in those circs ?

I'd rather keep both rod and fingers thank you, especially when its the canoeist and not me who is the agent of his own misfortune.

Remember, we're talking about the events of less than a quarter of a second in all, if that. I doubt if I had a conscious thought at the time any deeper or more complex than 'Oh bugger', reflexiblyhanging on to my rod as I didn't want to lose it and locking the spool in anticipation of pulling for the break and loss of end tackle I (and our friend, Mr S.Head) expected to follow..... but which unexpectedly didn't.

If you don't like or appreciate the schadenfreude inherent in a classic tale ofthe 'biter bit' then that's your problem.

Your analogy about the moving car and pedestrian is just a wee bit flawed - it was sunny Jim in the moving vehicle (to stick to the analogy) deliberately accelerating into my little old lady crossing the road....

As for your closing remarks, I don't know what you mean by my background research into you ??? paranoia or what ? and just what am I supposed to inferfrom your darkreference to passing 'some very useful messages on to your canoeing friends' ? Is that an implied threat or what ?

If you are passing messages on it would be a lot more constructive to pass on my genuine warning about the dangers inherent in modern braid, whether you believe me to be sincere or not.

And if that friendly warning helps stop humourists like our friend indulging in his hobby of harassing fishermen for his 'schadenfreude' amusement then all to the good on both sides. Next time it might not be a small feeder on just 8 lb line but a clonking big lead on the end of 50 lb power pro and pike tackle, trebles and all,that gets raked across someone's canoe, torso or worse. Think about itand take the warning as genuinely meant because it is. It had never occurred to me that braid might pose a danger to canoeists before this incident, now I know that it does and so does anyone else who has read this thread.

Or you can just tar me with the brush of hateful bastard that doesn't care and not pass on the warning. Over to you....