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Shock tactics employed amid fears cyclists could take over Bath canal towpath

Posters expressing concern about ‘speeding cyclists’ feature photo of a woman’s bloodied face

Those who fear that improvements to a Bath canal towpath could lead to it being overrun by cyclists have been moved to shock tactics, reports the Virtual Museum of Bath blog. Posters featuring a photo of a woman’s bloodied face claim that there is ‘widespread evidence for an increase in speeding cyclists where towpath upgrades have already been done’.

The Kennet and Avon Canal towpath between Sydney Gardens and Bathampton is one of the most heavily used sections and is part of the Two Tunnels circular cycle route. Improvements to it have been made possible thanks to a successful bid for Cycle City Ambition funding by the council, which has been allocated £3.8 million over the next three years, of which £650,000 is available to undertake the works on the towpath.

However, it seems not everyone is in favour of the work. “Many cycling experts say that 2.5 metres is not wide enough for a busy shared path,” reads the poster. “The views of all canal users need to be heard.”

Accompanying this is a photograph of Judith Norris, a 76-year-old woman from Bury in Lancashire, who had four teeth knocked out after being knocked to the ground by a cyclist on a Wigan canal path in May. The poster also urges people to attend two upcoming consultations on the proposals: on Friday, August 28 at Bathampton Village Hall from 2pm to 8pm and on Saturday, August 29 at the New Oriel Hall in Larkhall between 10am and 5pm.

In announcing the consultations, Councillor Anthony Clarke, Cabinet Member for Transport, said:

“Bath and North East Somerset Council has been awarded a significant amount of money by Government for this project and so we are keen to ensure it is spent in a way which benefits all users of the towpath. We will therefore be consulting carefully with residents and towpath users on these proposals before final plans are agreed.”

Mark Evans, waterway manager at the Canal and River Trust emphasised that despite the money being from the Cycle City Ambition funding, the project was not just about making the towpath better for cyclists. “It will give us a hard-wearing surface that’ll last for years and allow everyone easier access to the canal. I’d encourage anyone who’s interested in the plans to come down to the event in August to find out more.”

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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45 comments

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Bmblbzzz | 9 years ago
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Last week I rode from Limpley Stoke (just east of Bath) to Devizes along the K&A. I thought the surface was fine as far as BoA and being mostly gravel it would still be ok even in a wet winter. This section is rather busy, not (at the time I was there – a Friday daytime) with cyclists but with strollers and hikers, dog walkers and most of all with canal boat users, many of them residential. At no point was it so busy I had to stop nor did I experience any aggro. East of BoA the path is narrower and bumpier but also there are fewer path users (still lots of boats though). For my purpose that day, it was great; I was in no hurry and couldn't have gone fast if I'd wanted, being laden with four panniers!

Back in the 1980s and 90s though I used to ride from Bath to LS several times a week. I went much faster then, not only because I could(!) but because I was unladen. I'm not sure it would be possible to ride like that along there nowadays, it's busier with people on foot. Much pleasanter than the A36 though.

My conclusion is, the towpath in its present state seems perfectly good for leisure cyclists (as far east as Devizes – I've also ridden along a section just east of Hungerford and that was seriously muddy). For commuting at peak times, it's going to be too narrow, but there doesn't seem much space to widen it. Building in the water would, I think, be expensive and, you know, boats have to pass each other and moor too. There are other obstacles to 'fast' use which it might be possible to alleviate, such as steep ramps to roads and bridges and narrow gates. These are also obstacles to leisure cyclists on anything other than a standard upright unladen bike (trikes, tandems, trailers, 'bents) so worth doing something about.

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alansmurphy | 9 years ago
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Crikey - I absolutely 100% agree with your point.

On an unrelated note, I challenge you to pull out of your driveway without crossing the footpath designed for pedestrians and drive to your major routes without using a road designed for transportation by horse...

No? Can't do that?

Then your opinion is plain stupid!

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mrfree | 9 years ago
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It doesn't matter if canal paths weren't originally designed for bicycles, many are now. Roads weren't originally designed for cars, were they?

There's no reason why a cyclist can't use tow paths if a little respect is shown...and I mean from cyclists and walkers.

I'm sick of cyclist shaming. People need to realise that cyclists are a minority group and are often bullied wherever they may be cycling, regardless of the fact that if we all drove to work instead we would make a small but significant increase in congestion.

If we cant cycle on the roads or paths in peace where the f**k are we supposed to go!?

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awjr | 9 years ago
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My post about this. If you live in and around Bath and fancy a ride out on Friday or Saturday, this could be a worthwhile stop.

http://cyclebath.org.uk/2015/08/26/cyclists-used-to-prevent-towpath-repair/

If people could share this that would also be amazing. These consultations only get people objecting to them and hearing positive things from people are key to making this happen.

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BigAl68 | 9 years ago
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I will believe this when I see it happen. If it does I am sure they will then close the route for 6 months, cock it up and generally make a mess of what in my opinion is a usable cycling surface already even in winter.

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awjr replied to BigAl68 | 9 years ago
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BigAl68 wrote:

I will believe this when I see it happen. If it does I am sure they will then close the route for 6 months, cock it up and generally make a mess of what in my opinion is a usable cycling surface already even in winter.

Oh I'm sure they will. Devizes towpath upgrade is months behind schedule. It won't be like South Gloucester who got the B2B path resurfaced ahead of schedule.

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BigAl68 | 9 years ago
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This section of the canal path is pretty wide to be honest up to the George. Beyond that it isn't too bad and I ride this quite often out to Bradford on Avon. There are a few nobbers who race along it but then they are everywhere not just on the canal paths. Is there a real need to improve this section? I would think the path towards Avoncliff would be money better spent but then that's not in the the city. I would be interested who uses this section as part of their commute as I never see too many people using it.

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Alf0nse | 9 years ago
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I use this towpath mainly for running
I have cycled it once or twice but there are a couple of lethal pinch points where the path gets very narrow.
I also feel that because There is a a community that live in boats, that caning it along the path is a dumb and entitled activity. Imagine stepping onto your doorstep only to have someone going full on a few inches from you.
The type of cyclist I have encountered are either of the sedate and stately variety or small packs of mamils who are big enough and ugly enough to ride on the road.
I think the funding should go elsewhere and some signs telling people to keep the speed down would be better

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awjr replied to Alf0nse | 9 years ago
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Alf0nse wrote:

I think the funding should go elsewhere and some signs telling people to keep the speed down would be better

That's not how CCAG money works. You specify what you want done and cost it, then you get given the money to spend on it. Anything you do not spend on that project is returned to the government.

This work was supposed to have been done in 2012 but central government withdrew funding to create a flood defence fund.

The CRT even objected to the MOD site development in late 2012 demanding that the developers bung the CRT £315k to have the towpath upgraded due to severe erosion.

The only bit in the project that has some cycling benefit (ramp from towpath to Larkhall via Grosvenor Bridge) was already budgeted for in this year council budget. I'm still trying to find out what's happened to that £160k of council money now that CCAG money is being used for the ramp.

This is not a cycling project. It's cycling money, but it is fixing a long standing issue with the towpath.

The irony is that all the council does is work in partnership with the CRT to create a plan for the repair to CRT standards and then the council hands the CRT the money and the CRT get on with it.

The idea that the public, in reality, have any say as to what the final surface looks like is farcical. It comes down to using the CRT's towpath design guidance, the CRT Heritage officer and the council's conservation officer. This is less a consultation and more of a "these are the options and this is our preferred choice". They have 650k to spend or lose it.

The only thing I think I want is that the canal bridge at Meadow Lane is circumvented. If the majority of the traffic on the towpath is cycling then that canal bridge underpass should not be the route people should be cycling on.

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eschelar | 9 years ago
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Naw, the real problem is that brits can't comprehend the basic idea of "slowing down" when conditions call for it. It's the same, regardless of whether it's the lorry drivers or the cyclists. Cyclists seem to feel that being forced to slow down 1km/hr *for any reason* is an egregious assault on their constitutional rights and freedoms.

If you cyclists didn't take yourselves so damned seriously, maybe you could handle a 2.5m wide path. I commuted for years on 1.5m wide paths shared with pedestrians and 2-direction cycle (and occasional rulebreaker motorcycle) traffic. 3 years. 45 minutes each way. No accidents. No altercations. No curse words.

Here's how to do it:
#1 - look where you're going
#2 - if you see a pedestrian, slow down and indicate clearly where you are and where you intend to pass
#3 - control your speed appropriately - you know those brakes you spent 800 quid on? you might be surprised to find that they work fairly well too. If passing a pedestrian, slow down so you can move past them without startling them and if they do something unexpected, you can react without making contact. Yes, that's right, slow down. If passing a slower motorist, adjust speed accordingly, indicate clearly and when conditions are appropriate, accelerate past them. You're such a badass cyclist, I'm sure you can handle accelerating.
#4 - if conditions aren't right to pass, don't pass until conditions are right. If the road narrows a bit, adjust speed so you can pass where it gets wider again. If there's a group of people, give yourself time and space to get by.

As a cyclist for more than 30 years, it boggles my mind that brits have such a hard time figuring things out like "look where you are going" and "be aware of your surroundings".

2.5m wide isn't enough for peloton racing conditions. It's *plenty* for even casually skilled riders with a touch of courtesy.

On the other hand, for riders whose lack of courtesy and common sense outweighs their skill, even 4m is still not going to be enough. You could give them 400m and they'd still find a way to get into an argument with someone or drive under the wheels of some lorry because they have the "right of way".

Natural selection baby.

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BigAl68 replied to eschelar | 9 years ago
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eschelar wrote:

Naw, the real problem is that brits can't comprehend the basic idea of "slowing down" when conditions call for it. It's the same, regardless of whether it's the lorry drivers or the cyclists. Cyclists seem to feel that being forced to slow down 1km/hr *for any reason* is an egregious assault on their constitutional rights and freedoms.

If you cyclists didn't take yourselves so damned seriously, maybe you could handle a 2.5m wide path. I commuted for years on 1.5m wide paths shared with pedestrians and 2-direction cycle (and occasional rulebreaker motorcycle) traffic. 3 years. 45 minutes each way. No accidents. No altercations. No curse words.

Here's how to do it:
#1 - look where you're going
#2 - if you see a pedestrian, slow down and indicate clearly where you are and where you intend to pass
#3 - control your speed appropriately - you know those brakes you spent 800 quid on? you might be surprised to find that they work fairly well too. If passing a pedestrian, slow down so you can move past them without startling them and if they do something unexpected, you can react without making contact. Yes, that's right, slow down. If passing a slower motorist, adjust speed accordingly, indicate clearly and when conditions are appropriate, accelerate past them. You're such a badass cyclist, I'm sure you can handle accelerating.
#4 - if conditions aren't right to pass, don't pass until conditions are right. If the road narrows a bit, adjust speed so you can pass where it gets wider again. If there's a group of people, give yourself time and space to get by.

As a cyclist for more than 30 years, it boggles my mind that brits have such a hard time figuring things out like "look where you are going" and "be aware of your surroundings".

2.5m wide isn't enough for peloton racing conditions. It's *plenty* for even casually skilled riders with a touch of courtesy.

On the other hand, for riders whose lack of courtesy and common sense outweighs their skill, even 4m is still not going to be enough. You could give them 400m and they'd still find a way to get into an argument with someone or drive under the wheels of some lorry because they have the "right of way".

Natural selection baby.

Absolutely agree. I use 15 miles of shared path twice a day and use this reasoning everyday. The number of nobbers who don't is shocking. People would rather blame the old lady, the dog walker, the rambler, the child and mum out for a 3 mile ride that look at their own behavior.

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crikey | 9 years ago
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It's not a trolling, it's someone disagreeing.
But you knew that.

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awjr replied to crikey | 9 years ago
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crikey wrote:

It's not a trolling, it's someone disagreeing.
But you knew that.

That's ok then. As long as you understand the context within which the shock tactic is being used.

I fought long and hard against this money being used to make the towpath better but the council officers needed a quick defined project to fit within the tight bidding schedule of the CCAG bid process. They chose this over a far more comprehensive solution that would have had a real increase in cycling. http://cyclebath.org.uk/ccag-bath-east/

But if you'd prefer, we can keep deriding us cycle campaigners as the whinging self-entitled, rather than trying to make a difference and getting sucker punched by council officers who subvert cycle money into easy to deliver towpath upgrades which do absolutely bugger all to deliver high quality segregated cycle tracks usable by kids.

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JeevesBath replied to awjr | 9 years ago
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awjr wrote:
crikey wrote:

It's not a trolling, it's someone disagreeing.
But you knew that.

That's ok then. As long as you understand the context within which the shock tactic is being used.

I fought long and hard against this money being used to make the towpath better but the council officers needed a quick defined project to fit within the tight bidding schedule of the CCAG bid process. They chose this over a far more comprehensive solution that would have had a real increase in cycling. http://cyclebath.org.uk/ccag-bath-east/

But if you'd prefer, we can keep deriding us cycle campaigners as the whinging self-entitled, rather than trying to make a difference and getting sucker punched by council officers who subvert cycle money into easy to deliver towpath upgrades which do absolutely bugger all to deliver high quality segregated cycle tracks usable by kids.

If you think Bath's council sounds bad, don't read this:
http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/aug/25/sydney-australia-bike-lane...

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crikey | 9 years ago
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It's a tow path.
On a canal.
It's not designed for bicycles.

The idea that you should be able to ride your bicycle anywhere in the world without hindrance is an example of the sense of entitlement that some cyclists have.

You can't ride down stairs either, are you going to whine about that?

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crikey | 9 years ago
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This is a canal towpath right...not a purpose built cycle path?

Then please stop whining...

Cyclists seem to have an over developed sense of entitlement; reign it in a bit and people might begin to take you seriously.

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kie7077 replied to crikey | 9 years ago
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crikey wrote:

Cyclists seem to have an over developed sense of entitlement; reign it in a bit and people might begin to take you seriously.

^ Flamebait

What is that supposed to mean, stop complaining about crap infrastructure, why?

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awjr replied to crikey | 9 years ago
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crikey wrote:

This is a canal towpath right...not a purpose built cycle path?

Then please stop whining...

Cyclists seem to have an over developed sense of entitlement; reign it in a bit and people might begin to take you seriously.

Guessing this is trolling. The upgrade is money provided by the Cycle City Ambition Grant but delivered to the CRT's "Better Towpaths for Everyone" national policy standard.

The issue is that some people in the community that do not want the path upgraded to a good 4 season surface are demonising "cyclists" as a group to stop it from happening.

It's really really really important for them to keep the narrative on "speeding cyclists" and not that this is standard CRT policy to bring towpaths up to good usable shared spaces throughout the whole year and to promote safe sharing on the towpaths through signage and education.

Your local council's transport policy massively influences the amount of cycle traffic on towpaths (and other shared paths). If you want to change this, ask your councillors to support more dedicated cycle infra on-road.

If you can, get your councillors to use the Welsh Active Travel Walking and Cycling audit tools as part of any scheme delivery. It gives councillors a clear indication about how seriously council officers are taking cycling and walking and the priority they put on cars. http://cyclebath.org.uk/resources/

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the little onion replied to crikey | 9 years ago
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Because, in the case of the leed canal, the money came from a cycle city ambition grant designed to promote cycling. Of course it is a shared space that needs to work for everyone, but when money designated for cycling infrastructure is used to make life difficult for cyclists, then it is a legitimate complaint.

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kie7077 | 9 years ago
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We should ban cars from the roads because some drivers speed. (sarc)

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gawl07 | 9 years ago
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I've given up using the towpaths in London.
Too many joggers!

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gazza_d | 9 years ago
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Sod the odd 'man bites dog' incident, which while regrettable is hardly common, when are we going to get 'shock tactic' posters like this telling drivers to drop speed

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A V Lowe | 9 years ago
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Perhaps a campaign of short periods of intensive and random policing by wardens authorised by the CRT to patrol and instruct any user to stop.

Fast riding cyclists would be pulled up and warned about their behaviour, and told to use the road if they wanted to travel fast. A co-ordinated set of wardens on a stretch of canal would ensure that a fast rider woudl not simply ride away and ignore the first warden as the rest of the route would be covered.

As private property there may also be other options to remove or exclude those who misbehave on a regular basis.

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Bikeylikey | 9 years ago
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Why the weird wording 'drop your pace' in the photo? What's wrong with 'Slow'? And maybe the standard bike pictogram just to be clear about who's being addressed?

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Colin Peyresourde replied to Bikeylikey | 9 years ago
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bikeylikey wrote:

Why the weird wording 'drop your pace' in the photo? What's wrong with 'Slow'? And maybe the standard bike pictogram just to be clear about who's being addressed?

The picture is of Islington too. Why not use one of the right canal?

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awjr | 9 years ago
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Devizes just upgraded their towpath to 2.2m wide (the width needed for two horses to pass each other). Towpaths are shared space that requires careful,slow riding and the paths under canal bridges are even narrower.

Remember their roots. Commercial transport corridors. The CRT are doing as much as they can but the moment they become primary cycle commuter corridors then the reality is that the roads in the area have failed to deliver safe alternatives.

In the CRT towpath design guidance there is provision to expand the width of a path up to 4m should that be necessary, but preserving the heritage of the canal is vital and you cannot solve the fact most canal bridges are grade 1/2 listed structures so you need ramps up to roads to bypass them.

Basically they are slow meandering lovely spaces that should be enjoyable all year round.

A recent survey on the Bath section of the K&A (which also has a lot of boaters living on the water) on a Wednesday put walkers at 500ish and cyclists at 600ish within a 12 hour period.

It really needs councils to start taking cycling seriously and deliver on-road segregated cycle infra. People are taking serious detours away from direct road routes to ensure a mostly traffic free ride to the city.

The transport policy of your council determines the health and wellbeing of its residents.

(Apologies I do go on a bit)

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wycombewheeler replied to awjr | 9 years ago
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awjr wrote:

..but the moment they become primary cycle commuter corridors then the reality is that the roads in the area have failed to deliver safe alternatives.

not true at all, the canal may well be a better option than the road because a) they may be straighter. b) they will also be the route with minimum elevation change between two points.

I remember commuting by towpath 20 years ago, not because I was scared off the roads but because I could have a nice flat commute, with fewer junctions, and so travel with much less effort.

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chaos | 9 years ago
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Shared footpaths!
Shared works best when values are the same.
Footpaths are not wheelpaths.
Pedestrians can be mindless and unpredictable - I know because when I am not on my bike I have been guilty of this.
I am also a driver, but I would like to think I try harder when I drive.
Feet and wheels do not mix well.
Wheels and wheels do not mix well, especially when the wheels get bigger and/or multiply: trucks, buses, etc.
If you agree with any of the aforementioned, you probably agree that shared paths should work, but invariably they do not.

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danthomascyclist | 9 years ago
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Quote:

Judith Norris, a 76-year-old woman from Bury in Lancashire, who had four teeth knocked out after being knocked to the ground by a cyclist

I've never seen similar campaigns be used where roads are upgraded that have a history of pedestrian deaths.

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nowasps replied to danthomascyclist | 9 years ago
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The fact that they had to go all the way to Bury (from Bath) to find a towpath cycle victim, suggests this isn't that common an occurrence.

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