Yep echo that, i also cycle,run, walk, and i will give precedence to that for which the route was designed, but never for that which has no right to be there.

John

Speaking as a cyclist as well as someone who walks/runs, I have to say that emphatically as I ring the bell on my bike it appears to be inaudible to anyone walking in front, so I usally slow down and shout, 'Ring ring.' Which makes me look/sound rather stupid, but it's better than giving a walker some kind of seizure.
Pedestrians may hate cyclists on footpaths but on the other hand, it is jolly annoying when you're cycling on a designated cycle path to have pedestrians barrelling determinedly down that, which they are, frequently.

and cyclists on footpaths

Cyclists without bells are my pet hate. Walking along a lane, head down, into the wind, I can't hear them coming up behind me, and then WHOOSH they whizz past, frightening the living daylights out of me. Why can't they TING a bell? Its the sort of noise that cuts through 'windrush' and gives a bit of a warning. Aaah!!! that feels better. I've been wanting to rant about that for ages!!!!! Jane

and Roma Lead`s

... and tin mugs that rattle on rucksacks ...

... the mobile phone is Ok for me. I loved getting enquiries from relatives on the 100 asking how I was doing, plus the messages of encouragement...

G

Walking poles with the points above waist height - usually flailing about when crossing stiles, lethal.
GPS, takes the fun out of getting lost, and to be honest I quite enjoy being lost, I have to the ammount of times it occurs.
Mobile phones, I don't carry one on walks (I don't own one) but using one for any other reason than a dire emergency......no, no, no.
Walkers with enormous rucksacs, I can't get to grips with what on earth is in them, it really aggravates me !!
Matt.

On our 3 Rings of Shap walk this year we had both a mass and staggered starts.Choice was optional but staggered was recommended because of 7 stiles in the first mile.Despite this 2/3 of the field opted for the mass start.

Why do so many events have mass starts when everyone hates them?

I too have been followed into the bushes! Not only that, but the (male) walker involved was bellowing, 'No, you've taken the wrong fork!' so everyone within earshot knew what I was up to.

I can concurr with the tapping of walking poles and the noise of someone elses conversation drowning the bird-song. This is the reason I hate events with a non negotiatble mass start as it takes ages for the field to thin out and if your like me and prefer to hear the wind in your ears and the birds in the trees rather than the droll of someone yacking behind you, it can be a real pain. On this years hundred it took nearly thirty miles for the field to thin sufficiently to even be able to dash to the loo without embarrassment, and some fellow walker following you into the bushes!!Having said that - I do enjoy conversations with fellow walkers, its just that some people don't come up for air!!

I like that Garfield, sounds like technology at its best and mankind at it`s mercy.

I might be old fashioned but for me traditional navigation is a joy and an integral part of my enjoyment of wild places.


Another pet hate (which i dont think will suprise you is a mobile phone) being used in wild places for anything other than an emergency.

Yes i do carry one but never switched on.

john

You have a good point, John, and one I have a good example of. We were camping in Wasdale recently and went for a meal in the Wasdale Head Inn (excellent food and gigantic portions btw!). A couple of people with Sky Sports jackets and tee-shirts were sitting nearby, something to do with a sponsored event. Later, after the pub had stopped serving food, another pair arrived looking somewhat flustered. They had used an in-car navsat on the post code of the Inn and had been directed to Langdale, thence to take the path over Esk Hause !! In a 4x4 ? They were left with a very long way round.
Garfield

I could still use the stars at night if need be (i dont have/ can`t afford a rolex so unable to comment on that as i never wear a watch of any desciption), and that gives me a lot more confidence than having to be dependant on electronics it also does away with the need to carry spare batteries on multi day trips .

Don`t get me wrong Gps has a purpose but it is not for me, and probably not for the driver towing a caravan into a narrow lakeland lane which he subsequently found was not wide enough, but the GPS had told him it was the shortest route.

John

re the GPS sub-thread, I guess the same was said about the compass when first introduced. (ala Pythonesque Michael Palin... "Oh, I still prefer using the stars. Either that, or the sun shining on the face of my brand new Rolex". G

However, imagine the mess that could occur if the satelites were re-programmed ! Hikers walking off cliffs, cars ending up in canals! A good scenario for a James Bond movie. G

Rubbis generally

And orange peel!!

...oh and cups that have been dropped after a checkpoint...and banana skins

...and providing cups/mugs at checkpoints when it says "MUG MUST BE CARRIED" on the kit requirements..

oh I wish you hadn't got me thinking, I was having a gentle wind down to the day

...and wayward walking poles....especially at stiles

i use a Forerunner in conjunction with memory map for recording distances covered and rote taken, never used it for navigation.

Although i must confess to slavishly following a compass when the clag is down on moer than one occassion

the day i put rubbers on my poles for tarmac and take them off for rough ground is the day i see walkers/runners change their footwear every time they encounter different terrain, anyway the tap tap tapping helps keep a rhythm same as yer old army boots whilst marching

I wouldn't put a GPS into the nuisance category. True, there are some who over-depend on them. Keep it in your rucksack and only use it when essential.

It does have other uses, such as recording fairly accurately your distance walked or telling you that the little blimp of a hill in the Glaramara region you are standing on is one of the Nuttall tops you are bagging !

Although, I must confess to following it slavishly across Middle Tongue on one particularly foul Fellsman.

Garfield

totally agree with all those sentiments and would like to add one of my pet hates,

People that shine torches straight into your face on night sections, wrecking your vision for several minutes.

Another is GPS, a compass/map has never let me down yet (just me reading it wrong)

john

I'm a fairly genial kind of guy but, apart from grouping, the other thing that annoys me on challenge walks are the loud talkers - walkers who try and hold a conversation when seperated by 100 ft. Inevitably they shout, sometimes into back-wind and this can carry their voices miles. You can hear them coming before you can see them !

Almost as bad as the tap-tap-tapping of un-rubbered walking sticks on tarmac...

Garfield