aggresive dog walker on canal towpath

[tinbasher1]

hello everyone..my first post as had an incident this morning and could do with some advice.
I cycle an 18 mile route 3 or 4 times per week. 10 mile of the trip is canal towpath.
was cycling on the towpath into a head wind and probably doing 9 or 10 miles per hour.
the stretch of canal has a mooring spot for about 30 boats and for about a mile it has a 5mph speed limit.
any way as I am cycling I saw a bloke standing at the side of the canal talking to someone on a boat at the far side of the canal...he had 2 huge dogs on a long lead and the lead stretched right across the tow path, causing me to stop.
He then turned to me and aggresively stated that there was a 5mph limit on here ( despite not seeing my approach speed ) and was as good as threatening me in his whole demeanor.
I rode away suggesting to him that he should keep his dogs under control and not block a cycling path.
I accept that I was doing more than 5mph but I really believe that his handling of his dogs and the way he conducted himself was far more of an issue.
I could easily bump into this guy again and would like to know the best way to handle him in your opinion.
cheers.

 

[jorgea]

You can tell him that putting his dogs on you like that is not lawful and you are going to complain to his boss and get him fired. Try that next time you see him if he pulls the same act.

 

[Dave Cutter]

Originally Posted by tinbasher1 .

I accept that I was doing more than 5mph but I really believe that his handling of his dogs and the way he conducted himself was far more of an issue.
I could easily bump into this guy again and would like to know the best way to handle him in your opinion.
cheers.

Yeah... and maybe... the old dog walker saw you coming for a mile... and knew just how fast you were cycling.

AND MAYBE.... his grand-daughter was hit [or nearly hit] by a cyclist just last weekend. So... it could be that he really didn't care if the dogs slowed down a speeder.

You should be proud of yourself for accepting that your behavior was wrong. Also... you acknowledged that the other guy was a bigger butt hole than yourself. Which shows just how overly modest you are. I would guess you need to give yourself more credit.

Next time you run into the guy... maybe you could be cycling the speed limit. If he seems to remember you... maybe a friendly hello would be in order. I really wouldn't lose any sleep [or cycling miles] over a gruff conversation. Just let it go.