Originally Posted by
DX-MAN
One of the worst, though, was the clown who had his little toy-sized dog on a 25' retractable leash, ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE MUP. When I hollered, he pulled his dog in, cut his eyes at me -- and looked away quickly while I stared him down, going by at about 6-7mph.....
The nearest MUP to my present setting is one where you might run into variations on that guy several times in
three miles, plus a couple of baby-jogger posses, a few kids riding in circles, way too many full-kit roadies who are scared to ride on the difficult adjacent road, maybe a skater, maybe a
bunch of tourists from all around the planet, on rented bikes (we call them "map people"). . . on pretty much any nice afternoon.
I'm pretty sure that one of the disconnects in threads like this is a result of the difference in local experiences. To some, "MUP" evokes images of bike paths that were really built (or converted) for cycling and are used mostly by cyclists for long stretches, with occasional other users. Others think of a path like the one I described. And everything in between.
You just can't ride on busy MUPs (paths
definitely intended, designed and maintained for peds and baby-joggers and kids riding in circles, on an at-least equal basis with "serious cyclists") as you can on "bike paths" or "bikeways" or similar segregated facility. They can be great places to walk or ride -- the view from the local MUP is pretty special -- but you need to be prepared to frequently slow to near walking speed, and not infrequently just stop and wait.
If you "blame" other users on MUPS for slowing you down by not behaving as operators of vehicles, I think you're blaming the wrong folks.
The people who are responsible are the ones who keep building roads that don't adequately accommodate cyclists (among others), pushing you to choose to ride on a MUP.