Chicago Al 

Such were the words, she swears an exact quote, that my wife heard from a cyclist on the MUP that starts just N of our house today. It's a winding path that runs through a narrow park along the N branch of the Chicago River. It's very popular in nice weather, with pedestrians, including toddlers and the elderly, rollerbladers, dog walkers, etc. using the main path (painted line down the middle) and the secondary paths that connect to playgrounds, picnic tables, etc. Cyclists are more likely to be casual or commuters (like my kids going to HS) than roadies.

My wife was on her morning walk, and was at a point where two or three paths converge with a sidewalk, by one of the few road crossings. She was entering the path, two other walkers were as well, NOT walking abreast, and along comes a cyclist *with a dog on a leash* who yells at them that he has the right of way. And, the actual words 'get out of my way!' Apparently the 'right of way' concept was very important to him as he continued to yell it as he rode away. My wife does not take anything from anyone at any time so she let him know what he could do with his right of way.

Just a fun story I thought you'd enjoy.

But I do have a question:







Which one of you A&S zealots is visiting Chicago?

68venable

haha get outta the way or get bit!

CommuterRun

COOL!!

unterhausen

if there were no U-locks involved, we are innocent

kludgefudge

People with dogs on long leashes, especially those using some sort of wheeled conveyance themselves, are the bane of MUP's. freakin movin trip lines.

Wanderer

Give that Lady a stout broomstick, and encourage her to walk the MUP more often......

And, it's for stickin, not hittin......

DX-MAN

Yeah, using the broomstick to 'Cinzano' the jerk's front wheel, and the bristle end to stick in Fido's face.... j/k.

Seriously, though, the guy was a jerk, and needs to be 'educated'. AFAIK, even though it's not codified in most places, the only entity that has ROW over a ped is a HANDICAPPED ped! (Not counting emergency vehicles with lights and sirens going............)

JoeyBike

Tie a dog to your bike and you lose all road privileges.

plumberroy

that's what I was thinking If I'm on foot I usually got a second hand ski pole as a walking stick . just sayin'

SunnyFlorida

I don't get it. Why would the cyclist think he had the right of way? Is it because he could do the most damage between the bike and the dog?

BTW, poor dog. Whenever I see a cyclist walk his dog that way, I usually see the cyclist casually riding while the poor dog looks like he's running the last mile of a marathon.

Not that it doesn't work for certain types and breeds of dogs (especially those breed to race like greyhounds). However, it doesn't quite work well for short leg and/or stocky dogs.

Anyway, hope your wife gave him what for. Jerk!!!

B. Carfree

In Oregon we have this strange piece of the vehicle code that explicitly states that motor vehicles have the right of way over pedestrians on roadways with no sidewalks. Since bike paths are defined as roads in OR and bikes have all the rights and responsibilities of motor vehicles, it makes for an interesting right-of-way situation on the bike paths here. It's kind of a moot point since no one comes out in the wet months (about 7 per year) and when they do come out they perform a pedestrian critical mass of 3-5 wide. Lots of the groups have kids, so the unwritten kid right-of-way comes into play. (Never scare a child. If you have to get off and walk to avoid scaring a child, do it.) Like the fellow from Hawaii said in another thread, first we have bike paths, then they call them mups, then they are off-street sidewalks: no bikes allowed.

Still, that guy sure was a jerk.

gcottay

MUP Priorities

1. horses
2. walkers
3. joggers
4. slow moving cyclists
5. runners
6. fast moving cyclists

Lower numbers should be predictable. Higher numbers gracefully yield.

Flying Merkel

Being an owner of three greyhounds, I have to insert a correction. Greyhounds are sprinters; a dog race is only about 550 yards. They'll cover that in just a few ticks over 30 seconds. "Walking" them on a bike is cruel & dangerous to the breed. Our pack is happy with a walk of about a mile, then they're finished. Breeds like Dalmatians need long walks. Had a little Schipperke that had endurance way beyond human short of a marathoner.

Anyway, biking with doggies is nothing I like to see. Tell the guy the the M in MUP stands for Multiple, as in multiple use path.

Wanderer

Yep, that's the way it is over here on the other side of the state, too.

Funny, though, when they were being built (at taxpayer expense) they were touted, and advertised, as "Bike Paths." Then, they evolved.

68venable

Ive got a border collie and an australian shepherd, I wouldnt take them on a walk/run long enough that Id need a bike.

sggoodri

In most states the vehicle code stipulates that pedestrians walking along the highway are required to yield the roadway to vehicle traffic (motorized or not). It is legally arguable that paths are highways and that pedestrians walking along them should yield to bicycle traffic, but I don't know anybody in government willing to support this argument.

Where I live, paths were constructed first for pedestrians (many have steps) and later relabeled as multi-use facilities, and then highlighted as bicycle facilities on bike maps. Some of the steps have been upgraded with ramps, but many pre-ADA trailheads and paths remain. The parks departments are unlikely to promote cyclist right of way over pedestrians, and generally discourage fast cycling.

sggoodri

Let me guess: Does he pull a boat trailer on narrow roads and lean on the horn when he encounters cyclists?

Alternatively: Did he get frustrated with people leaning on the horn when he biked on roadways and then found somewhere to transfer this anger?

The problems with "right of speed" paradigm don't go away with a change of vehicles.

Pscyclepath

Right-of-way is never something that you can claim or seize for yourself... it has to be a gift, e.g., the other fellow has to give it to you, otherwise there's going to be a crash ;-)

Typically the rules on trails and multi-use paths are that hikers and bikers yield to equestrians (because of the horses' high proclivity to spook and bolt, sometimes taking their riders with them, and in any case presenting the danger to all others of a loose, out-of-control thousand pound scared animal); bikers yield to hikers.

In almost all MUP systems that I'm familiar with, pedestrians have right of way over cyclists, and your need to complete your interval doesn't overrule your requirement to safely pass any slower traffic and not to endanger anyone else on the trail.

Chicago Al 

That is well said, Psychlepath. The (kinda) funny thing is, the 'Right of Way' is apparently seen by some as absolute. You can see it in the occasional thread here. I don't get how 'right of way' gives you the right to run into someone, even if they 'shouldn't be there'.

Frankly I am a little disappointed in this thread as no one has jumped in to accuse me of 'blaming the cyclist.'

Which, of course, I was.

FWIW from wife's description this rider was not a spandex-clad cadence-counting watt-pumping roadie a-hole. Just a regular one.

She didn't have any further description of the dog, but suspects it's the one which craps in the parkway outside our house on a regular basis. This is very unlikely, but I am not going to argue with her. I may be one of the few middle aged guys in the country with a wife who's more a curmudgeon than I am. And that's saying something.

JRA

Whenever I see a cyclist connected to a dog, my first thought is, "look at this idiot!" It's possible that I can coexist but the dog had better be damn well behaved!

A pedestrian has as much right to use a MUP as a cyclist does. Bicyclist don't have the right of way any more than motorists have the right of way on roadways.

I've had pedestrians get totally off a MUP to get out of my way. I tell them they don't have to do that. When I get an opportunity to pass them safely, I'll pass them.

Riding on a MUP is all about courtesy and sharing. Even little kids can be taught to share.

When I was on the college track team, I used to think it was rude when other track team members would yell "track!" to get non track team members out of the way so they could take the inside lane. Was that really necessary? I could half-way understand it if we were being timed but, sheesh!, even so, it's just training. And, of course, the runner 'in the way' would invariably move out just as the track team member was trying to pass, so they'd have to run a MUCH greater distance. If I was properly positioned, I'd slip by on the inside and the coach would think I was the fastest runner. LOL. (Not that I gave a rat's rear end what the coach thought).

Let's get real. Are you really in so much of a hurry that you have to be rude?

Wanderer

Hey Al, when I see someone walking a dog, that craps on my lawn, I follow them home.....

The next morning, they get a gift of their dog's droppings, smashed on their front porch........ I try to get as close to the door as possible.

Doesn't usually happen twice!

rumrunn6

I your wife

phoebeisis

Have to second Flying Merkel.
Phoebe and Isis (phoebeisis) are greyhounds(well Isis died at age 14 in 2005). They actually have /had surprisingly little endurance and not surprisingly have very little heat endurance.
I periodically forget this like I did 3 weeks ago.We-my son, Deuce a 55 lbs grossly obese beagle,Phoebe and me-went for a levee walk.It was 95 degrees, no clouds, high humidity. Well about 20 minutes into the walk I notice Phoebe lagging so I turned back.I brought lots of water and constantly applied it to Phoebe, but it was a miserable walk back to the car. Deuce crapped out about 10 minutes later, but beagles have spectacular endurance in cooler weather(and when they weigh under 30 lbs).

Dogs don't handle heat as well as humans.

Oh, only and idiot walks a dog from a bike.

SunnyFlorida

Thanks for the clarification. Good to know in general.

Wow!!! Saw some images of Schipperkes. Great looking dogs.

no motor?

I noticed that too, we're a big part of the justification for building them than have the lowest justification for using them.