cs1

I wasnt going to reply to this post https://69.16.211.161/showthread.php?t=185789 until I actually crashed yesterday. I was on the local bike path that has a really fun section of twisty road. We were going about 18 mph according to his computer. When he came around a turn there was a women walking her pit bull. She had the dog on a 20 foot lead that stretched across the 10 ft path. When he saw my brother in the lead he charged. My brother hit the brakes so hard closed the 3 ft gap in what seemed like a second. I hit his rear end going full speed, about 18 mph, and went down instantly. My head hit the pavement so hard I wasn't sure that I'd be able to get up. Fortunatley, I was OK and the bike wasn't really damaged at all.

Had I not had the helmet on I would be writing this from the hospital. The moral is don't be penny wise and pound foolish. You can get servicable helmets for $35 - $50. Don't be an OCP fool and not wear a helmet until you can afford a Limar or something that looks cool. That cheap Bell saved me.

Tim

clausen

Glad to hear your OK. The bike path near me is fun this time of year. No brush in the forest so you have some good visibility around corners and it's still cool enough outside to keep most people away. Come the summer and it's a totally different story. Poor visibility combined with the idiots walking and ridiing, all not paying attention. It's so bad I don't even dare ride or walk it in nice weather.

linux_author

- and my cheap (well, not really *that* cheap) Bell saved me three weeks ago (right shoulder is just getting back to normal now)...

- good to hear you're all right...

Guest

Next time, hit the dog. I wouldn't brake at all. First of all, dog owners should not have a leash more than 3 feet long on a bike/MUP. If it's longer than that, they don't have control of the dog.

Second of all, if a dog is charging you, and the owner has no control, you put yourself in all kind of harm. I would not harm myself if it came down to a "me or the dog" gets hurt situation. I win. Me first.

Glad to hear you're overall ok, though.

Koffee

thewalrus

That's really the worst... I've had a few close calls with people walking dogs on super-long leashes. Those retracting leashes on reels are made of a super-thin cord, it's so thin you can hardly see it until you're very close to it. Sometimes on the other end of a leash is a tiny little rat looking dog... if you clothesline your way through it, the dog could get pulled into a wheel at 30kph and that would be a really nasty situation.

Stjtoday

Between dog owners with long leashes and little kids on bikes that pay no attention to anyone other than there group.. trails scare the hell out of me.

Hipcycler

My 2-cents....

Glad you are OK.

18 on a MUP is just asking for trouble.

Stay on the road, or if you have to use the MUP, ya gotta slow way down and just expect the worst to happen.

squeakywheel

Agreed. If you can't see around corners or if the path is crowded, slow down. 18 mph is street speeds unless you can see a clear path for some distance.

Thinkof the MUP as a long skinny park with the whole city playing frisbee and stick hockey on it. Its great for a slow Sunday cruise on your bike. All those people on the MUP are your free entertainment. Slow down and enjoy it.

rule

Glad you guys lived to learn from your mistake.

baiskeli

I had this very thought last week. I was riding on the Minuteman trail and this woman had her dog (some kind of Terrier) off its leash. As soon as the dog saw me it ran towards me (in a non-threatening manner). I yelled NO! at it and it stopped rather than running into my path (I had slowed down to almost a complete stop). I then admonished the owner "Your dog needs to be on a leash". I got back a hearty "F*** you!" from her I just had no words of reply and just shook my head and rode on.

Next time this happens I will swerve to avoid the innocent dog and crash into the clueless owner.

Hipcycler

I got back a hearty "F*** you!"

.....Ain't people great!

GuitarWizard

I'd rather hit the owner instead of the dog. Not the dogs' fault the owner is an idiot.

Jinker

Of course, if that dog is actually a 'Pit Bull', neither is a very appealing option.

Getting tangled up with an angry, injured, dangerous animal, or injuring it's owner and wiping out. Neither are appealing scenarios.

*shudder*

A whole bunch of bull terrier owners get up in arms about 'breed specific licensing', IE: bans on certain dogs. It seems to me, though, that certain dogs ARE a whole lot more dangerous/deadly when they do attack.

It's also unfortunate that a lot of the fighting/attack dog breeds I see out there seem to be owned by careless/negligent/irresponsible owners. I probably don't see the responsible owners because they don't take their little killing machines out into the middle of city parks/shared use paths.

-Greg

Grasschopper

Check the laws in your area...I believe those leads are actually illegal as the law states (around here anyway) that the lead must be a max of 60". The other thing I see is dogs that are too large on those d@mn things. I know someone that had their GREAT DANE on one of those things...and it got him. He was walking the dog at our local Arts Festival and a rabbit ran through the crowd. The dog took off and the catch didn't...the cord snapped and came back, striking him in the eye. He lost vision in that eye and was lucky to keep the eye at all. I believe the weight limit is like 40 lbs if you actually read the package.

Edit: Just double checked the local law and it is actually 72" including the handle for the length of the leash.

Jared88

Really glad you are ok. Helmet saves lives! Not all the time but most of the time they do.

sunninho

Glad your helmet saved you and that you didn't have any neck or spinal injuries. I hope that lady apologized profusely.

GuitarWizard

Hmmm....I didn't think pit bulls could run that fast....

AndrewP

I see plenty of people exercising their dogs by the Lachine canal bike path. They are usually off their leashes but under control.

Baiskeli - that ***** should have been on a leash, not the dog.

DocRay

Trails suck. I'm safer on the road.

ElJamoquio

My first thought was the same as Koffee's; but you are correct. Hit the owner. That way you won't feel guilty about killing a dog.

rufvelo

Glad you're OK! AND continue to wear a helmet.

cs1

The really insulting thing was that my brother was telling the lady that her dog wasn’t under control and she started yelling at him and me. She said don’t try to blame me for your stupidity. Man, she didn’t even ask if I was alright. That’s adding insult to injury.

You’re correct, it was probably too fast. You kind of get wrapped up into the competition thing especially when it’s brother against brother.


Like I said earlier, she started to yell at us. I was kind of dazed when it happened. Now I’m just disappointed. People are really selfish or plain old stupid.