Originally Posted by
JeremyLC
I was furious at myself for not being more careful and avoiding the collision. (not sure how I would)
I'm sorry you were in a crash, and I'm sorry you hit a little girl. I don't want to beat you up, but here are a few tips in the interest of avoiding this kind of thing in the future.
(1) Slow down for blind curves. If you can't see otherwise, assume there's a bonehead in the middle of your path on the other side of the turn. It's less fun this way, but it helps you avoid guilt and anguish.
(2) Be extremely wary on MUPs either at busy times, or in busy places. Expect people to be walking their dogs in the wrong place, walking across the bike path without looking first, parked sideways adjusting their bike computer, or whatever.
(3) The speed limit isn't a challenge. It's the fastest speed allowed on the trail, and that means under ideal conditions.
(4) Consider taking the road instead. It might be safer to swim with the sharks ( cars and trucks ) than clueless people enjoying a brisk walk on the trail.
Originally Posted by
JeremyLC
They KNOW there are other fast cyclists (and I mean skin-suit wearing roadies who could drop me like a bad habit, and sometimes do) on the trail (they would've seen them for sure.), they KNOW there are people coming towards them.
Maybe they don't know. This might have been their first time on the trail. They might have been tourists from Iowa. Anyway, whatever was going on in their minds, is irrelevant. What matters is that everyone on a road or a trail has an obligation to avoid collisions.
Originally Posted by
tjspiel
Just as an aside. I know of fellow cyclists even that get annoyed when roadies choose the road instead of a MUP running parallel to it. This is exactly why they do.
Really? Cyclists get annoyed at roadies for
not taking the MUP? I'm starting to be one of those roadies ... I got jumped by a dog on a mountain trail, and realized that avoiding crowded trails will prevent most dog surprises.