Originally Posted by jc1
First opportunity for a trail ride. Had my 10 and 6 year olds along with their BMX bikes. Hit the Fullerton loop for a slow paced 1hr or so in and back.
We passed a guy twice, once in and once out who was walking his dog. On the way out we passed him on a wide fire road section. Our pace was slow and we passed with plenty of room.
Our second pass was on a narrower section. We slowed way down and waited for the trail to be wide enough to pass safely. While waiting at a street crossing the guy catches up and begins to rant about animials having the right of way. How my kids are "riding their bikes back and forth on the trail" and how we are in danger of getting bit by a dog.
I explained to him that 1) this a busy trail, especially on the weekends. 2)as far as I know this is a bike trail too 3) we slowed down and passed him very safely.
I actually stopped and read the trail rules to my kids after that and still don't see where this guy is coming from. We actually passed a few other walkers/riders/joggers all who seemed to either be concentrating on their own excercise or otherwise were very friendly.
So the question is....did I just encounter a random A-hole on my first trail ride, or did we miss something.
This is funny because the one and only time I was ever bitten by a dog on a trail was on the Fullerton Loop. I was on one of the singletrack portions and a couple with a rottweiler was coming the other way. I pulled over, stopped and stepped off the trail into some trees. As they past me, the dog started sniffing and they said "Don't worry, he doesn't bite." No sooner did they say that when their dog lunged for my throat. Fortunately, I was faster and he was on a leash so he only clipped by side and tore my jersey but, nonetheless, I no longer trust dogs and dog owners on the trails.
As for your experience, it sounds like you just enountered an idiot. I always yell "coming through" as politely as possible from a distance in order to allow other trail users to react and, thus far, I've never heard a complaint. Common courtesy and lots of warning will go a long way.
KillerB: could you give any more moronic advice? Hmmm, let's see, brandish a firearm in order to utilize it as an attitude adjuster...friggin brilliant. As a former cop I can tell all of you that people like this are dangerous jerks who should not be disgracing our trails with their polluted presence. Sorry, KB, you've really crossed the line with this one.