Originally Posted by noisebeam
None of us were there so we can't know what really happened and will of course give you the benefit of the doubt, but a few thoughts...
I don't know of any public (vs. private drives and parking lots) residential areas that have speed limits of 10mph. It seems cyclist fell into a lapse of innattention (not an excuse) or there was some other unexplained circumstance that lead to the incident.
Riding hard (which is irresponsible in places like this) can make one less attentive, crashing and pain can make one say stupid things (like blaming your daughter) All cyclists I know want to avoid at all costs crashing, especially when riding 25mph on pavement. This means swerving to avoid potholes, let alone a young child. No cyclist, except a deranged one with issues, wants to intentionally crash into a child.
Rage can make one react stupidly in response to a person who was not riding responsibly, but also not intentionally endangering you and your daughter. After getting kicked, they probably left the scene feeling less bad about it and learning less of a lesson vs. had you (done the near impossible) and offered to help them up while calmly lecturing them about speed and attentivess. But that is easy to say after the fact.
Drivers kill people daily due to lapses of inattention and other irresponsible behaviors.
Al
It may have been a private area... such as a housing area. One great MUP I ride often, goes into and parallel to streets in a housing development. The streets ARE considered private and are so posted as you enter the MUP from a public street above, but the path is public and is also so posted.
The housing area has posted speeds of 15MPH.
There are child play areas adjacent to the MUP.
Some cyclists fly down the street... leaving the MUP; some cyclists fly down the MUP even thougth there may be peds walking the family dog. I suppose that technically while in the street they should not go above 15MPH and that the peds should not be in the MUP. I think we should all cooperate and when I use the area, I greet walkers/runners and take care to watch for peds.
Some cyclists may not... in which case they could be setting a bad precedent for all cyclists. BTW in other areas the MUP also parallels a horse path covered with DG. Sometimes the horses/riders use the MUP and leave their "mark."