What nice weather...70s in February in Maryland! I'll go for a ride that's not on an indoor trainer. And I'll take the local walking/jogging/dog/horse/cycling trail for part of that ride!
Bad idea.
This day reminded me why I only use the local MUP when necessary. Everyone decided to use the trail today. No surprise; I'm glad that they're out enjoying the day. But constantly shouting "passing on your left" is annoying enough, but having walkers/joggers/dogs on leashes strung out across the entire trail and most people wearing ear buds makes the "on your left" exercise futile. Worse, one woman jumped to her left as I announced that I was passing, causing me to go into some shrubs to avoid her.
So this brings me finally to the point of this post. Do any of you ride on MUPs where the posted rule is for pedestrians to walk against cycling traffic, instead of with their backs to it? This is what I learned to do from the time I was in kindergarten. It's what AAA and many states advise. So why, on my MUP, does nearly everyone walk/jog/stroller with their backs to cyclists, plus with earbuds in their ears?
I also walk and run on our MUP, and lately I've begun doing so on the left. What a world of difference. I can see cyclists coming, never get buzzed or surprised, it doesn't matter if I'm listening to music and everyone seems happy. Well, everyone except for the one cyclist and one group of joggers who yelled at me to get on the right.
I took this concern to the MUP Ranger station today and their response was as follows: (1) If pedestrians walk facing cyclists, they'll be in the cyclists' way.
And (2) we plan to put up a sign forbidding the use of earbuds and headphones on the MUP.
Yep, I'll bet that goes over well. And it's so much more practical than just asking peds to walk facing traffic.
Obviously, this is more of a rant than anything, but I am genuinely curious if you've experienced a different situation on your MUP.