Wrong Side Of the Path
 

So, I was out for a ride this afternoon because it was actually a decent day out. Just before crossing one of the major bridges in town where I live, I was on an MUP. I saw the guy coming the other way on the wrong side of the path, so I started moving closer to the right side of the path. He matched me move for move. We ended up colliding more or less head on. He was like :" WTF? What the Hell's wrong with you." I never said anything, because what could I have said? He got back on his bike with a few "F-Bomb you" uttered as he rode away. I continued on my way, after fixing my mirror, while debating whether or not to make a report to police, but decided not to, given that it wouldn't be a priority. I've posted a Google Streetveiw of the path below. The pathway is bi-directional, with a standard center line. There's no reason he should have been on the side of the path that he was.

This is the second time this year that this has happened to me. The first time was on the bridge and only a near miss.

Aprox location :https://goo.gl/maps/PX7xPriHSGu

Misplaced Britisher who forgot which country he was in, perhaps?

Yeah, probably one of those that I encounter almost daily riding in the bike path on the left side of the road. Sometimes I'll hear a "Sorry"... indicating they know people generally ride to the right.

I haven't encountered a wrongway cyclist on a MUP. But, on the road, I'll generally glance back a few times, then pull left onto the road, or watch what the wrong-way cyclist does, and go in the opposite direction they move.

Most of our local MUPS have no center line, or only have a center line around corners. People work it out.

As you two closed the gap between each other you should of yelled out a forceful "Heads up". Then given him a proper throttling had you collided.

I needed to do this a few times this year with morons on their cell phones. Fortunately avoided any collisions.

When you're walking and might end up doing the pedestrian dance, just make a full stop and let the other decide how to go around you.

Same for cycling if it doesn't look as if one is making a definite move to avoid you.

While walking, riding a bike, driving a car, etc, I try to avoid collisions.

LOL. The OP was so much more evolved that he ... caused an avoidable collision?

Bravo. You know, if verbal alerts are unsuccessful, one could merely turn perpendicular to the path of travel and block both lanes, forcing the other rider to stop, so that you could explain the situation. I usually fade left, then make room by moving back right ... unless i think the oncoming rider doesn't look to o stable , in which case i will go into the traffic lane or onto the grass, because I know I can handle a bike, and wouldn't want to push a person off the road who might be less able.

That, coupled with a loud but friendly "You are riding wrong side of the road" seems sufficient.

In this case ... the OP seemed to say, "I will see your bet of ignorance and move all-in with total stupid."

The OP deliberately rode into another cyclist ... and seems aggrieved that the cyclist cursed him? BF is smiling upon me today .... this kind of humor is rare in real life.

Similar happened to me one time when I was a kid. Collided with an older kid on the sidewalk. We matched each other move for move. Weird how that can sometimes happen. Technically I stopped in time, but his rim brakes weren't up to the task and we had a low-speed collision.

If it looks like it will happen again, just stop in the correct lane position. Stop early so he has plenty of time to react. If he gets close, and it is not clear if he will hit you, scream as loud as you can. I like to yell " heads up" if someone still does not get it soon enough, I yell "wake up". Not good, some people may get mad. But I don't care, it's better than a collision.

Well, the nice part about second-guessing someone is you can never be proved wrong. You weren't there, you have no way of knowing that the alternatives you propose would have had a better outcome. I don't know whether this guy would have insisted on plowing into OP if he stopped on the path, for example, or if going off onto the grass was a viable option where the OP was (looks like an inward slope directly next to the path in the photo that might make that maneuver tricky). If I were in the OP's situation, I would hope that I'd have the ability to tell the guy to go to his right (I have done so in similar situations), but sometimes these things happen a bit faster than you have to express words.

Ah, a salmon.

I've been hit by one too.
His explanation: "I take corners so fast I have to cut across to the other side."
At the moment of impact, I had pulled over and had a foot down. I guess it helped some.

When in doubt, slow down.
When in considerable doubt, stop.
Hitting someone stationary tends to be difficult to blame entirely on someone else.
Sure, accidents do happen, but if you had time for that mutual jockeying for position, it does sound like it would have been avoidable.

How far in advance did you initiate your avoidance maneuver? I can't imagine that he reacted your your move in order to target you. More than likely, you both maneuvered at the same time.

heheheheheheheheheheheheheheheheh


two idiots meet

I love how these threads always degenerate into some grand inquisition with the goal of blaming the OP for the mishap.

Y'all weren't there, and there isn't a black box to minutely pick apart the details.
Oblivious guy wandering further and further into your lane is not a one-off problem--it's possible to discuss how you handle it without jumping to accuse the OP of doing it wrong.

Twice this week I had a guy on an electric bike flying down the wooded MUP that i ride on the way home from work. We must get off work at the same time so we meet somewhere on this 3-mile long path. He has almost hit me head on twice now. We both have lights. I see him a long way off, but have no way to know it's him. He uses both lanes because there are lots of gentle curves and he is going too fast to stay on his side. Makes me want to run my light on flash, but it's too aggravating for me and every other trail user.

The point is: He could have taken me out TWICE now head-on. Sheet happens fast sometimes. It's pretty dark other than our lights, hard to judge his speed until too late.

Some people just love playing chicken. Perhaps an entitled assertive showing of their dominate ego. In cars. On bike. On foot. I get drivers doing it in cars all the time in my neighborhood. To the point I have to pull over almost completely into the shoulder/ravine/gutter and stop my car to avoid them heading on into me.

On my hybrid bicycle (giant escape) some years ago I Had a great encounter with a jogger on a dirt fire road . I'm cruising along on right hand side at 3 or 4 Mph in the Sandy rocky gravel path of about 16 feet wide. He's trotting along at 2 or 3 Mph. We see each other about 20 seconds before meeting. At this point the trail turn to heavier Sandy and craggy gravel with a small 1 foot shoulder that remains firm packed. I move over to my right and slow to 2mph. Inching along on what I judged to be the safest place for positioning myself for us to pass each other. He has 12feet wide of good pedestrian jogging road but as we get closer he also chooses this small shoulder (he's salmoning hard) aligning himself for a slow motion head on collision at 0.5mph. At this point we're making strong eye contact. I'm idling down my speed to an almost stand still. I think to myself surely with how slow I am going and far far over to the right I am surely he will side step around me being on foot - he has better traction and maneuverability than I do on a bike. He's super shredded wearing split shorts no shirt ..im thinking to myself he looks like he could handle a few steps on uneven road to keep us both cruising along on our merry ways. . But this did not happen and we collided into one another. He grabbed my handlebars and I put my feet down as we met. He's says whoa are you having a bad day? I keep my mouth shut and hop back on my bike and continue in my direction. . A learning lesson for me. Pedestrian privilege is rampant in some places. Probably some ego on my part but I reasoned in my head I was doing a safe and logical thing.. I quickly let it go and try to be more humble and accommodating in the future. My life may depend on it.

Don't ask me about the beach cruiser salmon ninjas. These people play chicken every day so they've become quite good at it. I could write a book on the so many encounters I've had with the oh so common fully-blacked-out-head-to- toe ninja black clothing and black bicycle commuters. In dark in daylight they're always there and you never know when they're going to strike. Stay aware. Your life may depend on it.

Hell, I've had this happen out in the open ocean, while swimming a 1/2 mile off shore... No lanes, no markers, no "path" to speak of, yet two, heads down swimmers making their way in and out of a cove... and blammo! You lock arms in a most painful way... crash heads and wonder... "where the hell did you come from... "

Now things are a bit different out there in open water... you generally are not looking ahead but occasionally, you tend to navigate by watching fixed points on land when you turn your head to breath... and even if you did look ahead, there is a good chance anyone else ahead, and low in the water, is obscured by the rise and fall of the ocean waves.

But still, in all that water... you really do not expect to encounter someone... yet... blammo! Oh if only there were a line or something... ;)

I would have stopped, put my hand onto my bear spray canister and...

Happens here a lot. Eastern Europeans, most of them. Once we're in shouting distance I call ''left!'' As obviously I can't shout ''You're in ****ing England now you thick ****!''
I always manage to avoid a collision, or they do as they get bush-whipped.

a salmon, great term:)

also love the "You're in England"!

get a super heavy steel bike, load it up and prepare for round 2:p

This ^^^^

I see a good number of people walking against traffic on MUPs, very few people biking on the wrong side of the MUP. Basically, the issue is that we teach people to walk against traffic on roads, but they think it applies to walking on MUPs or biking roads... and for the OP, biking against traffic on MUPs.

To the people throwing hate at the OP for the collision, really?!?! I've darted off trails to avoid these type of people, and with minor changes in conditions, I'd likely collided with the person riding the wrong way. It's like hating on a person getting into a collision with a wrong way driver on the road.

As far as pedestrians, I ride wherever they are not.

The argument for pedestrians on the right is it allows bicycles to match their pace until conditions allow safe passing.

The argument for pedestrians on the left is that they're facing whatever comes at them (except the wrong-way cyclists).

At night, pedestrians are often hard to spot.

Minneapolis has posted signs on trails to reinforce all trail users should stay to the right... but some people can't read. Likewise, we have signed that faster trail-users should announce passes, that rarely happens.

While on my bike, the person on foot always has the right-of-way. Once in a while, they make it very difficult to yield the right of way, but I do it.