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I think if you blow through stop signs and make close passes to pedestrians, you should not be critical if a car or truck blows a stop sign and narrowly misses your a$$.
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Raleighsport- what you call a redneck is a good ole country boy/girl here What I call a redneck is racist meth making, pot growing, copper stealin' white trash. and I have been ask more than once when it is mentioned I ride a bike if I am "one of the spandex wearing jerks" that think they own the road so yes we often get lumped together till you seperate your self I was taught you say something to some one in your group before some one outside the group has to.
I rode around 70 miles this week end I fixed a tire for an elderly gentleman, provided first aid kit for a hiker with a blister pumped up a tire for a little girl stopped to make sure a roadie had everything he needed to fix a tire and stopped for a lady who dumped her bike . this is the image of a cyclist I prefer to project I am enough of a old school hillbilly I will call you on acting like a dumbass If you don't like that oh well that is who I am. You hit someone young or elderly and they don't some one to take care of them you will probablely deal with me . just who I am . Roy |
That's not really a problem in my experience (it's the ones blowing down the sidewalk and sometimes even going the wrong way with kids around) I always slow down and ring the bell, why would you risk running over some kid? Even if it's 10KPH
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Originally Posted by kenji666
(Post 15562498)
Children are unpredictable. Whether I'm driving down the road in my car and I see a kid chasing a ball toward the road, or a kid on a bike wandering all over the trail, I'm going to slow down and give them a wide berth. Even though I'm legally not required to slow down to 5-10 mph, I don't want to be responsible for running over a kid.
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Originally Posted by JoeyBike
(Post 15563453)
In other words...WAKE UP! Treat a bike path as you would any other roadway. Do not spread out across the entire width. Stay alert. Use a mirror on your bike if that's what it takes. Realize that idiots lurk around every corner of the planet.
One day long ago an elderly gent approached me as I rested on a bench in the park near my bicycle. He was looking for a fight with any cyclist. "Are you one of those cyclists who rides IN THE ROAD?" He went on to tell me how his wife was walking Downtown and was badly injured as she was struck by some maniac on a bicycle as she crossed the street. I then asked him if the bicyclist fell from the sky onto his wife to which he responded "No, he was riding in the street". "Was this cyclist, and his bicycle somehow INVISIBLE?", I asked? "What the He11 are talking about?" was the response. My point, as I explained, was the cyclist riding in the street was certainly visible to any normal human being who knows to look both ways before they cross any street. If his wife was "struck" she almost certainly walked right out IN FRONT OF HIM. She should be happy the cyclist did not file suit for his damages. And how many clueless pedestrians do you think the cyclist would hit if he was riding on the freaking sidewalk instead of using the legal roadway? "Tell your wife to look carefully both ways before she steps into oncoming traffic". The geezer then moved on without further comment. It's all point-of-view really. Doesn't even matter if the cyclist was breaking the law or being reckless. Someone got hurt at least in part because that someone was not paying due attention to their surroundings. |
Originally Posted by plumberroy
(Post 15564538)
I have been ask more than once when it is mentioned I ride a bike if I am "one of the spandex wearing jerks" that think they own the road so yes we often get lumped together
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Originally Posted by frantik
(Post 15564846)
in your example you're describing people lumping cyclists based on clothing..
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I've never wondered why people try to run me over because I don't think anyone is trying to run me over. You'd think the world is full of maniac drivers hunting people like in The Duel. When stuff happens it's because someone made an error, not because they want to kill me. To the few true lunatics out there that have it in for cyclists, the problem is that they're lunatics...and nothing you do, or anyone else did, is liable to help. It could just as easily be the Government, Masons, heavy metal, etc. etc. etc.
You are responsible for your behavior. A jerk cyclist doesn't represent me any more than a jerk motorist represents all motorists. If someone is judging me by the behavior of another, the issue is on their end and I'm not at all interested in their opinions/rationalizations. |
to most people cyclists = spandex wearing jerks |
Originally Posted by KonAaron Snake
(Post 15564860)
You are responsible for your behavior. A jerk cyclist doesn't represent me any more than a jerk motorist represents all motorists. If someone is judging me by the behavior of another, the issue is on their end and I'm not at all interested in their opinions/rationalizations.
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Originally Posted by rxmoore
(Post 15561777)
I've had far fewer problems with overly aggressive roadies than with other users; families out for a walk four-abreast, people pushing baby carriages, people with little kids on bikes wobbling all over the trail, people walking dogs, groups on rollerblades, etc.
As for children, there aren't always available places for them to practice before they're ready for the road. (I remember taking my four year old to a basketball court to practice, but it isn't long before children want to "go somewhere" on their bicycles.) Paths seem like a perfect solution, and if we want parents and future adults to be friendly towards cyclists, we should be courteous, and give them as much room as we reasonably can, just as we would give a lot of room to a blind skier if we met one on the slopes, or to a man walking on crutches if we wanted to run on the sidewalk. It's not a child's fault if he wobbles and has a hard time riding in a straight line.
Originally Posted by rxmoore
(Post 15561777)
The problem as it see it is a lack of situational awareness on the part of a lot of trail users, coupled with inflated egos and short tempers. . . .
I actually nearly got in a fist fight yesterday with someone who thought I passed a little too closely to his 6-year old on a bicycle (I didn't). He believed that He and His Daughter has some kind of superior right to the trail and everyone else needed to adjust to them. I'm not willing to throw down over minor infractions of MUP etiquette but if I had been, there would have been another eager participant. I made fun of him instead. |
Originally Posted by KonAaron Snake
(Post 15564860)
I've never wondered why people try to run me over because I don't think anyone is trying to run me over. . . . When stuff happens it's because someone made an error, not because they want to kill me.
Originally Posted by KonAaron Snake
(Post 15564860)
A jerk cyclist doesn't represent me any more than a jerk motorist represents all motorists.
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Originally Posted by kmv2
(Post 15564809)
kids are weaving around, run them over!
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I have ridden all sections of the Little Miami trail as well as others throughout Ohio. Most of the slower moving traffic, walkers, strollers, dogs, etc. are within a mile or two of the towns you pass through. Long sections in between when you can safely get up to speed are often times completely vacant. When on an MUP you have to anticipate that there is going to be slower traffic in the town areas so you do the courteous thing and slow down and don't act like you're on a race circuit. At least in Ohio there are plenty of rural roads where you can get go as fast as you want for long distances. In fact all the serious road cyclists don't train on MUPs. That is simply not the place for it. My bet is that the full kitted rider that the OP encountered was a complete wannabe novice. Experienced cyclists don't behave that way.
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Originally Posted by CB HI
(Post 15564067)
Thus the multiple lanes each direction on so many roads. MUPs without the standard minimum 12 foot width to provide safe passing at cycling speeds are improperly built and should not be classified as MUPs.
Originally Posted by CB HI
(Post 15563678)
And know 10 mph is considered fast on a MUP. Seriously, they have just become offroad sidewalks, even though most of them were paid in part with Federal transportation funds.
Originally Posted by CB HI
(Post 15564246)
And why then do you blame the cyclist for the improper behavior of others?
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Originally Posted by storckm
(Post 15564898)
Not even funny.
meant to side with OP. Let me re-word, A single cyclists was weaving around, run him over!! |
Originally Posted by CB HI
(Post 15564246)
And why then do you blame the cyclist for the improper behavior of others?
Train on the road. If you have a better idea for a solution, one that might actually be achievable, I'd love to hear it. |
There are a lot of unreasonable people on MUPs. There are plenty of pedestrians I'd like to slap for being rude. There are plenty of other cyclists I'd like to slap for being rude. There are plenty of people in general that I'd like to slap for gross ignorance. My view is that it is unreasonable to have your child on a MUP before they can control their bikes and that it's unreasonable to watch little Jimmy ride in circles across the entire lane. It's also unreasonable not to slow down and follow basic standards of care to make sure you don't hit them. Someone else acting like a pud doesn't excuse you for acting like a pud and a lot of people are just obnoxious. It's life. If you see a child, expect unpredictable behavior and slow down.
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Originally Posted by KonAaron Snake
(Post 15565416)
My view is that it is unreasonable to have your child on a MUP before they can control their bikes and that it's unreasonable to watch little Jimmy ride in circles across the entire lane.
When you think about, lots of kids these days live in environments where there is no safe place to learn to ride a bike, unless someone takes them to a nearby MUP. |
And I disagree with anyone who thinks it's acceptable that their behavior impedes other behavior on a MUP. I know that a large percentage of MUP users think it's perfectly acceptable to walk four abreast and that everyone else should go on the grass around you. I don't think it's acceptable. Does it mean I'm going to yell or fight about it? Of course not, it's a MUP and I don't think there are clear/universal standards of behavior. It doesn't mean I don't mumble jack wad under my breath. I agree with your underlying point...cyclists are not the only users or relevant perspective.
I understand, and to some extent agree with, your point about a lack of places for kids. I'm not in favor of banning them or yelling at them and I think it's great that the kids are being introduced to MUPs. At the same time I think it's reasonable to expect their parents to try and have them stay in one direction rather than riding around in a circle. I think there are ways it can be monitored and controlled where it's less obnoxious. The bottom line is that it's your duty, and common sense, to slow down when passing a child. |
In my experience, MUP's at busy times are not great for any cyclist who want's to go more than 10 mph (all of the local MUP have a 15 mph limit). In general there is an entire gaggle of clueless MUP users, from the multiple people walking abreast, non single file cyclists, rollerbladers, dogs on leash, kids not on leash, recumbent trikes, etc. I ride slow and defensively (assuming the next person/animal/etc I meet will do a bone headed move). I have had to dodge or slow my progress more often for people riding bike too fast and passing even if it means getting in my face arather than slowing down.
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Originally Posted by KonAaron Snake
(Post 15565416)
There are a lot of unreasonable people on MUPs. There are plenty of pedestrians I'd like to slap for being rude. There are plenty of other cyclists I'd like to slap for being rude. There are plenty of people in general that I'd like to slap for gross ignorance. My view is that it is unreasonable to have your child on a MUP before they can control their bikes and that it's unreasonable to watch little Jimmy ride in circles across the entire lane. It's also unreasonable not to slow down and follow basic standards of care to make sure you don't hit them. Someone else acting like a pud doesn't excuse you for acting like a pud and a lot of people are just obnoxious. It's life. If you see a child, expect unpredictable behavior and slow down.
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Yep. Speeding cyclists are, generally, the most dangerous users on a MUP. And they frighten other users into "wrong" and counterproductive behaviors. I long ago stopped being surprised by people explaining that they walk on the left, on a MUP, so they "can see the bikes coming" -- just as they would face oncoming traffic on a highway.
Makes perfect sense, really. I'm not very comfortable on my bike when adjacent-lane overtaking traffic is moving five times faster than I am, unless my lane is 12 feet wide. |
Originally Posted by robert schlatte
(Post 15564934)
I have ridden all sections of the Little Miami trail as well as others throughout Ohio. Most of the slower moving traffic, walkers, strollers, dogs, etc. are within a mile or two of the towns you pass through. Long sections in between when you can safely get up to speed are often times completely vacant. When on an MUP you have to anticipate that there is going to be slower traffic in the town areas so you do the courteous thing and slow down and don't act like you're on a race circuit. At least in Ohio there are plenty of rural roads where you can get go as fast as you want for long distances. In fact all the serious road cyclists don't train on MUPs. That is simply not the place for it. My bet is that the full kitted rider that the OP encountered was a complete wannabe novice. Experienced cyclists don't behave that way.
You also have University of Cincinnati, Xavier, and Miami U up the road So you get a lot of rich kids with daddy's money that think their crap doesn't stink that is you get the jerk in spandex atitude I like the mups because most run through the country or along the river . Roy |
Originally Posted by rxmoore
(Post 15561777)
I'm not a racer by any means, but I tend to ride a bit faster than the typical "recreational rider" on our local MUPs. I've had far fewer problems with overly aggressive roadies than with other users; families out for a walk four-abreast, people pushing baby carriages, people with little kids on bikes wobbling all over the trail, people walking dogs, groups on rollerblades, etc.
The problem as it see it is a lack of situational awareness on the part of a lot of trail users, coupled with inflated egos and short tempers. I'll try to adjust my speed when I'm coming up on other groups so I don't get caught in the middle of anything, like slower riders passing walkers or two groups passing in opposite directions. It's not always easy. I actually nearly got in a fist fight yesterday with someone who thought I passed a little too closely to his 6-year old on a bicycle (I didn't). He believed that He and His Daughter has some kind of superior right to the trail and everyone else needed to adjust to them. I'm not willing to throw down over minor infractions of MUP etiquette but if I had been, there would have been another eager participant. I made fun of him instead. Bottom line - take care of your own behavior and it may surprise you how few problems you'll run it to. Do not force others to adapt to your lack of courtesy. That goes no less for needlessly obstructing the trail than for riding too aggressively. Amen to that. Decades ago I used to ride the Santa Monica Beach Bike Path. There were a couple of sections where SOME of the time I'd go as hard as I could because some of the time those sections were empty and some of the time they were crowded. I recall one time where a couple of roller bladers were weaving in and out of fairly heavy traffic on the path. People fools would have called reckless. They actually were not going all that fast and were very much in control. It makes a difference how well within your abilities you are. |
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