They actually want cyclists on the sidewalks? Whoa. When there's a bike path here, it's a bike path, not a repurposed sidewalk. Interesting.

I wish I could take the MUP/bike path to get to work. I have to ride in urban traffic everyday. We do have "bike lanes" on part of my route however. On the weekends or for errands I will take the bike path if I am going in that direction simply because it's a nice scenic ride along the river. No, it does not cross busy intersections and parking lots and such. Depending on the time of day it can be a little busy with pedestrians but I am generally not in a hurry if I am using the bike path.

Must be a Surly. LOL I'm sure it's rigid at least...

The two absolute WORST bike accidents I have ever witnessed were on the bike path. In the first case, they had to fly the guy out on a helicopter. In the second case, the guy came around a blind curve at 20 MPH riding on the left side of the bike path. I calmly headed for the grass and braked while he panicked and locked up his front wheel and face planted at 20 MPH. He was carried away on a stretcher. I'm not saying don't take the bike path, I'm just saying that if you do, do not, for one second, do so believing that you are any safer than you are on the road, because you are not. If you take the bike path and relax and feel safe you are in more danger going that extra 2 miles than if you take the shorter route on the road and keep your spidey senses tingling.
I take the bike path when I'd rather see trees and rabbits and not hear traffic noise. But I do so knowing that it is just as dangerous as the road, if not more so.

Yeah, something about the MUP seems to inspire somnambulist navel gazing... I don't really want to see rabbits or squirrels, they love to look at you with indecisiveness and then dart right into your wheels at the last second!

On nice summer days this is one definite advantage to the MUP.

Yup, the only bicycle accident I have ever witnessed was on a MUP (I am still somewhat new to cycling). A kid, probably 12 or so, was coming down hill and the path curves to the left. He got spooked because he saw another cyclist on his left using the opposite lane, so he steered right and his right handle bar hit the wall (it was under a bridge). He then wiped. He hurt his knee a little, but was okay.

Point being, it may not seem intuitive to think cars are safer than kids, pets, etc, but as I ride more and learn more, the road looks better and better!

MUPs when I'm feeling lazy or on the hybrid. I don't enjoy mashing to keep up with traffic. If I'm on the road bike, I'll be on the road (mostly). Otherwise I'm going wayyyy too fast for the MUP and am a hazard to others.

Of course, MUPs are safer. Yes, they might be busy at times - you got slow down. Or you have to cross intersections with auto traffic - ok, but that's probably also true if you ride on the street??

After all this is a Commuting forum - meaning we are talking about getting to and from work on our bikes. We are not talking about road/racing/mountain biking whatnot.

Riding on the streets is inherently more dangerous. Some good advice here about taking the road, VC and wearing reflective clothes, lights and helmet etc, but all that is not a guarantee. If you still get hit by a car at 40 mph you're not gonna like it and you're not going to be ok (even the Lance-types here who claim a 25mph average speed- first you get hit at 15mph and than you smash into the road with 25mph). Yes, you can still fall off your bike on a MUP and get hurt... but let's be serious.

Depends whether it's a nice path or not. If it's got a view, or you can race other cyclists, or basically if the path has anything at all going for it, that's probably where I'd ride.

I regularly add about five miles to my ride home, for the fun of it. I'll start getting close to home, realize I'm enjoying myself, and do a lap around the lake. An extra two miles won't do much to slow you down, should be fun, and will get you some more exercise and fresh air.

How many of you can generalize all roads and mups into what is safe or not safe is beyond me.
I have a MUP in CO that crosses streets 0 times in 18 miles while a MUP I was riding on last night here in Vancouver crossed streets every 3 blocks.
The former is safer than the street while I felt the latter was less safe.
Just use common sense for your situation.

Hey, DataJunkie... welcome back!!!

I agree with the longer route, as long as it is well lit if you commute at dusk, dawn or night times. I take 2 routes. I go to work when it is still dark, so I take the main road close to my house, then down a sidestreet to work. After work I take a one way road to a bike path until I hit my main road again. If I had a bike path all the way from work I would take it. I would take it in the morning if it was lit up better. Can't be too carefull about wierdoes at 4:20 in the morning. Have a great day.

I disagree on both points. I believe the reason MUPs are more dangerous (or at least as dangerous) than roads is because most riders on the MUP believe they are safer so they do not take the normal safety precautions. A head on collision between two cyclists going 20 MPH on the MUP is catastrophic - I saw the results. Cyclists on the road, however, know they need to pay attention and as a result they are safer.

It is your attitude and actions while riding that determine your safety, regardless of whether you ride on the road or the MUP.

As opposed to a head on collision between two cyclists going 20 MPH on the street, of course....

I'd still say you're a little safer. Sure, it depends on what the MUP is like, what the street is like in comparison, etc.

But stories like yours involving cars sometimes end a little differently. Rather than "they were carried away in a stretcher", it's "they were carried away in a body bag". I can't really say if maybe it's just a publicity issue, but while I know of more people who have been injured on a MUP than on the road personally (well - 2, and one of them was a friend of a friend) I've read several stories of people killed while biking on the road, while exactly 1 about someone who died while on a MUP.

It soooooooo depends on the bike path, the road, the drivers in your area, etc.

For example, this is probably safer than your average road:


This probably isn't:


Of course, there's also a difference between this -


And this:


Or this:


Or this:

Thanks
I had to take a break. Thought it was permanent but randya missed me.

Maybe Randya was the only one willing to admit he missed you. Welcome back!

I could not have said it better ... you get the occasional car that is not paying attention, but I find them easier to spot than the dog walkers or joggers with Ipod/blackberry/etc not paying attention.

I have a question, if two people are walking side by side on a pathway and I ring my bell to give them a heads up that I am coming along ... why oh why ... do they ALWAYS stop in their tracks or jump directly into my path instead of just moving over to the right a bit??? The same question with dog walkers ... I ring the bell because the leash is across the path ... and they decide to just freeze in place???

Ultimately, I still take the pathways because they are more scenic and even with the hazards the collisions are at lower speeds and with softer objects!!!

It would depend. If the MUP crosses roads at grade, there can be issues. If the MUP goes under roads and has no traffic control devices...stop signs, yield, etc...it becomes a bicycle freeway and could be faster than the road.

Time of day can be a factor too. MUPs are generally empty early in the morning before work and, depending on the time of year, can be after work. Roads carry about the same traffic mornings and evenings, no matter what time of year you ride them.

Certainly a good point when you watch this video. So my comments below are not in disagreement with your observation nor meant to defend some of the poor design but to explain it as best I can.

First off, "they"- who are they? There are no "powers that be" mandating the use of this bike path. It's there to ride if you want it. It has it's upside and it's downside. I like thinking in terms of "we". Its somewhat disempowering to think in terms of "they". When I think in terms of "we" I feel like "we" can do something to change that. The "they" that designed it, built it, conceived of it are all more than likely long gone from this planet.

Second, this is an old bike path. Much older than the ones you most likely ride in Texas or many other locations. Without belaboring this post with a history lesson but in a nutshell it dates back to a man named Dr. Paul Dudley White and the Eisenhower administration.


Third, interestingly enough after riding this bike path for 30 years I've finally watched it vastly improved- even since I shot this video. Sections have been widened, guard rails placed between the traffic and the path, sections that were very much a sidewalk turned into a nice big wide smooth stretch. And why? Not due to the efforts of our local bike advocacy group (though they have since jumped on the bandwagon- thankfully) but due in large part to the efforts of a group called the Charles River Conservancy. This group was dedicated to improving and maintaining the land that runs along river and they had the open minded thinking necessary to improve things. MassBike spent years using the bike path as a prime example of "failed infrastructure" and as a justification for the "we have all the bike paths we need- they're called roads." Often "bike advocates" would deliberately ride in the narrow roadway along these paths as a form of protest and/or to prove a point- I was, for a very short while, one of these riders until I realized how counterproductive it was.

Fourth, now that these improvements have been made the path is more popular than ever. Busy with recreational and commuting cyclists year round. And pretty much all of these cyclists, like me, use roads to access the path and ride thousands of miles on the road and am not relegated to only riding bike paths. However, like all bike paths they are a victim of their own success because they rapidly become crowded and opponents of bike infrastructure use this as an example of "failed infrastructure" and to support the old thinking that "we have all the bike paths we need they're called roads" (rather than seeing this as a success and a reason for more bike paths not less).

Given the opportunity, I would often go out of my way to use paths, when the weather's good. But it has nothing to do with safety, and everything to do with start-stop traffic. A couple weeks ago, I rode out after work to a friend's house that's a little more than twice the distance as riding home. But going home, I have to stop every 2-4 blocks on the road. To my friend's place, it was 2 stops, then about 30-35 blocks along a MUT with no stop signs, no intersections, and sparse enough traffic that I could just cruise. It was a fabulous ride. Also a pretty ride along the river, mostly in park land...my usual route is fairly attractive as roads go, but it's no park.