Do MUPs make you nervous?
 

I mix it up every day with cars on city streets. I rarely ride on bike paths but when I do, I feel very "hemmed in," like I don't have escape options. Having a river on one side makes matters worse.

Is this a common feeling among street commuters?

my 15 mile commute takes me on busy downtown arterials, residential side streets, and off street bike paths. it's all jumbled together for me everyday, so i'm accustomed to riding on just about everything (except for country roads).

Absolutely, will not ride MUP's on a busy day.

I have ridden our MUP's on weekends for a while now and am surprised how little traffic there is....maybe because I live in the motor-city. We are kind of car crazy over here in Michigan :)

Busy MUPs can be frustratingly slow, but I certainly don't feel nervous. Maybe you're trying to bike too fast for the conditions?

The MUP I use most is a very busy bridge crossing. Lots of cyclists and pedestrians. The heights make me nervous (this bridge runs accross the top of our deep and wide river valley, which is why it's so popular), but the MUPness of it just means I have to be prepared to slow to walking speed until a passing opportunity presents itself. Biking on a MUP with pedestrians is the same situation thing as driving on a road with bikes.

they can be fun to ride even when busy, it's organized chaos and kind of fun, as long as you are not at a standstill, which happens in some areas of the greenways in manhattan, but clears up and gets fun again.

It depends. During commute times, our local MUP is like a bike highway in the best possible sense. But on summer evenings and any sunny weekend morning, it's a zoo and I avoid it if possible.

I have to take a path through a park. It is split in 1/2 one side for walkers and one side for cyclists. I hate it. Cyclists go both ways on it and there is no space to move properly. I find it much more dangerous that the main roads I ride one.

I don't feel hemmed in, but on busy ones (Los Gatos Creek trail on a warm afternoon for San jose area people) I am hyper vigilant, because it seems that everone else is clueless. You have to watch out for among other things: dogs on leash, dog not on leash, kids on leash, kids not on leash, people walking on the wrong side, people walking in packs taking up the whole trail, blind corners under bridges, people randomly stopping, cyclist going too fast, munchkins learning how to ride and a whole slew of people who just randomly cross lanes, stop and otherwise act unpredictably.

I ride one on the way home to add some miles and enjoy the scenery. But I don't plan on speed

I used to ride them but now avoid them altogether because of the following:

1) People with Dogs
2) Little Kiddies
3) Joggers with head phones on
4) People walking 4 across taking up the whole path
5) Needing to stop at most intersections

But this is just me, I like to go as fast as I can and that is impossible on any MUP

I use it for almost 1/2 of my 20 mile commute. It is pretty clear in the morning, but the afternoons are more crowded. It is pretty good for the most part, but the 4 abrest walkers that take the whole space leave somthing to be desired.

^ a Leaf fan living in Milwaukee? :wtf:

Anyhoo, I do like MUPs.... when it's not busy. My commute is a mix of roads, path and MUPs. When I am on the road, I look forward to merging into MUPs. Because it is away from the cars and noise.
However with the nicer weather, the MUPs are filled with all sorts of people from:

• joggers busy chatting amongst themselves and taking up the space
• clueless old folks wandering about
• Ms. Twitter chick informing the world what she plans to eat at lunch break
• stroller moms with oversized Graco things that gets annoyed at anyone travelling faster than them or cyclist ringing their bell because it wakes up their child
• meandering noobie cyclist that goes ever so slowly
• stunt BMX riders that want to catch air using whatever means available
  • pedestrians that are on iPod and texting (prolly one of the worse types)
  • and finally the dog slaves that have no ability whatsoever to control the 4-legged mongrels.

Even on the busiest MUP in Denver, I've never felt nervous.

My once favourite MUP is pretty much dead to me now that everyone and his loose dogs, loose toddlers, and those meandering all over the MUP-ears-filled-with-music-slow-walkers, and the rest of the Mom Mafia who push mammoth strollers are all over the Beltline are out in full and obnoxious force. But reading that last sentence makes me feel narrow minded and negative. It is a public space and it's great that there is a decent length of trail that is tree covered and away from traffic so people can enjoy themselves. I really wish people would share the space more and in a better natured manner. I like greeting puppies and waving to the little kids who just learned how to ride bikes, and seeing relaxed people loving their quiet time or having loud conversations. I do my best to share the space: I don't speed thru like a maniac, I don't buzz close to people, I'm cautious, I use my bell judiciously, and I greet people cheerfully.

But ugghh. The annoying encounters.

I know we are a territorial species but is it always necessary to defend every square inch of ground we are currently standing and and thinking about standing on in such an incredibly rude way? I've had more drama on the MUPs than on any busy arterial road and I ride streets much more than the MUPs.

At least my favourite river trail is primarily a bike highway. Not a lost of walkers except near the popular fishing areas.

Nervous, no.
Slow, yes.

There are days I'd like to move a little quicker, but my decision to take the MUP quickly negates any dreams of speed.

I agree with this entire list, but let me add one...

-Lance Wannabes

Holy crap, if you are on a MUP, don't try to go 25mph around corners. Dogs, kids, joggers, old folks can and WILL be in the wrong spot. This makes the uncertainty of MUPs that much worse.

I used to have a 40 mile commute if I rode in at 2:30 A.M., any later and I had to take the 60 mile route. The most nerve-wracking part was the last 3 miles on a bike path. The city didn't leave enough room between the path and the creek, which meant that the feeding nutria would always be on the side away from the water. When a nutria is surprised, say by a bike light, it will always run TO the water no matter what is in the way. They almost seemed to be drawn to front wheels.

At least the nutria generally are less aggressive and more intelligent than the people who drive to the bike paths to do informal critical mass events on warm days.

Mup's don't make me jitter,but 20 ft dog leashes and packs of cyclists that think it's a race track do.

The only thing that bothers me about MUPs lately is that there tend to be hordes of bugs flying over the trail, which don't seem to be in the roads. Gnats and mosquitoes in the eye, are annoying.

The only time I've felt nervous on a MUP was during a triathlon when they ran part of the bike split down a MUP that was open to the public.

Imagine joggers, dog walkers and mothers with strollers suddenly facing an onslaught of riders coming at them at lactic threshold pace.

Not planning on doing that race again.

I have more places to go on most of the local MUPs than I do on most of the local roads.
On the roads, I can go into traffic, or into the curb. If I'm lucky, I'll have a little room to maneuver around detritus.
On the MUPs, I can go elsewhere on the MUP's surface, or off into grass/dirt if necessary.

I love the mup. Makes my commute a pleasure instead of a chore. Most mornings I have it all to myself. Some fun curves and corners, ups and downs. One sweet jump. The commute by road is straight and boring. Using the mup I avoid 7 sets out of 14 or so street lights.

All to myself, not another soul mupping it that time of the morning. That day anyways. The mupping starts about 4mins in. It's in sections.


Using the mup in winter. Again I don't see another similar soul.

:popcorn

Not the MUP I ride. I see about 2 or 3 people per mile, on average. If the weather is bad, I might not see a single living soul. 5 miles of MUP.

This is interesting. "Hemmed in" is not what I would have expected.

Personally, I wouldn't know about riding on bike paths - there aren't any paths around here.
Bike paths are for those who live in "bike friendly" places. South Carolina, as nice as it is, is still a little behind the times on such matters.

In my part of the state, we count ourselves lucky that the roads are paved. There are only two bike paths even close to where I live, and they dont really go anywhere. They're primarily for sightseers, dog walkers, joggers and the occasional broke down car. They are what you are calling MUP's, I believe.

Riding a bike here means riding on the road with everyone else. Id sure like to try riding designated bike lanes for once. It might be kinda cool.

OOOPs double posted