Doohickie

Tadpole recumbent riders, walking their dogs while they ride.















No, this actually happened to me today. There were a pair of recumbents, one of which had two dogs in tow. We approached with great trepidation, but the recumbents squeezed over as far as they could, and the dogs were sweethearts (I think one was a pit bull). So we were scared, but without reason... at least this time.

big chainring 

Late night smoochers! Last fall I was riding at night on the MUP with a head light and bike light. Up ahead I could see a young couple smooching on the path. I totally freaked them out. I think they thought I was some alien as all they could see was two lights hovering towards them. They started laughing as I went by, realizing it was a biker.

Luddite

+1. Twice I have encountered the same two morons and their dogs on the bike path with their dogs on those stupid non-fixed-length leashes. I'm going 25km/h so I ring my bell at them, stupid woman doesn't move the dog I'm about to run over. Finally she moves the dog, and I had to veer around them. I said something quite rude to them as this is the second time in a few days.

I *have* a dog of my own.

unprintable

I went with squirrels because they ALWAYS jump out onto the path right in front of me. I rarely see kids on the path here. Really, though, my greatest fear is definitely bicyclists going the other way. The path has a few nasty turns downhill and I could easily imagine a situation where somebody doesn't quite stay on their side or doesn't even see it coming if they're not paying attention to the one sign that warns them. Thankfully I haven't yet passed by anyone in a turn yet.

Retro Grouch 

Squirrels aren't a problem. The trick is, when you see a squirrel sitting in your path, aim for it. By the time you get there it will be somewhere else and you'll be fine. If you try to avoid it, the squirrel can dodge the same way that you do and you're actually more likely to hit it.

Who scares me on multi use paths? Anybody who isn't trying to co-operate with the other users. They come from all the user groups - cyclists, runners, dog walkers, roller bladers, the whole gamut. The vast majority of users really do try to cooperate. Another big group are oblivious but try to cooperate once they're aware of you. A few seem to act like they're the center of the universe and everybody else should defer to them. All those polite co-users and the ones that I tend to remember afterwards are the relatively few jerks.

Uh - don't be one of the jerks.

ts15210

People walking and not keeping right are my biggest problem, I have had some encounters with dogs, but one that i haven't seen mentioned is rabbits. They wait until you are about six inches from them before they move, and more often than not, they want to run along the trail as far as they can until they duck off to the side.

ts15210

Other bikers too. On the multi-use trails I use, it is often too crowded to go too fast, but that doesn't stop the occasional moron who think they are on the tour de France.

black_box 

you might be onto something there, just need to add some whirring noises...

DX-MAN

Squirrels run away when they see/hear me coming; kids are oblivious...as are their f'n PARENTS!

I also agree about off-leash dogs -- illegal here, cuz the MUP is inside the city limits, but nobody f'n cares about that -- but the soccer mom bit only comes up about once a month. Most obstacles are the 'power walkers'; couples, middle-aged black men out walking for health -- 4 & 5 across on the path, taking it all up, and talking amongst themselves too loud to hear me.

Pocko

Barking mad dogs

or a group of 3 or more of them, walking in all directions.

.

Wordbiker

I use the same technique, whether riding or driving and so far it's worked 100%.

Squirrels have very poor peripheral vision (and poor vision in general) so they depend on sound. If you're coming right at them and they can hear you, they'll take evasive maneuvers. If you're angling away from them, they may think you're zigging while they're zagging.

cs1

About a week after I got my Waterford reassembled from a new paint job I crashed it from that exact scenario. The owner was totally oblivious to what was going on. I wanted to beat the owner and kick the dog. But he was a pretty big pit bull. So, I decided swearing would accomplish the same thing. The bike was unharmed but I split my helmet and torqued my neck.

novacommuter

Kids - Indirectly though.

My greatest threat around here seems to be the soccer-moms-in-training, leisurely jogging down the path pushing their brats in a Nimitz-class stroller that takes up the whole lane, cluelessly listening to an iPod all the while.

They're unpredictable and difficult to pass safely to begin with, and any sort of audible warning elicits an even more unpredictable set of events as they briefly snap back to reality and come to grips with the fact that, no, they aren't the only person on the face of the earth.

Beccaree

Just clueless people in general drive me crazy on paths. I almost got run into head on by a teen girl on a bicycle. She was trying to text on a bike. I couldn't believe it. I saw a man riding a bike with his kid behind him on one of those trailer deals. He was also walking his dog.

Panthers007

I grew up in the woods with tons of gray squirrels. They are taught a sound by their mothers that means: RUN!! And it's easy for most people to make. Press your tongue against the roof of your mouth and flick the tongue toward your teeth to make a 'chick!' 'chick' 'chick' sound. A frozen-in-path squirrel hearing this (takes a bit of practice) will run as fast as it can for high ground.

Really!

kunselman.2

iPod wearing, dog on the other side, oblivious types are up there, kids are fairly predictable yet equally scary, however the group walkers that panic at the sound of "on your left" are the most dangerous for me. The MUP's around me are attractive during rush hour when the roads are iffy, but I think the danger/lawsuit rate is probably equal.

cyclehen

I am most scared by the cyclists who should be on the road, passing at high speed without warning. This occurs frequently on the MUP I ride, and I've seen two related crashes. People need to remember that the person being overtaken has the right-of-way. Second is deer-- we have a lot of them crossing the trail, and you can't see them in the heavy brush until they pop out right in front of you. Dogs on long retractible leashes are #3-- I think they're scarier than loose dogs (the owner has no control, and there's the leash to clothes-line you. Kids are way down on the list after all other random wildlife. Kids you just plain slow way down for, and the lack of predictability is a given.

Jaraldo

I was on a trail that goes east of town, and I saw a pair of snakes lying in the middle of the road...then there was that one time that a deer jumped right in front of me while I was on the trail last week...

bikegeekmn

flying monkeys.man,i gotta move.

Rogue Leader

By far my #1 is inline skaters. They take up the whole path sometimes trying to be like an olympic speed skater and worse they have headphones on so they have no clue whats going on. Worse is I had one guy try to race me while I was passing him!

Kids I have had a couple bad experiences with but I am not shy about yelling at them if they are going to injure me. And if their parents don't like that they can stuff it cause I'm not gonna injure myself or wreck my bike to prevent hurting their kid's feelings. I had one dad and kids on bikes pull right up perpendicular to traffic in the bike path and just STOP, then say "oops sorry" as I came inches from flattening his kid with my front wheel.

I know people can be clueles so I give a wide berth a lot and some distance when notifying them. Enough that I can usually get out a full "I'm coming up on your left" instead of just "on your left" and that has seemed to work well.

Squirrels have never been a problem, I just stop pedaling for a second and they hear the whizzzzz of my hub (Its a Fulcrum, very loud) and they take off...

Charleston Jive

This really is a tossup with me.

Kids on bikes is my most common reason to head for the ditch, as they often aren't paying attention, seldom stay to the side... all while bombing down a hill on a curve.

I also have problems saying just "on your left" as people think that I am instructing them to the left, so I often say what you do. Headphones are somewhat of a problem, but I find most people who wear them know well enough to stay to the side.

I'm not sure what all this squirrel business is. MN is full of squirrels and chipmunks and I never seem to have problems. I just assume run them over if they're dumb enough. It's the deer I worry about.

Panthers007

Never mind the Deer - in Vermont we got Moose. And when they're in rutting-season...well...they need glasses.

Keith99

Since 90% of all my bikepath riding is either at Sepulveda basin where there is usually plenty of space or at the beach. I'll go with this one. I can handle any of kids, dogs or small animals if I'm paying attention.

Actualy the only close call for me on the bike path was an adult walking on the side who decided to turn 90 degrees without warning in an otherwise empty section of the bike path.

rumrunn6

A small child darting out in front of me. A close second would be not judging a road crossing properly and having an accident or causing an accident with a motor vehicle.

apricissimus 

How fast do moose sprint? I have no idea. Can you outrun one on a bike?