Iamkar33m

On the MUP so far I have not had any accidents or crashes. No near misses either... with the way people drive on the roads around here i'd be lucky if I can go 1 month without an incident.

I am the car, however it's a 1 lane street... usually i'll announce my presence/intent to pass and most courteous people will let me pass. It's the joggers that have their ipods at full blast that are oblivious to anything around them that pose an issue. Most of the time i'll ride off the path into the dirt on either side of the MUP and ride past them at a safe distance. As I pass I usually point to my ears to alert them that they need to turn their ipod down so they can hear things coming up behind them.

rjh299

Your avatar picture. Is that you on a MUP? Just to get an idea of what they actually look like in America

Iamkar33m

That's actually a river trail... almost twice as wide as a regular MUP in this area. The river trail is almost exclusively bikers only... so that's not too big a deal. The MUP in my area is right in my backyard, let me see if I can find a picture of what it looks like.

This picture gives you an idea... it's EXACLTY the same width only paved (asphalt):

chipcom 

Cycling for how long? How many miles a week?

dallasmike

I don't hate blonde joggers with strollers. It immediately tells me 2 things about their lifestyle that I really like.

Iamkar33m

I've only begun cycling again in late june of this year... on this particular MUP I try to put in about 15 miles per day on the weekdays. On the river trial (twice as wide as the MUP) I do 30 miles per day on the weekends.

rjh299

That path in your avatar looks like a decent size. But if your MUP is almost half that size i wouldn't be comfortable going at any kind of speed down it with other users around. You haven't said what speeds you're doing, granted, but i'd take it easy and save the proper effort for the road.
You've had no incidents so far, so you must be doing something right. Just remember, it's not 'your' MUP

chipcom 

Trust me, as you gain experience and confidence, the road won't seem so dangerous to you and you'll learn to hate the confining nature of the MUP (as it seems you already do with your hatred of bimbos!)

Iamkar33m

On the MUP I usually do no more than 14-15mph. On the River Trial i'll dial it up to 22-25mph on my sprints. I am not your average team kit wearing speed demon when it comes to cycling... i'm a 240lb clyde who gets winded rather quickly.

I know it's a matter of getting used to the road... however the MUP is my safety blanket for now. Maybe in a few months i'll get my feet wet and learn the u-lock swinging ways of you rowdy road racers.

I have no qualms against QUALITY bimbos... I have problems with 50 year old wrinkly skinned, wig wearing bimbos with stiff implants sagging to their waist level.

popeye

California law also states that if there is a sidewalk/ped path pedestrians MUST
use it. Also concrete and asphalt are both aggregates and it is BS that asphalt is
softer. You morons only run on the street for vanity.

merckx89

Exactly. It's not the fact that their running against traffic, but that their in the street. Kinda like if a bike were riding in the middle of the street when there is a perfectly usable bike lane beside it. You can move out if you have to, but you must move back in after you have passed any obstruction.

Iamkar33m

Nope, do your research... Asphalt is about 6 times softer than Concrete. True, they are both aggregates but the "particles" that make up asphalt and the oil that goes into it make it springier. Take a hammer and hit an asphalt surface then hit a concrete surface nearby... the asphalt will dent, the concrete will not. Also the concrete "hit" will be felt more through the handle of the hammer due to the stiff nature of concrete surfaces.

Mr.BoJingles

It's really not BS that asphalt is softer. And why the pedestrian is on the path isn't as important as the fact that the pedestrian is on the path. You can either learn to deal with it in a lawful and reasonable manner or ***** and moan about it just like angry drivers do about cyclists on the road.

You can petition for a synthetic jogging lane to run alongside your precious bike lane.

Share the road. Maybe that Suburban trying to run you into the parked car at 20+mph is just 3 tons of Karma catching up real fast.

cooker

Wrong, wrong and wrong. Bicycles legally use the road and cars are required to accomodate us. Joggers are often in the road illegally because they prefer it to a sidewalk. From my point of view, they are welcome in the road, but if they want to use it illegally, it is their responsibility to stay out of the way of legal traffic. They shouldn't be coming down the middle of the cyclists' space (bike lane or not) and expecting us to veer blindly in front of overtaking cars to avoid them. They should crowd to the curb and let us maintain our line.

aqua4her

I run. I swim. I ride. I share.

I always acquiesce to a cyclist on the road.

I also acquiesce to broken glass or other puncture producers on the road.

Choose your battles. Play nice.

Industrial

Meh, cyclists and drivers do their fair share of illegal things for reasons far less important. Running on concrete sidewalks will give you a medical condition that will remove you from the sport. Speeding, ignoring stop signs and ignoring red lights is just dangerous and hardly offers any real benefits yet almost all cagers and cyclists do these things. These are always illegal where as running on the road is only illegal in some places. It's perfectly legal in my state.

urbanknight

I didn't read the entire thread, but my only comment to add is that it's funny when someone goes against traffic (which is to see traffic coming) and then doesn't get out of the way when traffic is coming! Most people I see either move over next to the curb or jump onto the sidewalk until I go by. Of course, there are always idiots who don't. I used to basically play chicken making them think I wasn't going to move over, but now that I'm not a child, I know better and just check my shoulder before moving over... and then giving them a dirty look as they go by.

kellyjdrummer

You're not serious? People really do that? Run/jog/shop/stand/park/spit/play/think/eksekra in the bike lane? For shame.

spry

Lets face it fella,you dont exactly cover your eyes passing those svelt spandex clad nymphs jogging on the road.

spry

incorrect:
morons only run in small complete circles

CardiacKid

It is illegal in Texas to run in the street or bike lane, if there is an adjoining sidewalk. I found this out after an incident with a jogger. I was coming down a pretty good hill in the bike lane when I saw a jogger approaching. As I got closer, I noticed he was glaring at me and didn't have any intention of getting out of the way, even though the sidewalk went right to the curb. I swerved, but as I did, he jumped in front of me with outstretched hands. I barely avoided him but yelled a bad word at him as I passed. The biggest mistake he made was to yell, "I bet you don't have the guts to say that to my face." I did.

caloso

Go out and run 10k on a sidewalk. Tomorrow, go out and run 10k on asphalt. Tell us what your knees and ankles think is softer.

dcbikeguy

I also am a very tough guy.

furiousferret

Runners (people who log 20-70 miles a week) prefer asphalt to concrete as there is a definate difference in feel after 5 miles, concrete kills knees. I give way to cyclists, as a courtesy.

I've also had more close calls running then on a bike. Once hit by a mirror, once hit just as a car braked (at a crosswalk) and physically dove out of the way several times. Dont know why I added this in, but running seems more dangerous. I haven't even added dogs. Oh, I was hit by a cyclist; on the sidewalk.

The Santa Ana River Trail (or MUP) in Socal is more or less exclusively for cycling. Group Rides use it, and ppl TT at 30 mph all the time. On the Eastern portion (its 2 trails covering 50 miles) I rarely see a single pedestrian on my 40 mile loop. I usually take this route unless I'm going up on of the many great 5k + ascents into the mountains, as do most people in Orange and SB Counties.

Chip, there's more to SoCal than Pendleton and San Diego. Orange County has pretty good cycling routes but the traffic is alot worse than the military areas you've been to. There are routes here that are challenging and safe and ones that will get you killed. There's about 9 million people (not including the 2 million illegals) in this area and about 18 million cars, don't worry about the math, it adds up to alot of cars.

Mr.BoJingles

Now I know what makes drivers aim for cyclists; they're just distance joggers returning the favor. It doesn't seem so bad when you think of it that way.