Neither left, nor right........
#1
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Neither left, nor right........
But right down the middle. Of the bike trail, I mean.
Ok, I know I have to share the trail with non-cycling personnel. On a typical Tuesday, I can expect very, very few joggers/walkers on the W&OD Bike Trail midafternoons. Today was just gorgeous, so there was a commensurate increase in folks enjoying the day outside.
So what's the deal with walkers/joggers who not only do not keep to the right, they literally use the painted yellow centerline as their point of reference? What is UP with those folks?
Today's lowpoint was an inline skater, decked out in full 'street hockey' regalia (complete with 4' stick held laterally across his body) taking up the entire width of the trail as he skated along, blissfully ignorant of what a ****** he was being.
*roar*
Dave
Ok, I know I have to share the trail with non-cycling personnel. On a typical Tuesday, I can expect very, very few joggers/walkers on the W&OD Bike Trail midafternoons. Today was just gorgeous, so there was a commensurate increase in folks enjoying the day outside.
So what's the deal with walkers/joggers who not only do not keep to the right, they literally use the painted yellow centerline as their point of reference? What is UP with those folks?
Today's lowpoint was an inline skater, decked out in full 'street hockey' regalia (complete with 4' stick held laterally across his body) taking up the entire width of the trail as he skated along, blissfully ignorant of what a ****** he was being.
*roar*
Dave
#3
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shaddap!
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Originally Posted by notfred
You sound like a motorist complaining about cyclists slowing you down.
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Originally Posted by bunabayashi
Today's lowpoint was an inline skater, decked out in full 'street hockey' regalia (complete with 4' stick held laterally across his body) taking up the entire width of the trail as he skated along, blissfully ignorant of what a ****** he was being.
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Originally Posted by LordOpie
and if said cyclist was in the middle of the road going much slower than the speed limit, then the motorist would have a right to complain, don'tcha think?
The multi-use trails are policed only by the common sense and courtesy of the people who use them, as well as the fact that the speed of said users vary pretty wildly (old/young/pet walkers, joggers, skaters, cyclists, families, etc.). All this makes for the inevitably bad situations that periodically seem to come up . Unless it's the only place to ride, I wouldn't ride 'em.
Last edited by Steelrider; 11-02-04 at 05:18 PM.
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As a fellow frequent W&OD user, I often run into the same issues as bunyabahsi. Steelrider makes a great point, and one I have thought about numerous times, but the fact is, is that the W&OD (which used to be a railroad line) runs very straight and is actually very biker friendly. In addition, because it used to be a rail line, it often times represents the fastest point A to B route, with a number of overpasses and underpasses to weed out large highways. For my commute, it is the only logical course.
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Originally Posted by Steelrider
Yeah, but that's why I stay off of multi-use trails - the road...
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Originally Posted by clfjmpr44
...For my commute, it is the only logical course.
I see your point about the friendliness of the trails if they are straight with good visibility. Many of the trails in my area are wooded, relatively narrow, with numerous blind corners/bends. If I go on them at all, it is knowing that I'm just "strolling" with family or on bike going really slow. I was on the other end occasionally as well - when my kids were small, I would never let them get too far ahead, because I knew that there would be an occasional idiot on a bike that would zip around a blind corner and hurt/kill someone if I wasn't looking out. If I had to commute on a trail such as you describe on a regular basis, I'd get one of those "IncrediBell" bells or horns and let folks know I was coming pretty far back and on the right so that, if they had any courtesy or common sense, they could get out of the way.
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I try to avoid the Multi-Use trails in Southern California because most of the people here are so fat, even if they walked on the right side, they still would take up the entire path...
What's even worse is seeing 3 fat people, walking side by side... it's like having to ride around the Great Wall of China to get by them....
It seems like the more out of shape the person is, the more ignorant they are on the pathways. Most of the hard-core trainers I see using multi-use pathways are pretty good about where they run,ride, or skate.
They way I look at it... is that most of the multi-use trails are used by people, so what they do doesn't really bother me... Of course they should make the effort to walk on the right side but if they don't... I try to avoid them the best that I can. For every 3 or so people that you see doing annoying things, there is always someone who tries, and makes you think, "Hey thanks..."
What's even worse is seeing 3 fat people, walking side by side... it's like having to ride around the Great Wall of China to get by them....
It seems like the more out of shape the person is, the more ignorant they are on the pathways. Most of the hard-core trainers I see using multi-use pathways are pretty good about where they run,ride, or skate.
They way I look at it... is that most of the multi-use trails are used by people, so what they do doesn't really bother me... Of course they should make the effort to walk on the right side but if they don't... I try to avoid them the best that I can. For every 3 or so people that you see doing annoying things, there is always someone who tries, and makes you think, "Hey thanks..."