Courtosy on the bike path? (Page 2)

The latter. I'm maintaining my road position regardless, two feet or so to the left of the white line. Now if I change my position (lane change or turn) I do a thorough visual check behind me.

Mainly because I don't think the visual clues you get from a tiny mirror or from looking behind you are going to be sufficient to make a decision. Also think both are going to be more distracting and do more harm than good. That's why I asked my questions.

Same thing with listening to music while cycling. I have yet to have someone tell me what I would hear to make me change my riding position on the road? And would I have time to make that decision and change, based on that audio clue?

Edited by the bear 2009-08-13 9:54 AM

I generally do all my training on the road/designated bike areas/road loops. The one exception is when I ride to time myself for imporvement (i hesitate to claim it is a TT) and for that I use a bike path near me. The first 1.5 miles is heavily populated so I use that as a slow warm up/cool down. After that the trail empties of everyone for the next 10-12 miles so I can do a really fast hard out and back without any traffic, traffic lights, stop signs, etc interrupting me because the trail was made in such a way as to bipass (trail has built in overpasses/underpasses for all road intersections) all the traffic lights on the actual road.

I also walk my dogs on this path all the time so I am acutely aware of the large number of people that can be on it when I am riding my bike. Overall though roads are much better in my area for any serious riding of any great distance. I can see a new person sticking to trails though till they are more confident in their bike handling skills.

I've been riding this way for something like 15-16 years, so it is no more distracting than the side mirrors on my car.  I think by having a tiny bit of awareness of the cars coming up I am less likely to be startled and therefore safer.  I don't bike with headphones, in part because of this and in part because if I am with a friend I am talking, and if I am not, I enjoy biking.  Although I HATE to run without headphones (beacuse I hate to trun).  I know that sometimes if I am walking the dogs on a trail or running on the trail, if someone comes up behind quickly (faster runner, mtn bike, whatever), I sometimes will startle.  I would not like to do that on the road bike. But I don't think it's a one size fits all.  (I once tried to use a mirror that mounted on the bar ends, but it was worse than useless.  Because it responded to all the road "noise", you never could see what was behind you.  And ultimately trying to figure out what I glimpsed kept my eyes off the road more than was healthy.  So I went back to the helmet mount)

I use to love the Interurban trail from Pacific Algona to Tukwila - but I just don't ride it anymore - WAY too dangerous!! People will take there lunch breaks and walk 4-5 abreast - parents will take all 4 of their kids and 2 dogs and they will be all over the trail - and hot head idiots w/ no helmets apparently training for their next TT going 30+ mph - yahhh I will stick to the road and dodge the blow darts.


can't spell good....sigh>>>>>>

Edited by The Nat 2009-08-13 12:42 PM

I've seen a lot of mutli-use paved paths around here with little 15mph speed limit signs on them.  Personally I avoid rec paths as much as possible because it's dangerous, for me and others, for me to be on my road bike doing 15+mph.  Most of the time I ride on the road when I can, but there's a couple situation where the only logically safe route is on the bike path due to poorly maintained roads or just super heavy traffic where I need to go.  Mainly when I ride from home to downtown Denver.  But when I'm on the bike paths I'm expecting the kids on tricycles, strollers, people walking next to each other, and some 'traffic' jams where I might have to slow to a walking pace behind someone because there's others coming from the other direction.  It's just part of being on the rec path though, most people are courteous to others though when they know they are talking up more than half the path and know you're coming.

I do feel it's my responsibility to slow down first, especially when you come up behind them.  They are doing 3mph walking, you're doing 18mph+.   With a 15mph (~24km/h) difference between you and them, you'll cover the 50m behind them in about 7 1/2 seconds.  They won't even hear your bike until you're probably like 20m behind them, at which point you'll catch them in 3 seconds.  But how many people yell "on your left" from > 20m away?  I'd venture most people don't say anything until they are almost 5m from them, leaving the walkers 3/4ths of a second to interpret what you said and react.  Definitely not enough time for them to "get out of your way".  I'm sure you don't want to hit someone doing 15mph and they don't want to get hit by a bike doing 15mph, so it's in everyone's best interest if us on the bike are aware that they need time to react to something coming up behind them so quickly.

There will always be those that don't think clearly, a group of 4 taking up the entire path and no one moves right to give you any room, someone stopping on the path in a blind corner (even a 5mph cyclist or roller blader will hit them), people not pulling their dogs back to the right side of the path when they could see you coming for 1/4 mile.  But again, you're that guy in the sports car going 3x the speed of everyone else on the 'road'