I know what you mean. When the trails are crowded, I feel safer on the road but ride accordingly. Commute mornings and afternoons are great; not a lot of pedestrian traffic, and the peds that use the trail at those times are pretty cognizant of what's going on around them; they typically stay close to the shoulder.
Bike to Work days are the worst in my opinion. Suddenly, everyone's a commuter, even though they stop dead-center in the trail to chat with the their fellow "commuters." Having said that, I think it's great that more people in Seattle (and elsewhere, too) are seeing how convenient it is to get to work by bike--you're well ahead of car traffic and don't have to deal with parking issues. It would be great if more people were better educated about using bicycles as a mode of transportation as well as recreational. -Steve On Tuesday, August 7, 2012 9:23:08 AM UTC-7, RoadieRyan wrote: > > Steve, > > Sorry to hear about this incident, living in West Seattle I see the same > thing, oblivious users of all types, on the Alki trail when the weather > heats up. Its gotten to the point that I just automatically ride on the > road on nice days and avoid the trail all together. Hope you and your > spouse heal quickly and can enjoy this Seattle Summer. > > On Monday, August 6, 2012 10:58:16 AM UTC-7, SteveD wrote: >> >> As a commuter, I'd like to think I'm pretty good about being safe, riding >> defensively, especially when it comes to using MUPs (multi-use paths), >> which brings me to an incident my wife and I had yesterday on the >> Burke-Gilman Trail just north of 70th Ave NE (or is it NE 70th?) in >> Seattle. The last days here have been pretty nice, although very hot, the >> trail tends to get very busy with cyclists, pedestrians, pedestrians with >> dogs, pedestrians with perambulators, and so forth. All good stuff; there's >> no denying that because one way or another, as individuals, we all use the >> trail system in a variety of those roles. But not everyone understands that >> this is a MUP, and that common sense dictates that everyone needs to look >> out for one another, especially when the trail gets congested along the way. >> >> Imagine taking a leisurely ride on your local MUP on a very nice weekend >> morning. The trail has its busy sections here and there. Cyclists and >> pedestrians are moving along pleasantly enough; lots of "on your left" and >> passing around people two, three abreast, cooperating with the riders. >> You're going along at a casual 9 to 10 mph. No biggy; safe enough. >> >> Everyone's enjoying their day on the tree-lined trail with a nice little >> breeze. You notice that there's a threesome of pedestrians abreast of each >> other, chatting, about 50 feet or so ahead of you. There are other cyclists >> "on your lefting" as they pass. The trail is getting a little congested, >> and your preparing to slow down as you approach the pedestrians to pass. >> "On your left," the pedestrian don't heed your warning and at the same time >> some rider goes zipping by you without any warning as you're making your >> move, oblivious of the situation, causing you to slam on your brakes in >> order to not run into the people in front of you, and causes you to jar >> your shoulder, and hit you pubic bone against the bike stem and cut your >> leg on the chain ring as you try to stabilize your bike without taking a >> full-on fall. And, your spouse who is riding behind you, swerves to the >> left across the trail and into the ditch that runs alongside it so that >> he/she doesn't rear-end you. Not a pretty scene. >> >> So here's the rant. These MUPs aren't high-speed highways for cyclists. >> I'm pretty sure there's a 15 mph speed limit on the BGT. Although, I really >> believe that most of the cyclist that use these trails are pretty sensitive >> to how they're used, they're a number of people who ride that have no clue, >> and do not know how to anticipate a situation before it happens, especially >> when the trail gets congested as traffic moves along. Riding a bicycle >> really isn't much different than driving a car when it comes to riding >> defensively. Yes, pedestrians, on and off the trail, have the right-of-way! >> And if we could all predict the future before it happens, wouldn't life be >> box of chocolates. It's not that way, especially in a traffic situation. >> We're not perfect, that's a given. But what happened to common sense, >> courtesy, and respect. >> >> Anyway, I landed safely in the ditch, nothing serious happened to me or >> my Atlantis, except for a little gouge I took in the calf from a pedal >> spike. The rider would've kept on riding if it weren't for my wife yelling >> at the rider to come back. Thankfully the rider did come back to listen to >> my wife's lecture, and then mine, as a few other riders sped by without a >> "on your left." It's too bad that the rider who caused this mess is most >> like not going to find this post. It would be good for her to see the >> grapefruit-sized hematoma on her upper inner thigh, and the cuts and >> bruises on her leg. >> >> Steve DeMont >> Seattle >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/fImDf0tLcrMJ. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
