"Dan" wrote in message
...
Joe Canuck wrote:

I often encounter pedestrians on bike paths, not unusual here since we
share them. However, these pedestrians insist on walking towards the
oncoming bike/pedestrian traffic in whatever lane they happen to be in.
I figure their logic is they want to see what is coming and would rather
not be approached from the rear by a fast moving bike. When the path is
not busy this is no big deal, but it can create quite the obstacle
course when the path is busy.

Even worse, sometimes these pedestrians meet someone they know and stop
for an extended chat in one or both lanes of the path effectively
creating an obstacle... rather than moving off to the side. Then there
are those mixed standing-still groups of pedestrians and cyclists having
a chat on the path.

Are these the same folks who stop in the middle of the freeway at night
with no lights on in their vehicles?


Joe-Yeah, I see that too, reminds me of the aisle blocking head-up-a**
behavior seen in supermarkets. Anytime I'm riding & I see one group of
walkers about to pass another going in the opposite direction & me
coming up fast from behind, I know it's going to get interesting. A
person on foot can make a 3 foot lateral move quickly & stably with one
step (hopefully in the correct direction, definitely not a given!); even
going slowly it takes a bike several yards to do this, particularly if
the rider is forced off the trail into the grass. I actually bumped
into a woman the other day this way when she walked right into me,
looking directly at me the whole time. Fortunately by that point I was
barely moving (wobbling, really). I generally make several loops of
this trail system on a ride & therefore will pass the same individuals a
number of times on a given trip. What kills me is that one near miss at
15 mph is not enough to get it through their thick skulls that they are
not the only humans on the planet.

Dan

Moron...if you're threading through groups of peds while "coming up fast
from behind", you're the one with the problem. Try removing the training
wheels from your bike, and ride where bikes belong - in the street. If
you're bumping into peds on a MUP, you're a dangerous idiot.

GG

GG