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#31
06-28-2019, 01:07 PM
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Bike paths, MUTs and the GGB are dangerous places to ride. Besides slowing down, always need to expect the completely unexpected, especially if the other rider is riding a beater, rental or most telling, pedaling on the arch of their foot not the ball of their foot. The best one? suddenly stopping to take a picture! Gotta expect that - GGB is a tourist spot.
Pedaling on the arch of the foot is a dead giveaway to rider experience which translates into completely unpredictable behavior. But, even experienced cyclists are guilty of idiocy. Some years ago my daughter and I are riding across the GGB, she is in front of me so I can see over her and call out instructions (she was 10yo). I am unclipped and we are soft pedaling, because hey, riding across the bridge is fun and views are great. some woman in full kit come sup behind us yelling to get out of her way. we don't yield. she is pissed goes by yelling. Not 30 seconds later she is on the deck wrapped up with a tourist. it was all I could do not to make some comment as we rode past. People generally think they are invincible or untouchable, that is until they aren't. The sad thing is generally some innocent gets impacted by their selfishness. 
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#32
06-28-2019, 01:36 PM
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A few years ago, on the first nice day of spring, my wife was hit head-on by a rider going way too fast for the narrow, shared path we were on. It was a bike/ped bridge crossing along a highway. We were plodding home into a headwind after a nice long ride.
The at-fault rider flew through the air and landed some thirty feet away (we'd check his garmin later to see that he was going over 30mph - slight downhill, tailwind). His bike bounced over the divider into the highway. He screamed. We'd find out later that he broke ribs, cracked his spine, and collapsed his lung. Fortunately my wife made it through with only a thumb break - somehow - and yet, the other rider had recovered from his injuries before she did. But it was an incredibly traumatic experience, and one that was so preventable with just a modicum of respect for shared space. For the places where there's no need to go fast. Anyway, my point is that this stuff makes me really angry. A MUP is a great way to get to wide open roads where you can open it up, but it is absolutely irresponsible and antisocial to let rip on them. It also drives home to me how much we need more human-scaled space. How much we could benefit if there were less space devoted to cars and car storage, particularly in our cities, and more for the people who are walking, jogging, riding slow, or riding fast - so that we can get out of each other's way just a little bit more.
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#33
06-28-2019, 09:22 PM
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Quote:
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#38
06-29-2019, 07:18 AM
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Quote:
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#39
06-29-2019, 09:00 AM
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Yes, the Westside Greenway is a constant disaster waiting to happen. My special favorite are the dog owners with those stupid retractable leashes who let their dogs meander across the whole trail.
Closest for me was a couple of years ago--I was riding north, minding my own business. not blasting, and a whole rat pack/peloton came around one of the blind corners all stacked up, taking up most of both sides of the MUP-- I'm getting old, but at least the reflexes (mostly) still work--I went for the right side weeds, brushed one of the guys' bars, stayed up and didn't crash. Put someone else in that situation and it could have been ugly... I also keep thinking that they will eventually sort out pedestrians from cyclists as they have done on the south end, but I think it is a lost cause, as is the Brooklyn Bridge...
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