Friendly fire on the bike path (Minuteman Bike Path)

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by benb

The Cape Cod Rail Trail is much the same thing and IIRC they have posted 15mph speed limits there some places.

And if you ride the path along the canal you also have to watch for people fishing on the side. They don't always look behind them before they cast...

[NHAero]

Hah, I noticed that last year when I rode back from Sandwich to Woods Hole :-)

Originally Posted by C40_guy

And if you ride the path along the canal you also have to watch for people fishing on the side. They don't always look behind them before they cast...

[cderalow]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

I'm not sure the stupidity is limited to the CCRT. I've seen groups of PMC riders blow through stop signs, red lights, cross the centerline on blind curves.

yeah. for the most part the ride seems fairly well controlled, but there's always one in every group that will ride like a total a-hole.

When i ride, I'll only go through the stop if it's controlled by one of the many police officers on the route and I'll only very rarely cross the centerline, and normally only to avoid a bottleneck and get clear of people who don't seem as certain on their riding.

Originally Posted by C40_guy

And if you ride the path along the canal you also have to watch for people fishing on the side. They don't always look behind them before they cast...

indeed. I almost caught a hook to the face last year.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by Climb01742

When part of the people on a path see it as a sidewalk and part see it as a velodrome, trouble seems inescapable. Mixed use might not be possible, safely.

The craziest example I’ve been part of is, when I lived in NYC, trying to run or ride in Central Park on a nice weekend. A 6.2 mile Mad Max thunderdome.

and you present it as if it were a bad thing

jest aside, i loved cranking it out in CP, but almost always after 8pm

[Climb01742]

Originally Posted by echappist

and you present it as if it were a bad thing

jest aside, i loved cranking it out in CP, but almost always after 8pm

I did, too. But always at first light. I’m a morning guy. At the right hour, CP is the best part of the city, IMO.

[NewDFWrider]

Originally Posted by unterhausen

Too bad flagging strava segments like that is so difficult and yet unsatisfying, in that they still have a leader board. I guess they know what their customers want.

I also go slowly on bike paths for the most part. It's just not worth it to go faster.

Interesting. You would think that Strava would just have a rule that banned segments on bikepaths. It shouldn't be that hard to code (says the non-coder).

[echappist]

Originally Posted by NewDFWrider

Interesting. You would think that Strava would just have a rule that banned segments on bikepaths. It shouldn't be that hard to code (says the non-coder).

GPS accuracy makes that all but impossible to accomplish

now granted, for the well-known trails in the country (e.g. Minuteman in Boston, Schuylkill in Philly, West Side bike path in NYC, and Capital Cresecent trail in DC), this could be done on an ad hoc basis: enough people say it's a trail, then it is a trail

but for trails along roads, this is quite difficult to accomplish

[benb]

I flagged the segment the death happened on yesterday, I probably wasn't the only one to do so.

The system would work fine if Strava actually did anything when stuff got flagged.

With so many users it's almost a guarantee every dangerous segment is already flagged.

They've got near 100k activities that traverse the segments on the Minuteman.

[BobbyJones]

Let’s not blame Strava for human stupidity.

[MattTuck]

We really should not be blaming anybody (including human stupidity) at this point, as we have only vague information on what happened. The deceased was 71, maybe he lost consciousness and drifted into the other lane. We really don't know.

The only conclusion that can be drawn, and it isn't a surprise to most, is that you can't let your guard down on bike paths, even if it feels safer than riding on the street.

[Johnnysmooth]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

I refuse to ride my local bike path. Way too many hazards. I prefer riding on the road with no real shoulder and 50 mph traffic over the path.

Shame to read about this though.

I'm with you - bike paths are more hazardous then the street

[cderalow]

Originally Posted by Johnnysmooth

I'm with you - bike paths are more hazardous then the street

I'd wager that both are equally hazardous dependent upon the time of day.

for me, roads are certainly hazardous during typically commuting hours, but the bike paths I'd take during the same time frame are mostly devoid of users beyond other bike commuters (capital crescent trail, C&O towpath).

now, outside of commuting hours, the opposite might be said. the paths are certainly more heavily used during the middle of the day and thus prove more of a hazard than the roads which have a lightened use.

so for me, commuters hours (early am, early PM) or late evening on the paths. all other times on the road.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by Johnnysmooth

I'm with you - bike paths are more hazardous then the street

I think they differ in number and severity of incidents. The chances of an incident may be greater on a bike path than on the street, but the incidents with the greatest degree of injury are probably more common on the road. One of the reasons that this latest fatal accident is getting a lot discussion is because it is so rare.

[vincenz]

Originally Posted by NewDFWrider

Interesting. You would think that Strava would just have a rule that banned segments on bikepaths. It shouldn't be that hard to code (says the non-coder).

This would be the easiest way to immediately address the issue. How many heavily trafficked major trails are there in the US? Doesn’t make sense not to do it.

[benb]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

I think they differ in number and severity of incidents. The chances of an incident may be greater on a bike path than on the street, but the incidents with the greatest degree of injury are probably more common on the road. One of the reasons that this latest fatal accident is getting a lot discussion is because it is so rare.

These stats are available in various public government/NTSB/whatever databases.

I have tried working with them before but it's a bunch of work and as usual real data is complicated and the real picture is complicated.

But it certainly doesn't support the mindset that bike paths are totally safe.

Mostly we end up with some reporter's back of the napkin take on the data.

There are always all these confounding data points that represent behaviors we can take that change risk dramatically.

I remember researching it more when I was motorcycling.. the stats look bad, but when you took the following steps:
- Wear a Helmet
- Have a License
- Take the MSF classes
- Don't be Drunk

All of a sudden the picture changed dramatically.

Most of those are relevant for us, but it's too bad there is no class that teaches people how to actually ride a bike really well. A lot of the bad motorcyclist memes/behaviors are repeated with bicyclists. "Had to lay it down", etc..