Rage on the bikeway

still me? said:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/07/01/ra...

The perfect multi-use path bicycle: <http://www.outsideconnection.com/
gallant/hpv/joe/outtaMyWay_1.mpg>, <http://www.outsideconnection.com/
gallant/hpv/joe/outtaMyWay_2.mpg>.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

Johnny Sunset said:

still me? said:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/07/01/ra...

The perfect multi-use path bicycle: <http://www.outsideconnection.com/
gallant/hpv/joe/outtaMyWay_1.mpg>, <http://www.outsideconnection.com/
gallant/hpv/joe/outtaMyWay_2.mpg>.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

Tom,

Recently in your posts, the way you enter URLs causes them to be
separated with line breaks. IME, starting the URL on a new line
prevents this.
<http://www.outsideconnection.com/gallant/hpv/joe/outtaMyWay_1.mpg>
<http://www.outsideconnection.com/gallant/hpv/joe/outtaMyWay_2.mpg>

Maybe it's USENET convention to post URLs in the your fashion, but I
prefer to keep the URL continuous.

\\paul

still me said:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/07/01/rage_on_the_bikeway/

Quoted message said:

"The roller bladers are too wide," said Rachel Shanley, a
biker

Double entendre?

--
Mark Shroyer
http://markshroyer.com/

Per still me:

Quoted message said:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/07/01/rage_on_the_bikeway/

Supports my longstanding view that bicycles and pedestrians are a
poor mix - although some areas, like Ocean City New Jersey's
boardwalk seem to contradict it.
--
PeteCresswell

Pete Cresswell said:

Per "still me"?:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/07/01/ra...

Supports my longstanding view that bicycles and pedestrians are a
poor mix - although some areas, like Ocean City New Jersey's
boardwalk seem to contradict it.

Nonsense. See
<http://sheldonbrown.com/lirpa.html#bayonetz>.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

still me said:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/07/01/rage_on_the_bikeway/

A bikeway rant.

In many ways I understand the anger that these people feel. A shared
path can definitely be a problem, especially when it gets crowded. In
Manhattan there's an excellent path along the Hudson River. But on the
weekends in the summer it can get so crowded that biking there isn't
much fun. Sometimes going at a walking pace doesn't solve the problem.
Unattended kids can dart in front of you at any time. Naturally whenever
I see a child under 10 running around without paying attention to
anything but the immediate surroundings I slow to a crawl. But my
annoyance at the parents that knowingly let their children play in an
area that isn't suitable is palpable in my throat. The Boston path
described in the article is somewhat different. The Hudson River path
for much of its length has a separate pedestrian only path running
alongside. But pedestrians are allowed on the shared path.

Still my greatest anger is toward people who are simply and plainly
selfish. The article describes a biker losing it and kicking a dog. I
would never kick a dog. It's not responsible for following its nature.
But I do find some dog walkers incredibly selfish. There are people that
use a long leash (one of those retractable ones that extend for 15 feet
and more) and then walk along one side of a path and let their dog walk
along the other side. The rope between them extends across the entire
path. These people know that others actually use the path, including
cyclists. Yet no matter how much you might whistle or call out, until
you're almost directly at them and pulling to a complete stop, they
continue, unconcerned. Not hearing isn't an excuse since it is a heavily
trafficked path.

The article mentions a complaint about rollerbladers. By the nature of
their motion they do need more room. That's understandable. But some go
far beyond what is needed, weaving side to side making passing
impossible or dangerous. I'm not referring to beginners who are easy to
recognize. Calling out helps but that sort of skating behavior in a
shared area is selfish.

Another aspect I forgot to mention is that the Hudson path (the shared
part) has a dividing line for the two way traffic. That's meaningless to
the dog walker type I just described. The Brooklyn Bridge has a wide
divided path with one side for cyclists and the other for pedestrians.
Needless to mention, the Brooklyn Bridge path is heavily trafficked.
Many there are tourists and don't know the rules about which side to
use. These people usually move when you whistle or call out but there
are those who ignore you and create a hazardous situation. I get very
angry when I realize that I have to risk injury to myself and others to
avoid someone who is completely selfish and ignores whatever methods are
set to make a crowded situation as safe as possible.

Once, on the Brooklyn Bridge, when a picture taker was standing in the
middle of the cyclist side to take a picture of friends on the
pedestrian side I saw him ignore an approaching cyclist that was calling
out to him. Just as the cyclist went to pass (at very slow speed), the
cameraman stepped directly in front of him almost taking the cyclist
down in his attempts to avoid collision. I was about 30 yards behind.
The photographer then returned to the middle of the cyclist path to take
more pictures. I called out to him to give me room but as with the prior
cyclist he ignored me and wouldn't you know, just as I was about to go
by, he walks into me, clipping me. Luckily I didn't go down injuring
myself and anyone else around. I stopped and walked the bike back to the
photographer, who had returned to the middle of the cyclist side to
continue with more pictures. I stood in his way, blocking his friends
from view. I was that angry that I could have been injured by the
selfish dangerous behavior of someone else. I pointed out to him that
though he might be annoyed at my preventing him from taking pictures his
behavior was preventing me from safely passing by. I was ready to fight
the guy even with his friends directly behind me. I called him an idiot
to goad him. He was a good half foot taller than me and half my age.

Sure I could have stopped to let him take all the pictures he wanted.
That would have been the safest thing to do. Oh wait. Staying in bed
that day and every day would have been the safest thing to do. But then
why not have this selfish photographer be the one to stay in bed and let
safety take its prescribed course?

I have no argument with photographers. I have a setup to use my bike as
a tripod and have camera equipment in a pack on my rear rack. I've many
times stopped on the Brooklyn Bridge and taken photos from the cyclist
side. But I do my very best to pay attention to the situation and not be
a hazard. It's the knowingly selfish behavior, completely ignoring
others and the rules of the circumstances, needlessly, carelessly and
selfishly creating dangerous situations that angers me.

And of course the same selfish behavior applies to some cyclists.

I forgot. There's a group in NYC that puts up what they call "ghost
bikes" to mark where cyclists have been killed. There are two ghost
bikes on the Hudson River path.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

Per still me:

Quoted message said:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/07/01/rage_on_the_bikeway/

Supports my longstanding view that bicycles and pedestrians are a
poor mix - although some areas, like Ocean City New Jersey's
boardwalk seem to contradict it.

Look at the photo in the article. The group of pedestrians coming toward
the camera are taking up over 3/4 of the path forcing the cyclist mother
in the foreground and her two children all the way to the other side to
get around. Cyclists and pedestrians can get along better if the rules are
followed.

still me said:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/07/01/rage_on_the_bikeway/

I have ridden this bike path. Once was enough.

I understand why pedestrians use it; it's a pleasant enough path. But I
don't want to ride on a bike path that is crowded with strollers,
walkers, dogs, and other pedestrians. It's not safe for them and no fun
for a biker.

If they hadn't called it a bike path, I would have known to stay off it
to begin with.

BC

"still me" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/07/01/rage_on_the_bikeway/

Rollerbladers don't bother me too much; my most feared encounters are with
the folks practicing cross-country skiing on the Springwater Trail with
rollers on their feet and flailing ski poles in their hands. Even small
diameter, many-spoked wheels could be impaled.
Kerry

Kerry Montgomery said:

"still me"? wrote

Quoted message said:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/07/01/ra...

Rollerbladers don't bother me too much; my most feared encounters are with
the folks practicing cross-country skiing on the Springwater Trail with
rollers on their feet and flailing ski poles in their hands. Even small
diameter, many-spoked wheels could be impaled.

The perfect multi-use path cruiser:
<http://www.liegerad-profis.com/images/butterfly-20.jpg>?

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful

Per RBrickston:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Supports my longstanding view that bicycles and pedestrians are a
poor mix - although some areas, like Ocean City New Jersey's
boardwalk seem to contradict it.

Look at the photo in the article. The group of pedestrians coming toward
the camera are taking up over 3/4 of the path forcing the cyclist mother
in the foreground and her two children all the way to the other side to
get around. Cyclists and pedestrians can get along better if the rules are
followed.

You should see the O.C. boardwalk sometimes. Total chaos.

My take is that the mix works there because there are few, if any
"real" cyclists - i.e. everybody's just noodling along and
nobody's running on adrenalin and/or riding against a clock.
--
PeteCresswell

"(PeteCresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

....

Quoted message said:

You should see the O.C. boardwalk sometimes. Total chaos.

My take is that the mix works there because there are few, if any
"real" cyclists - i.e. everybody's just noodling along and
nobody's running on adrenalin and/or riding against a clock.

If you're talking about the one in HB, there are no "real" cyclists there
because it's impossible or too dangerous to ride faster than 10 mph on a
busy day (and the speed limit is 10 mph). Besides high density, there are
lotsa clueless drunks stepping into/walking across the path without looking.
I just ride on PCH and hope for the best.

Zen Cohen said:

"(PeteCresswell)" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

...

Quoted message said:

You should see the O.C. boardwalk sometimes. Total chaos.

My take is that the mix works there because there are few, if any
"real" cyclists - i.e. everybody's just noodling along and
nobody's running on adrenalin and/or riding against a clock.

If you're talking about the one in HB, there are no "real" cyclists there
because it's impossible or too dangerous to ride faster than 10 mph on a
busy day (and the speed limit is 10 mph). Besides high density, there are
lotsa clueless drunks stepping into/walking across the path without looking.
I just ride on PCH and hope for the best.

I ride PCH Corona Del Mar to HB 4 days a week. You are correct, the
MUP on the beach is muy dangerous but Seashore in Newport is much
worse. Last week I was riding PCH along the oil rigs when I
encountered a roller bladder sweeping the whole lane going
with traffic. When I exchanged words after he failed to allow
me to pass when requested his comment was, I belong on the MUP.
Take care out there.

Bob