A man walks into a pub to find it filled with roads, sitting relaxing and having a drink. There’s an City Street over in the corner, sharing a quiet drink with a Winding Country Lane. Up by the bar a busy Motorway is taking a well earned break with a pint of beer and a pie. By the jukebox, a newly constructed Bypass is showing off his road markings to a glamorous Boulevard.
“Wow”, says the man to the barman. “You get a strange lot in here.” “Yeah”, says the barman. “But they’re a good customers and always thirsty.”
Just then the thinnest road you’ve ever seen walks in, dressed in red tarmac. The bar falls silent. A High street and a Dual-Carriage-Way by the door make a rapid exit. The Motorway edges to the far end of the bar. The thin red road gives everyone in the pub a mean glare, orders a pint of extra strong lager and retires to a table all by himself. Gradually the pub goes back to normal.
“What’s up with the weedy red road?” asks the man.
“Careful, you don’t want to mess with him”, says the barman. “He’s a cycle path.”
Up here, it’s not so. In fact, in some areas, the paved path is divided into three lanes: two with bicycles painted on them and one with a pedestrian painted on it.
In this instance, it was a path with a bicycle on it and a lozenge symbol indicating a reserved lane. There were sidewalks all along the length of my route, except behind the hospital. There was just no damn excuse for being on the bike path if they weren’t on a bike.
Also, I realized I forgot to emphasize that the people taking photos from their bikes? Were taking photos from their MOVING bikes. :smack: :smack: :smack:
I just got back from a nice bike ride. Although it was a little out of my way, I rode over to the lake to ride south on the lakeshore path. The lakeshore path, for non-Chicagoans, is probably one of the most pleasant places in this here city, and for that reason I do not mind that it is multi-use. It’s actually rather nice to see so many people out walking their dogs or pushing strollers, jogging, rollerblading, and, of course, riding their bikes. Everyone’s out, having a nice time on the Fourth of July, la la la, we are all happy and ALMOST everyone is considerate and thoughtful on the path.
HOWEVER. If you’re going to be walking on the path, please keep in mind that you are the slowest people on the path. DO NOT WALK FIVE ABREAST. Those of us on bikes cannot get by you! There is traffic in the opposite direction! The lakeshore path is not your private road!
As a inline skater in Ottawa & Calgary, my personal “favourite” has always been the dog walkers with those retractable leashes on a reel. Most of them get out of the way, but sometimes fido crosses the parth, and the leash becomes a tripwire. The resulting tangled tumbling mess of cartwheeling blader and half strangled terrfied dog all tied together is not a pretty picture… Thankfully, most rigid wrist protectors are bite proof.
But I always pulled over to the right and got "narrow"as soon as I heard any bike warning bell. Well, as narrow as a 6’ 250lb guy can get, anyway…
That’s a whole 'nother rant, there, the oblivious retractable dog-walkers. It’s bad enough walking around them, but I pity the skaters and bikers that risk getting clotheslined with the leash.
I do my daily commute on a “multi-use” bike trail. I hear your pain and anger.
Almost as bad as the dog walkers with the 20 foot retractable leash-tripwires are the dog owners who let their dogs walk unleashed. I have been chased by a pack of 5 unleashed dogs. When I told their dog owners that there’s a leash law in this section of the county, I was told “Too bad, we were here first”. I told the fucktard that I’d be back in a half hour with 3 pit bulls, so they’d better get their fucking dogs off my trail.
OK, I only have one pit bull, and my buddy who lived nearby has one, but she’s definitely not game to other dogs. I just made up the third one…
There’s a bike path that runs the length of my steet, and despite the feelings of the OP, I run on it every day. When there’s a sidewalk, I’ll use it, but the sidewalk only runs a fraction of the way. I’ll stay to one side to allow bikes to pass, but otherwise, the only choice is either the bike path, the road or ground that is mostly unsuitable for running.
What I don’t get is why joggers would want to run on the trails – pavement is ridiculously tough on the feet and knees.
I have to say I really like how Calgary does it, with many stretchs of trail having two, completely separate, paths, one for bikes and bladers, the other for walkers and runners. I realize not every city will have the room for this.