Quote Originally Posted by sara View Post
But oh my goodness, I don't know what was going on...there were about 5 million joggers out and they would NOT move off the trail! On most of the trail, there is plenty of room OFF the pavement and it's a nice sandy surface, so I don't understand why they could not move out of the way. Some of the joggers were yelling at the cyclists to move over. One lady screamed in my face, and another put her arm out into my path...evidently I was supposed to move over?
Err... yes! Technically, on multi-use paths, bicycles yield for pedestrians and pedestrians have the right of way.

You need to call out and let pedestrians know you are passing them, and give them an opportunity to move to give you room. And if they don't move, well, tough luck for you. You'll just have to slow down and negociate around them in a safe manner. And no, it is not reasonable for you to expect that they get off the path for you. Sorry.

It's a bit hard to move over when there is oncoming bike traffic!
If you're driving a car on the road and you come up behind a slower-moving vehicle, and there is another vehicle approaching you in the other direction, what do you do?

Do you expect the slower vehicle to pull off the road so that you can pass as the oncoming vehicle is approaching you? Or do you pull out expecting that the approaching vehicle and the vehicle you're passing will somehow get out of your way?

Of course you don't !!! You slow down, you wait for the approaching vehicle to pass by, and then you pass the slower vehicle.

And you do the same on a multi-use path.

You have to use common sense, have a lot of patience, and show a lot of courtesy to other users when you're on a multi-use path. Yes, walkers and joggers and people wheeling strollers and especially oblivious people with dogs can be a pain in the butt, but it's their path too, whether you like it or not. And if you don't like it, stick with the roads.

Nice to get out and ride today, but I think I'll stick to the roads for the rest of summer!
That would be an excellent idea.