am I allowed my lane on the bike path?

[Tuckervill]

Yeah, but nobody ever does. It's one of my pet peeves, especially with walkers taking up the whole path--whether in the mall or the baseball stadium or the bike path.

I've taught all my children to walk single file behind me when we are walking in pedestrian traffic. I guess I'm too nice.

Karen

[PscyclePath]

A good question -- and there's not a single good answer.

What we call "bike paths" are in actuality "multi-user" paths, because the features that make them attractive to the average cyclist also makes them attractive to many other users. Because of the congestion - walkers, joggers, rollerbladers, baby strollers, dogs (some leashed, some not), horses, etc. - paths require different considerations than road riding.

Bike paths have rules that very few users abide by. For example, here's the sign posted at the entrances to North Little Rock's River Trail:



Similar signs are posted over on the Little Rock side of the River Trail. Does anybody pay attention to them? You can probably see this one coming...

As I said, there's not a single good answer. Here's how I deal with the question in my Road I and other bike safety classes, from my class notes:

[quote]
In order to stay safe, it is imperative that bicyclists, the fastest users, yield to slower users. Because there are so many different users, it is hard to get everyone to follow the same rules. Runners don’t know if they should run on the right or left side, roller-bladers can easily take up the entire lane as they sway back and forth, children are erratic and unpredictable, and adults usually assume that they can just let the kids go.

If you do use multi-user paths, you must yield to everyone as you are the fastest user and have the greatest responsibility. What cars are to bicyclists on the road, bicyclists are to pedestrians on the paths. Be responsible.

Bicyclists Sharing the Path
Despite cyclists feeling that their true enemy is the automobile, it could be held that the conflict between bicyclists and pedestrians is most threatening to cyclists’ rights. The problem is not that pedestrians and bicyclists cannot co-exist, but that we have never been taught how to deal with each other. Bicyclists can learn how to ride in traffic from books or friends, or by applying principles they learned when they were taught to drive a car, but techniques for dealing with pedestrians, either on bike paths or on streets are not as well-known.

Fortunately, much of what we’ve learned about riding in traffic will readily apply to riding the bike paths, too…

Run, ride, walk, skate – on the right. You will still conflict with club runners who believe they should be going against traffic, but you must watch out for these jokers in any case.

Pass only on the left – not on the right. People don’t expect anyone to be coming up on their right side.

Always yield to pedestrians (more in a little bit...)

Ride at a speed that’s appropriate for the traffic density on the trail. The River Trail, or any other multi-use trail, is simply not a place to hold your fast pack rides or practice your time-trialing.

Yield to Pedestrians: Don't ever assume a pedestrian is looking out for you. If you hit a pedestrian, it is going to be considered your fault even if you have the right of way. Legally, the pedestrian always has the right of way. It is your responsibility to be aware of and be prepared for all the thoughtless, crazy moves that pedestrians will make.

Pedestrian Reactions
The first principle in dealing with pedestrians from a bike is that they don't know how to deal with you, either. Unlike automobiles, which can be directed by the bicyclist into proper action, pedestrians are less likely to react to a bicycle even if they see them.

Remember, a properly tuned bike is almost silent; those on foot may be listening rather than looking for trouble. Bells let people (including non-English speakers) know a cyclist is coming. But to get the attention of drivers and peds, nothing beats the human voice. "YO!" "Stop!" "Coming through!" or even a loud "Excuse me!" do the trick. The goal: Let them know where you are, where you are going, and what you want them to do. What I’ve found to work for me is a simple greeting as I approach from the rear, reinforced by a bike bell for the ones who don’t respond to a voice.

Still, don't count on people responding. The law calls for using extra caution to avoid pedestrians, regardless of right-of-way. If things get dicey, hit the brakes. Hitting a ped will stop you just as quickly as hitting a solid object, and the repercussions are far more serious. Riding unnecessarily close to peds ("buzzing" them) scares them and endangers both of you and is the worst publicity cyclists can get. A slight miscalculation or last-minute move can cause a serious (and seriously stupid) accident.

With cooperation, we can get and keep pleasant places to bicycle and walk. With conflict, we could lose the paths we have and have to fight larger forces to maintain our full access to city streets.

You can increase your safety by increasing your awareness of traffic conditions. Don’t take the blame. Do take charge of your own situation.

Tom

[OakLeaf]

Great tips Tom.

I'd add another one: NO iPODS and NO PHONES (for anyone using the paths)!!! In close quarters where people depend on audible warnings - and where posted rules may require audible warnings - the person being warned should at least have the courtesy not to drown out the warning.

But to answer rabbit's question: yes, it was them and not you who was being rude. In similar situations (and since I rarely take the road bike onto the trail, so I'm normally on the hybrid), rather than slow down, I'll very conspicuously veer into the grass, so they'll know they ran me off the road. Not that they probably care.

[northstar]

I would say, of course you're allowed your lane...

...but don't expect it to be given to you.

That's why I don't ride many of the paths anymore. I get too ticked off by the lack of common courtesy.

[pll]

That's why I don't ride many of the paths anymore. I get too ticked off by the lack of common courtesy.

Common courtesy and common sense should be protected species.

[Geonz]

The 15 or so of us on our Saturday Saunter were taking the MUS out of town and I was in front... so I pretty-close-to-literally brayed at the headphone-laden jogger as we approached (since we were already making a fair amount of noise and had called out "jogger up!" ... and I had this horrible laryngitis so I sounded rather donkeyesque anyway)... and she jumped and got out of the way and gave us a thumbs up and a smile...
... but I thought... gosh and golly, lady, you think that's what people should *have* to do to get your attention?
I kinda like doing both road and path on this route since it's educational. My beginner level riders can see the advantages and disadvantages to the path... and then for most of the ride we're on the roads, anyway.

[sundial]

I would say, of course you're allowed your lane...

...but don't expect it to be given to you.

That's why I don't ride many of the paths anymore. I get too ticked off by the lack of common courtesy.

Yeah, I feel this way about shoppers in Wally World. They hog the middle of the aisle with their cart and don't give one hooey about others. Oh, and the dawdlers who take their time walking as a group down the middle of the street as you are patiently waiting to pull into a parking place.

[crazybikinchic]

The one that gets me is the parent that knows you are in front/behind them, and yet allow their children to STOP in the middle of the path. I don't ride on paths anymore, but I do run on them and this irritates the fire out of me. Then there are the parents that allow their children to come running in front of me to look at my dog. Don't get me started.

[hermitclub]

I'm on the rail trail one Saturday last summer. There is a woman and man coming toward me on bikes, two a-breast. The man tells the woman that she should fall in to give me some room to ride. Her response is "but I was here first!"

Classic.

[Kalidurga]

Pedestrian Reactions
The first principle in dealing with pedestrians from a bike is that they don't know how to deal with you, either. Unlike automobiles, which can be directed by the bicyclist into proper action, pedestrians are less likely to react to a bicycle even if they see them.

Remember, a properly tuned bike is almost silent; those on foot may be listening rather than looking for trouble. Bells let people (including non-English speakers) know a cyclist is coming. But to get the attention of drivers and peds, nothing beats the human voice. "YO!" "Stop!" "Coming through!" or even a loud "Excuse me!" do the trick. The goal: Let them know where you are, where you are going, and what you want them to do. What I’ve found to work for me is a simple greeting as I approach from the rear, reinforced by a bike bell for the ones who don’t respond to a voice.

Still, don't count on people responding. The law calls for using extra caution to avoid pedestrians, regardless of right-of-way. If things get dicey, hit the brakes. Hitting a ped will stop you just as quickly as hitting a solid object, and the repercussions are far more serious. Riding unnecessarily close to peds ("buzzing" them) scares them and endangers both of you and is the worst publicity cyclists can get. A slight miscalculation or last-minute move can cause a serious (and seriously stupid) accident.

I'll add one little tip to this, one that I picked up from Bicycling magazine and have found makes a huuuge difference on the multi-use trails that I frequent:

Whether you're using your voice or a bell, you need to warn people far enough in advance to give them time to be startled and then figure out what to do. I usually whistle or yell "Bicycle behind you!!" when I'm a few hundred feet from pedestrians or slower cyclists and the response is pretty much always the same: They'll generally turn around and see me, swivel their head around while they assess the situation, make a decision, then move to one side or the other. I will then steer towards the side that they've left clear for me and say hello or thank you as I go by.

It's also worked a few times ("Bicycle ahead of you!") for people taking up too much space coming towards me. The one thing it doesn't work on is those doofii who insist on wearing earphones

[Blueberry]

I did the off road thing on Saturday. We were riding on a bike trail at Duke, and came upon a group of students walking side by side, taking up the *entire* path. They *would not* move over. I contemplated stopping and making like a tree so they would *have* to move or walk into a fixed object. I went around on the grass, waved and shouted thank you (it had been a bad day...)

CA

[spokewench]

Whether you're using your voice or a bell, you need to warn people far enough in advance to give them time to be startled and then figure out what to do. I usually whistle or yell "Bicycle behind you!!" when I'm a few hundred feet from pedestrians or slower cyclists and the response is pretty much always the same: They'll generally turn around and see me, swivel their head around while they assess the situation, make a decision, then move to one side or the other. I will then steer towards the side that they've left clear for me and say hello or thank you as I go by.

This is what I try to do - is give plenty of warning - but of course, this is difficult if there are lots of people on the trail. The other day I gave lots of warning to two ladies on a down hill section who were walking next to each other going the same way I was going - I was overtaking them; They were walking along, I said bike coming - on your left - and they both proceeded to bump into each other and almost knock each other down, then look behind and finally realize after some more jostling which way to go. It was fairly fun to watch.

spoke