am I allowed my lane on the bike path?

[Fujichants]

I hate it when paths are clearly marked as 'bike path only' yet people see it as a multi-use path and then give you dirty looks or won't move out of the way when they see you coming on your road bike.

And yes, I do believe you are entitled to your own lane, especially if there is a yellow line down the middle of it. Luckily everybody i've encountered always moves into a single file, and I do the same.

And wow...that guy from the Craigslist post...what an a**! Its people like him that give us all a bad name!

[aicabsolut]

I hate it when paths are clearly marked as 'bike path only' yet people see it as a multi-use path and then give you dirty looks or won't move out of the way when they see you coming on your road bike.

And yes, I do believe you are entitled to your own lane, especially if there is a yellow line down the middle of it. Luckily everybody i've encountered always moves into a single file, and I do the same.

And wow...that guy from the Craigslist post...what an a**! Its people like him that give us all a bad name!

Haha. Yeah, no, even with the yellow line, you do not get your own lane, really. Depending on traffic, people will be passing. People will be all over the place... especially when it's a MUP (as I assume yours is with the joggers)--and by this I mean a de facto MUP, regardless of signs. Around here, there are some "bike lanes," supposedly bikes only. Motorists yell at me all the time for being on the road traveling at 20+mph. The reality is that the "bike lane" in more crowded areas is really a multi-use path. Out in the boonies, I can use it, but not in town, which is of course where most of the motor vehicle traffic is too. A true path with it's own dotted line and whatnot is still to be a bike at your own risk kind of adventure. Pedestrians will almost always take the right of way. They will be wearing iPods. They will be clueless. They will go the wrong way. I find that those who exercise the most alongside the bike commuters tend to have the biggest clue, from habit. I still make no assumptions, and I just resign myself to going maybe 15mph on a moderately crowded section of a wide 2-lane path, with frequent braking and yelling of "on your left!"

Hmm, I would hope so but how does Swiss law differ from German law? Over here bike paths are one way unless specifically signposted otherwise and then they usually have a little dividing line like on the road.
Of course, a lot of people ignore the rule which is a pain in the neck.

Munich is in its own world with bike lanes. There, pedestrians know that if they're in the lane and not on the sidewalk, they WILL get run over by a bike. Plus, bikes get their own traffic signals. I have not encountered this anywhere else in the world.

[OakLeaf]

I just resign myself to going maybe 15mph on a moderately crowded section of a wide 2-lane path, with frequent braking and yelling of "on your left!"

Ha! 15 when it's moderately crowded? Forget about it. I'm constantly braking for oblivious people when I'm trying to go 12 mph on the hybrid. You ring the bell, they ignore you; you honk the very loud horn, they still ignore you; you holler "On your left!" at the top of your voice, and either they ignore you or they move to their left.

[aicabsolut]

Ha! 15 when it's moderately crowded? Forget about it. I'm constantly braking for oblivious people when I'm trying to go 12 mph on the hybrid. You ring the bell, they ignore you; you honk the very loud horn, they still ignore you; you holler "On your left!" at the top of your voice, and either they ignore you or they move to their left.

I meant as top speed . I get down to a crawl sometimes. I had to ride a trail for a while yesterday as the usual evening spot was flooded. I wish I had an air horn.

[Fujichants]

Actually, in Holland, cyclists have the right of way in every sense. They rule the road over there!

[RoadRaven]

Actually, in Holland, cyclists have the right of way in every sense. They rule the road over there!

How do we develop this culture in car-driven (literally) countires....

I wish there was an easy way!

[Bron]

Munich is in its own world with bike lanes. There, pedestrians know that if they're in the lane and not on the sidewalk, they WILL get run over by a bike. Plus, bikes get their own traffic signals. I have not encountered this anywhere else in the world.

You are so right and I wish people would appreciate this and play by the rules. The numer of cyclists who still go the wrong way or blast through the stop lights (it's a red light in the shape of a bike, who do they think it's meant for??????). And then there are always the tourists who haven't learnt about the bike lanes yet.......

On the whole though we are very lucky here and it definately beats my commute when I lived in Manchester.