to follow up...

I've read that anything over a 15% differential in highway speed is dangerous. I've always assumed that's why the de facto speed limit is 63 when it's marked 55, 75 in a marked 65, etc.

MUPs expect people to interact safely with a speed differential of 1000% or more. That's crazy. Even on country roads, cars are rarely going more than 4-5 times the speed of bicyclists.


And... my dogs are gone now, but we used retractable leashes without incident. The key is paying attention. If you reel your dog in long before another person approaches, or ahead of a blind curve, then there's not a problem. Unfortunately, it seems that paying attention is a lost art