I bike a lot on a local paved multiuse trail, and occasionally I'll see an elderly person walking along holding a cane or a stick horizonally in front of him or her.

I cringe whenever I see that because it tells me that the person, or a friend, has at some point been startled by a cyclist passing too close -- and probably too fast . (And I have seen cyclists riding really fast in large packs on the trail, especially around the time of the springtime Early Bird Crits near the bay end of the trail -- yeah guys we know you're racers, good on ya's )

When I see these stick-carrying folks folks in particular I slow down even more than usual, give them extra wide berths and give them a cheery hello when I pass by (calling it out if I'm approaching them from behind).

I hope they get the impression from me that not all of the cyclists using the trail are dorkwads.