A couple of other ladies that ride our river trail system and I were discussing the article as we sat at one of the busiest spots on our river trail system...the Big Dam Bridge. We all agreed that this type of person clearly has never ridden a bike and only see us as a "menace" as he called us. We also agreed that we all know cyclist like this guy described....those who weave in and out of stopped cars, ignore stop signs, speed down hills and past pedestrians without so much as an "on your left". As well mannered cyclist we don't like them any better than he does, but that doesn't represent most cyclist here in our city. Most are careful on the river trail or avoid it at peak times. I never go on the bridge on Saturdays between 10 and 5 due to the heavy pedestrian traffic. However, our group also wished that more people would get on a bike and experience the hazards that we face every time we ride the trails. Some of the common problems we experience include, dogs on zip leashes that cross the entire path, kids without helmets riding their own bikes and weaving on both sides of the path, people with ipods so loud they can't hear your warnings, and most of all kids whose parents let them run wild down the path in both directions no caring that they are running out in front of bikes.

All of that being said we were wondering of other places offered events where kids and their parents can come and get proper safety instruction on how to ride and walk the trails safely. I think with effort on both sides improvements can be made. We recently had a safety program along our river trail system for everyone that uses the trails. Do other cities have education programs and if so we would love to hear about them.