Not to worry - the cows are just loitering there and not aggressive. They tend to move out of the way and they're used to cyclists since the path runs right through their domain. However, a friend of mine was commuting home after sunset and almost ran in to one a week or two ago, so there's that. I've ridden this path on average three times a week since August and only seen the cows once, but their presence is always detectable....

I'll take this commute route, with the risk of the cows and the occasional rattlesnake in hot weather any day over an urban commute with its risks from traffic or a "dooring" incident. Since they completed this section of the path, my route decreased in distance. It's now between .5 and 2 miles less, depending on whether I took the shorter crappier choice or the longer, mostly safer and smoother route. Previously, the short route was all on roads. The longer routes allowed for about 3 miles on a path, but now I have about 7.5 miles on path and only 2 miles on the open road. And the path passes through 3 miles of beautiful desert (sometimes with cows), along and across the Pantano River wash (usually dry but can carry flash floods that force a detour).