You know who else is lucky? The plethora of individuals that do not know the rules of the bike path. Hey...you...the dude walking on the right...in front of me...with your back to me...I'm talking to YOU!! This rant is for you. I'm here to inform and educate. No need to thank me. I'm happy to help.
For those of you who are unfamiliar, inexperienced or even slightly curious, here are a few things to keep in mind if you venture out to a bike path for a bit of fresh air. For those of you who really couldn't care less...if you fail to read this and are walking on the right in front of me...I reserve the right to run you over!!
1) If you are a pedestrian (walking, skipping, hopping, running or standing) you should be on the LEFT side of the bike path. I realize that this is contrary to our conditioning here in the US to stay right, but learn it, live it, love it! Why, you may ask, should you walk on the left? It's a safety issue. A bicyclist can be riding anywhere from 10-35 MPH. An unexpected stop is not a pretty thing for a cyclist like me! I'm clipped into my pedals, so any sudden stop will likely end with me on the ground with my bike on top of me. Entertaining to watch, I'm sure, but not overly comfortable.
If you walk on the right, that lightening fast bicyclist approaches from behind you...where you don't have eyes...thus cannot see them coming. This means the cyclist has to anticipate where you may move, pick a path, and hope that you don't make any sudden moves as they pass you...moves that may force them to swerve, or stop...and in my case, most likely fall. If you're WALKING ON THE LEFT you see them coming! They are still going to move to avoid/go around you, but it's more like a team effort. You see them, they see you, and if something unexpected happens, you can take evasive action much easier than the bike.
For those of you with difficulty remembering such complicated rules, there are convenient reminders to help boost your memory. There are the pretty pictures painted on the path at every entrance (a walker on the left, a bike on the right), a nice dotted yellow line to help you tell which side you're on, instructions posted on signs at the path entrances...and SIGNS every 1/4 of a mile along the path that say "Walkers Keep Left Facing Bicyclists".
Incidentally, this is the same rule for running or walking on the side of any road. Stay to the left, left, left!!
2) If you are walking a dog, keep them a) on a leash (yes...there was a dude walking a dog without a leash on the bike path tonight...moron!!); and b) on the outside of the path. I take some little bit of comfort in the fact that when your dog decides to give in to it's natural instincts and chase the person on two wheels, perhaps getting tangled in the spokes or getting a grip on an appendage, that said K-9 will have to cross in front of you first.
3) Consider the bike path like you do the road and look before crossing!! Stopping on the side of the path to rest, look at flowers, pee in the bushes or pick up the dog poo may be necessary, but should you decide to jump back out onto the path without looking, you may very well jump into the path of an oncoming cyclist. (please see note about speed and stopping issues, above)
4) Fellow bikers...stay to the RIGHT! If you're riding in pairs or groups, you don't automatically get control of the entire path. You have to yield to oncoming riders and anyone who may need/want to pass you.
SIDE NOTE: NEVER wear headphones. You need your ears!! Specifically, you need to hear other riders...like me...when I'm yelling at you that I'm trying to pass...
If you need to pass another cyclist, pass on the left, and call out to them to let them know you're coming ("Passing on your left")! If you're being passed, please move as far to the right as possible...I promise that no one will place a black mark on your masculinity card if you get passed by a girl.
Oh...and if you're under the age of 18, wearing a sideways baseball cap, pants that miraculously stay up by synching the waste at the top of your thighs, and riding with 12 other similarly clad chaps, you should consider NOT running down the pedestrians...or riding in a serpentine pattern so that you cut off the passing cyclist that has yelled at LEAST 8 times "PASSING ON YOUR LEFT". It tends to make the passing cyclists cranky.
Ok. I'm done with this rant. I'm sure I'll have another one about squirrels later in the season, but they were good to me today, so I'll leave them alone for the time being.
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