fujidon

Thanks, and yes, I think I have a thick skin.

basscadet

I almost exclusively ride our local MUPS, I would characterize these as paved nature trails, most sections are dotted-lined to indicate R/L traffic, and there are frequent signs stating slower traffic stay to the right, share the paths, etc.

Yes, people are annoying and frankly completely thoughtless on these paths, and this includes cyclists as well as pet owners, walkers, large groups, etc. Since we are the fastest and therefore most dangerous object on a MUP it is our responsibility to read people's body language and adjust our speed to safely overtake. If they don't see you or hear you, you need to assume they're going to walk right into your way. Needless to say I do a lot of braking/speeding up on my rides but it makes for a great workout.

One last comment: I think it's genuinely bizarre that people are pounding miles alongside cars on roads and somehow think riding on a MUP isn't safe. Unless there is a dedicated bike lane or it's a completely dead road, I ain't going near a road - most drivers (in the US, at least) are simply terrible. I see lycra warriors riding down busy avenues in moderate traffic and I wonder if their life insurance policies cover suicide.

WhyFi

Yeah, but are you elite?

fujidon

You must be very lucky to live where there are great MUP's. Around here, the longest one is about 3 miles. It would excruciatingly tedious to try and get in a decent ride repeating the same 3 miles over and over.

And your characterization of road riders is somewhere between amusing and annoying.

basscadet

No, definitely not elite. 20mph on a MUP is asking for a dog to ruin your day.

basscadet

Not meant to be annoying nor amusing, it's simply my observation as to the kind of folks I see regularly around me. Some are fit, sure, but some are just ripe gents sausaged into lycra, mashing away at 16 mph on 45 mph roads, gesturing wildly at cars. It's like being a small child who is enraged by the sea's tide eroding their sand castles.

Kabuki12

I rarely see any road riders gesturing at passing cars around here. I frequently ride on 45 mph roads and my average is 17-20 mph without much trouble. I do have a local knowledge of which roads are more “bike friendly” and try to stick with those routes. To me some group riders can be a bit aggressive and rather than stay in a single file to the right, intentionally take up a lane which gets drivers upset but that seems to be rare.

WhyFi

This often minimizes passing distances, which is actually safer for everyone.

znomit

In the same way the 99 is between 1 and 100.

Ilbiker

😳 After reading all these posts, I’m grateful for my country roads, crappy or not. I just can’t imagine riding on a MUP.

UsedToBeFaster

I enjoy plugging in the phones. Riding for 30 miles and not having to worry about cars. Also our local MUP has some nice curves which are fun to ride. Country roads are great as well.

basscadet

Agree 100%. A lot of it is the curves and not worrying about a 16 year old girl texting in her car running into the bike lane. Hell, around here, there are people who just regularly drive in the bike lanes (no idea why).

flangehead

https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/20...-front-belmont

Snowflake6

On the other hand... You can be fairly certain that someone driving down a road has had basic driver training, and learned the rules of the road... So in general, keep right, and no departures from the expected path without a signal of some kind. You can also be fairly certain that momentum will carry them in the direction they're going, and turns (and even lane changes) take a certain amount of space to accomplish. In short, they are more or less predictable, within certain limits.

In contrast, you have zero provenance when it comes to walkers on a MUP. They could be kids, or adults, who have never seen a driver training handbook. They can stop, turn, flail an arm, etc. before you can blink. And they frequently have dogs on trailing leashes as well. One such dog came out of the bushes and across my path one day, only to be briefly strangled by the leash when I rode over the trailing end as I stopped.

The owner had the audacity to yell at me for harming their dog... who seemed no worse-for-wear and came right over to say hi when I called to it to see that it was okay. I just ignored the owner and petted the dog for a moment and commented that "maybe your owner will hold onto your leash from now on so this doesn't happen." And rode off.

Steeler_fanatic

I prefer the roads and am fortunate to live near a fair number of country roads that are not heavily traveled, particularly at non-rush hour times. I feel less secure on MUP's since I like to go fast and I get nervous around pedestrians and animals. As a coincidence, we just had a horrific incident where a cyclist was murdered on a well traveled MUP when he was jumped by one or more thugs. No leads...
https://abc11.com/6380624/

MSchott

I don’t ride as often or far as most here but I have ridden over 1000 miles/year on public roads for the last 25 years. It’s all about choosing the right roads. I’d say 50% of my mileage is in neighborhoods with 45% on 2 lane local roads with speed limits from 35-45 mph. The rest are miscellaneous roads and MUP’s. I feel far safer on the 35-45 mph roads than with pedestrians on MUP’s. You develop a second sense about cars. This kind of riding is very predictable as opposed to the chaos of MUP’s.

greengo

that's what they call Bike privilege...

SpeedyBlueBiker

I rode that same exact spot on the SRT today between 11:30am going out and 1:30pm coming back from Matthews Beach. You do have to watch out for the pedestrians, little kids on bikes, and a whole host of other things that could go potentially wrong.

indyfabz

Lightly to moderately used ones can be fine. Scenic ones can be great. Look up something like Route of the Hiawatha Trail, the Mickelson Trail and/or the Great Allegheny Passage. I've done all three. For two days I had the Mickelson Trail mostly to myself. Did an up and back on the GAP last year. 300 miles. I could probably count on my fingers and toes the number of people I had to share the trail with while actually pedaling my bike.

Clyde1820

A vehicle roadway and vehicle operation on roadways: highly regulated, training to boot (to get licensed to drive), clear lane lines and rules of the road.

A MUP, by comparison is largely unfettered, and nobody's trained to do a thing other than already knowing how to walk. Walk this way, that way, walk unannounced, allowing the dog to meander around, etc.

Shouldn't really be a surprise.

Of course, it'll depend on the MUP/roadway in question and the community involved. Not everyone gives a rip about others, from one community to the next. Not everyone pays attention, or has a drinking fetish, or thinks being outdoors equals unrestrained pooches, and so forth. It'll vary.

And, the quality of MUPs varies as well. Some are well-designed. Some have lane lines and clearly sufficient space for a lot of people to go in different directions. Some are barely wide enough for two people and a cyclist; God help folks with a dog on a leash that's added to that mix. Depends.

In my own area, we've got a variety. Some of the newer and larger parks have well-planned bike lanes, separate MUPs with clear painted lines and generous width, along with clear markers communicating the recommended side for folks, warnings to control dogs on leashes, etc. Of course, we've also got some older parks where the paths are awful in design, don't have markers, and generally have an unthinking, unaware population of walkers and joggers and dog-walkers who don't watch themselves or others. Depends.

I feel safer on many of the common automobile roadways in my area, and dangerously threatened and at-risk on others. While the speed of occupants and closing-rates on MUPs, here, is vastly lower than on any roadway, it's still generally far more chaotic and random in terms of what's likely to happen in the next five seconds. Pedestrians, and cyclists, can do the damnedest things, often when one least expects it.

For me, I ride at speed on roadways and take all pains to be seen well in advance. Along with making zero instantaneous changes that'd surprise an approaching driver, I simply keep attuned to the "flow" around me and hope to sense ugliness coming with time to spare.

On MUPs, I'm vastly more cautious, given the increased likelihood of random movements by people who are there. My speed's lower, my closing-rate of speed is quite low and controlled and cautious, and I often go off-path and give a wide berth to dogs-on-leashes. But, that's me.

Haven't been rear-ended or doored or walked into in decades. And I suspect much of that is due to my cautious participation on such paths and roads. (To this day, I still thank the pair of retentive types who taught me to drive, back when; defensive-driving adherents to the last, and I'm very thankful for that.) A guess, but likely accurate.

a1penguin

I avoid the MUP on the weekend when it's super busy. If you are going to ride the MUP be prepared to go slow. Otherwise avoid it! I highly recommend a camera. On some of the local MUPs there are signs that say everyone uses the right hand lane. If a cyclist strikes a pedestrian, it's likely not going to end well for the cyclist. But if you have a camera that shows a pedestrian was at fault, you might avoid making lawyers rich.