Joe Bikerider

On the Iron Horse trail again. I was turning onto the trail to go South when a grandpa and child were walking South also. Grandpa stopped at the side of the trail, plenty of room, the teenage boy stopped in the middle not knowing what to do. I gave a quiet admonishment, like “don’t just stand there in the middle”. Grandpa started calling me “karen”. I realized a few minutes later that this is some kind of insult. Well, in sixth grade I had a crush on a Karen and didn’t appreciate his comment. Then a few minutes later I passed a woman cyclist wearing a beautiful purple jersey just the color of the tree behind her. These Magnolia trees are so great at this time. I guess spring has sprung! Whoo hoo.

bikingshearer 

In such encounters, I try to insert a "please" in there somewhere - not because they deserve it ir that you were in any way wrong, but because it sometimes (and I stress "sometimes") makes it easier for them, actually hear the message. Kind of the Mary Poppins school of thought - a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.

Just a thought. It is not always easy to be polite with morons, especially self-centered ones.

Russ Roth

Typical boomer trying to use modern lingo and getting it wrong, he should have called you a Ken or a Kyle. What really makes a person a Karen/Ken is more to do with tone, attitude and presumption of rightness or superiority. While saying things quick as you ride by can result in the wrong tone or a sense of impatience with others and many cyclists often come off as looking or sounding superior (especially those roadies), bikingshearer's advice of adding a please can change the overall tone. I appreciate it when hikers give way but on many of our trails near me its the cyclist who has to give way to hikers and horseback riders so I don't say anything other than thanks when they do get out of the way.

Kai Winters

"Karen" is a gender neutral term...
You say the kid didn't know what to do so you 'admonish' him...your words.
Yep you're a Karen

streetsurfer

Was driving by a forest preserve trail
and saw two bikes heading one way, and one going the other ridden by an elderly gentlemen. The two were a young adult and child.

...at the last moment they all swerved to dodge each other and they all went down.

bikingshearer 

Nope. The OP definitely was not being a "Karen." Telling someone not to block a public thoroughfare (which an MUP is) is not being a "Karen." It is telling someone to do nothing more than what they are supposed to know enough to do without having to be told.

Kai Winters

The op states the kid was standing in the middle 'not knowing what to do'...so what does the rider do??? he admonishes...his words...him. Had I been the kid I'd have given him an earful...if you're overtaking someone on a trail you should do so slowly and patiently...you do not have the right of way and everyone should move aside for you because you're on a bike and they are not.

You're just not that special...

base2 

I've taken the tact of saying nothing more than: "Trail users keep right." This is the exact verbage on every sign that they didn't read. If they are reminded enough, maybe it'll sink in?

In the rare occasion a conversation happens I ask them: "If you don't keep right, how can I pass on the left?"

I dunno. That's all I got.

ScottCommutes

Honestly depends on your personality and tone of voice. This particular comment could be rude if you say it like a librarian of old, or kind of funny and in context if you can pull it off.

bikingshearer 

Your argument boils down to "how dare you tell me to stop doing something that the established rules say I'm not supposed to be doing." Sorry, I don't buy it.

genejockey 

I see this all the time. The ONE MUP I ride on even has LANES painted on it, and STILL a number of walkers act like there are no rules that apply to them. "There's a dotted yellow line down the middle, so let's walk on the LEFT side of that, like we're in friggin' England." "I'm all by myself, so I'll walk right down the goddam MIDDLE OF THE TRAIL." "There are 4 of us, so rather than splitting into 2 groups, let's just spread out all the way across the goddam trail!."

It's not behavior you'd accept on the road from a driver or a cyclist, so why would it be acceptable from a pedestrian on a clearly marked trail?

ztmlgr

Get a bell and use it often. I got one and it was the best 10 bucks I ever spent on a bike accessory. No more "on your left"s for me. I ride the LM and IHT a lot and, since I've had the bell, I haven't had a single unpleasant encounter with another trail user. One ring from 50 feet back usually does it and I frequently get a "Thank You" from them as I pass. A second ring is needed from 25 feet back if I get no wave or moving over. A third ring from 10 feet back on the rare occasion they have the volume jacked up on the headphones in their ears or they're just out of it. If the third ring doesn't work, I just go around them on the grass or dirt and I usually hear an "Oops, sorry" as I pass but never feel the need to respond or interact with them in a negative way.

Chuck M 

I always slow down when I see the pedestrian or occasional bike rider stopped on the path and call out "Bike". The person always moves and nobody gets angry.

spdntrxi

all I needed to read

mschwett 

a couple of the few MUPs I deign to use actually have lines separating pedestrians and each direction of cyclists. compliance is …. Incomplete at best. but I would never admonish somebody for it. definitely a bit karenish.

genejockey 

I would never admonish, because that would require speaking to somebody while riding, which I really don't like doing. I think my consciousness goes into my Right Brain, leaving me barely articulate. I can grunt, or say, "Hey.", but that's about it.

Kai Winters

Thank Odin I don't ride on trails and don't have to run into people like some here...whew.
You can't and shouldn't be going fast. Walkers are slower and generally it's a social atmosphere so take that into consideration and a few seconds of pleasantness can change attitudes.
Be glad I'm not in charge of these trails. I'd ban all adult riders except for seniors and enforce a speed limit of 5mph.
Bet some of you are chewing iron and spitting nails...lol...don't care...ride on the roads...
Oh and I can't stand riders riding four abreast on the roads and not moving over when a vehicle approaches...you don''t own the f'ing road. I ride over 10k miles per year and that irritates me more than anything else riders do. And yes I do yell at them.

zandoval 

Yep... I remember a kid freezing like a deer in the headlights on a local trail just like you described. After coming to a stop, and before I could say anything, his Mom grabbed him and pulled him aside. He was a blind kid. Man am I glad I didn't ventilate...

genejockey 

Ya know, it doesn't matter if you're going fast. When they spread across the entire trail, they're still a goddam hazard.

BTW, you get mad at cyclists for doing the same thing you excuse walkers for? What kind of self-hating cyclist are you?

genejockey 

Now, to be fair, MOST walkers follow the rules, are predictable, leave space for others, etc. But that percentage is SMALLER than the percentage of cyclists who follow the rules of the road, keep well to the right, don't run red lights, etc. IME, anyhow.

downtube42

I use the trail as a cyclist, walker, and grandpa with pre-adolescent grandsons. This weekend I rode about 70 trail miles and walked about 10. I experienced things from both directions, which is often informative.

It's a MUP, where M is multi. Bikes yield to everyone, by rule. Yield is an interesting word; it doesn't mean stop but it may require stopping. It includes yielding to a pedestrian standing in the middle of the path. Cyclists may think the space in front of them is theirs, but it's not.

I don't think it was Karen level, but it was unnecessary and fruitless. Ill will was created.

curbtender

You got to figure most walkers out there get buzzed by inconsiderate riders at one time or another. Somebody venting is bound to happen. Until those walkers ride and riders walk that will happen. Nothing to see here, move along...

squirtdad

I ride the los gatos creek trail fairly often.

I have come to really appreciate the buzz from my white industries hubs as compared to my almost silent 6800 hubs and then bell or gentle on your left depending

I am courteous and slow down, pass slow or stop as needed

I do call out people with unleashed dogs......I have had one ambulance ride due same (not on trail)

but people are clueless as to other people. (unleased kids and pets, stop in the middle of the trail, turn across the trail without looking, take up the whole trail, focus on phone, etc) so I ride defensively, still pretty ride

biggest jerks are the guys on no pedaling required ebikes with fat tires bombing the trail at 20pm plus, giving no way

sknhgy 

I disagree. If you can't stop and admire nature on a bike trail, then where can you do it? If people do something they shouldn't, we can tell them we're coming through, but we don't have to get all "karen" about it.

base2 

So stopping in the middle of a path, in the way of all other users, becoming an obstacle/hazard to everyone else who has an equal right to safe and unimpeded travel is ok? No. It's the height of self-centered discourtesy.

Where is your sense of basic civics?