What is Up with Bike Paths

[buckeyebri]

What is up with bike paths and why don't bikers use them. The area I live in has a fairly nice series of bike paths, but yet I notice a lot of bikers still want to ride in the street. These are nice, wide, asphalt paths off of the road. What gives?

 

[Taosman]

There is a thought out there amongst bikers that bike paths are for pussies(low speeds) and real riders revel in the chaos of traffic. Paths also get boring pretty quick. (unless they are populated by hot co-eds in running shorts! In which case low speed is an asset!)

 

[Crump's brother]

I'd be fine with the bikers around here riding on the streets if they had to pay to register their bikes.

 

[cincibuck]

My guess: The "bike trails" are also used by runners, walkers, trikes and kids doing whatever it is kids do. We lived in a community (Landen) for a couple of years with a "hiker - biker trail" and loved it. We used it with bikes, as a running path and for walking, but I doubt that there were more than 10 total miles of paved trail.

We now live near an old railroad that has been converted to a bike trail that goes along the Little Miami from Newtown to Terrace Park - Milford and on up to Xenia and Yellow Springs and it's filled with bikers from March to late November. Most serious bikers are going to run 20 to 50 miles on a ride and they don't want to be polite while doing it.

 

[BUCKYLE]

I thought bike paths were used for sexual crimes.

 

[Buck Nasty]

I was told by one of the guys I ride with that there is a 15mph speed limit on the bike paths which in combination with the danger of weaving in and out of joggers, walkers and other bikers keeps the road bikers off the paths.

 

[buxfan4life]

The problem I have with bikers around me is that they never use the bicycle lane of the road and insist on riding in the car lanes (there is a reason that the municipalities spent the money to widen the roads in order to accommodate you assholes, so use it!). They then proceed to get pissed at you when you pass by them too closely while trying to get around them in your car.

And the fact that they do not adhere to traffic laws at intersections is a problem, as well.

I like to go biking, but I don't act like I own the freakin' road while I am riding.

 

[Crump's brother]

My favorite is the overweight guy all dressed up like Lance Armstrong. We get tons of those (which I guess is literally only 9 or so) around here.

I have a bit of a gut too, I just don't wear sponsor-filled spandex for the whole world to see.

 

[buckeyebri]

The problem I have with bikers around me is that they never use the bicycle lane of the road and insist on riding in the car lanes (there is a reason that the municipalities spent the money to widen the roads in order to accommodate you assholes, so use it!). They then proceed to get [censored]ed at you when you pass by them too closely while trying to get around them in your car.

And the fact that they do not adhere to traffic laws at intersections is a problem, as well.

I like to go biking, but I don't act like I own the freakin' road while I am riding.

THIS....goes along with why don't you use the path that was built for you...

 

[Taosman]

The problem I have with bikers around me is that they never use the bicycle lane of the road and insist on riding in the car lanes (there is a reason that the municipalities spent the money to widen the roads in order to accommodate you assholes, so use it!). They then proceed to get [censored]ed at you when you pass by them too closely while trying to get around them in your car.

And the fact that they do not adhere to traffic laws at intersections is a problem, as well.

I like to go biking, but I don't act like I own the freakin' road while I am riding.

Visibility or not getting ran over is always on the mind of riders.
A lot of new riders just don't know the rules of the road and are a menace to themselves and those around them. There's no excuse for not knowing the local rules ( both automobile and bike)regarding bicycling and acting responsibly. There's a Darwinian process in bicycling. You do something wrong enough times and it will catch up with you. And you have little protection from a car or truck other than your acting responsibly.
At intersections bicyclists should take the lane to be safe. And quickly get out of the way when the light changes.

 

[buxfan4life]

Visibility or not getting ran over is always on the mind of riders.
A lot of new riders just don't know the rules of the road and are a menace to themselves and those around them. There's no excuse for not knowing the local rules ( both automobile and bike)regarding bicycling and acting responsibly. There's a Darwinian process in bicycling. You do something wrong enough times and it will catch up with you. And you have little protection from a car or truck other than your acting responsibly.
At intersections bicyclists should take the lane to be safe. And quickly get out of the way when the light changes.

Believe me, most of these idiots are not beginners, and many will ride together and take up a ton of space riding side by side to chit-chat while doing less than 20mph on a 45mph road. Also, most beginners use the sidewalks (which are quite wide around where I live) because they are to scared to be out in actual traffic.

About the intersections, what I am refering to is those "professional" bikers who ignore red lights and blow through the intersections without so much as a look in either direction. I have witnessed cars slamming on breaks because of a rider doing precisely this. They are really a hazard down here.

 

[buckeyebri]

A lot of new riders just don't know the rules of the road and are a menace to themselves and those around them. There's no excuse for not knowing the local rules ( both automobile and bike)regarding bicycling and acting responsibly.

I am always amazed by the number of bikers and walkers, who don't know the rules. I was always taught to ride with traffic and walk against traffic (where no walk existed). I grew up in the Ohio countryside, on narrow roads, so it was very import to observe these rules to not get hit.

 

[Thump]

The problem I have with bikers around me is that they never use the bicycle lane of the road and insist on riding in the car lanes (there is a reason that the municipalities spent the money to widen the roads in order to accommodate you assholes, so use it!). They then proceed to get pissed at you when you pass by them too closely while trying to get around them in your car.

The reason many road bikers choose not to use the bike lane is the amount of loose cinders and gravel that get pushed to the bike lane from constant car travel. When riding on skinny road bike tires, it can be EXTREMELY dangerous.

I like to go biking, but I don't act like I own the freakin' road while I am riding.

Agree, I always give a wave to people that do not try to pass in a dangerous zone and I always try to wave people by when I see that the road ahead is clear.

 

[Thump]

Also, most beginners use the sidewalks (which are quite wide around where I live) because they are to scared to be out in actual traffic.

It's illegal to ride a bike on a sidewalk where I live.

You are to ride on the street with traffic.

 

[Thump]

I was told by one of the guys I ride with that there is a 15mph speed limit on the bike paths which in combination with the danger of weaving in and out of joggers, walkers and other bikers keeps the road bikers off the paths.

BINGO!

Had a buddy in Denver who is a pretty high level biker get his jaw broken when a teenage kid pulled out in front of him and after my friend said "Passing on your left" and caused him to fly head first into a wooden fence leading to him getting his jaw wired shut for 6 weeks.

Plus, I live in a rural area and I can just pull out of my driveway and start riding instead of putting on my bike rack, loading up my bike, and driving 8 miles to a path that is only 11 miles round trip.

Plus, on paths, you don't get any hills or road grade change.