Calgary's pathway system is great for having separate bike/pedestrian lanes. However, I get so darn mad when I use it. A few situations I encounter on a regular basis.
#1- Rollerblading on the bike path. They have such a huge stride, taking up the width of the path. They are almost always wearing headphones, so my bell is useless to warn them. good thing most don't get mad when I pass them, guess they know they are in the wrong. Frustrating none the less.
#2- Dog walkers. They must be above or unwelcome on the walking/jogging lanes. Always have a 6ft lead on the leash so getting around fido is a pain. Usually both the owner and the Dog will bark at me going by.
#3- Other cyclists. I wonder if some drive like they ride. Biggest peeve is passing. Our paths have a yellow solid line, much like a road, I've had many a rider passing in MY lane when it's not safe to do so. If you need to overtake a slower Cyclist, wait till there's no oncoming bike traffic. I hate having to ride in the grass to let these asshats by.
Another is Family riders. I take my little one's out riding too, it's perfectly acceptable, but teach the Kids some basic pathway rules. I'm talking about the kids that zig-zag out of control all the time, it's very hard for other riders to predict where you're Kid is going to go, or if He/She is going to hit you or crash. Ringing the bell just sends them into full panic mode which usually results in a crash or them stopping in the middle of the path. I've managed to teach my 5, 7, and 10 yr old how to safely and responsibly ride on paths so I know its not impossible to take Kids safely riding.
Sunday riders are a pain too. We have 100's of KM of pathways, I tend to pick the less traveled paths just to help ovoid all the other issues. Yet every ride I seem to get at least one ornery rider going along at 10 km/h who yells "slow down" as I go by. Keep in mind I'm usually on my fat tired mountain bike, my average speed on a good day is 25 km/h so I'm not blazing along at Tour d' France speeds. I also keep my Bear bell on all the time now, so everybody can hear me approaching. These People often ride side by side too, making passing difficult.
#4- This one is rare, but it happened to a friend and I. There was this nice single track trail we loved to ride, it was close to home and fairly challenging in some spots. It also has a honey pot of downhill sections, we encountered some grump one day who told us bikes were not welcome on "HIS" trail (was in a Gov't park) We politely told him there were in fact no rules stating bikes were not allowed to be in the park and carried on. He cursed at us and said He'd make it ugly if we rode there again. A few weeks later coming down one of the downhill sections was a picnic table placed just where it cold not be seen....until it was too late. We both hit it (and each other) It had "BIKES NOT WELCOME" painted on the top. I can't prove it, but sure it was that old jerk who put it there!
