On 2018-03-16 13:19, jbeattie wrote:
On Friday, March 16, 2018 at 8:27:05 AM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2018-03-15 17:55, jbeattie wrote:

[...]


... Half of them will think you're a creep or just in their way.
The other half might think you're mildly amusing. Kids are
accustomed to hearing "good job" -- little Jimmy on the trike
probably hears it ten times a day. It's not like he's going to
ride over to his parents and say, "geepers, mom and dad, that
creepy man over there said I did a good job! That makes me feel
so good! It means a lot to me!"


My experience is different. Mostly it elicited a big smile, maybe
because this did not come from a parent or close relative. Also, in
the more rural regions of America kids are often brought up the
old-fashioned way, with proper expectations of them and without
pampering or excessive praise.

Rural? Cameron Park?
https://www.trulia.com/p/ca/cameron-...82--2085622330


If you look hard enough you can find a McMansion just about anywhere. We
even have one on our street. Totally out of place for this village.

I meant he

https://cdn-assets.alltrails.com/upl...f1253dc7d6.jpg


I'm sure the milk cows are around back.


I meet them along the El Dorado Trail all the time. Sometimes on the
trail when one got out. Also goats, et cetera. Occasionally we have to
play herder with our mountain bikes.


It's also good to praise a horse or a dog for good trail etiquette.
They often notice it favorably and it costs the cyclist nothing.
One rider thanked me saying "Sam really likes that".

Yes, because the owner can read the horse's mind.


No, but their reactions. For example, most people do not know that
horses can purr if they are feeling really happy. One of my horse
friends already did that when I said "Ivan, do you want some carrots?",
before opening the pannier. Unfortunately he died at around 21 years old
from Cushing's disease :-(

The horse that took his place isn't nearly as communicative but also
likes carrots.


... I'm going to start
an institute with the sole purpose of stamping out anthropomorphism.
It prevents us from really understanding animals.
https://www.marketingfirst.co.nz/wp-...-dogs-hear.jpg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss2hULhXf04


... In reality, dealing with kids on trikes on a MUP is usually
just a matter of giving them a wide berth.


I do that regardless.


It's kind of like dealing with squirrels -- well, strike that.
I'll run over squirrels.


I don't like hitting animals, ever. Couldn't avoid running over
some though, squirrels and ... rattlesnakes. Once almost a deer but
he'd have won.

Yah, I'm not aiming for the squirrels, but I'm certainly not going
over the bars for them -- not unless they get stuck in my spokes.


Which has happened here, with nasty consequences.


Linear parks are fine and some can be useful travel routes for
bikes, but mixing bikes and walkers always results in a
sub-optimal experience for both -- particularly when you have
parents with walkers, dogs and kids on trikes (common around
here) and sometimes steep grades. I walk and ride the same local
trail, and descending bikes are a menace. I always take the
adjacent road when on a bike.


Many of our routes are not park routes but for cyclists with a
purpose, folks who commute or have another set destination like I
often do. Many bike path started to flourish in this area around 10
years ago and initially pedestrians walked willy-nilly. Now they
largely stick to the rule "walk left" which makes things easy.
These paths connect residential areas to business parks and I often
cycle through on of those. Lunchtime walkers are almost
professionals when it comes to trail etiquette.

Like I said, some of these routes provide valuable options for riders
-- but they are options. Roads are the rule, and people need to
learn to ride on roads -- and everybody needs to learn the rules of
the road for his or her state.


People generally know the rules because they are also car drivers.
However, I found that the vast majority of cylists abhors using roads on
their bicycles so much that they simply don't. This reluctance is not
based on some undefined fear but on accident reports and experiences of
friends and relatives who got hit.

--
Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/