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Old March 9th 20, 10:08 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
NFN Smith[_2_]
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Posts: 33
Default I missed this story last September

Frank Krygowski wrote:
I rather like the Chinworth Trail on the rare occasions that I want to
go that direction -- most of it is through industrial-size lawns, so
one can see well enough to travel at street speeds.Â* I've never seen
another bike, and very few pedestrians -- ...


I dislike crowded MUPs, but I do like a couple unpopular MUPs around
here. The emptier, the better!

But it's difficult to use that argument when lobbying for them.

"It'll be great! If you build it, nobody will come!"


For the most part, I avoid the MUPs on my bike, because there's too much
clutter of traffic. I'm a fast enough rider that I'm quite content to
ride on most of the major arterials.

I've written about this before, but a significant issue (both for
planning and actual usage) is that there's multiple levels of usage for
cyclists, ranging from children and casual adult riders up to adults who
have more fitness and riding skills (including traffic). For children
and casual adults, it's really easy (especially for planners and
motorists) to assume that the bike is a toy (and often purchased at a
*Mart store), and where speeds are essentially more or less consistent
with pedestrians, often no more than about 5-7 MPH.

As a fitness rider, I'm typically doing 15-18 MPH on a flat, and as long
as I'm where I belong in the traffic flow, that speed is actually more
compatible with the 45-50 in arterial traffic than it is with dodging
slower traffic on MUPs.

I didn't comment on Joy's route marking post, but one of the things that
I think was important was the note about doing things in a way that can
be easily identified at speed. That has all sorts of applications, but
one of the disconnects between a pedestrian and a rider (much less a
motor vehicle) is that various forms of signage, marking and even
signaling have a significantly difference of proportion if the intended
reader is working at speed, whether on a bike or in a motor vehicle.


That said, for family members that don't have the riding skills, I want
them to be on the MUPs, and I also have no problems with using the MUPs
if I'm on skates.

Smith
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