Open Letter To Cornbrlt Running Club
Dear Friends:
It is due in no small part to you that we have expanded Multi-Use Paths in The Quad Cities. Your numbers make a difference, so you can imagine how bad I feel when I see your members cowering by the side of the path when I pass on my bike. It suggests others haven’t been as cautious as they should..
You have the right of way. On any trail or MUP, The rule is always, “Heels over wheels.” When you move all the way over to the right, you are inviting cyclists to share your lane. There is not enough room. Just like motorcyclists and bicycle riders on the street, you need to take your lane for safety. Cyclists, just like motorists, need to know to change lanes to pass. If we need to slow or even come to a stop, it isn’t going to take a minute out of our day (especially e-bikers who do not struggle to get back up to speed).
Cyclists don’t like being close passed at high speeds any more than you. We need to slow, announce our presence and give you as much space as we can. The same is true for blind corners and hills (there was a time when all motorists knew this too). We don’t know what may be stopped or moving slow on the other side.
Multi-Use Paths are really just glorified sidewalks. The speed limit on an unmarked trail or path is 20mph in Iowa and Illinois. Locally, it should be 15 (10 when passing), which is still awfully fast. MUPs are no place for cyclists to train or race segments .
Cyclists, whether on traditional or e-bikes, should jump out in to traffic, find a gravel road or at least wait til they get out in the country, to ride fast. There are plenty of rural sections locally on The GRT and Hennepin.
Let’s not allow the chaos of the streets onto our paths and trails. We need to share. I’ve waited since they were first promised in The 70’s for them to be practical. I don’t want cyclisrs to be kicked off. I can’t wait another 50 years in order to have separate infrastructure, just because some feel they don’t have to observe common courtesy.