[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by bragones

Very well said! I ride at an average speed of 18MPH. It's a speed that will take a cart a little bit longer to pass me making for a potentially dangerous situation. If someone is riding my tail, I speed up to about 20MPH until I see a clear, straight path ahead. I then slow down significantly, pull to the side and wave the cart behind me on. I do it as a courtesy, not arrogance. I've yet to have anyone not wave and thank me for the courtesy extended. When I get my first discourteous response, I will likely have met the poster who responded your post.

OK, why do you speed up????? If someone is "riding your tail", can't they see a "clear straight path" ahead just as well as you. Now, I always wave and thank the courteous cyclists as well. But my own personal thought is more along the lines of "I can see ahead as well, if not better than you. I am as good, if not better driver than you. I do not need you to dictate to me when I can pass. I will pass when I think it is safe, NOT YOU. YOU do not get to tell me what to do, nor do you control my actions. Just maintain your speed and I will decide my next move." And my apologies to Orange--I thought she was referring to riding down the middle of the entire path, not just her lane.

[Reeds]

On behalf of the walkers, THANK YOU for giving an audible! The other day while walking the Hogeye, there were no less than 9 bicyclists who passed me. NOT ONE gave an audible. I do not wear earbuds, nor do I have any type of hearing issues so I would have heard if an audible was given. I normally walk on the left side-facing traffic but when other walkers are approaching, I cross to the right side (seems no one knows they will be safer walking on the left).
So here's a friendly reminder to anyone using the MMP's:

Walkers - walk on the left- facing any potential oncoming traffic. This way, you are not surprised by a bike rider seemingly coming out of nowhere. Additionally, when you are on a path that allows golf cars, you will be in the habit of facing them.

Bicyclists - ride on the right and give an audible (ring a bell, say "on your left", etc) when approaching those on foot from behind. Your radio or two of you chatting while you ride is not sufficient. Do not assume someone hears you coming. Those with e-bikes should slow down when approaching those on foot. If you're going too fast, you could lose control should someone (or their pet) decide to cross the path.

Golf Car drivers - SLOW DOWN when approaching those on foot or on bikes and give them a wide berth when passing. There can be blind curves and when you are speeding around them, you never know whether you may encounter someone unexpectedly and they might be walking a furry friend that is a couple of feet away from the.

Thank you for bringing up this topic. It gave me an opportunity to rant LOL.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

OK, why do you speed up????? If someone is "riding your tail", can't they see a "clear straight path" ahead just as well as you. Now, I always wave and thank the courteous cyclists as well. But my own personal thought is more along the lines of "I can see ahead as well, if not better than you. I am as good, if not better driver than you. I do not need you to dictate to me when I can pass. I will pass when I think it is safe, NOT YOU. YOU do not get to tell me what to do, nor do you control my actions. Just maintain your speed and I will decide my next move." And my apologies to Orange--I thought she was referring to riding down the middle of the entire path, not just her lane.

Accepted. No I'd never straddle the road. That's just asking for trouble. In fact some of us folks in my neighborhood - for some reason I just can't figure out - tend to gather in the middle of our street to chit-chat. If I'm with the "collective" I try to corral them to the side of the road but you know how stubborn old people can get! When someone comes down in a vehicle the ladies do move over to let the vehicle through. It's a strange phenomenon here. Makes me nervous but miraculously, there haven't even been any close calls in the 6 years I've been living here.

[tophcfa]

As both an advid cyclist and someone who uses a golf cart almost exclusively for transportation, I have my own take on the interaction between bikes and golf carts on the MMP’s.

As a cyclist, I ride for exercise, not transportation. I plan my bike rides to avoid the MMP’s as much as possible as I find riding through the vast network of low traffic residential neighborhoods to be much more relaxing and enjoyable. When I do find myself having to go on a MMP, I am constantly checking the rear view mirror on my bike. Whenever I see a golf cart approaching, I slow down and pull way over to the side and waive them by. I don’t do this because I think I’m better at determining when it’s safe to pass me. I do this because it’s common courtesy and I want to make it as safe as possible for the cart to pass me. I fully understand that the cart drivers can go faster than I ride (on a regular, non motorized bike), they have someplace to go, and I don’t want to be that selfish bike rider that erroneously thinks my time is more important than theirs.

As a cart driver, I respect bikers right to use the MMP’s, but also fully expect them to respect the fact that they are sharing the path, they don’t own it. Cyclists should always be fully aware of when they are slowing down golf cart traffic and make it as easy as possible for carts to pass them when they are slowing someone down. Cyclists that slow down traffic flow and make absolutely no effort to rectify the situation, or worse, purposely block people from passing them, create a very dangerous situation. Many Villagers utilize the MMP’s almost exclusively for transportation, often traveling many miles at a time. When someone has been driving for over a half hour and has gotten stuck behind numerous cyclists (especially groups) that don’t allow carts to pass, patience eventually wears very thin. The worst is when multiple carts get stuck behind inconsiderate cyclists, with no possibility of getting by them. That is what causes people to lose their patients and take risks that shouldn’t be necessary if the bikers would simply recognize the situation and let traffic pass.

[bragones]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

OK, why do you speed up????? If someone is "riding your tail", can't they see a "clear straight path" ahead just as well as you. Now, I always wave and thank the courteous cyclists as well. But my own personal thought is more along the lines of "I can see ahead as well, if not better than you. I am as good, if not better driver than you. I do not need you to dictate to me when I can pass. I will pass when I think it is safe, NOT YOU. YOU do not get to tell me what to do, nor do you control my actions. Just maintain your speed and I will decide my next move." And my apologies to Orange--I thought she was referring to riding down the middle of the entire path, not just her lane.

I speed up to cart speed because if a cart is close behind me and the passing situation looks dicey, I don't want to inconvenience them or cause them to get impatient and potentially make a move that's dangerous for both of us. Being on a bike, I get the short end of a reckless cart driver. I usually slow down and pull over very quickly to make for a safer passing situation. When I wave a cart on, I am not telling them what to do. I am suggesting that I see, and I'm creating, an opportunity to pass that looks safer than passing me when I'm in the middle of my lane doing 18MPH. Should a cart driver not take that opportunity, I'd move back into the center of my lane and continue my cadence speed, but it is rare (never?) that a cart driver hasn't take an opportunity that I've created for their convenience and what I believe to be, our respective safety.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Taking the lane is a legitimate thing for cyclists to do according to Florida law. The law requires leaving at least three feet of space between you and the bicycle when passing. Most automobile lanes are not wide enough to "share the lane" and MMP lanes aren't even close. Taking the lane by riding in the center of the lane helps avoid close calls by a driver who mistakenly thinks there is enough room in the single lane.

HOWEVER, taking the lane means the lane closest to the shoulder, it DOES NOT mean the entire MMP or both lanes of a road with two lanes in the same direction. If they fan out across the entire MMP then they deserve all the criticism they receive.

What if lane not marked? Which seems the whole path is one lane?

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Topspinmo

What if lane not marked? Which seems the whole path is one lane?

Do you often have head-on crashes with oncoming golf carts?

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by bragones

I speed up to cart speed because if a cart is close behind me and the passing situation looks dicey, I don't want to inconvenience them or cause them to get impatient and potentially make a move that's dangerous for both of us. Being on a bike, I get the short end of a reckless cart driver. I usually slow down and pull over very quickly to make for a safer passing situation. When I wave a cart on, I am not telling them what to do. I am suggesting that I see, and I'm creating, an opportunity to pass that looks safer than passing me when I'm in the middle of my lane doing 18MPH. Should a cart driver not take that opportunity, I'd move back into the center of my lane and continue my cadence speed, but it is rare (never?) that a cart driver hasn't take an opportunity that I've created for their convenience and what I believe to be, our respective safety.

Again, it's YOU see, YOU create, YOU decide it's safe. Thank you, but I don't need your help and I certainly don't need YOU to decide for ME. I will make my own decisions. I do understand what you're saying, and it is courteous. I'm just of the opinion that I am responsible for my actions, and if there is an incident, I don't want to explain to the sheriff that "The cyclist indicated to me that it was safe"

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Again, it's YOU see, YOU create, YOU decide it's safe. Thank you, but I don't need your help and I certainly don't need YOU to decide for ME. I will make my own decisions. I do understand what you're saying, and it is courteous. I'm just of the opinion that I am responsible for my actions, and if there is an incident, I don't want to explain to the sheriff that "The cyclist indicated to me that it was safe"

He's not deciding for anyone . He's indicating what he sees ahead. Give it a rest.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by CFrance

He's not deciding for anyone . He's indicating what he sees ahead. Give it a rest.

Generally, those cyclists are not "indicating", they are DICTATING. I don't care for it and I will not "give it a rest". When they blow through a stop sign forcing a car or cart to jam on their brakes, they are not "indicating", they have already decided FOR you. When they spread out across both the diamond lane and the car lane in a group of 20+, they are not "indicating", they are DICTATING. Again, not most, but some. And I'm sorry if some people don't see that relying on the cyclist's judgement rather than their own can cause problems if there is an accident. I don't see anyone having much of a chance with the excuse "the bicyclist said it was OK", because my first question as a LEO would be "What did YOU think?"

[Happydaz]

Wow! A lot of anger expressed here. Maybe some meditation or quiet time would be good. Get away from electronic devices and destress. Anyway, that is what I try to do.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Happydaz

Wow! A lot of anger expressed here. Maybe some meditation or quiet time would be good. Get away from electronic devices and destress. Anyway, that is what I try to do.

Excellent advice.

[Topspinmo]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Do you often have head-on crashes with oncoming golf carts?

No I posted for your benefit….

[MplsPete]

Originally Posted by kimgarwel12@gmail.com

...There's not a walker or biker (not on an E-bike) that can move 20 mph. ...

Back about 30-40 years ago, when I was in very good shape, I had a Trek 1000 bike, a fairly good "racer" but not exceptional (<$400) and to challenge myself, I decided to try to bike 20 miles in sixty minutes. In an urban environment. I did it. Many bikers can exceed 20 mph for short bursts, and plenty can do it for a sustained time.
Wish I could still do that.

[BillyGrown]

Are there really any major issues on walking path MMPs not associated near roadways? We only see bicycles and motorized scooters. There really isn’t a right or a left side priority because the paths are about half the width of MMPs designed for golf carts too. We have had bicycles without bells wiz by us on occasion but that’s about it.