Talk of The Villages Florida - Trouble With the Curve

Talk of The Villages Florida (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/)

- The Villages, Florida, General Discussion (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/)

- - Trouble With the Curve (https://www.talkofthevillages.com/forums/villages-florida-general-discussion-73/trouble-curve-334675/)

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfnut (Post 2129687)

Okay so I'm supposed to ride my bicycle in the street and potentially get hit by a 5,000 LB car rather than a 1,000 LB cart, I hadn't thought about it like that, makes a lot of sense. As far as walking paths I don't live in the south so what am I supposed to do?

Ride wherever it is legal to ride a bike. I ride thousands of miles a year and I prefer riding with the bike club. We ride in groups with rear view mirrors and front and rear lights and we normally only ride on the roads. Bicycling at 17-22 miles an hour on the multimodal paths is not safe for anyone. I do ride with a friend occasionally on the multimodal paths, but at a slower speed and we don’t use many tunnels as they are dangerous, but instead use the roundabouts and then rejoin the path. Do what you like to do. Don’t pay too much attention to what is said here. Be careful and considerate and you should do OK.

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfnut (Post 2129687)

As far as walking paths I don't live in the south so what am I supposed to do?

Get a bike carrier to take your bike to the Southern area.

It cost us about $250 to get a hitch put on our SUV and about $250 for a nice bike area. Now we can drive down to Homestead rec center, go for a long bike ride, and then hop in their new pool.

See, there is a solution for every problem.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VApeople (Post 2129718)

We live in the southern area. Be that as it may, no one should feel like they have to do that in order to ride their bike in a community where they pay dearly to maintain MULTI modal paths. Those paths are intended for all of us, not just carts. If that is your preference then go for it, but riding out our door and directly onto a path is what attracted us to the Villages and was something that was stressed to us when we mentioned we were cyclists, miles and miles of paths right out our front door.

We are all vulnerable to idiots. Be careful, be watchful, and try not to be really unlucky.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laker14 (Post 2129805)

We are all vulnerable to idiots. Be careful, be watchful, and try not to be really unlucky.

As I interpret your comment, you are saying that we should accept the realities of life as they are and decide how we should behave to make our lives most enjoyable.

If that is what you are saying, then I agree with you 100%.

If we expect others to behave as we wish, like cart riders being considerate on the MMPs, then that increases the chance of us being, as you say, "really unlucky".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldragbagger (Post 2129784)

something that was stressed to us when we mentioned we were cyclists, miles and miles of paths right out our front door.

Who stressed that to you? A realtor? If you had come to this site, we would have warned you how dangerous it is to ride a bike on the MMPs.

Maybe you should have bought a house in Polk City, the biking capital of Florida. That is where the magnificent Van Fleet biking trail starts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VApeople (Post 2130213)

Who stressed that to you? A realtor? If you had come to this site, we would have warned you how dangerous it is to ride a bike on the MMPs...

What a bunch of hooey!

With some very basic precautions, you are very safe riding a bike on the MMPs. Much more so imo than on a roadway with 40mph (or more) autos passing you constantly.

I’ve been enjoying riding the MMPs for almost 10 years.

We have to share the road on parts of chitty chatty and st Catherine and the carts are making it dangerous.

Please, please wait 2-3 minutes until it is safe to pass!

Cars don’t care about carts, carts don’t care about bikes, bikes don’t care about walkers. See it every day. I just cruise along at 20 and watch the fun. On the roads the carts do have a solid white line, that doesn’t mean anything either. Also when there are 20 or 25 bikers riding together it does become tedious. This is a weekend event.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davonu (Post 2130248)

Obviously, the OP had a different experience and that is why this thread exists.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldragbagger (Post 2129181)

My husband and I cycle the multi modal paths daily and occasionally it happens that a golf cart will pull out to pass us in a blind curve. We certainly understand your desire to pass us. Who wants to be stuck behind a bicycle going 13 mph, right? But every time it happens I get knots in my stomach knowing that if that cart encounters traffic coming his way as they round that curve they are going to have to quickly pull back into their own lane, which means right into us. We always ride single file and as close to the right as possible but it still might not allow enough room for us and the cart in the same lane especially if the cart driver is over reacting due to being startled by the oncoming traffic. Sure enough that very thing happened to my husband a couple of days ago. He had to slam on his brakes hard enough to almost topple him over. Fortunately he narrowly missed getting hit by the golf cart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oldragbagger (Post 2129181)

There are lots of discussions currently about rights of way on the paths so I thought I would add this situation to the conversation.

My husband and I cycle the multi modal paths daily and occasionally it happens that a golf cart will pull out to pass us in a blind curve. We certainly understand your desire to pass us. Who wants to be stuck behind a bicycle going 13 mph, right? But every time it happens I get knots in my stomach knowing that if that cart encounters traffic coming his way as they round that curve they are going to have to quickly pull back into their own lane, which means right into us. We always ride single file and as close to the right as possible but it still might not allow enough room for us and the cart in the same lane especially if the cart driver is over reacting due to being startled by the oncoming traffic. Sure enough that very thing happened to my husband a couple of days ago. He had to slam on his brakes hard enough to almost topple him over. Fortunately he narrowly missed getting hit by the golf cart.

So, I am asking, respectfully, these are lives at stake out there on the path, and most of us are on the path for recreational purposes, not because of any life and death need to be somewhere quickly. In an encounter between a cart and a bike the bike is sure to lose, and possibly in the most tragic of ways. The amount of time it takes to get around a curve to the point where you have a clear line of sight of traffic in the oncoming lane isn’t going to be a life changer for anyone, but it could be for the person on the bike.

Thanks for reading.

I ride a bike, drive a golf cart and drive a car. Oh and walk. My dad long departed taught me to drive. I still recall him saying, expect people to do the stupidest possible thing because that is exactly what they are going to do. My dad is still my copilot.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coralway (Post 2129310)

it's every man, and woman, for themselves. There are no set rules - and if there are, nobody seems to follow them. Everyone pretty much does whatever is convenient for them

NOT AT ALL. The goal is or should be everyone arrives home safely. A dangerous
action. Speeding etc. What does it save you?