Every morning I cycle in to work along a path on the riverbank. This path is shared by other cyclists, eejits on mopeds and motorbikes, strollers, walkers, power walkers, joggers, runners, crowd walkers, dog walkers (leashed) and dog walkers (unleashed). I have yet to construct an avoidance behaviour model that will allow me to avoid difficulty with every fellow path user. The unpredictability is striking.
All below cases are for travel in opposite direction to myself.
Simple cases:
1. Cyclist. Generally the most predictable. Will normally keep left, as for road traffic.
2. Lone stroller. Will stay to one side. No rules as to which side, though. Generally show a preference for the non-water side of the path, maybe because they would rather I fell into the river than they did.
3. Power walker. Generally as above. Will not move in much, though.
4. Joggers & runners. As for cyclists.
Complex cases:
1. More than 1 person strolling/walking. Unpredictable. I normally decide which side they are most on, place my bike as close to the opposite edge of the path, and hope they comprehend my intentions. They rarely do. Normally, the crowd will do nothing until I am very close, then either a) step in front of me b) split up and perform Brownian motion c) obstruct me deliberately, as what am I doing interfering with their walk?
2. Two or three power walking middle-aged women. Pink tracksuits. Freshly-styled blonde hair (may be natural). They will continue to walk beside each other, none will move over, or go into single-file, and as I get close, and try to find a way around them they will step in my way so I have to brake, and then they will leave a small gap between them that I have to thread the bike through.
3. Women, generally middle-aged or older, with small dogs on a leash. Will ensure they are on one side of the path, the dog is on the other, the leash is strung across my path, but will be generally friendly as I try to untangle myself from the leash.
4. Men with dogs, leash or not. Will show how commanding they are by berating the dogs into some form of behaviour, normally involving sitting or stopping. Easy enough to deal with.
5. Middle-aged women with dogs not on a leash. Complete chaos. Dogs always prefer to walk on the opposite side of the path to their owners, slightly ahead of them. You try to avoid them, and the owner thinks you are aiming at THEM instead. At the last minute, the owner will call the dog to try to improve the situation, the dog will turn to look back at the owner, and as a consequence will move across into the middle of the path. I have to brake hard and take avoiding action. Subsequently, I either get a muted "sorry", or am glared at for existing.
All below cases are for travel in same direction as myself.
Simple cases:
1. Cyclist. More difficult than opposite direction. May not hear you. Good to brake noisily or change gear with a clunk to get attention. Then normally either let you by, or feel challenged and try to speed up.
2. Lone stroller. Will probably hear you, and stay to one side. No rules as to which side, though. Generally show a preference for the non-water side of the path, maybe because they would rather I fell into the river than they did.
3. Power walker. If listening to music, a good opportunity to scare them silly as you suddenly appear at their shoulder.
4. Joggers & runners. Normally very aware of their surroundings and will let you by.
Complex cases:
1. More than 1 person strolling/walking. Disasterous. If you do not make a lot of noise, you can be freewheeling behind them for quite some time before someone says "oh, a bike". Everyone else then panics and perform one of the following a) step in front of me b) split up and perform Brownian motion c) obstruct me deliberately, as what am I doing interfering with their walk?
2. Two or three power walking middle-aged women. Completely unaware of their surroundings. Will all talk simultaneously, but none actually listen. They will continue to walk beside each other, none will move over, or go into single-file. I will have to try to cycle past through the trees or something.
3. Middle-aged women with small dogs on a leash. Not too bad. As before, will probably be on one side of the path with the dog on the other. I normally make as noisy an approach as possible so I don't give them a heart attack (bikes come up on people very quickly and quietly, in fact people seeing you often completely mis-judge your relative speeds and try to do the avoiding, when all you want them to do is STAY WHERE THEY ARE AND BE PREDICTABLE), and they will be generally friendly as I try once more to untangle myself from the leash.
4. Men with dogs, leash or not. Once aware of your presence, will show how commanding they are by berating the dogs into some form of behaviour, normally involving sitting or stopping. Easy enough to deal with.
5. Middle-aged women with dogs not on a leash. Even worse than when you ar travelling in the opposite direction. Completely unpredictable and highly dangerous.
Footnote: It may appear that I have it in for middle-aged women. This is not true. I am referring to a special breed that think they own the path; even though I am actually using it to get to work, and they are women of leisure who could easily go somewhere else instead - such as a coffee shop, shopping mall, or wherever they buy the pink tracksuits, hairspray and pearls - rather than behaving in a selfish, antisocial manner while thinking they are at the top of the social ladder. If you still feel offended, then you must be one of these people, so I don't care.
