Rider responsibility on trails? - Cycling Mob: Road Cycling, Mountain Biking and More

09-05-2004, 10:12 PM

Okay, this one's been gnawing at me. Friday night I was hit by a
bicyclist while riding my bike on a bike/pedestrian trail. It was night,
there were street lamps, traffic was light, I had a front light and rear
reflectors, and noone had passe dme for about three miles. Riding
about 13 mph, looked to my left and saw a turnoff I should have taken.
With no oncoming traffic, I braked and swung to the left...

From behind, the guy who hit me had enough time to say "Oh **** I can't
believe you did that" before he hit me. I never detected him until I
heard "Oh sh..." I must weigh much more than him because he actually
bounced backward, and I just fell down. My front wheel was far out of
true, and his was tacoed.

Initially I felt really bad and thought I'd offer to get him a new
wheel. But the guy was REALLY MAD. He was trying to control his anger.
I was trying to offer help while being ready for a punch. He asked a
couple of accusatory questions about my bicycling and riding behavior.
Obviously he wasn't going to calm down so I picked up my bike and walked
away.

Then I thought about it for a moment. Isn't it your responsibility to
read the road in front of you? If we were cars, he would have been
guilty. No doubts at all. What about a bike path? He had no lights,
so we was visually limited and probably had a delayed reaction time. I
have to admit I did a stupid thing, because I know from experience other
people are like him - not paying attention to the road in front of them.
And he put all of his thought into "Oh **** I can't believe you did
that" instead of steering out of it.

So, for you experienced road cyclists out there, what do you consider
proper riding? Is the cyclist responsible for what's behind as much as
what's in front?