Minneapolis Pathletes Opinion Piece

[sjclaeys]

@mstone 127809 wrote:

Kids like to go places just like other people. Maybe they’re going to get ice cream or have a picnic, or have some other “excuse” for being on the MUP–not that they actually need one. Sorry, but the only danger a kid poses at 10am on a sunny Saturday is the possibility that someone else is going to be a jerk and not adjust what they’re doing to account for conditions. Complaining about kids on a MUP seems quixotic at best. [ATTACH=CONFIG]10076[/ATTACH]

This reply is just silly. The issue is about kids who have not yet developed enough experience and skills to ride in a consistently safe manner. If a kid cannot ride in a consistently safe manner, then simply as a matter of common sense, they probably should not be on a MUP at a particularly busy time. Using an analogy mentioned before, would you have a first time driver learn how to drive on the beltway?

[mstone]

@sjclaeys 127835 wrote:

This reply is just silly. The issue is about kids who have not yet developed enough experience and skills to ride in a consistently safe manner. If a kid cannot ride in a consistently safe manner, then simply as a matter of common sense, they probably should not be on a MUP at a particularly busy time. Using an analogy mentioned before, would you have a first time driver learn how to drive on the beltway?

There’s a whole range between “first time on bike” and “paceline rider”. Kids are going to be wobbly. It’s reality. Arguing with reality really is like being angry at the cloud. My kids are fairly strong riders who can go dozens of miles on a day trip or loaded for camping. They’ll still get distracted by something interesting on the side of the road and drift. I remind them to stay straight, and they get right back in line. Should they just be banned until their frontal lobes are fully developed sometime in their mid 20s? I’d argue it’s better for them to practice and learn than to put them in a bubble and hope they figure it out later on their own. When I see kids out on the trails I’m happy, because I hope they’re having a good time and will keep riding when they’re older. The kids are the policy makers of the future, and this is when they decide whether cycling is a fun thing to do, or a miserable experience filled with angry shouting people.

MUPs are busy at certain times because those are the times when people want to/can use it. They’re open to everyone as a public resource. If you don’t like that, then don’t be on the MUP during busy times. If you really can’t manage to slow down a little and pass a kid with a smile and a wave, you’re probably wound up too tight to be on a busy MUP anyway.

[sjclaeys]

@mstone 127842 wrote:

There’s a whole range between “first time on bike” and “paceline rider”. Kids are going to be wobbly. It’s reality. Arguing with reality really is like being angry at the cloud. My kids are fairly strong riders who can go dozens of miles on a day trip or loaded for camping. They’ll still get distracted by something interesting on the side of the road and drift. I remind them to stay straight, and they get right back in line. Should they just be banned until their frontal lobes are fully developed sometime in their mid 20s? I’d argue it’s better for them to practice and learn than to put them in a bubble and hope they figure it out later on their own. When I see kids out on the trails I’m happy, because I hope they’re having a good time and will keep riding when they’re older. The kids are the policy makers of the future, and this is when they decide whether cycling is a fun thing to do, or a miserable experience filled with angry shouting people.

MUPs are busy at certain times because those are the times when people want to/can use it. They’re open to everyone as a public resource. If you don’t like that, then don’t be on the MUP during busy times. If you really can’t manage to slow down a little and pass a kid with a smile and a wave, you’re probably wound up too tight to be on a busy MUP anyway.

Get off of your soap box and stop making negative assumptions about others. Your pompous statements of superiority are also really getting tiring. The issue (again!) are kids who are not as blessed as your perfect prodigy. No one is arguing against slowing down when you see a young child on the trail and giving them as much room as they need to navigate to and fro. The issue is whether to bring first time riders out on the MUP when you know that it is busy with users of varying degrees of experience. If you lack the common sense to recognize this, then your inability to understand other’s point of view is sad.

[mstone]

@sjclaeys 127846 wrote:

Get off of your soap box and stop making negative assumptions about others. Your pompous statements of superiority are also really getting tiring. The issue (again!) are kids who are not as blessed as your perfect prodigy.

You clearly missed the point. All kids wobble. Heck, most people wobble sometimes. Nobody’s perfect. I’ll admit that I pretty much ignored the hyperbole about “first time riders” because 1) I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen that and 2) kids on the W&OD taking their very first ride would almost have to be statistically rare. But if the concern really is over kids taking their very first ride I’ll go ahead and stipulate that they should probably do that at home and wait until at least their second ride to tackle the W&OD. Hope that’s positive enough for you.

And, context is important. I’m not “making negative assumptions about others”, I’m responding to the article the thread is about:

Quote:

The single dad occupied the front seat of the tandem bike he shared with his teen special needs child, Doran. Riding next to them was the youngster of the family,12-year-old Luke, who was pedaling closest to the path’s center line.

With their bike lights on, the three dudes hadn’t yet crossed under Hennepin Avenue when a passing biker flew by Olympically chafed.

“Get the fuck on your own side of the path!” the man barked at Luke.

I’ll stand by my assertion that if you’re wound so tight that you need to cuss out a kid that you think is riding too close to the line, you shouldn’t be out on a busy MUP. Sorry if that’s too pompous and superior for you.

[dkel]

Wsgfabr!

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