Trail etiquette: Speed is intoxicating, but shouldn't trump courtesy

Trail etiquette: Speed is intoxicating, but shouldn't trump courtesy Bike lanes and paths and dedicated signage and lights have been a carrot for cyclists, but it’s time for a little stick Gene Logan Jun 9, 2024 2:25 AM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Even on a recreational pathway, some riders let their need for speed trump all other considerations, writes Gene Logan. ADRIAN LAM, TIMES COLONIST Listen to this article 00:03:02 I have at different times been a cyclist. Besides riding for pleasure I was riding to work long before bike lanes were ever heard of.

I’ve also been a motorcycle rider, a motorist and a professional driver. Electric bikes have been a game changer. In the past, you could safely pass a cyclist powering up a hill.

Now you never know if the e-biker is going to pass you. It makes right turns a whole lot more stressful because you have no way to reliably estimate the speed of that bike coming up the hill. It could accelerate at any moment.

This is a good example of the importance of bike lanes. There is also still a significant number of cyclists that transition at will from sidewalk to street and vice versa. Add to that the plethora of other motorized devices behaving badly and you have a situation crying out for intervention.

A good start would be applying radar to determine which bikes have been modified to exceed the 32 km/h limit and removing them. But as your previous writer points out, regu.