In Australia, unicyclists are “pedestrians operating a wheeled recreational device”. We can ride on the footpath but must give way to ordinary pedestrians.
However all pedestrians are supposed to keep to left. So what should happen when I am approached by multiple pedestrians walking side by side? Fortunately the vast majority make room, though one or two have been indignant about it when I squeeze by from behind them without dismounting.
Then there are those who walk dogs on leads occupying the whole width of the footpath. Sometimes two dogs that they are barely able to restrain.
Unfortunately very few Australians are familiar with the relevant laws and some presume I am illegally riding a b*ke on the footpath.
You guys must have some serious arseholes where you ride, I’ve only once come across a guy like that and he was a roadie not a MTBer - and to be 100% fair it was my fault (Well, not quite… but I stayed in his way!)
Basically, on a ride, I’d acquired a stalker. This guy had ‘accidentally’ come across me 4 times on my ride so far, and kept stopping in front of me (yes, RIGHT in front of me) to question me about my wheel (was on the 36er). He was weird but harmless, so I answered his questions. But on a particularly narrow part of the nature trail, I had a pr0 roadie in all the gear pop up behind me, I suppose tailgaiting (Is this a thing on bikes?). I did what I do on the road, and took the entire path up so he wouldn’t be able to try and squish past me. The stalker dude came up head-on to me, and stopped near me (thankfully not in front). I kept left to make sure I’d miss him, and slowed down to a crawl to really make sure I could maneuver round the stopped dude. The geared-up roadie behind me started moaning that I was in his way and had been for the past quarter mile, and now I’m stopping in front of him?! Do I wanna cause an accident??
I laughed at how similar his attitude was to drivers on the road vs. cyclists. Hope I never come across him again, because I might just be a dick back at him!
Darn PM, sounds like you’re being sandwiched by a dick and an arsehole. I would’ve waved the 36er high above in the air, and kicked both of their arses:p:D
I find that in most situations, when in doubt do what’s legal for bikes. Usually any “legal definition” of unicycle is fairly obscure and not known to most law enforcement officers, let alone the general public.
So when in doubt, be a bike. Not so much of a concern on singletrack, but out on the roads/footpaths/sidewalks there is usually more traffic of a mixed nature.
For me, problems sharing the trails have been extremely rare. Mountain bikers and hikers are generally very supportive and encouraging. In fact, the farther away you get from trailheads or parking, the nicer people are. In my experience, like Piece Maker, the A-holes tend to be roadies-in-a-hurry. They’re not on dirt trails, but sometimes we have to deal with them on the paved bike path. Hey, if you want to do 20mph in a peloton, you’re in the wrong place (15mph limit on our local paths)! They should know better. Mostly they just want to get by, but often they think it’s not necessary for them to give any warning of their approach.
On the one hand, I appreciate that you trust me to not be fazed by a sudden bunch of bikes passing. But on the other hand, you’re a dick.
I don’t like to be in peoples’ way. If it’s singletrack with no way to pass, generally I’ll stop to let people pass. Often they want to watch me ride, but that can make me nervous. A guy like me shouldn’t have stage fright but sometimes I’m not in the mood to have my butt stared at. It’s only rare occasions where I’m trying to clean a section and don’t want to be interrupted. But the vast majority of the time I don’t have a problem letting people by.
In Australia the laws are explicit. The definition of a bicycle includes “two or more wheels”. Unicycles are explicitly included in “wheeled recreational devices” along with skateboards, roller skates, roller blades and wheeled toys.
If I ride on a road with marked lanes or those with speed limits above 50 km/hr, I would be breaking the law so I have no choice but the footpath on many routes.
The law also says drivers must give way to pedestrians if there is danger of a collision. Not worth pushing it though since being “dead right” is not something worth risking.
I know there’s a whole thread on this subject where we have discussed this, but I’m just gonna say - on a smaller wheel, I’ve found it completely safe to be a ‘wheeled toy’ IE. ride on the pavement, but on a 36er I 100% agree, those things are far too fast, heavy and out-of-control to ride with pedestrians. On my 29er I do a bit of both, though I rock towards the ‘bike’ side.
This particular guy in my story was giving me warning in the form of ‘COMIN UP ON YER LEFT’, but I kept asking him to wait up a bit because the path’s too narrow (And mud-filled drops on either side). This section is only short, and widens out massively at the end, so I saw no reason to let him pass me dangerously. The stalker guy just chucked a spanner in the works, as he appeared just as the path was starting to widen, taking away the space I was going to give to the roadie behind me!
Urh, no, I have to disagree 100% on this point, I ride along side with pedestrians all the time on my 36er. I have 165s with full control, never out of control. So far, no pedestrians have felt threatened as I can slow down to walking pace, and tell them I would make the pass.
But the again, a good point to make, for the newbs on 36ers…
Please dont be a trail hazzard, or scare the crap out of them, if you decidedly hit the trails with crowded pedestrians. Be sure, suggestedly, you are on long cranks, ie, 150s-175s. Practice (alot!) of going slow, and how to ‘throw’ your 36er wheel around to where you are nearly as proficient as you are on your 26er or 29er. Actually, more like your 26er, some guys use 29ers strictly for the roads and never really learn how to “throw” at it with the wheel. Really, its that important, when you have decidedly to hit the trails with a such massive wheel, that can obviously really hurt someone if you crash into them!
I was mostly talking about pavements as opposed to trails for the 36ers - obviously trails are fair game. I wouldn’t ever ride my 36er along a pavement with pedestrians when there’s a perfectly good road right next to it. And I ain’t gonna start riding crazy long cranks just for the pavement, then I’ll be even slower!
