Musings about riding the Goose on Sunday morning

[John D]

While I do have a point that's relevant to our regular Sunday ride, please bear with me for a bit. After leaving MEC this afternoon I rode home along the Goose from the Blue Bridge to Darwin and encountered the following:

- Two dudes who had the temerity to yell at me when I passed them as they were walking right down the middle of trestle bridge.

- A woman zipping along in a motorized wheelchair who decided to stop (and those things just STOP) to admire the murals under the Gorge Road bridge.

- A creepy dude sunbathing in a way-too-small-thong near the Red Lion crossing. Thanks buddy - I can't un-see that.

- A TSC rider who failed to acknowledge me as he passed in the other direction (no more C-group Beacon Hill lead-outs for you Paul C!)

- A little girl walking her unleashed cat. On the Galloping Goose. A cat. Unleashed. No potential mayhem there, eh?

Anyhow, my point is this. In many respects, the Galloping Goose trail is WAY more dangerous than most of the roads we usually ride on. It's a multi-use trail, with many people who are not roadies like us. With that in mind, I think we should SLOW DOWN our Sunday ride along the Goose after Interurban. We're generally all gassed after the last sprint - chatting away in two-up formation, (anticipating an attitude-laden coffee served eventually and begrudgingly by the hipsters at Fantastico's) while often not paying full attention to the various other types of trail users.

Just sayin...
J.

[roadflasj]

Excellent points noted John. I've had or witnessed more close calls and crashes along the Goose then any other section of road x 10. Sunday morning is also one of the busiest times to be rolling through double wide as a big group. As a club can we justify a lead electric moto to clear a path?

[sailor]

Proven statistically by a UBC study, multi-use trails are more dangerous than roads.

[Greg F]

Keep riding those multi-use trails and you'll see all sorts of crazy-crazy:

- suicidal squirrels crossing between your wheels (or maybe teenage punk squirrels passing a bravery test to join a squirrel gang?)
- Rollerbladers. 2 truisms about rollerbladers: they always take up the entire path as they swish to and fro, and they always wear headphones. Getting past is like playing the old video game, Pitfall - you slow down, watch the rhythm of their swishing, then go for it.
- runners who spin around w/o checking behind them (like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEBhq1YU4Mw)
- Toddlers: by far the most random-motion creatures ever. Low center of gravity that can spin on a dime, haven't quite mastered the "walking" thing yet, take delight in falling to the ground to poke an ant on the other side of the trail. I always slowed to a dead crawl when I saw them and still won't take my kids on trails like the Goose because so many people don't slow down.

1000% agree with the above - throttling back is definitely the communal thing to do. Related to many recent posts on sharing the road with cars, I think a pack of cyclists flying past you while you're out for a walk, or heading straight for you as they go around someone else is a pretty scary experience and probably not the best for a cycling group's image.

[LouiseF]

Completely agree with all of the above. Karen T and I had this exact conversation as we rode along the Goose to coffee on Sunday (probably too quickly).

[Paul C.]

John...sorry I missed you...I would only avoid you if I hadn't paid my dues. And yes, going very slow on the goose on Sunday is a good thing to set an example for other roadies , trying to look pro.

[Bosie]

Completely agree:
Ive had instances of riding up behind folks and telling them "passing left" for them to get such a shock that they swerved into me.
Similarly when they have been taking up the whole path "passing right, RIGHT! RIGHT!!!" and then been scolded for passing on the wrong side.
And then finally not telling them, passing them in the other lane only for them to catch up at the traffic light to scold me for not telling them I was passing.
I think its the most dangerous part of most rides!
Craig

[Lund]

- A creepy dude sunbathing in a way-too-small-thong near the Red Lion crossing. Thanks buddy - I can't un-see that.

Hey – watch who you're calling creepy. And, um, you're welcome, I guess.

[John D]

Hey – watch who you're calling creepy. And, um, you're welcome, I guess.

Um, it wasn't the way-too-small argyle thong that was creepy, per se, so much as what that implied about the way-too-small size of whatever it was covering.

[alan boden]

My experience with bollards that jump out in front of me on the Goose has left me with a slightly phobic response to travel on it, not to mention that the 4th degree AC separation has ruined my shoulder modeling career forever...