Bike Path Battle of Wills

LA Times columnist Steve Lopez writes about a bike path battle of wills in Santa Monica

I used to ride my bike on that path when I lived in Santa Monica in the late ’90s, and the hazards were no less frustrating back then. You’d see a clot forming ahead and have to slow down or change lanes, which sometimes meant getting brushed by rollerbladers or cyclists who thought they were in the Tour de France.

I have a bell on my urban bikes and rain bike for the purpose of using it on the bike path. The worst are roller bladers whose stride takes up two body lengths. Starbuck’s moms with their suburban sized strollers who walk three abreast are also dangerous to the cyclist.

I’m courteous with the bell unless I see white earbud cords and then it’s rapid-fire blinging. A few years ago, a skateboarder doing a board flip, flipped his board right into Pam’s wheel and took her down. Beware of skateboarders.

In this video, I thought that Santa Barbara had the world’s best bike paths.

I didn’t see pedestrians on those paths.

How are the bike paths in your town? Do you even ride on them?

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