Path rage

One of the few things I like about living along this part of the bay are the many bike/walk paths that dot the shoreline.  Last Sunday afternoon, I decided to cycle from my house to the Bay Bridge and back.  The bike/ped path is divided into two lanes, one going in either direction, separated by a thick yellow line.  Most pedestrians stay to the right as do all cyclists.  If one wishes to pass, then one could call out, but it isn't always heard especially by the earbud-wearing crowd.  Also, if folk are slow-going and not weaving to and fro, calling out doesn't really seem necessary.

Three weeks ago, I had a rather unpleasant experience on the path.  There was a slow-cycling couple towing a dog in a kiddie-cart that I decided to cycle around.  After I'd pedaled by, I heard this at my back:  WARN WHEN PASSING!!!  It sounded like the bloody Queen of Hearts.  I hadn't expected to hear British English on the path and it took my brain a few seconds to figure out what the woman had bellowed.  WAHHRN?  Huh?

Off with her wheels!

Mind you, I am one the slowest cyclists on the road.  Most bikes pass me with ease.  I am so far from a doped up Tour de France racer it's comical.  To have that woman bark at me was startling.  By the time I had reached the bridge some three miles later, I had mostly forgotten about the encounter.  At this point a chorus of bells rang out and a voice hissed loudly at me from a passing bike: LIKE THIS!  Again, WTF?  The same woman who'd bellowed at me earlier on the trail was now moving past me with her cycling partner pulling up the rear.  Flabbergasted, I could only manage to squeak: that was a bit aggressive.  -not like it had any impact on those two.

Since the aggro-incident, nothing of note has happened on the path save for a sighting of a few rambunctious jack rabbits wrestling.  I hope that encountering the 'yeller' was a one-off as it would be a shame to have the bike trail, truly one of the only bits I like about living here, be blemished by 'path-ragers'.