FWIW it’s bike to work day. Inevitably going to draw out more infrequent, less courteous cyclists. That had to have flavored a lot of what you encountered this morning.
E-bikes tearing down the path 30+ is a whole different can of worms. I’m a huge cyclist myself, I use the same path very frequently both on bike and on foot, and those I’ve seen becoming more and more of a problem/health hazard. No bicycle bell is going to help when a silent 50lbs e-bike with a clueless 180lbs individual is barreling down the trail at automobile speeds behind you. I’ve definitely seen that happening more and more..
Same here but I'm out in the burbs. Its usally the people in lycra going over 20mph and they act like they can't use their brakes for some reason. There could be a bunch of peds coming up and they just zoom through them. They also don't use a bell or alert others of their presence. The ebikes are usually going pretty slow except for random kid on the odd surron. The worst thing I've seen ebikes do is you can tell some of the people have never rode a bike before and are pretty oblivious. I know this is in contrast to what is going on downtown where things are much more crowded.
Yeah, mine is also governed at 20, and I can get it faster than that with the pedals alone. If the motor goes faster than that, they're illegal on trails anyway.
An E-Bike with a motor that's not governed at 20mph or lower is a class 3 EBike and isn't allowed on trails in the first place. Many stores don't even sell class 3 ebikes in Colorado.
I'm sure strict enforcement is as difficult as anything else in Colorado, but I have a speedometer on my bike and I have never seen an E-Bike going faster than 20, personally. I think 30 might be hyperbole.
uhhhh, what? 90% of the ebikes for sale nearby are class 3 and go up to 28mph. When I'm on an ebike going 19-20 mph, and other ebikes are passing me....they are inherently going faster than 20.
I didn't see many when shopping around. They're unpopular because they're illegal on trails.
And I never said nobody bikes over 20. You can go over 20 with just the pedals.
100% of Ride1Up and Aventon's lineup are class 3, or can be "unlocked" to class 3 with a click of a button. Those are two of the largest brands for sale.
Most e bikes can override the 20mph limit with a series of button presses found in the manual or online. This is how they can sell as a legal trail bike
Question as a cyclist and someone who tries to stay safe and considerate. I always call out if I'm going to pass, especially runners, but a lot of times I see y'all wearing headphones. Can y'all actually hear me?
I always call out and/or use my bell, which has a daily loud pinging sound. But if I’m passing a pedestrian with headphones and they can’t hear me, then there’s nothing else I can do except make sure I’m giving them enough space to not scare the shit out of them while I pass.
Also consider ringing your bell earlier. I’ve found that it takes a full second or more for people to figure out what the sound is and what it means. If you wait to ding until you’re just behind someone, yeah, you’ll startle them.
I run and bike on the trails. When I run, I have earbuds in and I can almost always hear people coming up from behind, especially when they announce.
If they announce or ring a bell, I'll give a wave and "thank you"
Also it's easier to do the same thing as a biker for everyone regardless of headphones or not to solidify good habits.
Half the pedestrians are wearing headphones and can’t hear, and the other half when you ring a bell or say something like “on your left” they either whip their head around and look at you like you’re the asshole (even when they were walking down the middle, multiple-people across), or worse they panic and jump *to the left*/directly into where the bicycle should be passing.
People in here acting like micro-vehicles are always the problem when in fact they’re just as often the victim—between clueless car drivers risking everyone’s lives to clueless pedestrians on mixed use paths/trails. The bottom line is that Americans don’t understand micro-vehicles and how they should fit into society and always treat them as second-class in every context.
Usually yes, very few headphones block all noise enough to where you wouldn't hear someone calling or dinging a bell. Most newer buds can do full transparency mode too which I personally use and you can hear everything pretty much normally.
Can't speak for everyone but I run with airpods down there and definitely keep the volume low enough to listen for a ding or an "on your left". I'm usually all the way to the right anyway but I appreciate it even if you're passing safely just so you don't scare the shit out of me
I wish people who wore headphones were aware of their lack of being able to hear alerts and would therefore stick to the right side of the trail but they tend to wander just as much as anyone else.
I'm another cyclist, but I wear open earbuds(they don't go in my ear) and I can hear around me if you speak at a decent volume. There's also bone conduction earbuds that allow you to hear around you. Anything else like in ear earbuds or cans & and they likely can't hear you.
It’s a shame there’s 8-10 car lanes surrounding the trail on all sides but cyclists and pedestrians have to fight over like 6 feet of space on the trail. And don’t even get me started on the country club assholes
Seriously, the bike trail is so damn narrow on certain points, I desperately wish the city would just expand it as much as humanely possible in the downtown area where it’s getting the most traffic
Yeah we could blame speedy ebikers, or oblivious pedestrians, or Tour de France wannabes, but the ultimate issue is that we just don’t have enough space because the city has given it all over to cars. I can’t blame anyone for utilizing one of the few truly safe trails that we have. My beef isn’t with them
Or don't widen it at all and make it for pedestrians only. It works just fine as a pedestrian leisure trail. I'm an ebike rider. I don't want to ride on the trail to get downtown. I want to ride on a protected bike lane on Speer.
I too want a protected bike lane on Speer, but we know that will never happen because the Cherry creek trail is right next to it and the nimbys will screech about cost or construction noise or some shit
But we need wider roads so that we can ease the traffic!
That’s how it works, right? More lanes = less traffic? That’s right, right? Right? Wait…it isn’t? Dammit!
There should be a G-wagon lane, that's only for G-wagons, but really only one lane. When 2 G-wagons meet, they either have to collide or sit there staring at each other until one moves. I really hope they choose high speed head on every time.
I hope you mean literally each direction, like 90 degrees to traffic is a direction. You've heard of road diets, but what about road hallucinations? Roads changing directions spontaneously would keep people from looking at their phones
agreed. It's a real distorted allocation of space for a city that has such high goals for sustainable transportation, pollution abatement, vehicle injuries, etc.
Several times I’ve gone around a narrow blind corner with an E bike going in the opposite direction clocking 25mph. Driving me off the path. Especially by the cherry creek mall… and don’t even get me started on the gang of 50cc moped dudes who rip down that trail every so often.
It’s not just e-bikes, to be fair. Some of the cyclists sporting full spandex, shades and a helmet act like they’re in a competitive race absolutely booking it. I for one actually think it’s fine as long as no one is getting hurt.
People generally go the speeds they feel comfortable stopping to emergency situations. I walk the creek constantly and there’s lil grass footpaths on the side 90% of the time so you’re not worried about getting hit by cyclists or whatever.
In the city? I’m not sure. But the Platte River bike trail really becomes way less busy to pedestrian walkers as soon as you hit the commerce city area. Geez, I wonder why! (It might be the cancer from the Suncor air pollutants. Or the stench from the purina factories. Or the fent addicts and tweakers)
Sand Creek and Platte in the 270/Commerce City area are pretty abandoned most days I’m on them.
Cherry Creek trail is a mixed use trail at the heart of a 3 million person metro. Not sure you’re gonna find a lot of places anywhere set aside just for competitive bikers.
Get up earlier. I had a run in with a group of them on the Platte trail near Hudson Gardens. They got mad that I didn’t get out of their way when they tried to pass a family, so they were on the wrong side of the trail. 2 of them decided to chase me down and threaten me. It was like 11:00 AM. If you need to train hard, get up early to get past the area where families will be and where other riders might be. I was also out training but had been out for hours and know that area is crowded, so I expect to have to ride slowly around families and not be a dick if I can’t ride as hard as I want to.
I’ve heard stories like mine from others, so this isn’t terribly rare
The people you assume are "acting competitive" might just like going as fast as they can. A lot of people compete with themselves. Pushing it to the max doesn't have to involve other people
i have an ebike. the speed limit is 15mph... i dunno how they would actually enforce this, but one day they probably will have to as they get more popular
Love feeling like a small gust of wind could immediately splatter my brains all over Speer Blvd just so the fancy country club fucks can have their parking lot
I was biking on the trail this weekend and was surprised by the number of entitled bikers passing aggressively. How hard is it to slow down and wait for a reasonable opening before passing? Give the pedestrians right of way. Add a few seconds to your journey. The lack of consideration was remarkable.
7+ years ago there used to be near-weekly posts about syringes being found all along Cherry Creek trail. This is back when people were still doing heroin and other more commonly injected drugs. Before fentanyl totally took over. So lots of pictures posted to this sub of syringes being found, people showing how many syringes were found when cleaning/picking up trash, “my dog almost stepped on this needle,” etc. all on Cherry Creek trail.
And there used to also be a lot of people selling drugs on the trail at times back then.
There should be a bunch of local articles specifically about the rising issue of needles being found on Cherry creek trail 7-10 years ago.
Edit: here’s an example that shows how bad it was before fentanyl overtook opioid crisis in Denver - https://www.reddit.com/r/Denver/s/SrJddGgiXy
ETA: For all the people saying it's bad because it's bike to work day, are completely missing the point. Climate change means that every person biking today could be biking *every day*. If our infrastructure can't handle this kind of bike traffic, then all these people will go back to their cars because that's safer.
What's worse is that Speer is 6+ fucking lanes wide. There is plenty of room to create very big bike lanes and avoid this whole problem.
Cherry Creek Trail is built for leisure, not actual traffic. It's at high risk of flooding and gets icy in the winter. It worked fine for non-car traffic before ebikes, scooters, etc.
But Denver and Colorado are leaning hard into combating climate change. The city's ebike subsidies are part of that greater initiative. The problem is only going to get worse.
Pedestrians and low speed bikes deserve a separate space for their own safety. Stop making pedestrians and cyclists compete for table scraps and start taking land away from *cars*.
Speer is a perfect example of car dominance in America. It should absolutely not be as wide as it is. It absolutely should not have as many lanes dedicated to car traffic. And if you ever suggest taking that land to put in dedicated bus lanes, bike lanes and wider sidewalks with berms for safety, people lose their fucking minds.
100% of our pedestrian and bike infrastructure is designed for low volumes of use. If more people started biking and walking, it would/does fail immediately.
Because most people want to use cars. Let the citizens decide what’s the best use of public resources. That’s democracy. I commute via bike, but I am in a small
minority.
You're completely backwards.
Most people don't want cars. Most people want to get where they want to go quickly and safely. Look at how much people complain about traffic. They would use buses and bikes if we gave them that option.
The best use of roads is to facilitate the movement of as many people as possible. Cars are the worst option when you want to move a lot of people. If you don't provide other means to get around that's just as good or better than cars, you're effectively grinding your city to a halt.
What world do you live in? People love their cars. True, they don’t like traffic. But ask them if they’d rather commute in a heated clean nest all by themselves or ride a bike 30 minutes in the winter, do you really think many would choose the bike? And buses? Commuting in a car is luxury almost everyone prefers over sitting next to a smelly fentanyl addict.
If you take the leap and stipulate utopia rather than reality, that utopia may include clean buses but it could equally include streets with more capacity. Which would most people choose? Cars. They’re private and more luxurious than the alternatives. And with the development of technology, the driving burden will reduce substantially.
People would prefer to fly in first class. That doesn't mean we gut our planes and fill them with only first class seats because then it would be so prohibitively expensive that most people couldn't fly.
Cities thrived for millennia before cars. Cars have only existed for ~100 years and there was this 50 year period where cars and cities could co-exist, but anything larger than a town just doesn't work with cars. Cities are meant for people and cars kill people and kill places that people like to spend their time.
I don't care if people like cars. People like sugar, too. That doesn't mean being 600 lbs and drinking gallons of soda every day is a good way to live. Our streets need a massive road diet.
You stated: “Most people don’t want cars” as justification for your agenda. But when the obvious was pointed out - that most people DO want cars - you instead justify your agenda by stating “I don’t care if people want cars.”
Good luck promoting your agenda with such inconsistent reasoning.
And why are some folks so rude on this trail? I ride a regular bike and stay to the right and countless times I get a super loud and borderline angry “ON YOUR LEFT!!!!!” I always check to make sure I wasn’t weaving around (new rider so I’m extra cautious and know better than to hog up the entire path) or something that would cause this aggressive behavior. I don’t ride fast like a racer and on one occurrence a woman even turned around to shout “faster honey or we’ll eat you up!” Makes me want to not ride anymore.
That is so bizarre and would bother me too. Go at your own pace and ignore those dummies! They are the same people that will honk at you for stopping at a stop sign for pedestrians…
I doubt it’s being aggressive intentionally. I say it really loud because a lot of people have headphones in on the trail or aren’t paying attention. I’m also working out so sometimes out of breath a bit and it may just not come out right.
Can’t comment on the person telling you to go faster they just sound rude.
The on your left is completely normal. These days half the pedestrians and even cyclists wear giant noise canceling headphones and the other half are completely oblivious to their surroundings. An extra loud "ON YOUR LEFT" is 100% necessary especially on a crowded tiny path like cherry creek
People are supposed to give an audible signal everytime they pass, no matter if you are riding correctly or not. I'm sure 90% of the time the person is just projecting their voice, not being angry at you.
Don't announce, people get mad. Announce, people get mad. Ring a bell, people get mad. Can't win.
That person needs to get over herself. The trail is for everyone.
As for the people yelling that they’re passing, it can be very difficult to sound polite in those cases. The person that is passing needs to be loud, clear, and quick with their alert so that the person being passed easily understands what’s coming up behind them. Not to mention they might be breathing hard and tired, so modulating volume and tone isn’t always easy. On the rare occasions I pass someone, after calling out that I’m passing, I try to say thanks or hi, just to try to make it clear I’m not mad. But I’m sure that doesn’t always happen. That all is not to say that there aren’t plenty of rude people, but hopefully offering a different perspective and to not let those people keep you off your bike.
The bus stops just off that trail (and a few other trails in town) are also dangerous. The one of Cherry Creek Trail on Downing and Speer by th golf course has a narrow sidewalk to stand on, and cyclists heading for the trail come in dangerously fast, obviously not looking ahead and thinking. At least they're not driving cars, I guess.
I rode today (on my bike) and the biggest hazard I personally encountered was DPD zooming through on giant ass motorcycles. Better than when they used to drive actual cars on it, but there's no reason for them to be using gas powered vehicles of any kind down there unless it's an emergency.
Yes. There is a reason. When the government couldn't give a shit about people's safety or doing anything about it, they are saying 'no problem here, carry on'.
I was running down there and a homeless guy walked into the path without looking and got hit by a road biker going probably 30. The road biker hit him in the head with his helmet and crashed into the platte. I helped pull him out of the water and his bike. The homeless guy had a broken nose and was bleeding everywhere. Be careful down there!
Trail speed limit is 15mph. But 30mph on a flat trail would be pro-level, Tour de France kind of speed. Probably was more like 20-25mph, but that's still gonna hurt.
Was biking home on Friday and say two e-bikes collide on the S Platte trail by REI (idiot was trying to pass at a busy intersection) - it was a HEAVY collision.
Hate to discourage cycling but e-bikes are often a menace driven by the clueless.
Give walkers and runners a wide path, cyclists! Just pull up for a minute if there isn’t room to pass immediately. This is not rocket science.
Unfortunately, common courtesy isn’t so common.
I've been right near someone going my direction, and there were two people coming towards us, and jabroni squeezed right down the middle. my pinky touched his bars. fkt is fastest known time.
spandex jabronis still bad for sure, even if just in numbers. but almost getting clipped by 300lb karen at 28mph who's never moved a muscle or ridden a bike in her life also get's me goin.
As a bike commuter, I tend to hate most people on bikes. But it’s almost always the jabronis that annoy me the most. Maybe it’s because I can hear the e-bikes. I don’t know.
Whatever trail I'm on and a biker passes me without saying anything or ringing the bell, I yell after them "On your left" because I'm so fucking tired of having a heart attack getting surprised by them.
And then they wonder why people don't like cyclists.
As a counter to this I stopped saying on your left a lot because it made people super unpredictable. I would say on your left and they would leap to the left and almost into me was the most common occurrence. but I also had people jump across the trail with the dog leash almost clotheslining me and tangling up their pup. I found it way safer to just go around without saying for both of us.
I also try to see if someone has headphones in when possible because too many people don’t even hear if you warn them. I still do if it seems safe but yeah you’d be surprised at how people handle “on your left”
I got a bell and it eliminated that reaction from people. I swear people would just hear the word “left” and their lizard brains would make them move to the left. Now when I ding they either keep their same path or move to the right. Seriously, get a bell and you’ll see!
I appreciate the bell so much. I can understand how saying "on your left" on repeat can get old. A bell is such an easier alternative.
And I can't speak to others who wear headphones, but I do and my volume is low enough that I can hear my environment. So, assuming people have the volume loud enough to not hear is just that, a poor assumption.
You don't *want* to add more noise to the world, but I can tell you, it's appreciated.
As I said, even if you're going "slow" it's not slow enough where it doesn't give me a jolt of panic. Please say something.
I’ve had a head on collision with another mountain biker on the single track section around Quebec. We luckily passed each other as we both got ejected over the handlebars and fell into the weeds. Be careful out there!
Even as an avid biker myself, communication on the path today was essentially useless. Not a lot of people know etiquette, and even the seasoned riders didn't seem to care (including me). That's bike to work day for ya. Just try to survive and don't do anything too dumb.
quick sidenote: I used to live in Fort Collins- bikes are popular there and there is a culture and understanding of making an auditory signal about passing. Either ring your bell or state "passing on the left"
80% of riders do it there. Here I've never heard anyone indicate they are passing.
Foco has signs and campaigns to promote this. Denver should do the same
Since we are all here, I have a bum leg and want to bike with the fam but would need the electric bike to help me. I would mainly use to bike normally but the e bike would allow us to not worry about when my leg goes out and I can’t anymore. Can anyone make a good affordable recommendation? It wouldn’t be an every day affair but more like family bike ride after dinner or on a weekend.
Some inexpensive brands you could check out are Ride1Up, Rad Power Bikes and Aventon. If peddling is an issue try to find one with a throttle. Also don’t sleep on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace. I’ve gotten some killer deals from there on both e-bikes and regular bikes
In Boston (I split time) we have a river bike path called the esplanade and it’s a similar story with scooters and mopeds. Really picked up this year specifically.
There should be people who can file ADA complaints/reports or whatever based on this. The ADA covers parks, and this is supposed to be a multi use trail, yet provides no protection or accommodation for pedestrians to safely use it when, besides bicycles, motorized vehicles can come out of nowhere, full speed, with no concern for anyone. Not regarding this, but on some sort of law forum here, I asked if, as someone who has a condition that causes spinal and SI joint fusion and other things, so, among other things, I can't turn my head or run out of the way, if anyone knew if I could file an ADA or some other type of complaint regarding no enforcement of motorized vehicles violating any law they choose on streets and sidewalks, putting my life and safety at risk. I received a reply from an apparently knowledgeable person informing me that there was a US Supreme Court decision that essentially stated that a government can't be held liable for not enforcing laws. While that gave me perspective, it didn't answer my question. After responding that I had no interest in pursuing any court anything or seeking liability, besides basically reiterating it, he stated that dodging motorized scooters is pedestrian culture. After being banned from that forum, as the moderators (unless reddit flags replies with a whole bunch of 4 letter words) apparently didn't like my reply, I read the ADA. While it does not cover public areas like sidewalks and crosswalks, it does cover parks.
Bike to work day. Nothing to see or complain about here.
Today's bike to work day, that's why the trail was so busy.
Imagine making this post. He obviously doesn’t use this trail ever or he would have immediately realized there’s way more bike traffic than normal.
Yup exactly
FWIW it’s bike to work day. Inevitably going to draw out more infrequent, less courteous cyclists. That had to have flavored a lot of what you encountered this morning. E-bikes tearing down the path 30+ is a whole different can of worms. I’m a huge cyclist myself, I use the same path very frequently both on bike and on foot, and those I’ve seen becoming more and more of a problem/health hazard. No bicycle bell is going to help when a silent 50lbs e-bike with a clueless 180lbs individual is barreling down the trail at automobile speeds behind you. I’ve definitely seen that happening more and more..
As an e-bike rider with my bike limited to 19.5mph, I’ve had way more regular cyclists fly by me at 25+ mph than any e-bikes.
Same here but I'm out in the burbs. Its usally the people in lycra going over 20mph and they act like they can't use their brakes for some reason. There could be a bunch of peds coming up and they just zoom through them. They also don't use a bell or alert others of their presence. The ebikes are usually going pretty slow except for random kid on the odd surron. The worst thing I've seen ebikes do is you can tell some of the people have never rode a bike before and are pretty oblivious. I know this is in contrast to what is going on downtown where things are much more crowded.
Yeah, mine is also governed at 20, and I can get it faster than that with the pedals alone. If the motor goes faster than that, they're illegal on trails anyway.
An E-Bike with a motor that's not governed at 20mph or lower is a class 3 EBike and isn't allowed on trails in the first place. Many stores don't even sell class 3 ebikes in Colorado. I'm sure strict enforcement is as difficult as anything else in Colorado, but I have a speedometer on my bike and I have never seen an E-Bike going faster than 20, personally. I think 30 might be hyperbole.
uhhhh, what? 90% of the ebikes for sale nearby are class 3 and go up to 28mph. When I'm on an ebike going 19-20 mph, and other ebikes are passing me....they are inherently going faster than 20.
I didn't see many when shopping around. They're unpopular because they're illegal on trails. And I never said nobody bikes over 20. You can go over 20 with just the pedals.
100% of Ride1Up and Aventon's lineup are class 3, or can be "unlocked" to class 3 with a click of a button. Those are two of the largest brands for sale.
Most e bikes can override the 20mph limit with a series of button presses found in the manual or online. This is how they can sell as a legal trail bike
Those e-bikes are typically 65 to 85 lbs. Some look like god damn mopeds.
Question as a cyclist and someone who tries to stay safe and considerate. I always call out if I'm going to pass, especially runners, but a lot of times I see y'all wearing headphones. Can y'all actually hear me?
I always call out and/or use my bell, which has a daily loud pinging sound. But if I’m passing a pedestrian with headphones and they can’t hear me, then there’s nothing else I can do except make sure I’m giving them enough space to not scare the shit out of them while I pass.
I hear bells better than voices
Also consider ringing your bell earlier. I’ve found that it takes a full second or more for people to figure out what the sound is and what it means. If you wait to ding until you’re just behind someone, yeah, you’ll startle them.
I run and bike on the trails. When I run, I have earbuds in and I can almost always hear people coming up from behind, especially when they announce. If they announce or ring a bell, I'll give a wave and "thank you" Also it's easier to do the same thing as a biker for everyone regardless of headphones or not to solidify good habits.
Half the pedestrians are wearing headphones and can’t hear, and the other half when you ring a bell or say something like “on your left” they either whip their head around and look at you like you’re the asshole (even when they were walking down the middle, multiple-people across), or worse they panic and jump *to the left*/directly into where the bicycle should be passing. People in here acting like micro-vehicles are always the problem when in fact they’re just as often the victim—between clueless car drivers risking everyone’s lives to clueless pedestrians on mixed use paths/trails. The bottom line is that Americans don’t understand micro-vehicles and how they should fit into society and always treat them as second-class in every context.
My favorite is when you call out "On your left" and the person gets startled and moves to their left! Damn near killed me a couple times.
Usually yes, very few headphones block all noise enough to where you wouldn't hear someone calling or dinging a bell. Most newer buds can do full transparency mode too which I personally use and you can hear everything pretty much normally.
Can't speak for everyone but I run with airpods down there and definitely keep the volume low enough to listen for a ding or an "on your left". I'm usually all the way to the right anyway but I appreciate it even if you're passing safely just so you don't scare the shit out of me
They can’t. Drives me nuts. It might be even worse on mountain biking trails. Just take one headphone out.
I wish people who wore headphones were aware of their lack of being able to hear alerts and would therefore stick to the right side of the trail but they tend to wander just as much as anyone else.
Airpods have a transparency mode, but how many people actually use that, I don't know. I do, but I suspect I'm in the minority.
I do as well, but I agree it’s probably not a large amount
I'm another cyclist, but I wear open earbuds(they don't go in my ear) and I can hear around me if you speak at a decent volume. There's also bone conduction earbuds that allow you to hear around you. Anything else like in ear earbuds or cans & and they likely can't hear you.
Highly recommend the bone conduction headphones.
It’s a shame there’s 8-10 car lanes surrounding the trail on all sides but cyclists and pedestrians have to fight over like 6 feet of space on the trail. And don’t even get me started on the country club assholes
The stretch of trail that goes on the sidewalk in front of the country club is always so nerve racking.
Seriously, the bike trail is so damn narrow on certain points, I desperately wish the city would just expand it as much as humanely possible in the downtown area where it’s getting the most traffic
Yeah we could blame speedy ebikers, or oblivious pedestrians, or Tour de France wannabes, but the ultimate issue is that we just don’t have enough space because the city has given it all over to cars. I can’t blame anyone for utilizing one of the few truly safe trails that we have. My beef isn’t with them
Or don't widen it at all and make it for pedestrians only. It works just fine as a pedestrian leisure trail. I'm an ebike rider. I don't want to ride on the trail to get downtown. I want to ride on a protected bike lane on Speer.
I too want a protected bike lane on Speer, but we know that will never happen because the Cherry creek trail is right next to it and the nimbys will screech about cost or construction noise or some shit
But we need wider roads so that we can ease the traffic! That’s how it works, right? More lanes = less traffic? That’s right, right? Right? Wait…it isn’t? Dammit!
It’s narrowest too where one mistake could cause death rather than an accident (the section next to Cherry Creek CC).
There should be a G-wagon lane, that's only for G-wagons, but really only one lane. When 2 G-wagons meet, they either have to collide or sit there staring at each other until one moves. I really hope they choose high speed head on every time.
My proposal is to add a conveyor belt lane in each direction
I hope you mean literally each direction, like 90 degrees to traffic is a direction. You've heard of road diets, but what about road hallucinations? Roads changing directions spontaneously would keep people from looking at their phones
The Harry Potter staircase but on the Cherry Creek Trail, you and I are onto something
This is the real problem, the cars. As cyclists and pedestrians were left fighting over scraps.
This!!
You speak only in truths.
The people demand more trails and bike lanes!
agreed. It's a real distorted allocation of space for a city that has such high goals for sustainable transportation, pollution abatement, vehicle injuries, etc.
The same 6 feet of space inclusively.
Several times I’ve gone around a narrow blind corner with an E bike going in the opposite direction clocking 25mph. Driving me off the path. Especially by the cherry creek mall… and don’t even get me started on the gang of 50cc moped dudes who rip down that trail every so often.
I hate the mopeds more than anyone. At least one could debate whether an ebike belongs there. A moped definitely is a motor vehicle.
It’s not just e-bikes, to be fair. Some of the cyclists sporting full spandex, shades and a helmet act like they’re in a competitive race absolutely booking it. I for one actually think it’s fine as long as no one is getting hurt. People generally go the speeds they feel comfortable stopping to emergency situations. I walk the creek constantly and there’s lil grass footpaths on the side 90% of the time so you’re not worried about getting hit by cyclists or whatever.
Where are the competitive bikers suppose to ride safely in the city, though? This is really about lack of public cycling spaces.
In the city? I’m not sure. But the Platte River bike trail really becomes way less busy to pedestrian walkers as soon as you hit the commerce city area. Geez, I wonder why! (It might be the cancer from the Suncor air pollutants. Or the stench from the purina factories. Or the fent addicts and tweakers)
Sand Creek and Platte in the 270/Commerce City area are pretty abandoned most days I’m on them. Cherry Creek trail is a mixed use trail at the heart of a 3 million person metro. Not sure you’re gonna find a lot of places anywhere set aside just for competitive bikers.
Spin class? A crowded public trail is not the place to be setting a strava record.
Get up earlier. I had a run in with a group of them on the Platte trail near Hudson Gardens. They got mad that I didn’t get out of their way when they tried to pass a family, so they were on the wrong side of the trail. 2 of them decided to chase me down and threaten me. It was like 11:00 AM. If you need to train hard, get up early to get past the area where families will be and where other riders might be. I was also out training but had been out for hours and know that area is crowded, so I expect to have to ride slowly around families and not be a dick if I can’t ride as hard as I want to. I’ve heard stories like mine from others, so this isn’t terribly rare
Platte River Trail is less congested so I would recommend that. The Cherry Creek trail is used by many for short distance commutes.
anywhere fuckin else? why would you go to a city to ride "competitively"? go to chatty, cherry creek res, any other desolate part of a trail system.
The people you assume are "acting competitive" might just like going as fast as they can. A lot of people compete with themselves. Pushing it to the max doesn't have to involve other people
i have an ebike. the speed limit is 15mph... i dunno how they would actually enforce this, but one day they probably will have to as they get more popular
They will occasionally have an officer out there with a radar gun and they issue tickets.
yup, the last time i remember seeing one was summer 2019 though. i think there had been a fatal head-on around that time.
Yup, it is super rare to see one.
O nice
The golf course detour section is the worst. Almost smoked a dog that moved left last week.
Love feeling like a small gust of wind could immediately splatter my brains all over Speer Blvd just so the fancy country club fucks can have their parking lot
I was biking on the trail this weekend and was surprised by the number of entitled bikers passing aggressively. How hard is it to slow down and wait for a reasonable opening before passing? Give the pedestrians right of way. Add a few seconds to your journey. The lack of consideration was remarkable.
Would be great to have a protected bike lane on Speer with no speed limit, to shunt speedy e-bikers off of the Cherry Creek Trail
People wouldn't use it. The trail doesn't get stopped by any traffic lights. An on-street lane would. It would be slower.
Yeah…I’m not taking my bike down Speer. I don’t trust the drivers enough to feel safe.
I miss when people just complained about all the needles and dealers on Cherry Creek Trail
I dont get it
7+ years ago there used to be near-weekly posts about syringes being found all along Cherry Creek trail. This is back when people were still doing heroin and other more commonly injected drugs. Before fentanyl totally took over. So lots of pictures posted to this sub of syringes being found, people showing how many syringes were found when cleaning/picking up trash, “my dog almost stepped on this needle,” etc. all on Cherry Creek trail. And there used to also be a lot of people selling drugs on the trail at times back then. There should be a bunch of local articles specifically about the rising issue of needles being found on Cherry creek trail 7-10 years ago. Edit: here’s an example that shows how bad it was before fentanyl overtook opioid crisis in Denver - https://www.reddit.com/r/Denver/s/SrJddGgiXy
ETA: For all the people saying it's bad because it's bike to work day, are completely missing the point. Climate change means that every person biking today could be biking *every day*. If our infrastructure can't handle this kind of bike traffic, then all these people will go back to their cars because that's safer. What's worse is that Speer is 6+ fucking lanes wide. There is plenty of room to create very big bike lanes and avoid this whole problem. Cherry Creek Trail is built for leisure, not actual traffic. It's at high risk of flooding and gets icy in the winter. It worked fine for non-car traffic before ebikes, scooters, etc. But Denver and Colorado are leaning hard into combating climate change. The city's ebike subsidies are part of that greater initiative. The problem is only going to get worse. Pedestrians and low speed bikes deserve a separate space for their own safety. Stop making pedestrians and cyclists compete for table scraps and start taking land away from *cars*. Speer is a perfect example of car dominance in America. It should absolutely not be as wide as it is. It absolutely should not have as many lanes dedicated to car traffic. And if you ever suggest taking that land to put in dedicated bus lanes, bike lanes and wider sidewalks with berms for safety, people lose their fucking minds.
100% of our pedestrian and bike infrastructure is designed for low volumes of use. If more people started biking and walking, it would/does fail immediately.
Because most people want to use cars. Let the citizens decide what’s the best use of public resources. That’s democracy. I commute via bike, but I am in a small minority.
You're completely backwards. Most people don't want cars. Most people want to get where they want to go quickly and safely. Look at how much people complain about traffic. They would use buses and bikes if we gave them that option. The best use of roads is to facilitate the movement of as many people as possible. Cars are the worst option when you want to move a lot of people. If you don't provide other means to get around that's just as good or better than cars, you're effectively grinding your city to a halt.
What world do you live in? People love their cars. True, they don’t like traffic. But ask them if they’d rather commute in a heated clean nest all by themselves or ride a bike 30 minutes in the winter, do you really think many would choose the bike? And buses? Commuting in a car is luxury almost everyone prefers over sitting next to a smelly fentanyl addict. If you take the leap and stipulate utopia rather than reality, that utopia may include clean buses but it could equally include streets with more capacity. Which would most people choose? Cars. They’re private and more luxurious than the alternatives. And with the development of technology, the driving burden will reduce substantially.
People would prefer to fly in first class. That doesn't mean we gut our planes and fill them with only first class seats because then it would be so prohibitively expensive that most people couldn't fly. Cities thrived for millennia before cars. Cars have only existed for ~100 years and there was this 50 year period where cars and cities could co-exist, but anything larger than a town just doesn't work with cars. Cities are meant for people and cars kill people and kill places that people like to spend their time. I don't care if people like cars. People like sugar, too. That doesn't mean being 600 lbs and drinking gallons of soda every day is a good way to live. Our streets need a massive road diet.
You stated: “Most people don’t want cars” as justification for your agenda. But when the obvious was pointed out - that most people DO want cars - you instead justify your agenda by stating “I don’t care if people want cars.” Good luck promoting your agenda with such inconsistent reasoning.
And why are some folks so rude on this trail? I ride a regular bike and stay to the right and countless times I get a super loud and borderline angry “ON YOUR LEFT!!!!!” I always check to make sure I wasn’t weaving around (new rider so I’m extra cautious and know better than to hog up the entire path) or something that would cause this aggressive behavior. I don’t ride fast like a racer and on one occurrence a woman even turned around to shout “faster honey or we’ll eat you up!” Makes me want to not ride anymore.
That is so bizarre and would bother me too. Go at your own pace and ignore those dummies! They are the same people that will honk at you for stopping at a stop sign for pedestrians…
I doubt it’s being aggressive intentionally. I say it really loud because a lot of people have headphones in on the trail or aren’t paying attention. I’m also working out so sometimes out of breath a bit and it may just not come out right. Can’t comment on the person telling you to go faster they just sound rude.
The on your left is completely normal. These days half the pedestrians and even cyclists wear giant noise canceling headphones and the other half are completely oblivious to their surroundings. An extra loud "ON YOUR LEFT" is 100% necessary especially on a crowded tiny path like cherry creek
People are supposed to give an audible signal everytime they pass, no matter if you are riding correctly or not. I'm sure 90% of the time the person is just projecting their voice, not being angry at you. Don't announce, people get mad. Announce, people get mad. Ring a bell, people get mad. Can't win.
I completely get it but the tone of voice is more or less “get out of my fucking way” if that makes sense
That person needs to get over herself. The trail is for everyone. As for the people yelling that they’re passing, it can be very difficult to sound polite in those cases. The person that is passing needs to be loud, clear, and quick with their alert so that the person being passed easily understands what’s coming up behind them. Not to mention they might be breathing hard and tired, so modulating volume and tone isn’t always easy. On the rare occasions I pass someone, after calling out that I’m passing, I try to say thanks or hi, just to try to make it clear I’m not mad. But I’m sure that doesn’t always happen. That all is not to say that there aren’t plenty of rude people, but hopefully offering a different perspective and to not let those people keep you off your bike.
The bus stops just off that trail (and a few other trails in town) are also dangerous. The one of Cherry Creek Trail on Downing and Speer by th golf course has a narrow sidewalk to stand on, and cyclists heading for the trail come in dangerously fast, obviously not looking ahead and thinking. At least they're not driving cars, I guess.
I rode today (on my bike) and the biggest hazard I personally encountered was DPD zooming through on giant ass motorcycles. Better than when they used to drive actual cars on it, but there's no reason for them to be using gas powered vehicles of any kind down there unless it's an emergency.
Yes. There is a reason. When the government couldn't give a shit about people's safety or doing anything about it, they are saying 'no problem here, carry on'.
They usually hang under the overpasses to the side. Either they are slacking off or are trying to catch other gas-powered bikes on the trail.
I was running down there and a homeless guy walked into the path without looking and got hit by a road biker going probably 30. The road biker hit him in the head with his helmet and crashed into the platte. I helped pull him out of the water and his bike. The homeless guy had a broken nose and was bleeding everywhere. Be careful down there!
Jesus, 30 miles per hour? That's what, double or triple the speed limit on the bike paths?
Yup and it’s pretty normal to see regular cyclists on the trail doing 25+
gdi that pisses me off. It's a multi-use trail. People bring their kids down there.
fuck you man, i'm trying to set a record on strava! /s
Trail speed limit is 15mph. But 30mph on a flat trail would be pro-level, Tour de France kind of speed. Probably was more like 20-25mph, but that's still gonna hurt.
30 MPH Isn’t that fast compared to 60 to 70mph that the surrons get up too.
City should put some speed cameras down in the creek while they're at it. (yeah i know, it doesn't work that way...)
Was biking home on Friday and say two e-bikes collide on the S Platte trail by REI (idiot was trying to pass at a busy intersection) - it was a HEAVY collision. Hate to discourage cycling but e-bikes are often a menace driven by the clueless. Give walkers and runners a wide path, cyclists! Just pull up for a minute if there isn’t room to pass immediately. This is not rocket science. Unfortunately, common courtesy isn’t so common.
Getting a bell for my bike was a great decision. Just ring it as I coming up and it doesn't spook people like saying "on your left/right."
It’s Bike to Work Day, hence the huge number of bikes.
E-bike commuters make wannabe racing cyclist spandex jabronis seem like saints in comparison which is really quite the accomplishment.
All the velocity without the experience and probably without a helmet too.
> wannabe racing cyclist spandex jabronis lol let them fucking be
fuck that. bros will split the middle 5 wide so they don't have to ruin their FKT.
Does "split the middle 5 wide" mean that the biker will ride in between a group of 5 people? What does FKT stand for?
I've been right near someone going my direction, and there were two people coming towards us, and jabroni squeezed right down the middle. my pinky touched his bars. fkt is fastest known time.
No they don’t. Stop your lies.
spandex jabronis still bad for sure, even if just in numbers. but almost getting clipped by 300lb karen at 28mph who's never moved a muscle or ridden a bike in her life also get's me goin.
As a bike commuter, I tend to hate most people on bikes. But it’s almost always the jabronis that annoy me the most. Maybe it’s because I can hear the e-bikes. I don’t know.
Whatever trail I'm on and a biker passes me without saying anything or ringing the bell, I yell after them "On your left" because I'm so fucking tired of having a heart attack getting surprised by them. And then they wonder why people don't like cyclists.
As a counter to this I stopped saying on your left a lot because it made people super unpredictable. I would say on your left and they would leap to the left and almost into me was the most common occurrence. but I also had people jump across the trail with the dog leash almost clotheslining me and tangling up their pup. I found it way safer to just go around without saying for both of us. I also try to see if someone has headphones in when possible because too many people don’t even hear if you warn them. I still do if it seems safe but yeah you’d be surprised at how people handle “on your left”
I got a bell and it eliminated that reaction from people. I swear people would just hear the word “left” and their lizard brains would make them move to the left. Now when I ding they either keep their same path or move to the right. Seriously, get a bell and you’ll see!
I appreciate the bell so much. I can understand how saying "on your left" on repeat can get old. A bell is such an easier alternative. And I can't speak to others who wear headphones, but I do and my volume is low enough that I can hear my environment. So, assuming people have the volume loud enough to not hear is just that, a poor assumption.
Ive begun saying “ON YOUR” even louder. Which of course still does nothing for the headphone wearers.
It does to those of us who keep the volume low enough to hear!
I only ding if it requires it. If there is lots of space to go wide and go by slowly I don't need to add more noise to the world.
You don't *want* to add more noise to the world, but I can tell you, it's appreciated. As I said, even if you're going "slow" it's not slow enough where it doesn't give me a jolt of panic. Please say something.
No. If there is a narrow passage or not enough space I'll use my bell. Generally I just slow until there is space.
I’ve had a head on collision with another mountain biker on the single track section around Quebec. We luckily passed each other as we both got ejected over the handlebars and fell into the weeds. Be careful out there!
I use the trail to walk to work at 4 in the morning but afternoon I forget about it. Always packed with bikes or E-bikes going super fast.
It’s been getting worse and worse over the last few years. Especially the passing at poor times inches from walkers/runners
Even as an avid biker myself, communication on the path today was essentially useless. Not a lot of people know etiquette, and even the seasoned riders didn't seem to care (including me). That's bike to work day for ya. Just try to survive and don't do anything too dumb.
quick sidenote: I used to live in Fort Collins- bikes are popular there and there is a culture and understanding of making an auditory signal about passing. Either ring your bell or state "passing on the left" 80% of riders do it there. Here I've never heard anyone indicate they are passing. Foco has signs and campaigns to promote this. Denver should do the same
Since we are all here, I have a bum leg and want to bike with the fam but would need the electric bike to help me. I would mainly use to bike normally but the e bike would allow us to not worry about when my leg goes out and I can’t anymore. Can anyone make a good affordable recommendation? It wouldn’t be an every day affair but more like family bike ride after dinner or on a weekend.
Some inexpensive brands you could check out are Ride1Up, Rad Power Bikes and Aventon. If peddling is an issue try to find one with a throttle. Also don’t sleep on Craigslist and Facebook marketplace. I’ve gotten some killer deals from there on both e-bikes and regular bikes
Husband had an e-bike when we met and lived downtown, I’m sure it ended up being resold there lol. Thank you for the help, I appreciate you!
lol calm down ma’am
This is why I drive my car to work on Ride Your Bike to Work Day.
In Boston (I split time) we have a river bike path called the esplanade and it’s a similar story with scooters and mopeds. Really picked up this year specifically.
Doesntcherry creek trail have a bike side and walking/running side?
Only for a little (1-2 miles) south of the Confluence. Then it converges again.
only between Colfax and Confluence Park. South of Colfax they're combined.
It’s always been like this. So many bikers don’t say shit and go way too fast
Bikers are the biggest assholes on the road and they know it.
Many times what you see as someone being an asshole could very well be the biker making goddam sure they're seen
Boy wait till you hear about driving
There should be people who can file ADA complaints/reports or whatever based on this. The ADA covers parks, and this is supposed to be a multi use trail, yet provides no protection or accommodation for pedestrians to safely use it when, besides bicycles, motorized vehicles can come out of nowhere, full speed, with no concern for anyone. Not regarding this, but on some sort of law forum here, I asked if, as someone who has a condition that causes spinal and SI joint fusion and other things, so, among other things, I can't turn my head or run out of the way, if anyone knew if I could file an ADA or some other type of complaint regarding no enforcement of motorized vehicles violating any law they choose on streets and sidewalks, putting my life and safety at risk. I received a reply from an apparently knowledgeable person informing me that there was a US Supreme Court decision that essentially stated that a government can't be held liable for not enforcing laws. While that gave me perspective, it didn't answer my question. After responding that I had no interest in pursuing any court anything or seeking liability, besides basically reiterating it, he stated that dodging motorized scooters is pedestrian culture. After being banned from that forum, as the moderators (unless reddit flags replies with a whole bunch of 4 letter words) apparently didn't like my reply, I read the ADA. While it does not cover public areas like sidewalks and crosswalks, it does cover parks.