On trails, bikers should obey safety rules

I have enjoyed and appreciated community trails for walkers and bikers.

Safety signs at trail entrances call for bikers to signal their pass of walkers. Only about half of them call out, 'on your left” before passing a walker. Bikes are silent and, coming from behind, aren't heard by walkers, who could step left at the wrong instant, resulting in a collision and possibly serious injury.

Recently I was walking the Cedar Lake Trail and stepped left where the trail splits. A biker, silent and taking the right option, not expecting my left movement, almost hit me. So, in subsequent walks I have called, 'signal pass” to those who don't announce. I didn't expect a response as they sped by but hoped they would signal their walker passes in the future.

I was shocked, after my request to signal, two bikers stopped in successive days, both of them men in their thirties. One swore back at me a vulgar term and continued on. The other one stopped and said 'I missed you by a lot.” When I said, 'You still have to signal, it's required in the trail safety rules,” he swore at me and threatened, 'If you keep on calling at us a biker will trash you.”

I wish a biker association member, who does appreciate the rule for signaling his/her pass of a walker, would get the association to strongly urge their members to adhere to the trail safety rules.

Ron Moore

Cedar Rapids