Pedestrians should stay off bike paths

I want to tell walkers to watch out for bikers. Bicyclists get trash talk because we have to bob and weave in between people. Maybe the reason we do this is because all you crazy chachos are walking on the designated bicycle paths! Every time I ride down the bicycle path, someone starts be-bopping across it. Now, walking across it is fine, but I don't know how many times I've almost hit someone because someone starts walking across and doesn’t even look for bicycles. Now, a bicycle isn't as big as a car, and yes, you would survive a bicycle crash, but it would still suck. Let me throw out a few calculations of what would happen in a bicycle wreck to prove this. Let's assume a bicyclist is traveling at an approximate 10 mph. Let's also assume that the average bicyclist's and bicycle's weight together is 160 pounds. Now, assuming the collision happens all in one second, and plugging in to the force equation, we get 1064.1 pounds of force!! OK, the average bicycle wheel is approximately 30 inches high, and consequently so is the average person's "private area." Assuming the contact between the bicycle wheel and the person's crotch is over an area of two inches squared, that's a whopping 266 pounds of force per square inch! Now, while some people do like large amounts of force exerted on their crotch, I assure you, this would not feel good. In addition, this would probably flip the bicyclist and the walker over, cracking their pitiful skulls on the concrete. Don't forget about the embarrassment that would occur. Anyway, just wanted to give a shout out to all those walkers on Purdue's campus — look before you cross the bike path. If available, have your mommy hold your hand to walk across.

Gareth Yeoman

School of Education

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