🚀 go-pugleaf

These aren't patterns, but certainly arguable they are bad ideas on
multi-use trails:

Last year, on the W&OD near the Custis, I rode around a curve to find the
crowded finish line of a running race. People running the race were standing
on the trail with their backs to me, just behind electronic timing lights,
watching the race and completely unaware of the rest of the world. There
were no signs warning the trail was in use/closed/whatever. Evidently,
nobody considered that holding an event and hanging out at end of a short
descent around a curve could present a hazard.

Earlier this year while riding on the Capital Crescent trail, I had to yield
to a Cadillac driven by an obviously confused individual. I'm not talking
about yielding at a cross-street, the person was driving down the trail!

Another remarkable experience is a couple of years ago when the bridge over
River Road was under construction and trail traffic was routed around and
under the bridge. One day I was riding through construction area where the
trail was a narrow corridor formed by chain link fences on either side.
Immediately after the turn to leave the detour and rejoin the trail, I just
about endo-ed to avoid a group of 15 or so children (age about 4-6 perhaps)
seated on the trail and the grass adjacent to the trail. It appeared the
teacher/day care person was conducting a discussion about trees and their
leaves.

Behavior seems to get worse on the Capital Crescent as you go north toward
Bethesda. I wouldn't be that surprised to see a family with a Weber grill
having a cookout on the trail someday.  :-)

-Kevin