[jyl]

the guy walking infront of me who decided to make a left without looking and nearly ran me off the road! I have a 'ring ring' bell

Pedestrians are more dangerous than cars. Seriously. I ride on city streets to/from work daily, probably pass or am passed by 1,000 cars a week, only about 1 x per 2-3 months does a car even start to make a dangerous move and - key - those moves are predictable. If a car is going to turn in front of you, it is because there is an intersection, a driveway, a parking spot that the driver is turning at. Except for those specific points, cars don't turn. After all, drivers are not in the habit of suddenly turning and smashing into the curb, sidewalk, buildings, etc.

But pedestrians - they turn at any time, for any reason, no reason, look at that bird, ah-choo, oh I forgot something, and they pivot on a dime without warning.

I try hard not to ride around pedestrians, meaning not on MUPs that are often used by pedestrians, and I slow down (10 mph) and ding the bell whether they need it or not. That means a lot of irritating slowing and speeding up.

I'd rather ride on the street than on a MUP or park path popular with walkers.

I typically wear spandex with shorts over them (!) and a sport shirt that wicks away the water. I also wear gloves and a helmet whenever I ride. I may look like a dork, but I'd rather wear protection instead of getting hurt more.

Helmets and gloves are good.

I do have a question - in today's ride, a couple of times, a few other riders would come up behind me, and match my speed instead of passing me. Now I am just starting back on biking, and my speed is somewhere between 12 and 15 mph - ie not very fast. So why do they follow me instead of passing me?

You moved over to the right so they had room to pass? In that case, maybe you weren't riding that slow. I think most recreational riders on MUPs are going 10-15 mph.