BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

did he even say "on your left", ding a bell, blow an airhorn, etc?

No, which is why this has been bothering me for 2 days. Unfortunately that was not the first time that has happened. I wanted to catch up to casually say something like "If I'd swerved left a little, we would have been introduced."

To give this guy a LITTLE beniefit of doubt, I've been in his position, you always wonder when passing, if you say something, will that itself cause the person to wobble left? You kind of know you can be past them before they even react. But next time it happens, definitely say something, like, "more room, please!",

Which is why the universal dwing of a bell is oh so nice...

For anyone not on a bike I do not say anything. I've had too many bad experiences. For cyclists I say "how's it going?". But in either case I give enough room to make the pass cleanly.

That sucks he buzzed you, for sure.

And I've found the bell gets the best response, hands down. I should just sack up and put one on my road bike too.

Wojty, where might a person find a nice bell?

Most bike shops have them. I am thinking of this one for my road bike, REI used to carry it but doesnt any more.

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/BZ274A00-Incredibell+Road+Bell.aspx

There's one on wojty's bike, just be quick about it.

We do carry aluminum bells from velo orange down at Clankworks. I've seen lots of shops carrying at least o e or two models though.

Any time i've ever rung my bell, or said "on your left" it seems I freak the person out more, and they make a real exaggerated reaction.

I prefer to pass as wide as I can and offer a friendly "good morning."

I give a little ring thirty, forty feet back, of course I'm not going fast enough to scare anybody.

I find that there's no good answer. If you just pass someone without warning, you're being a jerk. If you ring a bell, people ignore the sound completely. If you say "on your left", at least half the time, they'll move *to* the left.

And sometimes even the bell and the shouting "On your left" has little effect on the iPod wearers, more and more of whom are cyclists (at least on the trail).

So I guess the lessons are, roadies shouldn't be going 20+ mph on a mixed use trail, that's why they're called ROADIES. And don't buzz people so close they can feel your breeze, give other bikers the respect you would expect from a car. Another on the list of things to educate our own on.

Agreed.. The trails are limited to 15mph ( I know I go faster than that, but not around other people) If you are coming up on someone, and you know they dont hear your bell or your calls or are distracted, you can always slow down and pass safely.

I hate the "on your left" panic. I always wonder if it's the first time someone has been out on the trails, because if they've been out more than a couple times they should be familiar with the phrase. And like JZ said not move TO the left. ugh.

I suppose you could try yelling "snake!" instead of "on your left".

If somebody gives that a try I would want to see it on helmet-cam, though.

This morning on the north side, guy walking down the middle of the trail. I slow down (as others have pointed out, it's unreasonable to go 20+ mph on the mixed-use trails) and say "on your left". Of course, he steps left.

What do other people do in this situation? I'd kind of like to stop and explain to him what "on your left" means, but I feel like if I do that, I'm being a pedantic jerk.

Just apologize for being unclear first.. something like.. "im sorry, I meant I was passing on YOUR left. Sorry about the confusion, have a nice day" and actual be sincere about it. It would hopefully help the next cyclist that encounters that person.

What do other people do in this situation? I'd kind of like to stop and explain to him what "on your left" means, but I feel like if I do that, I'm being a pedantic jerk.

a) I think you need to be prepared this will happen any time you pass someone. Although I agree with @Mayhew that a bell has the best effect.

If I'm moving really slowly, say up the sidewalk on Joncaire, I'll sometimes say "Hi, I'm going to pass to your left on a bicycle if that's okay?.

b) I suspect that most people who move to the left only do it once (unless they are a hopeless crank who feels the world owes them a trail free of anyone but themselves). Next time they will probably know what "on your left" means. So there's no need to stop and explain.

+1@Netviln I find smiling and saying hello as I pass is a good idea regardless of how they react.

We're all out there having fine day.

In the park people go for walks to be all relaxed in the woods, so I try not to yell at them. I slow down and say "on your left" in a reasonable volume so I don't startle anyone. Last week I did that and this guy jumps to the left... so as I'm passing him I go "...or on your right" and he says, "sorry, I heard you, I just got my left and right mixed up". I am guessing he was just spacing out in the nature. I found it rather amusing.

If someone looks sketchy on a bike, I slow down & say "I'm passing on your left". If I have the width of the trail, I usually just pass. Walkers by far are the jumpiest, so I'm usually just careful to an extreme with them, particularly when a line of 3 or 4 abreast is hogging the whole path.

Maybe a sign at each end of the trail explaining what "on your left" means? Or t-shirts?

"Passing on your left" clearly says it all - make sure to emphasize the word passing.

The various signs on the riverfront trails stating that trail users must keep to the left (!) aren't helping matters. Wish they'd fix those.

I agree that including the word "passing" is important. But no matter how clear you are, some people will still get it wrong.

Keep to the left is PA law for walking on roadways -- and there's a reason for it. There is no keep-left or keep-right rule on sidewalks. Are trails more like roadways, or sidewalks?

In California the signage I've seen advices walkers and joggers to stay on the left side of the shared-use trails and cyclists to stay to the right.

No matter what you say, or how you say it, the pedestrian is always caught unaware. They always jump thisaway, or thataway. And whatever it was you said they only registered a sudden loud noise behind them that was a surprise.

It's a lose-lose. The only thing to do is slow to a crawl and roll up alongside and offer a haughty "good morning." But that's not very practical.

The pedestrian's responsibility is at least as great as ours: we need to give the heads-up, they need to keep their heads out of their behinds.

I was in a rush to the south side the other day on the ped. bridge and had an interesting interaction.

I was going around 15? and there was a wobbler in front of me who was about to pass a pedestrian so I slowed down a bit to time my pass properly. Wobbler passed the ped. and went back to the right side of the trail.

I hit the jets and gave my bell 3 loud rings and went to pass the guy the furthest to the left I could. Right as I was passing he swerved into me and I had to lock the wheels up to avoid a collision.

He then had the audacity to yell at me to show a little common courtesy.

I don't know how practical it would be to paint lines directly down the middle of the trails but that seems to work fairly well when I've seen it done before.

spakbros, I really don't understand how more people don't understand that they can't wobble around the trail. They would expect the same thing from any one else.

Not trail related but courtesy to other cyclists related.

I am at the intersection of fifth and shady at the light, a car behind me when a man and a woman on racy bikes and full matching kits pull in front of me by passing the car behind me and myself and stay in between the turning lane and through lane.

I am thinking, OK, they are going to pull away and go straight I guess.

Well, no. When the light turns green they stumble their way into the turning lane when the light turns green and continue to struggle getting clipped in. I tried to be patient but couldn't stand it any more. I accelerated passed them and took the lane.

If your going to advance in the queue and cut people off at least know how to actually get clipped in first. They also never even acknowledged I was there.

I feel reposting this is necessary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hws619BAr0Q

@netviln: wow. great call.

@netviln: wow. great call.

+1

@rsprake They also never even acknowledged I was there.

From the spandex side, I find this works the other way as well. I wear bike clothes on my commute, and often encounter other commuters down here at the Smithfield Street Bridge. When we wait for the light I usually smile and say Hi, and more often that not I get nothing or maybe a curt nod. Then they plow off to get ahead of me, blow through the next red light, ride into the counterflow bus lane to get around traffic waiting at the light. Is it the shorts? Or maybe that's just how they roll...

@Jeff When we wait for the light I usually smile and say Hi, and more often that not I get nothing or maybe a curt nod. Then they plow off to get ahead of me, blow through the next red light, ride into the counterflow bus lane to get around traffic waiting at the light. Is it the shorts? Or maybe that's just how they roll...

It's how they roll (insert RickRoll link here)

Last night a guy (maybe 10 years older than me) passed me coming Forbes from the Birmingham bridge. No response to my "Hello". When he passed me, he was going considerably faster than me.

Four or five lights later he was still only 20 yards in front.

I passed him when he was stuck behind a bus, then a block or so later he passed me going way, WAY faster than me, only to slow down about 30 yards in front of me.

I knew a grad student in a highly competitive program who could not ride a bike back and forth from Pitt to Squirrel Hill because she HAD to be faster than anyone else. For a beginning cyclist (or for me, for that matter), you could kill yourself trying to keep up with the quickest guy going up the hill. So she couldn't ride bck and forth.

Some people have to race when they ride. Maybe I should yell "Lance Armstrong" at them.

These two were indeed weavers.

I was just so annoyed that they felt so superior that they figured they would just pass me and the car behind me but then they couldn't even get clipped in. They held up me up at a dangerous intersection and annoyed the driver behind us.

Some people have to race when they ride. Maybe I should yell "Lance Armstrong" at them.

@mick-so true about people who have to be faster.

And one thing I've learned road riding around Western PA is that it's pointless to yell something at a cyclist from your car because we have NO idea what you are saying. Well, maybe we do sometimes..but when I hear the Doppler shifted "aah" but don't manage to hear the trailing "g" I just assume they are shouting:

Allez Lance Allez!

Y'all are doing a lot of projecting your own insecurities onto other people. No offense...

Being passed doesn't MEAN anything. And if I pass you, I promise I'm not thinking you're a loser. For all I know, you just rode a hundred miles uphill both ways. If I don't say hello, maybe I'm out of breath or lost in thought. Or maybe you just didn't hear me.

When I see someone being a squid on the road, I don't assume it's because they're trying to beat me somewhere. They're just a squid, that's all.

@lyle I'm not projecting any insecurity, perhaps it is you are projecting? I've NO objection to being passed. Actually I've no objection at all to whatever folks want to do. If that includes blowing themselves up sometimes, awesome!

I just think it's interesting that when two bikes are stopped a light, one of them being mine, and I say hi to the other person, a fair number haven't responded, and ride off without comment when the light changes. They'd probably run the other lights and hit the bus lane regardless.

@lyle Being passed doesn't MEAN anything.

It's true that sometimes you are passed because the other person is faster or even just from random motion.

But sometimes you are passed because the person HAS TO PASS YOU. You are in front of them.

i pass a lot of people because when i'm out, i'm doing it for exercise and want to always be at a certain level of exertion. sometimes i wear spandex, sometimes i don't. sometimes, as lyle suggests, i'm too out of breath to do anything but grunt. and when i'm at the right level of exertion, it takes me a few seconds to realize that someone is saying hi to me, and half the time it doesn't occur to me to respond until we've parted ways. and sometimes i'm just caught off guard by suddenly socializing with strangers.

also: worst cyclist i've seen lately was a d00d wearing no shirt and jean shorts. my special lady friend (SLF) was driving, turning left onto negley from ellsworth (outbound) and had the green arrow. d00d was coming down negley from the left and just glided into the intersection without slowing down or showing any signs that the light was against him. she slammed on the brakes and he swerved around her without making eye contact.