cooleric1234

I've generally stopped announcing myself. Between most people wearing headphones, mis-understanding on your left, and having to slow down so much to say something they comprehend and give them time to react before me passing I've decided my best bet is to quickly pass them outside of their sudden movement range.

Leebo

I prefer"passing left" after ringing my bell further away. To me, it seems clearer than on your left. Most people on my MUP, Minute man bikeway, seem to get the stay right idea.

RLRider

I got a bell. I can ring it 30 feet back and they look without being startled and know I am there. For me it works much better.

EKW in DC

+1

I occasionally come across the contreaflow pedestrian on the very well-traveled Mount Vernon Trail here in the DC area, and it's a real hazard to all involved IMO.

Fizzaly

ive resorted to just running them down, only kidding, maybe... it does not seem to matter what i say or how early i say it i cant get people to move outta my way, sometimes when im bore and am not in a hurry i like to sneak up behind them, then up shift while really cranking on it so it makes that nice snap and scare the heck out of them i do say im sorry of coarse.

EKW in DC

I use a bell for pedestrians. It generally works pretty well, although there are lots of zombie morons, er, tourons, er tourists who pay no attention to anything around them.

For fellow cyclists, I sometimes ring the bell from a distance, sometimes say "on your left" when I'm about to pass, and sometimes both. Depends on my mood and whether I think they're aware of my presence. I always do at least one or the other though.

Urbanis

This is a great discussion. I regularly ride on the Hudson River MUP in NYC, which Wikipedia claims is the most heavily used bikeway in the USA, and it certainly does see a lot of traffic! It's a beautiful way to have a car-free ride, run, or walk with terrific water views and as such draws heavy crowds (especially on weekends) of runners, bicyclists, strollers, etc. So I encounter passing issues regularly.

The technique I've evolved in more crowded parts is to give pedestrians and joggers the right of way whenever possible and to pass when safe without disturbing them. For this technique, I rely on heavy observation. If there is plenty of room to pass people, then I do so slowly and with a wide berth. I only ring my bell and say something when they are completely blocking the route or I observe them weaving back and forth across the path or they look like they are about to cross the path (because they were taking a picture on one side) or there are children present (since they are likely to wander or run all over the place with no warning--more a signal for their minders, actually).

For fellow cyclists, I also pass without signaling if there is plenty of room to do so; if it's a tighter situation that requires the cyclist to move over so I can pass, then I ring the bell and say something.

I think this is a courteous approach and seems to work for me.

I like the idea another poster shared of including a greeting when passing, such as "Good morning!" Makes it feel less like I'm surreptitiously saying, "Get out of my way!" I'll have to try it!

Urbanis

I have an actual passing question. In NYC, many bike lanes on one-way streets have been placed on the LEFT side of the road (I believe in an effort to reduce dooring incidents). While the general traffic regulation is for slower vehicles to be positioned in the rightmost lanes and to pass on the left, it seems that a left-side bike lane would require passing on the right--at least, that's what I always do. Thoughts?

CACycling

Don't see how there is much of an option but to pass on the right. You do not want to get sandwiched between the rider you are overtaking and the curb.

sirlight

While I agree that it is great to be courteous, I don't think "Good morning!" is clear enough. They could just as easily think "you" are also a pedestrian. They might not look back and they will not expect the speed you are approching.

Urbanis

Sorry, I should have been clearer. The idea was combining the greeting with ringing the bell and/or an explicit warning, such as (before passing) "Excuse me, I'm passing!" (followed by) "Thank you! Have a good morning!"

KonAaron Snake 

Bells don't seem to phase pedestrians around here at all...but they do work well with cyclists. I prefer to say on your left to cyclists because I think it's morem direct, but either method seems to get results.

I've found that almost nothing works on pedestrians here. I have a booming voice, and I really have to let it bellow to make an impression. I've found that the Philadelphia species of pedestrian is only out dumbed by the NY'r.

I've never tried an airzound because it seems like a recipe for getting me shot by someone with road rage, but after hearing all the great things about it here...I might try it.

pharasz

+1
I have found that trying to warn people almost always causes them to swerve INTO you (peds and cyclists). If there is space, I go into stealth mode and pass as quietly and with as little warning as possible. If there is no space, I hit the brakes and start yelling well in advance of my arrival.

Justin J

Great topic – there’s a similar thread in the 50+ section started by someone who took a walk on an MUP they frequently ride, and wanted to share their experience about it.

I personally haven’t found the best method. My previous commuter had a bell that I really dug because it announced my approach from a distance better than calling out. However, about 1/5 peds have what I’ve dubbed the freak-out maneuver, where they:

Stop, turn around to their left to look back, look down at the path, take a big step backward to be at the right edge, and then scowl at me as I go by. If I could see the thought bubble in their head as they do this maneuver, I think it would read:

“What’s that!?!? Where am I – am I in the way!?!?... No, but better jump back just in case….. Wait, WTF, that guy had plenty of room to pass, why sound the alarm at me?? Thanks a lot – jerk!!!”

My new commuter bike has drop bars and no bell, so I’ve resorted to the call-out method which works fine, but only when I’m right up on them and about to pass. I should probably get a bell since like it so much better, and it was highly effective. Just have to deal with the 20% that do the freak-out maneuver.

CptjohnC

I find on the 'serious' parts of the bike trail, most people respond well (and correctly) to "On your left". On the casual parts of the trail, and on feeder trails, the bell is 1000x better. Also, I notice the bell gets more attention from the iPod crowd -- it seems to cut through the haze better.

Actually, one of my greatest annoyances on trails are cyclists riding two abreast, so that one is on the center line, thus partially blocking the oncoming 'lane'. I get that they might be coaching a novice, or what-have-you, but really - save that for empty stretches of trail!

EKW in DC

Excellent description of the "freak-out maneuver", a real and oft-occuring phenomenon. I see this often, especially among tourists on the Mall. On the actual MUP, I figure if they walk far enough and get passed unexpectedly by a few cyclists, they might, just might, come to appreciate the fact that I rang my bell or called out on approach.

Of the other 80% of peds, I think about half can't hear me anyway thanks to their headphones, and the rest move slightly to the right w/o freaking out or give a polite signal of acknowledgement, which at least lets me know that they know I'm approaching.

corkscrew

I just say "Passing left" or "Passing Right" in some odder scenarios. 3/5 people will thank me for it too.

ItsJustMe

Nobody but cyclists have any idea what "on your left" means, and they probably don't hear all the words. They hear "left" and it's random whether they move left or right or stop or keep going.

chrisb71

The only thing about on your left is people need to say it from farther back. when riding on my daily commute people will say it to me and they'll wait until they are right next to me already, it sounds like someone's mouth is right next to my ear saying "on your left!" and startles the heck out of me. When they say it farther back, I can move right a little to give them room (this is on a street with bike lanes). But when they're already to my left there's little point in saying it.

Even when RUNNING on MUPs I've run right into the casual peds, people don't even look before suddenly turning left.

peliot

Pedestrians should only walk contraflow when on the _shoulder_ of a roadway. Peds should NEVER walk contraflow on a MUP or in a traffic lane (e.g. peds that think marked bike lanes are sidewalks or shoulders). Walking contraflow on a MUP or, even worse, jogging contraflow in a marked bike lane (as I often see around here) is extremely dangerous.

SouthFLpix

I just ring my bell.

dscheidt

It does. A bell has a very sharp leading edge on the tone, which is a fairly unnatural and attention getting feature. You can perceive it even over fairly loud music. Someone talking to you, even someone yelling at you, requires quite a lot of cognitive processing; you have to realize that they're talking to *you*, figure out what they said, and figure out what to do about it. A bell means "bike behind me", and requires less actual thought. Lots of people who complain that pedestrians don't react well to variations of "on your left" are going too fast, not giving enough warning. f

I rarely ride on MUPs, but I do walk a fair amount on one. I've taken to yelling "get a bell" (with a variable number of obscenties thrown in, depending on how fast the moron rides past, and the amount of spandex or carbon fiber involved.) at morons on bikes who pass with out announcing their presence.

JPMacG

I'm thinking of a cow catcher mounted to the fork of my bicycle. The park I ride through is used by the local high school track team. I can announce "bicycle" , or "coming through" or "on the left" or whatever. They turn around, look at me, and keep on jogging, three abreast across the width of the MUP.

kevinvin

Yea, I get the.. WTF? JERK YOU HAD PLENTY OF ROOM..as they step to the edge.. I generally slow way down and say something to the likes of: Sorry, Didnt need you to move, was just letting you know I was back there...

About half just keep the look at that point...

Whatever


When walking or riding I often call out "thanks for the warning.. or Get a BELL.." generally without the profanity..

Right up near the TOP of the Rules for trail use on the Silver Comet it says ANNOUNCE YOURSELF..

If you are one of the riders that frequently Having peds and other bikers swerve randomly... Perhaps YOU are scaring the CRAP out of them?

If you are in the "I don't announce BC people do random things crowd" perhaps you should give a 50' warning to peds 20' to bikes.. see if it doesn't improve things.. dont ***** about cars buzzing you if you are buzzing peds and other bikes...