DnvrFox

1. Riding to the right on a street as one is supposed to do. Get passed by a car, allowing one foot or so left-side clearance. Immediately you notice the car pulling off into a parking lot, which, by chance, is exactly where you are going. Your state has a 3 foot clearance law.

What would you do/say, if anything?

2, Riding on a MUP at a gentle relaxing speed, getting passed by a "hotshot" without any "on your left" or "passing" or a bell or anything like that - and this is near intersections where someone (such as I) might turn left - although I always look and signal - not everyone else does.

You know that you could speed up and catch the bicycle/rider.

What would you do/say if anything?

3. Man with dog passes you in opposite direction. Dog becomes aggressive, but you get by OK as man holds barking dog. Two riders coming towards you are riding two abreast, and, seemingly, fail to notice or evaluate the situation, and the dog becomes aggressive to them - and since they are riding double, they have no escape route, except to go off the trail and yell "oh s*it". You have an opportunity, if desired, to turn around and say something to the man or even catch the bikes.

What would you do/say if anything?

OK, you more mature and gentlemanly/gentlewomanly 50+'rs - any thoughts?

(These are all incidents within the past 3 weeks, two today)

sauerwald

Incident 1 reminds me of a situation that I had once - I am riding along, when I am passed by a minivan who immediately turns into a parking lot - to avoid the right hook, I turn with him and ride around to the driver side to give him a piece of my mind - when I notice where we are - the parking lot for a methodone clinic, and the driver has this desperate look in his eye.

Reply - Smile and wave!

Incident 2 - Smile and wave!

Incident 3 - Smile and wave!

Seriously though, for 2 and 3 - don't ride on MUPs! They encourage all of those sorts of behaviours and worse.

CommuteCommando

I sometimes say to their back "ON YOUR RIGHT arrogant pr*ck" More often than not, I'm that hotshot, and announce myself, or swing really wide.

Steve B.

I'm over 50, experienced, but not necessarily mature, especially having a type A personality with a lifetime of living in the NYC metro area, where getting in somebody's face comes naturally.

That said, the experience of 25 years of riding is finally resulting in a flatter learning curve and I'm less and less getting confrontational and would ignore all. Especially while I'm riding. Just not worth it. It's a rare moment when any adult to adult interaction where correcting another adults behavior is the goal, ever results in any kind of success. It's always Adult to Child and the other party isn't buying into it.

OTOH, if they happened in a row, 1, then 2, then 3 and having endo'd as a result if an aggressive dog lunging (I locked the F brakes), many years ago. I might have lost it at that point. Out of control dogs on MUP's are dangerous for a lot of reasons.

jdon

1. I would follow them into the lot and politely educate as to the law and the fact that cyclists would appreciate cooperation.

2. Say nothing but think nasty thoughts.

3. Say nothing.

wphamilton

1) Probably ride by slowly, and lock up on a post near the offender if possible, all while conspicuously ignoring him or her. My objective is to passive/aggressively embarrass the driver.

2) Remind myself to pay attention or congratulate myself for having paid attention. When I hear onyerleft I wonder if I was weaving like a newby and I probably was. Pass safely, I don't need a warning.

3) None of my business.

Stupid or selfish behavior isn't worth wasting emotional energy on.

jerseyJim

Number one I am going to say something unpleasant and on point. I feel that it is neccessary to call drivers out on their unsafe behaviour when I get the opportunity. Not really expecting much... just kind of make them uncomfortable so maybe they hesitate even if just a little unconsciously next time they are in the same situation.

Number two I let go mostly. You could spend all day calling out or ringing your bell on a busy mup. If I see someone going way too fast for conditions and endangering other mup users I might give them a "slow down will ya" if there are little kids around.

Number three I never say anything. They did after all control their animal in the end.



I was on a mup in the Albany/Schenectady area recently and the mup etiquette was unbelievable. These were the most polite and considerate mup users I have ever seen. Kudos to all you runners/walkers and bike riders on the Mohawk/Hudson Trail. You guys are awesome!

I really have to move out of the Metro NYC area to somewhere civilized.

dalameda

I usually just say "thank you!" a little louder than necessary, sometimes right as I am passing them. I would also second what sauerwald said - don't ride on MUPS - they are dangerous! I can't tell you how many times I've said "on your left" and then have the person I am overtaking(walkers and riders) move to their left. I often follow-up with "your other left", and laugh.

DnvrFox

It is much better to say "passing" as many of us do, IMHO. As to whether or not MUPS are dangerous - that depende on the location and situation. I consider ours extremely safe, but they are well maintained and little used. I can go 40 miles and never cross a street and perhaps see 10 riders and 10 peds. YMMV.

A very typical MUP in my area. I rode it on a 30 mile ride this am, with just the amount of folks and other riders you see here:

cyclinfool

I try to leave my righteous indignation at home.

David Bierbaum

For 1: I would say nothing, and would keep my distance, secure in the knowledge that I myself have pulled some pretty stupid stunts in my life, which renders me cautious about throwing stones from inside my crystal cathedral. Also, the car owner might be armed, and "stand his ground" all over my bullet-ridden derrier.

For 2: Since I've seen MUP notification go wrong, as I startle the living daylights out of pedestrians, and they react unpredictably, I can understand not notifying of one's approach, however I'm not a fan of anyone maintaining speed as they pass non-cyclists or slow-toodling cyclists. As a practical matter, I wouldn't say anything to them, because they likely couldn't hear me over their self-generated wind noise in any case. For intersections, you do remember your hand signals, right? So anyone behind you will know you're turning, even if you don't see them? It has the added advantage of slapping them in the face as they pass you.

For 3: I have no sympathy for those who ride two-abreast on a path that is too narrow for maneuvering, and going at such a speed that they can't use their brakes. I've seen pedestrians on the MUPs with little puppies cutely disregarding their masters and happily investigating as fast as their little tiny feet would take them, and dread what these straddling cyclists with attention deficit disorder would do in that situation. In this situation I might be mean, and yell to the man "Cry havok, and release the hound of war!"

Retro Grouch 

^^^^

What David said.

TromboneAl

For situation 1, I'd stop and calmly say "Did you know how close you came to me?" then evaluate their response. I might actually get, "Yes, I'm sorry." or "No, I didn't realize."

Recently, I've twice said to motorists "Did you know that it's illegal to talk on your cell phone while driving in California?" The other wasn't so nice.

otg 

1 - nothing
2 - nothing
3 - make sure the riders were OK, then leave

cuzzinit

All of the above can be addressed with Superglue
The person in the parking lot will want to lock or unlock door at some point
Works good on shorts
and dog leash to hand
Those are my best evil thoughts.......
in reality i'd yell at driver, and bicyclists, person with dogs prolly won't have a clue and since it wasn't me....

unterhausen

I have chased people down to tell them about Pennsylvania's passing law.

If a dog is being aggressive enough, it gets close enough to me, it gets a punch or a kick. Usually this gets the message across to the owner. If a dog is running loose on a mup, I tell the owner that it's illegal.

I don't know what to do about muppets, they probably know that they are misbehaving, and if they don't there is no helping them.

DnvrFox

The dog, although growling and barking, was held securely by the owner. I got through just fine without any worries. It was the next riders - they would have been fine single file . . . .

DX-MAN

1. I have confronted the offending driver in the past, to no avail. Generally, unless the pass was REALLY close, I just bellow at them and pedal on. Let THEM step it up if they feel froggy.

2. Usually, a simple expletive, and pedal on. Again, if they want to escalate....

3. Nothing TO do -- leashed dogs are legal on the MUP here; if the other riders aren't paying attention, it's on them. I MAY say something about, "watch the dog back there", but if they roll into that blithely, they have received a lesson in situational awareness.

Loose Chain

Nothing.

Do not approach strange people who could become fearful, it could get ugly.

Zinger

I got chastised the other day (in the moved helmet thread of course) for saying "passing on the left" to occasional riders on a sometimes similarly narrow local mup. I explained to him that I didn't do it for everyone but just when it was necessary to get by when they were towards the left and weren't aware that I was there....Or kids whom I pass very slowly.

I guess that was good enough because I haven't heard back from him. His problem was people who announce they are passing to every rider. Personally I haven't had too many people announce their presence to me unless I'm lollygagging in the middle of the trail and even if they sometimes do it doesn't bother me. If they pass me fast without announcing that's fine because I'm usually lollygagging to the right when I'm lollygagging.

I'm seeing what people mean about helmet threads though lately....Not trying to turn this thread into one either.

For an automobile a foot or more away I probably don't say anything unless they yell at me while passing.....probably. Less than that and it probably starts something that I was too old to still be doing in my 40s.

Dogs I bark back at....leashed or not. Just like in my 20s.

-=(8)=-

I let it go . . .
Ive only yelled at a dog person once cuz their dog was fouling the lawn and they werent cleaning it up
I really believe if you give an angry car person response, they've won

Zinger

This kind of reminds me of something a guy I know did once though. An Australian Cowdog (The part Dingo kind) used to chase auto wheels on his street. Well one day my friend got the idea to open his car door and give the dog a kick. Well the dog was just a little too quick, dodged the kick, and grabbed him by the pants leg pulling him almost entirely out of the moving car. He managed to hold onto the steering wheel and brace his other leg inside the door but almost ran himself into a barbed wire fence on the other side of the roadside ditch. The dog let go rather than get caught between the car and the fence.

My friend pretended to ignore the dog after that. Although I'm sure the dog had a laugh or two about it.

miss kenton

I'd say nothing. I wouldn't want to to ruin my ride. A couple miles down the road, I'd forget all about it. They'd still be duffuses, I'd be more fit.

ModeratedUser150120149

Depends. I rarely use the "on your left". I barely know what that means and I'm pretty sure most other folks I meet don't. I almost always loudly say something like: "Behind You", or, "I'm passing, I think", or something else that lets them know I'm there. Then a sociable comment and a smile as I pass generally gets a smile in return. Oh yes, as I pass, unless the road is wide, I always slow and prepare to stop.

It is pretty rare for me to have a motor vehicle collision problem. Most of the time dangerous situations are caused by other cyclists going the wrong way, distracted biking, too fast for conditions, or buzzing. These folks get a yell. Actually it is pretty interesting to watch someone's eyes as they hear the yell and realize they are about to collide with another bike, as I'm trying to minimize damage to me.

However, even in my short time as a cyclist I see a real difference on the road. As is the case in our political climate there seems to be a hardening of the heart between road users.

Wogster

1) Pull in calmly, remove camera and take a picture of the car. When driver asks why, tell them because you have a great memory, but it's short and you want the proper tag number for when you file a complaint with the local constabulary for his/her violation of the 3' passing law. Decide, you will be nice and let them off with a warning, if they promise to obey the law in the future.

2) I call it defensive riding, you ride with the knowledge that if you give the other guy the opportunity to do something stupid, without fail, they will. If your turning you signal your turn with good advance notice.

3) It's not really any of my business.