A rant: If you're passing me, please let me know!

(This rant is directed at the dozens and dozens of bikers biking on Hains Point yesterday afternoon, most of whom are, I'm sorry, clods. Absolutely clods. Or were clods yesterday, at least.)

How hard is it to ring a bell -- you DO have a bell or other signal on your bike, don't you? If you're passing me, let me know, please! If you don't have a bell, use your voice! Call out, "Passing on your left!" or something else that lets me know where you are, which side you are on, and how narrow the space between us is going to be. Call out especially if you are going to do so within four inches of me! You have NO idea what my skill level is -- except that I am slower than you are -- so letting me know that you are about to pass me is as much for YOUR safety as it is for mine.

Thank you to the TWO -- just TWO, of dozens and dozens! -- bicyclists, one male, one female, who did call out. It is much appreciated.

The rest of you? You're clods! And I'm going to start telling you so when you haven't announced your presence, and I'm not going to feel bad about it, either!

So there!!

Sometimes I just holler "On your right!" as they go by. :p

I do that too!! I also make faces at the ones that pass me ;-)

My friends and I, all old time roadies, always call out. But we have noticed the younger riders don't - like it's not cool or something. I always yell to someone who passes and doesn't shout out "Don't forgot to call!!!!". The other day my guy and I were hiking in a local mountain bike park and noticed all the riders were calling out, being very friendly and polite. My partner then observed, "No wonder, they are all old dudes!" - obviously their moms taught them better!!! ;)

I figure its my mission to teach those young kids better. Some of the ones I ride with make fun of me but no matter, it's just right to do.

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Sometimes I just holler "On your right!" as they go by. :p

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Me too! Only one time I did that, and at the next light when I caught up with the guy who passed me, he said, "I guess I didn't call out loud enough," which made me feel like a jerk.

For the record, I'm one of the young cyclists, and I invariably slow down and call out, often loudly, before passing on the trail.

I have noticed this in the local park where I have ridden so much. To date NOT ONE CYCLIST has called out to me when they passed. It should also be apparent that I am a new cyclist as I am still working on riding a straight line... though am much better than I was :o

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Originally Posted by OakLeaf

Sometimes I just holler "On your right!" as they go by. :p

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Oh, that's sooooo much better than what I was contemplating telling them; thank you!

Really? HP is 2 lanes wide (one way). It's not a bike trail. There's usually a very safe passing distance to be had where you shouldn't need advance notice. It's also so crowded that if I would never shut up if I had to call out to every person I passed. Also, everyone knows that on Thursday nights, there is a huge peloton speeding around and sprinting every lap, making it more crowded than usual. Ride as you would on any road and keep an ear out for others.

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Originally Posted by aicabsolut

Ride as you would on any road and keep an ear out for others.

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One of the big reasons I stopped riding on Beach Dr was because too many cyclists were passing me with only a couple of inches of clearance and they never ever warned they were passing. And I never ever heard them coming or knew they were there until I saw them next to me. Keeping an ear out is not enough to hear some bikes coming up from behind.

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Originally Posted by aicabsolut

Really? HP is 2 lanes wide (one way). It's not a bike trail. There's usually a very safe passing distance to be had where you shouldn't need advance notice. It's also so crowded that if I would never shut up if I had to call out to every person I passed. Also, everyone knows that on Thursday nights, there is a huge peloton speeding around and sprinting every lap, making it more crowded than usual. Ride as you would on any road and keep an ear out for others.

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"Everyone" knows?! No, everyone does NOT know. Sorry. The huge peloton speeding around is NOT exempt from showing common biking courtesy, despite what most of them seem to think. Sure, Hains Point is two lanes, and there usually is a very safe passing distance to be had, but some people -- some of whom are passing me -- don't use the "very safe passing distance" and are happy to get within three or four inches of me, maybe because they are riding many-across and there isn't an empty lane next to them.

I ride in crowded areas sometimes, and call out "bike passing on your left" and/or use my bell as often as necessary, even continuously if that's what it takes.

That Hains Point is NOT a bike trail, but is used not only by cars, but bikes, walkers, skaters, runners, and parents taking a stroll with their kids in a stroller, is all the MORE reason why someone passing should call or ring out. And if cars are blocking the road -- trying to park -- I think the "huge peloton speeding around" should act like traffic and STOP rather than weave around the car.

If bikes want to be treated as traffic, bikes need to act like traffic!

It might help your comfort level if you got a mirror... Not that that excuses the inconsiderate cyclists - I don't like people passing close by without telling me either, but at least with a mirror I know they are coming.

Three little words that mean so much...I don't know why it's so hard to say.

Audible signal to pass is the law in some states (including Ohio). In motorized vehicles most people ignore it except on one-lane roads. When I mentioned this being the law, someone here thought it was "nonsensical." I don't think so at all. I agree that it's common courtesy regardless. If there's a peloton, no, every rider doesn't have to call out, but the point rider should say it's a peloton. If I'm point in a small paceline, I'll usually call out in advance, and then when I'm beside the person, I'll tell them how many riders behind me.

I'm all about calling out too. But on the flip side, when we were riding the Seattle to Portland ride last year with 10,000 other riders it got a little annoying after the first few thousand "on your left". We decided on just saying "passing" and then only to the riders who didn't look very alert. bikerHen

*raising hand* I'm a clod. I rarely call out when passing- and I never call out to runners on the trails. Most of them have headphones and don't hear anyway. I used to call out to bikers but after having had two very rude people snip at me- I stopped. I always pass with at least 3 feet or more and go WAY around someone when passing. Hardly any other person calls out here. I can count on one hand how many times someone has called out to me when passing in the last year. Maybe some places it's more common than others.