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Remember in the movie, "Spanglish",...Tea Leonie is always running up her street hollering "left! left!...LEFT!!" because she's so competitive she can't bear to see anyone ahead of her.
It's hilarious. I guess everybody on that street knows what it means.
Karen
On the multiuse trails here, it seems there are enough bikers that people understand "on your left." But I've had to give the occasional "LOOK OUT" or "Heads up!" when in a panicked situation..usually requiring repeating the phrase several times until someone gets a clue or I can run off in the grass. Heads up is a phrase stuck in me from a crowded equestrian warmup area. It was really special when an apparently non-English speaking tourist kept crossing the path to take pictures of his wife by the water. Once I observed another biker yell several phrases at him. And then he did the same thing to me!
I often say thank you, in case I sound too mean. But c'mon, I'm a new biker with less than expert handling skills. I'll also appologize if I do something dumb and get in someone's way.
I think of Spanglish when we're on the bike/walking/jogging path too!
One day, as I passed a family with a cheery "on your left -- Hi there!" young son asked daddy, why does everybody say that? And daddy explained that's so we know that they're passing, son -- learning early!!!
Karen in Boise
I use a bell. It's cheery and more likely to be heard than me trying to shout something at some poor pedestrian. I could care less if people think it's dorky.
Once in a while you get people who act like they don't realize you're ringing that bell AT THEM or who slow and look around as if they've never heard such a thing before. For the former, I will THEN call out "passing on your left!". For the latter, I just shout "Bicycle!" and smile at them and ring the bell more as I go by.
At least 50% of the time when I ring my bell, the people ahead of me look up into the trees. I guess they can't tell the difference between the sound of a songbird and the sound of a bike bell. I yell out too. I could yell out all the time, but I really like ringing the bell, makes me feel like a kid again.Quote:
Originally Posted by HipGnosis6
Darcy
I allways yell 'Excuse Me!' and if they move over nicely then I say 'Thank you' otherwise they will get the silent treatment from me (like they will care :p ).
I've started just saying "passing" and so far it seems to be going good as people seem to automatically move right.
Not like the guy who passed me last night. I was on a very wide trail (enough for 3 cyclists if necessary), riding far right and holding my line. Out of nowhere this guy passes me and actually brushes shoulders with me he was so close :eek: ! What's with that?? I was caught so off guard that I didn't have time to formulate an "appropriate" response.