"ON YOUR LEFT" we say

The thread about headphones made me think of another thread I think many of you will relate to. I always yell out "on your left" to anyone on the road and/or bike path. I do this at home where I come across walkers, runners, groups of kids, and/or cyclists. I also do it during events and I have the same problem. :) :confused: :) :confused:

When I say, "on your left", 50% of the time the person MOVES TO THEIR LEFT!!!! :eek: Or the less experienced cyclists, will hear me, look over their left shoulder, which in turn steers their bike left~~ right into my path! :eek:

I was wondering if there was something better for me to call out. I've tried all tactics:
1 - saying it earlier (this usually gives them more time to move completely in my way)
2 - saying it later (this often times startles the person and I don't want to do that)
3 - saying it twice (I've had people snipe "I heard you":eek: , so I don't think they like that)

What do you ladies say to get the person's attention? :D :D :D

Roshelle from Milwaukee

I just say "Good Morning" or "Evening", and pass them with a smile on my face.

You don't have to say a word. They would usually hear you. You just need to observe their movements before passing them. Some people may just freak out and swirve toward you.

How about adding "passing" to on your left?

I do add "passing" to "on your left" which gets the same result as the OP's, ie., some people move left. I had to tell a lady 3 times, passing on your left, and each time she moved farther left (yes I was going very slow). Finally I said, don't move, and passed on the right... oy....

I have found "on your left" leaves no impression (or causes the opposite reaction). I just say, "behind you" or freewheel a bit so people can hear me coming. If they have headphones on, it wouldn't matter what I say or do, since they won't hear me anyway. Joggers/walkers don't bother me as much as bladers (who take up a LOT of lateral space and almost always have headphones on) and people who don't keep dogs/children close at their sides.

I'm finding that "Bicycle behind you!" (suggested by someone here at the forum) works better than "Passing on the ___". You do also have to give people time to react since they often forget that they're not the only person on the trail :rolleyes: , so call out as far behind them as you can and still be heard. Then, let them choose to which side of the trail they want to move.

Though I have had groups of people scatter to both sides and have then had to weave through them... No matter what you call when, nothing's fool-proof.

I'm in favor of saying, "passing on your left" in a strong voice. Also, when someone says it to me, I hold my line and say, "thank you" in strong voice. I don't think there's a good solution to this problem. The people in the real world (non-cyclists) are not aware and familiar with this concept. Also, I ride often in a tourist area and many of the people don't understand english.

I did notice something on the century ride I did this weekend. For about 50 miles of the ride, I was riding with only people doing the century. For the other 50 miles, I was mixed in with metric and century riders. I noticed a big difference in how the metric riders handled this.

It's a big generalization, but it sure seemed to me like the metric riders were less familiar with holding their line -- and with general group riding procedures in general.

I usually say 'Bike on your left' in road situations, in advance too where I'm going to pass in say a few seconds. As opposed to saying 'bike left' and blasting by OR not saying anything which is one of my pet peeves~!

Should I be on a bike path I'll slow down and be a bit closer as at least half the time, the riders are wearing headphones - then you saying something is irrelevant.

Saying Left is confusing- people think you are instructing them to go left.
As I've said before- when people come up behind me and say "On your left!" 90% of the time all I ever hear is "mumbledy-mumbledy LEFT!". And I have good hearing.
THAT IS WHY pedestrians keep jumping left on you!!

I ring my bell ahead of time- 50% of the time the person ahead glances back and knows what to do and I needn't do anything more except thank them as I pass. If they don't glance back at my approaching bell, I say strongly "bicycle passing you!" or "Bicycle Coming!" with another bell ring, and "Thank you" as I pass them.
If I am approaching a situation where I'm not technically passing someone but there is a group talking and blocking the traffic pathway- I say LOUDLY with my bell ahead of time "Look Out! Coming through!!" that usually gets them to all step out of the lane. I always say things loudly and clearly with an air of confidence, but in a CHEERFUL FRIENDLY tone.

I thought we just had a long discussion about this a few weeks back with lots and lots of different suggestions...

But I yell "Bike Back"

Calling out left or right seems to make walkers move in that direction, calling out hello or some greeting makes them stop and turn around to look...

Bike Back is said quickly, travels quickly and almost always has been successful for me in getting walkers off the bike path, or preparing slower cyclists in front of me for the "imminent pass".

Yesterday riding a multi-use rail trail, I came up behind a woman walking her darling puppy. She never glanced back, so I said "cyclist behind you" as I approached her, so I could see if she moved one way or the other. I also slowed down considerably. She moved right, so I slowly passed her and said "Thanks -darling puppy."

As cyclists, we are the ones who have to be ready to give way, since on most multi-use trails, we are required to yield to everyone else (peds, equestrians, etc). So even if the peds are weaving, listening to headphones, or taking the entire trail, we have to be the ones who stop or swerve or whatever.
But no one says we have to like it! :D

Emily

Inquiring minds want to know - Emily - were you riding the tobacco trail?? We rode it yesterday at about 4:30-5:00. Lots of kids and dogs.

Back to the topic: I do call out passing on your left, and most people "behave." I always try to make a friendly comment as I pass - many kids are sadly surprised by this. I did have one child *stop* in the middle of the path as soon as I called out that I was passing. I was, of course, going a prudent speed and could stop. Could have been bad, though.

and no, I don't like it, but I'll take having the trails and sharing them to not having them:D :D

I agree with Bluetree--I have six different bikes (!), and three of them are friction shifters. I slow down just a tad and freewheel. EVERYONE knows the sound of an old freewheeling 10 or 12 speed bike, and they ALL move to one side or the other. They don't even need to turn around to identify what the sound is!

The index shifter bikes require an "On your left". It doesn't always work, but as Emily says, the cyclist is the one required to be cautious.

East Hill

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Originally Posted by CA_in_NC

Inquiring minds want to know - Emily - were you riding the tobacco trail?? We rode it yesterday at about 4:30-5:00. Lots of kids and dogs.

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Yes - our first time! We needed to go to REI so threw the mountain bikes in the Element and found the parking place off Fayetteville Rd. near 54 (Southpoint Crossing). We rode to downtown Durham and back. It will be great when it's open all the way down to New Hill. We were sorry to find that break at 54. It will be interesting to see how they manage to route it around I-40 there!

We got there around 2 pm and did the 13 miles to/from the parking lot so missed you by a couple of hours. Where do you access it from?

We had fun, but Barry doesn't like the crowds so not sure how often we'd do it since there was more "traffic" than desirable (peds, other bikes). We were surprised at the number of road crossings to stop at too. We have better riding out here where we live in rural Orange County, but it was a neat change of pace not having hills and just cruising along.

Sorry for the thread hijack....

Emily

Emily-

Weekends are really crowded on the Tobacco Trail - weekdays (if you can go after work, etc) are much better. Earlier on the weekend is good too. There used to be a night ride that left from the Bicycle Chain that I'm trying to get re-started - the trail would basically be deserted except for a large group of cyclists. It was a large enough group that I wasn't too concerned about safety, and it was a no drop ride.

It's definitely a different kind of riding from out in Orange County - I like both, it just depends on my mood...

FYI on the issue of the trail stopping at 54 (I hope it's OK to post this here) - there's a petition to speed up the building of a bridge over 40. http://www.petitiononline.com/att2/ Would be nice! I've actually ridden from my house to the trail, down the trail and over to REI, but the getting over to REI part is a little on the dangerous side (in my estimation).

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.

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Originally Posted by HipGnosis6

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.

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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.

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.