crazy pedestrians

[7rider]

Pedestrians, and the lasts 100 yards or so of my commute, are the primary reason why I got a flat bar bike for commuting...a heads up riding position and better slow-speed control for me to navigate them (and DH wonders why my commute average speeds are so slow!).
I usually mix up "On your left." with "Hi, passing on your left (or right)" or "Heads up!" - usually that's for folks stepping off a bus with their heads down while they fiddle with their I-Pods or cell phones - or some other hopeful attention-getter.
For Xeney, yes, I do yield to pedestrians (haven't hit one yet! ) and bikes are allowed on sidewalks in Montgomery Couty, MD. The bus depot area where I ride is part of a multi-modal transportation center (soon to be revamped into a mega-multi-modal center) connecting bus/train/subway, where I believe 1 or 2 bike routes do or will connect cycists with the Metro and MARC trains. So yes, there are frequently cyclists and pedestrians mixing it up in that area.

[mimitabby]

Pedestrians have the right of way here. Unless i have a lot of room i don't tell them passing on the left anymore because a lot of them just move to the left when you say that. (My stepfather got hit by a bike doing that very thing, no one was hurt lucky lucky)

I say HELLO! or Excuse me! and they turn, look, and move.. (this is not on a bike trail)
on the bike trail i am more apt to say "on your left" because people there are expecting bikes..

[Lise]

I've seen a number of pedestrians trying to cross, mid block, planning to dart out between cars. I yell, as a combination warning/magic spell, "Do NOT walk in front of me! Do NOT walk in front of me!" It gets their attention, and may work as a command, as well! Some snotty little teenagers decided to amble out anyway, and I yelled, "YOU DON'T WANT TO DO IT!" They stopped. Sometimes I just yell, "DON'T DO IT!", usually at cars wanting to turn left in front of me. I've also taken to waving my right arm up in the air to alert them to my presence.

It's a tight spot, the little lane where I ride between traffic and parked cars. If I jerk (or fall) to the left, there's an excellent chance of getting hit/run over. To the right, I'll collide with a parked car. If you walk out in front of me, I'll collide with you!

[Duck on Wheels]

Last ride I was on the multiuse trail and came up behind a threesome of schoolkids with and without bikes, totally oblivious to me, standing in a sort of spread-out huddle all across the trail. You're right, there's no Norwegian version of "on your left" and I didn't think of "hepp". Don't know if they were old enough to know that one anyway. It's something my students in their 20's say that means just about whatever you want it to mean. Anyway, these were younger kids with streamers and bells on their handlebars so I called out "pling pling" (which is what bike bells say in Norwegian), and they not only scooted over but called out "pling pling" back at me happily. It worked.

[Geonz]

"Hepp!" "Pling Pling~" like 'em both... I usually say "Coming around!" if my bear bell on the frame hasn't alerted them. One of the guys on the week-long tour I was on crashed when one of the joggers he called "on your left" to moved left (and the other moved right)- it's just not anything like universal.
If I'm in the mood, I'll break into song... I have been thanked profusely more often than I can say.
I, too, though, basically yield to peds on "multi-use" paths, which for me are on the last stretch of my trip so I'm ready to slow down a lot. Except for the 200 yards coming up to & from the college, I stay off the sidewalks (and I stay off that one if there's conflict on it - I can see it all before I commit) generally. The roads are much safer for all concerned.

[7rider]

A few years ago, I bought a totally cool old Schwinn Cruiser (with coaster brakes and big balloon tires) at a yard sale. A friend of mine gave me a bell for it as a joke, saying it would be the perfect accessory for it. Ha, ha. Well, I never put in on the bike - in part because I hardly ever ride the Schwinn - it weighs about the same as a Sherman Tank - and also because the bike is red and she gave me a purple bell. Oh, the color clash! I just couldn't stand it!
So, just tonight, in response to this thread, I stuck the bell on the bar end of my commuter (which is blue - not crazy about the color options there, either, but better than on red!). Maybe, when I'm on a MUT or other ped-heavy area, they will respond to the bell where they ignore or move left to "On your left".
The experiment begins....
p.s. DH and 99% of everyone I know would be rolling their eyes in disbelief at my comments re: color coordination, so you can too! I am!

[susiej]

p.s. DH and 99% of everyone I know would be rolling their eyes in disbelief at my comments re: color coordination, so you can too! I am!

All of my jerseys, shorts, skorts, bike pants, gloves and shoes coordinate (pale yellow and grey). But not with my blue bike.

All of my husbands shorts, jerseys, bike pants, and gloves coordinate (yellow with black) -- with the bike too. And he's not the only yellow/black male I've seen.

You can't convince me guys don't care about this stuff. If it's not color coordination, it's team coordination (the Disco jersey and shorts and gloves and ...).

If I'm in the mood, I'll break into song... I have been thanked profusely more often than I can say.

A recent article about hybrid cars said that the electric motors are so quiet at the low speeds that are usual in parking lots, that some drivers blast the radio (in the lots) to prevent pedestrians from wandering in front of them.

We don't need iPods, we need boom boxes.

[7rider]

A recent article about hybrid cars said that the electric motors are so quiet at the low speeds that are usual in parking lots, that some drivers blast the radio (in the lots) to prevent pedestrians from wandering in front of them.

We don't need iPods, we need boom boxes.

My friend calls her Prius her "stealth car" for that very reason. Folks can't hear it as she's prowling the parking garage looking for a spot.

And, Susie....does your helmet match your outfits or your bike???