"On your left" - What does this mean to you?

[TrekTheKaty]

sspoor, yes we did drift off here--but that was also interesting.

My vote is: letting me know you're there. If I'm riding two abreast, I will move over to accommodate you, so you can pass safely (courtesy). If I'm riding single file--I will hold my line and pace until you've passed.

Everyone summed it up well, but now I'll tell my story. On my first century, we slowed to allow an "official" looking club to get ahead of us. HUGE MISTAKE. Lesson learned: Just because they have matching jerseys doesn't mean they know what they are doing, are in good shape or are faster than me (I frequently underestimate myself on a bike--no more)! We promptly entered a narrow, hilly, bike path. The lead group quickly slowed to a crawl and began stopping haphazardly in the middle of the trail. I reached a point where I felt I could pass safely and yelled "on your left" and pulled out. As I did, a rider behind me said "on your left," but quickly said "sorry" when he realized I wasn't the problem and was making forward progress. I was committed and couldn't pull back in or stop without wrecking. I made a mental note to thank this cyclist for not running me over when we he finally passed me on the other side. However, he humbly rode my wheel for quick some time after that, and I never identified the mystery man. I do believe his "ON YOUR LEFT" was initially an aggravated command to move, but he realized the error in his ways and he pulled in behind me--which was the correct action, IMHO.