passing on your left...

[george]

When riding your Serotta or any other high quality, high performance, high priced machine on a bike trail and when about to pass another rider do you simply say on your left and pass? I am a very simple and modest person who just happens to have an extraordinary and extravagant passion for cycling. I think there might be an assumed "attitude" to the serotta owner? Sometimes I start conversations with the rider I am about to pass? I am a down to earth person but the image of me on my Serotta Couer d'Acier and my cycling gear might give a different and wrong image...any commets...

[JohnS]

1. I don't ride on bike trails.
2. It all depends when I pass someone on the street. Sometimes I'll make conversation but most of the time it's just an "on the left".
3. I don't see what me riding a Serotta or any other highend bike has to do with it.

[Dr. Doofus]

Your Doctor usually just tosses an empty to the right as he yells "get yergaddamassofftharoadfaggit"

[Sandy]

sothatwasyouscreamingatme

[Big Dan]

Passing on the left is a little overrated..the keyword here is passing..just get it done, quickly and look for someone else to pass..What if the rider you are trying to pass is way on your left??? :crap:

[Tom]

In our town, if you want to get out to the west you ride on I-890 or the bike path. BBD actually got us up on I-890 one evening because he thought a road went where it didn't and it was sort of hair-raising.

Worse, though, was this weekend when we headed out and there was some kind of event where you had 75 Brownies, 75 Girl Scouts, their parents, their siblings and a random assortment of walkers with many pushing baby carriages on the path. I was terrified that some kid would panic and fall over while we passed. It was three miles riding clipped out, 10 miles an hour and calling out "Passing on your left! " the whole way. It turned out OK except for one enormous woman who screeched something completely illogical as we went by.

Better than the poor guy we saw parachuting. He did great until the last 100 feet when he flew it right into the ground. It took them an hour to get him on the helicopter and to the hospital. When we ran over to him I thought to myself that it was odd for an above the knee amputee to be jumping. Somebody said he broke his femur and I realized what I was seeing. The paramedics are really good, I can imagine it's pretty dicey when a leg has been deranged that way right next to some big blood vessels. I think they had to straighten it out before they transported him, but I don't know. I stayed out of their way. He's lucky it's been a wet year because the field was kind of spongy. Baked dry and he'd be a lot worse off.

Sunday's ride is definitely going to be one of the ones I remember from this year.

[Lost Weekend]

I'll say "on your left you slow bastard"
If their on a Serotta "on your left you slow, rich bastard" :cool:

[Ken Robb]

we get a lot of questions like "Serotta?? Is it Italian?" I don't think most folks, even riders, know what a Serotta is or costs. Oh, and the Rivendells get "Hey, cool old bike".

[Bruce K]

You're actually fast enough to PASS someone? :rolleyes:

I thought all of us Serotta owners were old, bald, fat, and slow. ;)

"On your left" and maybe a brief compliment on their bike, if warranted.

Other than that it's "Ease on down the road." :bike:

BK

[kenyee]

Another reason for Campy...coast and they'll know you're passing and will scoot over ;-)

[Adam]

I can understand where George is coming from as we ride along the same path. I think that only those who know what a Serotta is and are insecure enough to feel bike envy and project that onto you will be the ones with any attitude. If you are passing on the left, they shouldn't really be able to see what type of ride you are on!!! The glorious green blur! (you should really post pics of your CDA....)

Also, I hardly call our anymore as I pass as peds and rollerbladers are really unpredictable when spooked...usually jump right in front of you. Same thing when I used a bell...

Adam

[Sandy]

I enjoyed your post.

Lost Monday through Sunday,

Sandy

[dgauthier]

(. . .) I hardly call out anymore as I pass as peds and rollerbladers are really unpredictable when spooked...usually jump right in front of you.
Adam

LOL! Exactly my experience, too. I think half of them think "on your left" means "move to the left". The level of unpredictability seems to be directly proportional to level of body fat, but it's so hard to tell which ones are the really dumb ones. I've taken to announcing my approach some 50 feet back: "Coming up behind you . . . stick to the right please . . . passing on your left . . . "

For *real* cyclists, "on your left" is enough, and it usually elicits a nice "thanks" in return for the warning.

But to address George's question completely: yes, I try to be really, really nice to other cyclists, joggers, roller bladers or whatever. I'll say "Good morning, how ya' doing?" or "Beautiful day, isn't it?" or something along those lines. We're all part of the same minority: we're outside, getting some fresh air, so at least we have that much in common.

[Too Tall]

George, I could write a book on that. It ranges from a mandatory slowdown and greeting to Doofism(tm) (previously 'splained by himself).

Regardless of what I ride the same holds true. I commute almost everyday and going to work is no different than anything else I do on a bike. The culture, love and necessity for sports is there...ever present. Attitude about my bike ain't one of the things I've ever EVER considered dood! I'm lucky to even be on top of the bloody thing much less make a deal about it.

I digress:
1. Safe and polite: one or two rings on the ding bell if I've got it or "passing on your left" or a "Daaaaay Ohhhh" always get em'.
2. Slow down and be nice but keep moving: I do this for riders who have that unmistakable and genuine stank of struggle....besides it's just plain rude to tear the shoes off nice guy riders going really slow...heck I'll at least coast and say something.
3. Stealth mode: You are too friggin dumb or stuck up to EVEN need the above pleasantries. Dah hek with yah anyway. Swoosh. No pleasantries.
4. Take my wheel: You look safe and actually answer back when I say something nice or at least smile and I will linger and see if they want my wheel.
5. Throw Down: Yeah, it's like that. You did something that was irritating or maybe it's one of those moon in the wrong phase deals or I need a fight but hey, let's go buddy!

So, that's what I say instead of passing on your left ;)

[Ozz]

...Also, I hardly call our anymore as I pass as peds and rollerbladers are really unpredictable when spooked...usually jump right in front of you. Same thing when I used a bell...

A couple years ago, a some buddies and I hopped onto a bike path for about a mile to connect to another road on our route....we were riding 3 abreast, as the trail was not all that crowded, and we were chatting, pedaling lazily at about 15 mph...

About 150 yds ahead of us, there were a couple of elderly women (70's, and apologies to those who don't think of 70's as elderly) walking along. The trail had a slight rise behind them, and there were a couple riders on "comfort" bikes coming down the rise behind the walkers...

We were too far away to hear what warning was given, but the "comfort" bike riders were going too fast, gave too little warning and grandma didn't have the reflexes or speed to get out of the way...I'll never forget seeing her head bounce off the asphalt pathway...ouch!

We rolled up and asked if everyone was alright...thank goodness grandma was, she was more concerned about why the rider ran her over..."comfort" bike rider pointed at us and said we were blocking her pathway! :confused:

yeah....from 150 yds away...

Uh oh...it was time for us to leave before they started asking for names in the lawsuit.

[bulliedawg]

George, I could write a book on that. It ranges from a mandatory slowdown and greeting to Doofism(tm) (previously 'splained by himself).

Regardless of what I ride the same holds true. I commute almost everyday and going to work is no different than anything else I do on a bike. The culture, love and necessity for sports is there...ever present. Attitude about my bike ain't one of the things I've ever EVER considered dood! I'm lucky to even be on top of the bloody thing much less make a deal about it.

I digress:
1. Safe and polite: one or two rings on the ding bell if I've got it or "passing on your left" or a "Daaaaay Ohhhh" always get em'.
2. Slow down and be nice but keep moving: I do this for riders who have that unmistakable and genuine stank of struggle....besides it's just plain rude to tear the shoes off nice guy riders going really slow...heck I'll at least coast and say something.
3. Stealth mode: You are too friggin dumb or stuck up to EVEN need the above pleasantries. Dah hek with yah anyway. Swoosh. No pleasantries.
4. Take my wheel: You look safe and actually answer back when I say something nice or at least smile and I will linger and see if they want my wheel.
5. Throw Down: Yeah, it's like that. You did something that was irritating or maybe it's one of those moon in the wrong phase deals or I need a fight but hey, let's go buddy!

So, that's what I say instead of passing on your left ;)

I find that no matter how nice, kind, quiet, and polite I am, the person I pass is always startled. They always shrug their shoulders and turn their head in surprise, and shoot daggers with their initial glance. Sometimes I say, "Nice day," or "Looking good," or something else to cut through the startled incredulity, but it never works.

Sometimes I wonder if the best approach is to just blow by them without saying a word. Maybe they'd be less startled if I did. But I never do just blow by, because I like people too much.

[Tom]

and seem aware of their surroundings I usually say nothing. If they are wobbling or look like they need somebody to say something, I do.

[vandeda]

I've ridden the bike path between from KAPL in Niskayuna to Colonie (around Colonie Town Park 'cause my best friend lives there) quite often. My voice doesn't carry well, and I find people are still startled sometimes when I pass ... I try to slow down if it doesn't seem like they've noticed. And the headphones ... ugh, they rarely hear me.

The bell seems to work best .... it seems like people's ears are better tuned to it .... well, it probably carries better than my voice, and the headphone wearers hear it better too. I usually try to give a ring first to get their attention, and then say "I'm passing on your left" or just "on your left". I've gotten more "thank you" comments from people when using my bell than when just voicing my intentions, people just seem to respond to the bell better.

I personally don't mind the bike path ... yeah, people aren't always nice (and quite frankly, are we always nice 100% of the time either? Maybe they're having a bad day, or maybe we're having a bad day), but it sure beats no shoulder (Rosendale Road and Old River Road between Niskayuna & Colonie) and sucking in exhaust fumes ... yuck!

Dan

[froze]

I'm crazy...I've been crazy for over 50 years! Anywhew, when I'm on the bike path and I come up on people or other riders I first check out the situation, if their walking or riding about the middle and right on the path then I don't say anything! My bike is very quiet so I can be passing them before they know what happen other then they suddenly got spooked. The reason I don't say anything in the above situations is because whenever I yell "on your left" 5 out of 10 people go to their left!, 4 out of 10 start to weave all over the path seemily confused as to which way should they go! So I usually crank it faster so I can pass them before they venture onto my side.

If the pike path is cluttered with riders or people to the point I know I can't pass safely then I slow down and yell "on your left" and wait for everyone to figure out which way is left and which way is right, then pass.

I've done it this way for years and have yet to run into a problem.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . If they look like and ride like they know what they are doing AND I have plenty of room to pass, then I just go by quickly and silently. If they are startled a bit, then I am already out of the “danger zone” before they can react.

On the bike path, where I often ride the mountain bike for a change or when the weather is bad, I always try to yell a warning when still at least 50 feet back. With the size of my mouth, there never seems to be a problem with them hearing me unless they are wearing the headphones. The trouble with that is when I yell and they DON’T react, headphones are often so small these days I can’t tell if they are wearing them or not.

Then, when I am almost up to them, I give them a “passing on your left.” 99 times out of 100 that works fine, and I’ll often say thanks--and so do they.

But then there is always that 100th time when you get someone who has the headphones turned up so loud they couldn’t hear a 747 landing behind them. Or the little kids who are oblivious. Or the half-dozen east Indians working at GE R&D, strolling 6 abreast, who don’t understand bike path etiquette or much English. Or the strolling seniors who have stopped to chat right in the middle of the path. Or the spastic beginning rollerbladers. OR--and these are the most fun--those runners with dogs on long leads that will clothesline you who feel like it’s everyone ELSE’s responsibility to get out of THEIR way.

Sigh.

BBDave

[victoryfactory]

Back in the day, (mid 70's) when we were young hot shots circling central
park on Sundays we used to shout STAY STRAIGHT! as we approached
the civilians in our way. we were young, cocky, fast, fit.
Nowadays, what to say when overtaking another rider? I don't know, I'll think
of what to say if it ever happens....

Victory Factory

[Too Tall]

A pax on every fool who runs, rides or skates on paths with music blaring.

This is a real event. Two weeks ago I am on a narrow looooong sidewalk which crosses over a bridge in DC. A walker who's music is so loud I can hear every bit...I wait politely...than loudly say on your left...no effect...I yell it....no notice...so I put a hand on his shoulder and passed.

Anyway, mom was right. It pays to be polite. DON'T MAKE ME BE BAD.

Agreed. A bell is univerally understood. Folks don't wobble around when they hear it.

[pbbob]

Back in the day, (mid 70's) when we were young hot shots circling central
park on Sundays we used to shout STAY STRAIGHT! as we approached
the civilians in our way. we were young, cocky, fast, fit.
Nowadays, what to say when overtaking another rider? I don't know, I'll think
of what to say if it ever happens....

Victory Factory
while on a ride on a narrow road in delaware this year I approached a young thing on a bike and said straight line please, as I was going to pass. she jumped all over my case about who was I to criticize her riding abilities etc. etc. etc.
I love the sound of hostility in the morning.

[Too Tall]

On the track nobody says 'chit if you say "RAIL" ;) But than, we all know the rules. So there is us and them right? Yah gotta be clever if you are herding cats.