AG: Aunt Granny's Advice, or How to become an elderly cyclist:
This post is the first of a weekly series of grandmotherly aphorisms. Each subject line will begin "AG:" for your killfiling convenience. It seems obvious that the first thing you have to do is to learn and obey the traffic laws, but it isn't that easy. You have to learn, UNDERSTAND, and RESPECT the traffic laws. If you don't understand a rule, you can't possibly obey it, nor can you tell when it applies and when it doesn't. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Aunt Granny's Advice, or How to become an elderly cyclist:
On Monday 18 Aug 2014 23:48 in message
, Joy Beeson wrote: If you don't understand a rule, you can't possibly obey it, nor can you tell when it applies and when it doesn't. All, possibly, true. The law usually has a workaround though; Ignorance (of the law) is not a defense. -- Regards _ / ) "The blindingly obvious is / _)rad never immediately apparent" I hope I live to relive the days gone by Old Before I Die - Robbie Williams |
AG: Aunt Granny's Advice, or How to become an elderly cyclist:
On Mon, 18 Aug 2014 19:48:28 -0300, Joy Beeson
wrote: This post is the first of a weekly series of grandmotherly aphorisms. Each subject line will begin "AG:" for your killfiling convenience. It seems obvious that the first thing you have to do is to learn and obey the traffic laws, but it isn't that easy. You have to learn, UNDERSTAND, and RESPECT the traffic laws. If you don't understand a rule, you can't possibly obey it, nor can you tell when it applies and when it doesn't. How come "Aunt Granny"? It would seem to reference some hooky-pooky somewhere on the family tree :-) Aunty Bee sounds right and proper though :-) -- Cheers, John B. |
AG: Aunt Granny's Advice, or How to become an elderly cyclist:
On Monday, August 18, 2014 3:48:28 PM UTC-7, Joy Beeson wrote:
This post is the first of a weekly series of grandmotherly aphorisms. Each subject line will begin "AG:" for your killfiling convenience. It seems obvious that the first thing you have to do is to learn and obey the traffic laws, but it isn't that easy. You have to learn, UNDERSTAND, and RESPECT the traffic laws. If you don't understand a rule, you can't possibly obey it, nor can you tell when it applies and when it doesn't. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. All of that is quite correct Joy but how many cyclists do you know that obey the traffic laws to the letter? Traffic laws for cyclists are invented by non-cyclists and while they make sense in heavy traffic conditions they often make no sense at all on empty streets. For instance - cars should ALWAYS stop completely at stop signs but bicyclists go a great deal slower, are generally higher above street level and can see opposing traffic more clearly. Also cyclists are the one's that would suffer from dangerously running stop signs. So their judgement is a great deal better than some traffic planner in an office somewhere. Also - just the other day I was walking to a coffee shop early in the morning. There was a police car pulled over and they were apparently upbraiding a man for riding on the sidewalk. He was traveling opposite the direction of traffic on a one way street. The sidewalk was not only very wide but I was the only pedestrian on the street for three blocks in any direction. While I was observing this a worker on a bicycle pulled out of a dangerous stream of traffic onto the sidewalk. The second cop started yelling at him to get in the street. He was a workman working three doors down from the corner from which he entered the sidewalk. And during this time the commute traffic continued to go through this section 10 mph or more above the speed limit with no action by the officers. And even worse - these cars are speeding through this section that contains small businesses and pedestrians and multiple crosswalk DESPITE the fact that they know that the lights are timed to give red lights on every single corner. And this is done to discourage cars from using city center side streets as commute lanes. Until traffic laws are enforced in such a way that makes some sort of sense you are not going to find people that understand them in such a way to make traffic laws workable. There doesn't seem to be any controls at all on speeders anymore in California. As a cyclist I used to see cars rolling stop signs. Now I see them not even slowing up even on busy main streets. Well, I know the neighborhoods in which to watch for that kind of thing. And for the most part because bicycles are getting more popular traffic is growing more accepting and more polite to cyclists in general. And now that certain people are growing older and riding slower this is a great deal more noticeable. |
AG: Aunt Granny's Advice, or How to become an elderly cyclist:
On Tue, 19 Aug 2014 18:00:54 +0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote: How come "Aunt Granny"? Particularly when I've never even *seen* a bottle of Bitter Brittle Root. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Stoplights
I once witnessed an egregious example of not understanding the rules: A traffic light changed and a car stopped in the intersection to wait for it to turn green again. Though we call it a stop light, a red light doesn't mean "stop". It means "it is not your turn to use the intersection". Had the driver understood this, he wouldn't have remained in the intersection when it wasn't his turn. The most-common way to avoid entering an intersection is to stop, but it's also permitted to move slowly enough that the light turns green just as you reach it, or to turn off on a side road if one presents itself. Likewise, a green light isn't a command to shut your eyes and plow straight ahead. A green light grants permission to enter the intersection if it is, in your considered opinion, safe to enter the intersection. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
Stoplights
"Joy Beeson" wrote in message ... I once witnessed an egregious example of not understanding the rules: A traffic light changed and a car stopped in the intersection to wait for it to turn green again. Though we call it a stop light, a red light doesn't mean "stop". It means "it is not your turn to use the intersection". Had the driver understood this, he wouldn't have remained in the intersection when it wasn't his turn. The most-common way to avoid entering an intersection is to stop, but it's also permitted to move slowly enough that the light turns green just as you reach it, or to turn off on a side road if one presents itself. Likewise, a green light isn't a command to shut your eyes and plow straight ahead. A green light grants permission to enter the intersection if it is, in your considered opinion, safe to enter the intersection. Prick. |
AG: parked cars
When overtaking a parked car, treat it as though its door were already open. There is no way to be quite certain that there is nobody in the car. Ride down the center of the lane, allowing as much space for the parked car as for the oncoming traffic. Closing speeds are greater for the oncoming traffic, but it's only in spy movies that moving cars suddenly change shape. Do not allow yourself to be overtaken while overtaking. If you have to stop dead and wait for traffic to clear, stop dead and wait for traffic to clear. If you have to get off and walk around the car on the sidewalk, get off and walk around the car on the sidewalk. If you have to take another route, take another route. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: parked cars
On Sun, 31 Aug 2014 21:08:23 -0300, Joy Beeson
wrote: When overtaking a parked car, treat it as though its door were already open. There is no way to be quite certain that there is nobody in the car. Ride down the center of the lane, allowing as much space for the parked car as for the oncoming traffic. Closing speeds are greater for the oncoming traffic, but it's only in spy movies that moving cars suddenly change shape. Do not allow yourself to be overtaken while overtaking. If you have to stop dead and wait for traffic to clear, stop dead and wait for traffic to clear. If you have to get off and walk around the car on the sidewalk, get off and walk around the car on the sidewalk. If you have to take another route, take another route. I read something in the "Old Farmer's Almanac" that might pertain to your advice. It said, "Never corner anything bigger or meaner than you are". I can assure you that, having grown up in rural New England, the old fellow certainly knew what he was talking about :-) -- Cheers, John B. |
AG: when to avoid the primary position
When riding on a road, the default position is the right-hand wheel track -- that is, you put your rightmost wheel where everybody else puts his rightmost wheel. (Change "right" to "left" if your country drives on the left.) Many people believe that "default position" means "the position I grab with both hands and my teeth, close my eyes, and hang onto no matter what". What "default" means is "what I do WHEN I HAVE NO REASON TO DO SOMETHING ELSE". We could list reasons to do something else all week and never run out. The first one to come to mind: that track *is* where everybody puts his rightmost wheel, and, on many roads, pounds it into rubble. In such a case, I usually ride on the comparatively-smooth path between the wheel tracks -- unless the track is broken so badly that it's hazardous to cross it, in which case I ride just outside the track and grimly vow to find another road next time. Left turns are another reason to leave the default path. The correct line for approaching an intersection where you intend to turn left might be the middle of the lane, the left-hand wheel track, the next lane over, or something else -- but it's *never* as far right as the right-hand wheel track. (Unless it's such a difficult turn that you mean to turn right and make a U-turn, or get off the bike and press the pedestrian button.) When other traffic is continuous and there is a wide shoulder, your place is four feet from the line of motorized traffic. That's four feet between his outside mirror and your elbow, NOT four feet between wheel tracks. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Hydration
Take the first sip of water as you are rolling out the driveway. It sets the proper rhythm, and lets you know you forgot to clean your bottle while you can still go back and do something about it. -------------------------------------------------------------------- A man riding his first September Century complained to another rider that the water he'd been drinking was sloshing in his stomach. The more-experienced rider said "You're supposed to take it in small sips, not big gulps." The first man thought that he'd been advised to replace each big gulp with one small sip, and would have been in dire straits if the place where he ran out of steam and had to get off the bike had not been serving his favorite beverage. He sat for a hour sipping slowly, then got back on the bike and finished the ride -- taking small sips *frequently*. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Carrying a cable
If you lock your lock to your frame or a wire pannier, it won't fall out and get lost -- and it guarantees that you won't look the bike to something when you haven't got the key. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Carrying a cable
On Sun, 21 Sep 2014 23:39:32 -0300, Joy Beeson
wrote: If you lock your lock to your frame or a wire pannier, it won't fall out and get lost -- and it guarantees that you won't look the bike to something when you haven't got the key. A combination lock solves a lot of "can't find the key" problems :-) -- cheers, John D.Slocomb |
AG: Carrying a cable
Joy Beeson wrote in
: If you lock your lock to your frame or a wire pannier, it won't fall out and get lost -- and it guarantees that you won't look the bike to something when you haven't got the key. I cannot abide rattling from my bicycle, so I put my U-lock in my pack. I also carry a cable to secure the front wheel. -- Andrew Chaplin SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO (If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.) |
AG: Narrow Bike Lanes
When you are riding in a narrow bike lane and hear a car behind you, watch until you see it in your rear-view mirror, then reflect that you are smaller than a car and wait a bit longer. When you are quite sure that the driver can see you clearly, wobble over the bike-lane line into his lane, then immediately wobble back to the middle of the bike lane. When you can see that the driver has selected his route and decided on how much clearance to give you, move as far toward the edge of the road as you dare -- that six inches might matter. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: The seasons, they are a-changing.
When you can't match the weather perfectly, overdress below the waist and under-dress above. It's easier to change your shirt than your pants, and it's very important to keep your knees warm. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: It's vasomotor rhinitis season
Paper handkerchiefs go all to lint in your pocket. Carry table napkins or paper towels. If you dry your hands on a paper towel, trash the snotty paper in your pocket and keep the merely-wet paper. Vasomotor rhinitis would be a great way to drain out a stuffy head -- if I had a nurse following me around in a motor home so that I could lie down the instant I'd had enough exercise. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: It's vasomotor rhinitis season
Joy Beeson wrote in
: Paper handkerchiefs go all to lint in your pocket. Carry table napkins or paper towels. Cotton handkerchiefs work, too. If you dry your hands on a paper towel, trash the snotty paper in your pocket and keep the merely-wet paper. Vasomotor rhinitis would be a great way to drain out a stuffy head -- if I had a nurse following me around in a motor home so that I could lie down the instant I'd had enough exercise. I reduce its severity by wearing eye protection that restricts air flow around the eyes, and something--generally just my helmet, but, in colder weather, a wool cap or balaclava--to cover the sinuses. -- Andrew Chaplin SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO (If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.) |
AG: Look out for the leaves
Autumn's leaves can be as slippery as winter's ice. Even when the pavement is dry, leaf-on-leaf doesn't have a very high coefficient of friction, and when there's a layer of slimy rotten leaves hiding under the dry fluffy leaves, you haven't got a chance. As dramatic as it would be to say that the incident on the boardwalk last November was the reason that the rides long enough to record in my diary at http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/~joybeeson/CENT2014/ didn't start until August[1], there were other factors: the weather turned nasty just as rehab had begun, the winter's supply of snow was doled out to keep the roads slick almost every day, and in March I slipped on snow I'd tracked into the kitchen, twisted my knee, and had to ride a flatfoot instead of walking well into spring. I heartily recommend the flatfoot/comfort/step-through/semi-recumbent bike for rehab, by the way -- it allows you to exercise a leg without putting weight on it, and you can't strain muscles because it won't allow you to push the pedals with anything resembling force. Though I did once instinctively pull back on the handlebars until I almost rose in the saddle when I wanted to charge the transition from sod road to asphalt, and it worked. But you do have to be able to walk at least a little before you can ride, and if there is an upslope along your route you have to be able to walk at least that far -- but a flatfoot is an excellent wheeled cane. [1] The reports start in September because the routes of the warm-up rides in August were boring. Also, September was when I got the idea of writing up my quarter centuries. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Let them pass
When someone is stuck behind you and can't get around, keep your eyes peeled for a place to pull off and let him pass. Never mind that it's the only polite thing to do. Never mind that most state laws say that slow-moving vehicles must not hold up traffic any more than they have to. You want those guys out in front where you can keep an eye on them! -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Let them pass
On Sun, 26 Oct 2014 00:17:36 -0300, Joy Beeson
wrote: When someone is stuck behind you and can't get around, keep your eyes peeled for a place to pull off and let him pass. Never mind that it's the only polite thing to do. Never mind that most state laws say that slow-moving vehicles must not hold up traffic any more than they have to. You want those guys out in front where you can keep an eye on them! Well stated and undoubtedly makes more sense then to ride out in the middle of the road with a long tail of infuriated drivers that you can't watch without turning your head :-) -- Cheers, John B. |
AG: Let them pass
Joy Beeson wrote in
: When someone is stuck behind you and can't get around, keep your eyes peeled for a place to pull off and let him pass. Never mind that it's the only polite thing to do. Never mind that most state laws say that slow-moving vehicles must not hold up traffic any more than they have to. You want those guys out in front where you can keep an eye on them! Chaplin's Philosophy for Bicycling: 1. Keep out from underneath other vehicles. 2. Do not unreasonably impede anyone else's progress. 3. Yield the right of way to the less aware so that you can keep them where you can see and then avoid them as required. -- Andrew Chaplin SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO (If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.) |
AG: Let them pass
On 10/25/2014 11:17 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:
When someone is stuck behind you and can't get around, keep your eyes peeled for a place to pull off and let him pass. .... but don't endanger yourself for someone else's convenience. Never mind that it's the only polite thing to do. Never mind that most state laws say that slow-moving vehicles must not hold up traffic any more than they have to. You want those guys out in front where you can keep an eye on them! I've heard the following: "Ride far enough right to be courteous. But first, ride far enough left to be safe." (Brits and Aussies need to reverse right vs. left, of course.) -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Let them pass
On Sun, 26 Oct 2014 14:52:20 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote: On 10/25/2014 11:17 PM, Joy Beeson wrote: When someone is stuck behind you and can't get around, keep your eyes peeled for a place to pull off and let him pass. ... but don't endanger yourself for someone else's convenience. Never mind that it's the only polite thing to do. Never mind that most state laws say that slow-moving vehicles must not hold up traffic any more than they have to. You want those guys out in front where you can keep an eye on them! I've heard the following: "Ride far enough right to be courteous. But first, ride far enough left to be safe." (Brits and Aussies need to reverse right vs. left, of course.) I prefer the "Old Farmer's Advice". "Never mess with anything bigger or meaner then you are". -- Cheers, John B. |
AG: Let them pass
On Mon, 27 Oct 2014 09:14:17 +0700, John B. Slocomb
wrote: I prefer the "Old Farmer's Advice". "Never mess with anything bigger or meaner then you are". I prefer "ride far enough to the left that they can see that you have moved over for them". They are more likely to realize that you are as far right as is safe if they see you move. Also helps to turn the head as if just now noticing them before shifting right, to emphasize that you are moving for the overtaker's convenience, but I'm always and forever forgetting that part. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Let them pass
On 10/27/2014 7:27 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:
On Mon, 27 Oct 2014 09:14:17 +0700, John B. Slocomb wrote: I prefer the "Old Farmer's Advice". "Never mess with anything bigger or meaner then you are". I prefer "ride far enough to the left that they can see that you have moved over for them". They are more likely to realize that you are as far right as is safe if they see you move. Also helps to turn the head as if just now noticing them before shifting right, to emphasize that you are moving for the overtaker's convenience, but I'm always and forever forgetting that part. Good idea. -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: You can't hide from a crazy driver.
Nothing will guarantee that you won't get run over. There were two incidents within walking distance of my house where a driver came right through the wall of a building. By great good luck, the boy who usually slept in the room that one driver demolished was elsewhere that night. The other driver smashed through the wall of a tavern. With even better luck, nobody was in the space the car came to occupy -- one patron told many times how he had been about to walk through that space when an acquaintance spoke to him and he turned back. Sometimes the inhabitants of the building aren't lucky, and then the incident gets into the newspapers. So does this mean that taking a nap in the middle of a road is just as sensible as sleeping in your own bed? You can't guarantee absolute safety, but learning how things work and behaving sensibly can improve your odds. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Drinking Fountains
Don't count on water fountains in public parks; they are apt to be turned off in the fall. Once I found that a special event had put the only water fountain in the City-County Athletic Complex behind a paid-admission fence; on a previous occasion I had arrived to find that the other fountain had been ripped out because, the groundskeeper said, there was frequently a line to use it. -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Make some noise
One day while strolling down the center of a recreationway without a thought in my head, I was startled by the whirr of off-road tires to my right: two bike riders were overtaking me. I was only mildly startled, so it was only mildly rude -- but suppose a squirrel in the trees to my right had done something cute and I had swerved in that direction to look? Both riders could have ended up in the hospital or, with only a little bad luck, the morgue. Before you overtake someone, MAKE SOME NOISE. "Hi!" is popular for this purpose when overtaking another bicycle on the road. When overtaking a pedestrian on a recreationway, I like to give a little more information. After experimenting with many phrases, I settled on "I am on your left". This usually elicits a smile and a step to the right. Cyclists who train in a pack often say "left!" or "on your left!" when overtaking. If you address either remark to a random stranger, he will jump to his left. By the way, *always* overtake on the left, unless you are across the pond or in the 5-Boro Bike Tour. On that tour, the cry when overtaking was "Keep Straight!" (It would have been a *much* more pleasant ride if they had told us that the front was being motor-paced to a maximum speed of six miles per hour. For one thing, I'd have worn walking shoes.) -- joy beeson at comcast dot net http://joybeeson.home.comcast.net/ The above message is a Usenet post. I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site. |
AG: Make some noise
Joy Beeson wrote in
: One day while strolling down the center of a recreationway without a thought in my head, I was startled by the whirr of off-road tires to my right: two bike riders were overtaking me. I was only mildly startled, so it was only mildly rude -- but suppose a squirrel in the trees to my right had done something cute and I had swerved in that direction to look? Both riders could have ended up in the hospital or, with only a little bad luck, the morgue. Before you overtake someone, MAKE SOME NOISE. "Hi!" is popular for this purpose when overtaking another bicycle on the road. When overtaking a pedestrian on a recreationway, I like to give a little more information. After experimenting with many phrases, I settled on "I am on your left". This usually elicits a smile and a step to the right. Cyclists who train in a pack often say "left!" or "on your left!" when overtaking. If you address either remark to a random stranger, he will jump to his left. By the way, *always* overtake on the left, unless you are across the pond or in the 5-Boro Bike Tour. On that tour, the cry when overtaking was "Keep Straight!" (It would have been a *much* more pleasant ride if they had told us that the front was being motor-paced to a maximum speed of six miles per hour. For one thing, I'd have worn walking shoes.) If you're on foot, cyclists should overtake you on your right and they should sound a bell or other warning close enough that you should hear it but far enough away that they will still have time to evade should you move to the right. Multiuse pathways are like rural roads, and the watchword should be that wheeled traffic keeps right and foot traffic keep left. When suburds without sidewalks were in vogue in the '50s and '60s, the Ontario Ministry of Transport ran public service ads on TV exhorting us, "Where there are no sidewalks, walk on the left facing traffic." I would propose that modus vivendi be observed on multi-use paths. -- Andrew Chaplin SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO (If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.) |
AG: Make some noise
On 11/16/2014 10:23 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote:
Joy Beeson wrote in : One day while strolling down the center of a recreationway without a thought in my head, I was startled by the whirr of off-road tires to my right: two bike riders were overtaking me. I was only mildly startled, so it was only mildly rude -- but suppose a squirrel in the trees to my right had done something cute and I had swerved in that direction to look? Both riders could have ended up in the hospital or, with only a little bad luck, the morgue. Before you overtake someone, MAKE SOME NOISE. "Hi!" is popular for this purpose when overtaking another bicycle on the road. When overtaking a pedestrian on a recreationway, I like to give a little more information. After experimenting with many phrases, I settled on "I am on your left". This usually elicits a smile and a step to the right. Cyclists who train in a pack often say "left!" or "on your left!" when overtaking. If you address either remark to a random stranger, he will jump to his left. By the way, *always* overtake on the left, unless you are across the pond or in the 5-Boro Bike Tour. On that tour, the cry when overtaking was "Keep Straight!" (It would have been a *much* more pleasant ride if they had told us that the front was being motor-paced to a maximum speed of six miles per hour. For one thing, I'd have worn walking shoes.) If you're on foot, cyclists should overtake you on your right and they should sound a bell or other warning close enough that you should hear it but far enough away that they will still have time to evade should you move to the right. Multiuse pathways are like rural roads, and the watchword should be that wheeled traffic keeps right and foot traffic keep left. When suburds without sidewalks were in vogue in the '50s and '60s, the Ontario Ministry of Transport ran public service ads on TV exhorting us, "Where there are no sidewalks, walk on the left facing traffic." I would propose that modus vivendi be observed on multi-use paths. I agree in theory; but I'm sure it would never work in practice. For whatever reason, American pedestrians tend to stay to the right on walking facilities, passing opposite direction walkers left shoulder to left shoulder. It's not 100%, but it's the strong trend, even in places like indoor shopping malls. And that same scheme is socially enforced on the local multi-user paths. I don't think signs or rules are likely to succeed in changing it. I remember (somewhere out in the central U.S.) encountering a MUP that had signs telling cyclists to ride on the left, and walkers to keep right! I suppose the motivation was the same - let the peds see the oncoming cyclists - but that was even worse. We don't need to be training any more cyclists to ride on the left side of roads. Unfortunately, the root problem is that bikes and pedestrians don't mix very well. Bikes actually mix much better with motor vehicles. This is why I almost always prefer riding on roads, not MUPs. -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Make some noise
On 11/16/2014 10:23 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote:
Joy Beeson wrote in : One day while strolling down the center of a recreationway without a thought in my head, I was startled by the whirr of off-road tires to my right: two bike riders were overtaking me. I was only mildly startled, so it was only mildly rude -- but suppose a squirrel in the trees to my right had done something cute and I had swerved in that direction to look? Both riders could have ended up in the hospital or, with only a little bad luck, the morgue. Before you overtake someone, MAKE SOME NOISE. "Hi!" is popular for this purpose when overtaking another bicycle on the road. When overtaking a pedestrian on a recreationway, I like to give a little more information. After experimenting with many phrases, I settled on "I am on your left". This usually elicits a smile and a step to the right. Cyclists who train in a pack often say "left!" or "on your left!" when overtaking. If you address either remark to a random stranger, he will jump to his left. By the way, *always* overtake on the left, unless you are across the pond or in the 5-Boro Bike Tour. On that tour, the cry when overtaking was "Keep Straight!" (It would have been a *much* more pleasant ride if they had told us that the front was being motor-paced to a maximum speed of six miles per hour. For one thing, I'd have worn walking shoes.) If you're on foot, cyclists should overtake you on your right and they should sound a bell or other warning close enough that you should hear it but far enough away that they will still have time to evade should you move to the right. Multiuse pathways are like rural roads, and the watchword should be that wheeled traffic keeps right and foot traffic keep left. When suburds without sidewalks were in vogue in the '50s and '60s, the Ontario Ministry of Transport ran public service ads on TV exhorting us, "Where there are no sidewalks, walk on the left facing traffic." I would propose that modus vivendi be observed on multi-use paths. In Montreal pedestrians usually walk toward oncoming traffic on roads. (In fact, some people riding bikes consider themselves pedestrians and do the same but that's a different issue.) On multi-use paths I find that joggers tend to run against traffic but others aren't so consistent. |
AG: Make some noise
On Tue, 18 Nov 2014 08:47:32 -0500, Duane
wrote: On 11/16/2014 10:23 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote: Joy Beeson wrote in : One day while strolling down the center of a recreationway without a thought in my head, I was startled by the whirr of off-road tires to my right: two bike riders were overtaking me. I was only mildly startled, so it was only mildly rude -- but suppose a squirrel in the trees to my right had done something cute and I had swerved in that direction to look? Both riders could have ended up in the hospital or, with only a little bad luck, the morgue. Before you overtake someone, MAKE SOME NOISE. "Hi!" is popular for this purpose when overtaking another bicycle on the road. When overtaking a pedestrian on a recreationway, I like to give a little more information. After experimenting with many phrases, I settled on "I am on your left". This usually elicits a smile and a step to the right. Cyclists who train in a pack often say "left!" or "on your left!" when overtaking. If you address either remark to a random stranger, he will jump to his left. By the way, *always* overtake on the left, unless you are across the pond or in the 5-Boro Bike Tour. On that tour, the cry when overtaking was "Keep Straight!" (It would have been a *much* more pleasant ride if they had told us that the front was being motor-paced to a maximum speed of six miles per hour. For one thing, I'd have worn walking shoes.) If you're on foot, cyclists should overtake you on your right and they should sound a bell or other warning close enough that you should hear it but far enough away that they will still have time to evade should you move to the right. Multiuse pathways are like rural roads, and the watchword should be that wheeled traffic keeps right and foot traffic keep left. When suburds without sidewalks were in vogue in the '50s and '60s, the Ontario Ministry of Transport ran public service ads on TV exhorting us, "Where there are no sidewalks, walk on the left facing traffic." I would propose that modus vivendi be observed on multi-use paths. In Montreal pedestrians usually walk toward oncoming traffic on roads. (In fact, some people riding bikes consider themselves pedestrians and do the same but that's a different issue.) On multi-use paths I find that joggers tend to run against traffic but others aren't so consistent. Probably the walkers/runners should "take the lane" as it is popularly known to solve all problems :-) -- cheers, John D.Slocomb |
AG: Make some noise
On 11/18/2014 7:48 PM, John D. Slocomb wrote:
On Tue, 18 Nov 2014 08:47:32 -0500, Duane wrote: On 11/16/2014 10:23 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote: Joy Beeson wrote in : One day while strolling down the center of a recreationway without a thought in my head, I was startled by the whirr of off-road tires to my right: two bike riders were overtaking me. I was only mildly startled, so it was only mildly rude -- but suppose a squirrel in the trees to my right had done something cute and I had swerved in that direction to look? Both riders could have ended up in the hospital or, with only a little bad luck, the morgue. Before you overtake someone, MAKE SOME NOISE. "Hi!" is popular for this purpose when overtaking another bicycle on the road. When overtaking a pedestrian on a recreationway, I like to give a little more information. After experimenting with many phrases, I settled on "I am on your left". This usually elicits a smile and a step to the right. Cyclists who train in a pack often say "left!" or "on your left!" when overtaking. If you address either remark to a random stranger, he will jump to his left. By the way, *always* overtake on the left, unless you are across the pond or in the 5-Boro Bike Tour. On that tour, the cry when overtaking was "Keep Straight!" (It would have been a *much* more pleasant ride if they had told us that the front was being motor-paced to a maximum speed of six miles per hour. For one thing, I'd have worn walking shoes.) If you're on foot, cyclists should overtake you on your right and they should sound a bell or other warning close enough that you should hear it but far enough away that they will still have time to evade should you move to the right. Multiuse pathways are like rural roads, and the watchword should be that wheeled traffic keeps right and foot traffic keep left. When suburds without sidewalks were in vogue in the '50s and '60s, the Ontario Ministry of Transport ran public service ads on TV exhorting us, "Where there are no sidewalks, walk on the left facing traffic." I would propose that modus vivendi be observed on multi-use paths. In Montreal pedestrians usually walk toward oncoming traffic on roads. (In fact, some people riding bikes consider themselves pedestrians and do the same but that's a different issue.) On multi-use paths I find that joggers tend to run against traffic but others aren't so consistent. Probably the walkers/runners should "take the lane" as it is popularly known to solve all problems :-) -- cheers, Not to get into this debate on yet another newsgroup, but if you look at what happens when pedestrians walking at 4-6km/h "take the lane" where bikes are riding at the legally limited 20k/h you begin to see a pattern... |
AG: Make some noise
On 11/19/2014 12:20 PM, Duane wrote:
Not to get into this debate on yet another newsgroup... Of course not. You prefer to have nobody question your ideas. -- - Frank Krygowski |
AG: Make some noise
On Wed, 19 Nov 2014 12:20:34 -0500, Duane
wrote: On 11/18/2014 7:48 PM, John D. Slocomb wrote: On Tue, 18 Nov 2014 08:47:32 -0500, Duane wrote: On 11/16/2014 10:23 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote: Joy Beeson wrote in : One day while strolling down the center of a recreationway without a thought in my head, I was startled by the whirr of off-road tires to my right: two bike riders were overtaking me. I was only mildly startled, so it was only mildly rude -- but suppose a squirrel in the trees to my right had done something cute and I had swerved in that direction to look? Both riders could have ended up in the hospital or, with only a little bad luck, the morgue. Before you overtake someone, MAKE SOME NOISE. "Hi!" is popular for this purpose when overtaking another bicycle on the road. When overtaking a pedestrian on a recreationway, I like to give a little more information. After experimenting with many phrases, I settled on "I am on your left". This usually elicits a smile and a step to the right. Cyclists who train in a pack often say "left!" or "on your left!" when overtaking. If you address either remark to a random stranger, he will jump to his left. By the way, *always* overtake on the left, unless you are across the pond or in the 5-Boro Bike Tour. On that tour, the cry when overtaking was "Keep Straight!" (It would have been a *much* more pleasant ride if they had told us that the front was being motor-paced to a maximum speed of six miles per hour. For one thing, I'd have worn walking shoes.) If you're on foot, cyclists should overtake you on your right and they should sound a bell or other warning close enough that you should hear it but far enough away that they will still have time to evade should you move to the right. Multiuse pathways are like rural roads, and the watchword should be that wheeled traffic keeps right and foot traffic keep left. When suburds without sidewalks were in vogue in the '50s and '60s, the Ontario Ministry of Transport ran public service ads on TV exhorting us, "Where there are no sidewalks, walk on the left facing traffic." I would propose that modus vivendi be observed on multi-use paths. In Montreal pedestrians usually walk toward oncoming traffic on roads. (In fact, some people riding bikes consider themselves pedestrians and do the same but that's a different issue.) On multi-use paths I find that joggers tend to run against traffic but others aren't so consistent. Probably the walkers/runners should "take the lane" as it is popularly known to solve all problems :-) -- cheers, Not to get into this debate on yet another newsgroup, but if you look at what happens when pedestrians walking at 4-6km/h "take the lane" where bikes are riding at the legally limited 20k/h you begin to see a pattern... Hmmm.... I would imagine it will be much the same as a bicycle taking the lane on a highway where motor vehicles are whizzing by at 80 or 90 :-) -- cheers, John D.Slocomb |
AG: Make some noise
On 11/19/2014 8:17 PM, John D. Slocomb wrote:
On Wed, 19 Nov 2014 12:20:34 -0500, Duane wrote: On 11/18/2014 7:48 PM, John D. Slocomb wrote: On Tue, 18 Nov 2014 08:47:32 -0500, Duane wrote: On 11/16/2014 10:23 AM, Andrew Chaplin wrote: Joy Beeson wrote in : One day while strolling down the center of a recreationway without a thought in my head, I was startled by the whirr of off-road tires to my right: two bike riders were overtaking me. I was only mildly startled, so it was only mildly rude -- but suppose a squirrel in the trees to my right had done something cute and I had swerved in that direction to look? Both riders could have ended up in the hospital or, with only a little bad luck, the morgue. Before you overtake someone, MAKE SOME NOISE. "Hi!" is popular for this purpose when overtaking another bicycle on the road. When overtaking a pedestrian on a recreationway, I like to give a little more information. After experimenting with many phrases, I settled on "I am on your left". This usually elicits a smile and a step to the right. Cyclists who train in a pack often say "left!" or "on your left!" when overtaking. If you address either remark to a random stranger, he will jump to his left. By the way, *always* overtake on the left, unless you are across the pond or in the 5-Boro Bike Tour. On that tour, the cry when overtaking was "Keep Straight!" (It would have been a *much* more pleasant ride if they had told us that the front was being motor-paced to a maximum speed of six miles per hour. For one thing, I'd have worn walking shoes.) If you're on foot, cyclists should overtake you on your right and they should sound a bell or other warning close enough that you should hear it but far enough away that they will still have time to evade should you move to the right. Multiuse pathways are like rural roads, and the watchword should be that wheeled traffic keeps right and foot traffic keep left. When suburds without sidewalks were in vogue in the '50s and '60s, the Ontario Ministry of Transport ran public service ads on TV exhorting us, "Where there are no sidewalks, walk on the left facing traffic." I would propose that modus vivendi be observed on multi-use paths. In Montreal pedestrians usually walk toward oncoming traffic on roads. (In fact, some people riding bikes consider themselves pedestrians and do the same but that's a different issue.) On multi-use paths I find that joggers tend to run against traffic but others aren't so consistent. Probably the walkers/runners should "take the lane" as it is popularly known to solve all problems :-) -- cheers, Not to get into this debate on yet another newsgroup, but if you look at what happens when pedestrians walking at 4-6km/h "take the lane" where bikes are riding at the legally limited 20k/h you begin to see a pattern... Hmmm.... I would imagine it will be much the same as a bicycle taking the lane on a highway where motor vehicles are whizzing by at 80 or 90 :-) -- cheers, That's the pattern I was referring too. |
AG: Make some noise
On 11/19/2014 3:02 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 11/19/2014 12:20 PM, Duane wrote: Not to get into this debate on yet another newsgroup... Of course not. You prefer to have nobody question your ideas. Troll. |
AG: Make some noise
On Thu, 20 Nov 2014 08:35:17 -0500, Duane
wrote: Not to get into this debate on yet another newsgroup, but if you look at what happens when pedestrians walking at 4-6km/h "take the lane" where bikes are riding at the legally limited 20k/h you begin to see a pattern... Hmmm.... I would imagine it will be much the same as a bicycle taking the lane on a highway where motor vehicles are whizzing by at 80 or 90 :-) -- cheers, That's the pattern I was referring too. On the bike lane (not shared with pedestrians/runners) it works well if the pedestrian stays to the right in either direction. The type A who insists on running in the center is a big problem since we don't know which side to pass on. |
AG: Make some noise
Am 20.11.2014 15:08, schrieb dgk:
The type A who insists on running in the center is a big problem since we don't know which side to pass on. I solve this by calling out loud 'Which side an I supposed to pass on?' while I'm still far enough away to react on their decision; normal pedestrians get a 'Hi' or 'Good day' or equivalent. Rolf |
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