What do you call out when you come up behind pedestrians?

On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 05:08:09 -0700 (PDT), Steve McDonald
wrote:
Best to slip by them silently, so they can't
react until you're past.

Well, while this was posted in a very...strong
way, it works rather well.

I sometimes say "On your left", "Passing on your
left", or nothing at all; they are all about
equally effective. If I could guess which would
be effective on which person...

The quiet pass works because either they don't
know and don't react until it's too late to
cause a problem, or they do know and act properly.

"Passing on your left" makes sense, but it's
such a long phrase, you have to be going the same
speed as them for them to hear it; otherwise, you
have to start saying it when you're far away, and
they only hear "ss n blphf".

"On your left" is shorter but confusing for some.

Steve McDonald
--
Rick Onanian

In article ,
"David L. Johnson" wrote:

snip

"Serious riders" have no business doing a "workout" on a multi-use path,
unless your idea of a workout is less than 15mph.

David,

You ride the SRT enough to know that the ³time trialers² that ride this Mup
don¹t or cannot go much faster than 22-25mph. About 10 mph above the 15mph
reccomended trail speed. ( Just like in their cars above the Speed Limit. )

remember when the trail was in sections up to VFNHP?

Saw a ³time trialer² complete with the skin bootie covers and a full disc wheel.
My first. Almost caught up to him, and I AM an old foggie!

HAND

Glad the BCP Century had good weather!

--
³Freedom Is a Light for Which Many Have Died in Darkness³

- Tomb of the unknown - American Revolution

"Rick Onanian" wrote in message
news
Well, the silent treatment is supposed to
work in that they don't know you're coming
until you're gone.

Perhaps you come and go without noticing people's reactions. I'm betting
that most people who get passed unexpectedly have a similar reaction to the
ones I described. This could be a good reason for pedestrians using a
multi-use path to get angry with cyclists.


How about baseball cards in the spokes?
That would alert people to the presence
of a cyclist... BFG

Now that is an interesting idea. I'm sure my daughter would love to see some
playing cards in the spokes of the trailer, but the constant noise would
certainly hamper the communication between us.

-Buck

Onlooker wrote:
..
..
..
Recently, after I called out a warning, one slopehead mope in a duo
..
..
..
What's a slopehead mope in a duo? I'm unfamiliar with the expression.

On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 16:53:34 +0000, H. M. Leary wrote:

You ride the SRT enough to know that the ³time trialers² that ride this
Mup don¹t or cannot go much faster than 22-25mph. About 10 mph above the
15mph reccomended trail speed. ( Just like in their cars above the Speed
Limit. )

Philadelphia speed limits? Maybe that's universal, though.

I really don't have trouble with the speed the
"time trialers" hit along that path, it's the fact that they are in full
aero position while doing it, and would have to sit up before they could
reach their brakes.

Saw a ³time trialer² complete with the skin bootie covers and a full
disc wheel. My first. Almost caught up to him, and I AM an old foggie!

that's "old coot", not "old fogey"....

Glad the BCP Century had good weather!

It was great, wasn't it?

--

David L. Johnson

__o | And what if you track down these men and kill them, what if you
_`\(,_ | killed all of us? From every corner of Europe, hundreds,
(_)/ (_) | thousands would rise up to take our places. Even Nazis can't
kill that fast. -- Paul Henreid (Casablanca).

In article ,
(Steven Scharf) writes:

A bell is the best solution on MUP's. Even people engrossed
in coversation will hear the bell, while verbal calling out
often fails. There is something about a bell that is less
annoying than calling out, especially on MUPs where
there is a conflict between cyclists and pedestrians.

That's pretty much how I figure it, too. Words just
get lost in a blur of other ppl's words, unless one
puts some urgency on them -- in which case, one might
as well just yell, "Hey, you!" or "Move over!" which
would /really/ be annoying to the hearers. And no
matter how nice a spin one puts on a verbal passing
signal, there'll still be pedestrians who will translate
it down to "Hey you!" or "Move over!" I think bells
(and slowing down to pass nicely) give the pedestrians
a fair chance to do their own responding, and they
appreciate that more than suddenly being given directions
blurted out by some upstart stranger.

But if a single pedestrian is keeping well to his/her
side of the path, and the path is wide enough, I don't
see any need to pester 'em with any signal -- at least,
no more than maybe flicking a brake lever.

Speaking of which, fall seems to have come early. Already
we've got dry, dead leaves blowing along the streets.
Sometimes their crispy rattlings sound *exactly* like a
rider behind ya, clicking his shifter.


cheers,
Tom

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Steven Scharf wrote:


A bell is the best solution on MUP's. Even people engrossed
in coversation will hear the bell, while verbal calling out
often fails. There is something about a bell that is less
annoying than calling out, especially on MUPs where
there is a conflict between cyclists and pedestrians.

In many areas audible devices are required by law, though this
is rarely enforced.

I agree with using a bell on a MUP. The reaction you get from
the peds however will vary according to their age. In my
experience, here is how it often breaks down:

Ring the bell when approaching the peds from behind...
-Early teens: likely to yell F**k you, possibly throw something
at you, often just stand there refusing to move
-20's to 30's (with small children): glare at you as you ride by
-40's to 50's: silently step to one side of the path _if_ they
hear you.
-60's and up: turn towards you, SMILE, and say "Thank you!!!"

Maybe those old folks were just raised different?

On Thu, 11 Sep 2003 17:31:11 -0700, Tom Keats wrote:
no more than maybe flicking a brake lever.
Sometimes their crispy rattlings sound *exactly* like a
rider behind ya, clicking his shifter.

That reminds me; there's yet another signal
I sometimes do -- if I am on a bike that
can be noisy when shifting or braking, I use
that. That seems to work the best, but you
need a maladjusted bike, or at least a bike
with friction shifters.

cheers,
Tom
--
Rick Onanian

In article ,
Rick Onanian writes:

That reminds me; there's yet another signal
I sometimes do -- if I am on a bike that
can be noisy when shifting or braking, I use
that. That seems to work the best, but you
need a maladjusted bike, or at least a bike
with friction shifters.

Yeah, when things are quiet enough, it's often
enough of a noise maker to alert folks without
scaring the bejeezers outa them.

My MTB has a clicky topmounted shifter with more
clicks than gears. Shifting up or down one gear
sounds sorta like cracking knuckles.


cheers,
Tom

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(Steve McDonald) wrote in message ...
Those who use those idiotic bells are Freds to the
10th degree. They're almost always old coots who think everyone is as
impaired as they are. Steve McDonald

First of all, FOAD. I like my bell, it lets people, especially those
with dogs know I am coming long before I get within hailing distance.
Coming up behind people, especially those with dogs, without letting
them know you are there is foolish and rude to the nth degree.
Besides, it annoys my girlfriend who thinks it is Freddish. Being an
old coot, I dont much care what other people think, I just dont want
to run over any poodles. they get caught in the spokes.

Fred