Startling pedestrians can be so much fun.

Tom@WashDC said:
I come away with these observations, cognizant that in the future I will most likely refine my observations.

1. Upon approaching a pedestrian on the same trail, slow down to a speed of 6 mph within the distance of 25 feet from pedestrian. After passing the pedestrian, proceed at speed. This principal is similar to that found in boating laws, wherein a boat must slow down to a "no-wake speed" when within a 100 foot distance to a swimmer.

2. On giving the alert? Yes, give the alert, but watch out, it's a crapshoot.
Click to expand...

In general, my experience is that a bell is best because you can give several seconds of warning which gives people time for their brain to process and any unpredictable behavior to work itself out before you overtake them. Actually calling out (on your left! or similar) is more of a crapshoot because people react more randomly to voice than a bell ding IME and you need to be pretty close for them to hear it. I just give the bell a solid ding when I'm 4-5 seconds from passing and adjust speed based on response. If they give a little left hand wave, cool, experienced trail user who knows the score and won't be a problem. If they whirl around with mouth agape, better slow down and see what happens once their brain realizes that it needs to do some work here. :p
 
A bell, one of those one-note bells, seems to be the most widely recognized alert by pedestrians that are maintaining awareness'. I have an electronic police whistle, but that garners way too much attention.
 
mojoe said:
I try to be very courteous to others on the shared paths. I ding my bell and slow down. Sometimes, I'll even stop, if they are walking dogs, so that I can pet the dogs. Some of the big dogs think they are lap dogs, and want to climb into the trike with me.

Just a few days ago, I saw an older couple walking their dog along the road. I had seen them many times before. This time I stopped, and asked them how far they walk every day. They do a two mile loop around the neighborhood. I'm surprised their dog can keep up, as it it a tiny thing, with very short legs. In any case, we had a nice conversation before parting ways. As much as I enjoy the riding, stopping and talking to the people along the way is a nice part of it, for me. I'm not in such a hurry to get from point A to point B.

I feel that being extra nice to the pedestrians will help minimize bad feelings toward cyclists. But there is always the occasional jerk. I had one "Karen" who was walking on the right side, coming towards me. She refused to move, and loudly insisted that she was in the right. I just politely rode around her. You can't argue with stupid people. It doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Reminds me of a podcast the other day on the happiness benefits of these sorts of micro interactions.

hiddenbrain.org

Relationships 2.0: The Power of Tiny Interactions | Hidden Brain Media

As you're going about your day, you likely interact with family, friends and coworkers. These relationships can help you feel cared for and connected. But what if there's a whole category of people in your life whose impact is overlooked? In the second episode of our "Relationships 2.0" series...
hiddenbrain.org hiddenbrain.org
 
I will ring my bell and announce “on your left”, and then slow down until I am safely past the pedestrian. I fully “expect” the pedestrian to walk in front of me. When they don’t, it’s a pleasant surprise. I try to be a good steward for bicyclists as seen by the public. I even carry spare bottles of water in my bags in case of pedestrians or other riders on trails in distress.
 
pmcdonald said:
Reminds me of a podcast the other day on the happiness benefits of these sorts of micro interactions.

hiddenbrain.org

Relationships 2.0: The Power of Tiny Interactions | Hidden Brain Media

As you're going about your day, you likely interact with family, friends and coworkers. These relationships can help you feel cared for and connected. But what if there's a whole category of people in your life whose impact is overlooked? In the second episode of our "Relationships 2.0" series...
hiddenbrain.org hiddenbrain.org
Click to expand...

I hadn't seen/heard that podcast, but would agree that my mood is improved by the little interactions. Of course, the cycling itself makes me feel good, too. Actually, the part that makes me feel really good, is when I interact with a friendly dog :) I love dogs, but can't have one, due to my work, which takes me away from home for long periods. When hiking or riding, I make it a point to pet all the friendly dogs.
 
I simply slow to a near stop , then roll by them. My bike has so much torque and speed , I'm quickly back to fast-n-furious.

Never used a bell , never needed it , the sound of my freewill as I approach nearly everyone turns around. The people with headphones tend to stick to their lane they know they're in the silent hill if they stray from it they'll get turned into ground beef. The whole bell thing (hello kind sir on your left) assumes pedestrians are smart , they're not smart , they'll take their kids to CVS and get them the thing that cause heart maladies.



As to the OP: Bragging about startling a pedestrian is kind of shi$%y and your Mother needs to spank you.
 
Last edited:
Tom@WashDC said:
As I slid past him, a spontaneous child-like belly-laugh welled up and convulsed from the center of my being. It felt so nice, so serendipitous.

Someties, it's the little things that make biking a joyous experience.
Click to expand...
Pedestrians outnumber us 10 to 1 on bike paths and they ALWAYS have the right of way. This kind of thinking will only encourage anti e-bike regulations.
 
mojoe said:
I try to be very courteous to others on the shared paths. I ding my bell and slow down. Sometimes, I'll even stop, if they are walking dogs, so that I can pet the dogs. Some of the big dogs think they are lap dogs, and want to climb into the trike with me.

Just a few days ago, I saw an older couple walking their dog along the road. I had seen them many times before. This time I stopped, and asked them how far they walk every day. They do a two mile loop around the neighborhood. I'm surprised their dog can keep up, as it it a tiny thing, with very short legs. In any case, we had a nice conversation before parting ways. As much as I enjoy the riding, stopping and talking to the people along the way is a nice part of it, for me. I'm not in such a hurry to get from point A to point B.

I feel that being extra nice to the pedestrians will help minimize bad feelings toward cyclists. But there is always the occasional jerk. I had one "Karen" who was walking on the right side, coming towards me. She refused to move, and loudly insisted that she was in the right. I just politely rode around her. You can't argue with stupid people. It doesn't work.
Click to expand...
Great attitude, I love it.
 
mojoe said:
I try to be very courteous to others on the shared paths. I ding my bell and slow down. Sometimes, I'll even stop, if they are walking dogs, so that I can pet the dogs. Some of the big dogs think they are lap dogs, and want to climb into the trike with me.

Just a few days ago, I saw an older couple walking their dog along the road. I had seen them many times before. This time I stopped, and asked them how far they walk every day. They do a two mile loop around the neighborhood. I'm surprised their dog can keep up, as it it a tiny thing, with very short legs. In any case, we had a nice conversation before parting ways. As much as I enjoy the riding, stopping and talking to the people along the way is a nice part of it, for me. I'm not in such a hurry to get from point A to point B.

I feel that being extra nice to the pedestrians will help minimize bad feelings toward cyclists. But there is always the occasional jerk. I had one "Karen" who was walking on the right side, coming towards me. She refused to move, and loudly insisted that she was in the right. I just politely rode around her. You can't argue with stupid people. It doesn't work.
Click to expand...
I love seeing dogs walking their people. Most of them are friendly and well-socialized, as you can tell by their big smiles and wagging tails. I always ask their people what pronouns the dog prefers, which is cooler than jumping off the bike and squatting down to check out the dog's genitalia.
 
Reviving this important thread to ask how members handle intrusions — which I'm defining here as pedestrian encounters inside dedicated, well-marked bike-only lanes.

NOT talking MUPs here. Hopeless case IMO. Where pedestrians have a right to be, I just assume that they're about to do something stupid right in front me, slow way down, ring my louder-than-average bell multiple times, yield to them as needed to keep my distance, stop if necessary, and try to be as polite as I can.

Intrusions are different, and I'm still struggling to find a way to handle them. What do you do?

Recently, I've had 2-6 intrusions per ride of 10 miles or more on our good-to-excellent bike infrastructure here in coastal SoCal.

In well over half of these intrusions, the intruders didn't even move over to let me by. They fully expected me to get out of their way — even when I was obviously hemmed in by fast traffic, physical barriers, or both. Particularly galling because they usually have their own walkway right next to the bike lane.

Unwittingly or defiantly, intruders reject the win-win, and it really pisses me off. Visions of handlebar-mounted RPGs dance in my head, but I have the restraint to respond rationally and safely. Question is, how?

After 4 intrusions on yesterday's 9-mile Coast Highway ride to Cardiff State Beach, I had occasion to discuss the issue with a very thoughtful sheriff patroling the parking lot. Beyond the top-priority need to avoid potentially dangerous confrontations, he wasn't sure, either.

He understood the safety issue and gave me the name of the agency to call to request enforcement with some hope that it might do some good. When I guessed out loud that the police might have more important things to do, he disagreed. Encouraging.

Then he said this: Over the last 4 years or so, there's been an explosion in the number of people who think rules and laws don't apply to them.

These scofflaws recognize neither the rule of law nor his duty and authority to enforce it. To them, every warning, citation, and arrest is an unfair abridgement of their right to do whatever they please. Wonder where they got that idea?

Think about what that means for cycling safety and car replacement going forward.
 
Last edited:
Jeremy McCreary said:
Then he said this: Over the last 4 years or so, there's been an explosion in the number of people who think rules and laws don't apply to them.
Click to expand...
I'll amplify a bit on this.

Back in the day (really in the late 80's and early 90's) I spent several glorious summers as a backcountry ranger for the National Park Service. One thing I quickly discovered was that, 99 percent of the time, if you encountered people doing things they shouldn't do and you politely informed them of that and asked them to stop and do something else, they'd stop and do what you'd suggest. Maybe only once a season you'd encounter a jerk who'd tell you to #$%* off.

I'm still in touch with people from that world, and I've heard several remark that in the last four or five years those once-in-a-season encounters are more often once-a-day. A lot of this seemed, at first, to be due to an explosion of people playing outside during the early part of COVID-19. But it has persisted and seems to be a pretty deeply held cultural change.
 
Tom@WashDC said:
a front flashing light so bright, that some people comment when shielding their eyes, "are you trying to make me go blind"?
Click to expand...
There's a bike trail near my home (Metropolitan Bike Trail in DC) I stopped riding after dark because of this obnoxious, seizure inducing crap.
 
Tom@WashDC said:
and a front flashing light so bright, that some people comment when shielding their eyes, "are you trying to make me go blind"?
Click to expand...
That is yet another vice that we e-bikers are often responsible for.
  • The blinking headlight and the tail-light are for the day, not for the night.
  • The headlight should be set low enough as not to blind other users.
Last night, I was returning from the road racing workout with my big Vado that has low and high beam lights. Someone was blinding me while riding from the opposite side. I used a high-beam flash to warn him and to teach him a lesson. While passing him, I shouted 'Your light is blinding!' to discover it was an e-scooter with the headlight installed very low, yet blinding the other riders...

We should treat other users as humans. Yes, pedestrians can be annoying but they are people like you or me, Tom from Washington. We shall not think we are any better.
 
mschwett said:
I’ve noticed that many pedestrians have a very skewed sense of what is “dangerous.” I avoid shared paths as much as possible, but even in crosswalks i’ve gotten a few “JESUS” “OMG SLOW DOWN” “WTF!” comments from people that I was absolutely nowhere near hitting unless they decided to suddenly jump backwards or sideways 5 feet at just the wrong instant. it’s usually elderly ladies so I give their rude comments a pass.

A guy on the Golden Gate Bridge screamed at me to “slow down” when I was going well under the limit, and completely in control. I told him to mind his own business, to which he yelled “IT IS MY BUSINESS.“ I just had to stop and politely point out to him that a) I was on the side of the path marked for bikes, b) I was going under the 15 mph limit, c) I was completely in control and visibility was good, and d) it was in fact none of his business given that I was obeying all relevant laws. His reply, “you guys are dangerous.”
Click to expand...
Lots of things are dangerous ... SUVs for example.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back