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- This topic has 30 replies, 19 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 11 months ago by
Vicegrip.
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May 19, 2015 at 10:12 pm #1030495
jabberwocky
ParticipantEither “on your left” or a bell are acceptable. Some people just can’t be pleased.
May 19, 2015 at 10:17 pm #1030496Crickey7
ParticipantI’m a bell advocate. I find people only get annoyed when you ring too close. Try to do it when you’re still about 3 seconds away. Feel free to offer chronologically, seasonally or weather-appropriate salutations. Do not offer advice or encouragement. If you must sing, stick to show tunes and opera.
May 19, 2015 at 10:21 pm #1030498Mikey
ParticipantI just say “passing” and try to pass to the left. I found when I say the word left, some people step left. The secret is to slow down and give early warning.
May 19, 2015 at 11:09 pm #1030500
KWLParticipantI also am a believer in bells. Even Freddy Mercury knew what a bell meant (hint: There is a bicycle somewhere close by). When on my bell-less Steamroller, I use “bike passing”. As Cricky7 noted, calling your pass too late is ineffective and annoying.
May 19, 2015 at 11:58 pm #1030502
lordofthemarkParticipantI use “on your left” on those rare occasions I pass a cyclist, as they should know what it means. For runners I say “bike passing” though increasingly just “on your left” or a bell ring. For walkers I try to say excuse me or bike passing on your left. It all depends on how familiar with the trail they look, and how out of breath I am.
And whatever you do someone will be annoyed. The priority is to keep everyone safe.
May 20, 2015 at 12:46 am #1030504KWLParticipant@lordofthemark 116311 wrote:
The priority is to keep everyone safe.
Indeed. And while I do not use “On your left” (I mean, really, where the heck else are you going to be if the passee is in the correct position on the trail?) I can see its effectiveness. It starts off with a soft vowel sound, avoiding an unpleasant, startling beginning, and ends with a hard “T” sound, emphasizing the event.
May 20, 2015 at 1:14 am #1030505oldbikechick
ParticipantAs a slow person who therefore gets passed a lot, I personally prefer the bell. Of course any way someone calls the pass is preferable to not calling it, but the verbal ones can sometimes be startling. No matter how many times it happens, I still jump out of my skin sometimes if someone shouts something while they’re passing, especially if it is when they are already right next to me. I also prefer to use the bell myself when passing pedestrians and on the rare occasion when I pass another cyclist. I don’t have a loud voice and 90% of joggers and pedestrians have headphones anyway, so it’s just easier to ring the bell.
May 20, 2015 at 1:28 am #1030508baiskeli
ParticipantBell is best, but when calling instead, try singing it pleasantly, perhaps to the tune of “My dog has fleas” – “Bike on your left.” Anyone who gets mad at that is a hopeless curmudgeon.
And welcome to the forum.
May 20, 2015 at 2:53 am #1030512ParticipantI like the my dog has fleas tune. It also works for,
“Out of my way” or
“Move your fat ass”
people will get upset at first but they will appreciate the jaunty tune.May 20, 2015 at 3:47 am #1030515rcannon100
ParticipantBeyond telling you to ignore morons, what might be at play here is not how you call your pass but when. No matter how you call a pass, I find it is received better when called early (I ring my bell about 20′ away), and received poorly when called late (yelling LEFT into someone’s ear). Signal early; signal often.
May 20, 2015 at 11:18 am #1030520scoot
ParticipantI’ve resorted to just calling “passing”, but often end up saying it multiple times and slowing down a lot. Especially on the Potomac River bridges, because with the traffic noise and wind I have no idea at what range my voice becomes audible to others.
May 20, 2015 at 11:38 am #1030522Vicegrip
ParticipantBell for the ear bud wearing ones or from a distance when closing fast. Onyerleft for the rest.
Not Dirt like thinking but the thought of a rather “poorly timed” snot rocket has been entertained for the hard to please types sometimes encountered.
May 20, 2015 at 12:12 pm #1030523mstone
ParticipantAlways a bell. Yelling at people is stupid and counterproductive. Either they get annoyed, or they can’t hear and turn around to see what’s going on, or they jump and move left.
Do use the bell far enough back that the person can actually react before you get to them.
The yellers tend to do it too close because they know their voices don’t carry well.
The one exception to calling your pass is if you are in an organized ride with other people who also have opted in to calling passes. That is not the case on the local MUPs.
May 20, 2015 at 12:33 pm #1030526Tim Kelley
ParticipantOver the weekend I passed two female joggers and used “on your left” and the response was a sarcastic “on your right.” Perplexing.
Yelling “Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich” works to let people know you’re coming up too….
May 20, 2015 at 12:50 pm #1030527ParticipantThe key is to not have them turn around to see what made the sound. Turning their head often add in turning their body or bike. More so with little kids. With kids I simply slow to almost their pace and pass wide adding in some positive comment.
“Nice dog!” Is my go to reply to oddball comments from joggers but only when they don’t have a dog.
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