Bikers passing pedestrians on paved trails

[bentbike33]

I had an interesting conversation on this topic the other day with a colleague who is a runner. I had passed him that morning on the Maine Ave. sidewalk (a.k.a. Anacostia Riverwalk) near the marina. For all practical purposes, this stretch of sidewalk is a MUP. He told me “Why can’t all cyclists make passing as easy as you do?” I said, I don’t know, but my intent on the trails is not to ruin anyone else’s day (same can’t be said of the road of course since the mere presence of cyclists ruins many motorists days, evidently).

Here’s my MO: (1) observe whether or not it is safe to pass the pedestrian/runner/dog walker without slowing, (2) if so ring bell (provided it is not raining) at least twice about 3 seconds before passing to give the pedestrian time to react in a more, or less, predictable way, (3) pass with as much room between us as possible. If I have to slow down to the pedestrian’s pace to wait for a clear pass or get through a blind curve before proceeding to step (2), so be it. This is called “Random Interval Acceleration Training”. If it’s raining and the bell won’t sound, or if I’m engaged in a simultaneous breaking and shifting maneuver while approaching, I’ll yell “bike passing” wait a beat for any unexpected Crazy-Ivan type response, before verifying direction (usually “on your left”). I generally get friendly waves and the occasional “Thank you” on the trails.

Of course, none of this works on the pre-/post-river-cruise tourons loitering about the marina entrance on Maine Ave.

[Crickey7]

We are not sharks. We do not die if we slow down or, heavens forfend, stop. Also, bells.

[lordofthemark]

@Crickey7 161192 wrote:

We are not sharks. We do not die if we slow down or, heavens forfend, stop. Also, bells.

We are also not jets, that require forward movement to keep our systems functioning and avoid falling.

[Brett L.]

@Crickey7 161192 wrote:

We are not sharks. We do not die if we slow down or, heavens forfend, stop. Also, bells.

I may not be a shark, but if I stop swimming, I too will drown!

[TwoWheelsDC]

@lordofthemark 161199 wrote:

We are also not jets, that require forward movement to keep our systems functioning and avoid falling.

There’s a West Side Story joke in here somewhere…

[AT_Hiker59]

@gibby 161152 wrote:

Thanks for highlighting that.
Before I read the little-too-quick-to-judge responses, I had a funny picture of said cyclist with an embarrassed, wimpy thought bubble as he saw you standing next to him at the intersection.

Yea he was red with embarrassment but I did not say a word or even give him the NJ Evil Eye.

[consularrider]

@VA2DC 161176 wrote:

^^^This. Why is it that dogs normally are trained to heel on the handler’s left side? In most cases in the U.S. at least, dogs, the people walking them, and the others they may encounter along the way would be better served with the dog to the handler’s right side. On the MUPs, this lets the dog walk in the cooler grass and obviously helps to keep them out of harm’s way in the middle of the path.

I’ve always wondered about the heel on the left too. Maybe because we first did dog training in England and they drive on the left?

[rcannon100]

It’s the way I was trained too.

Why Do Dogs Heel On The Left?

Working with dogs that have to be rehabed, I tossed this advice away (and a lot of other pop-training-not-based-on-science folklore) and train my dogs to heel on the right side. It is after all better to have yourself between your dog and some oncoming dog the behavior of which is unknown.

But hey mostly you are lucky if the human has done any dog training at all.

[bobco85]

My experience with passing pedestrians walking their dogs is to ring my bell earlier than I normally would. The dog (with its much-better-than-human hearing) typically will turn its head and maintain their pace, allowing me to easily and carefully pass without incident. The human sometimes doesn’t even notice anything has happened after the pass.

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[Brendan von Buckingham]

@AT_Hiker59 161146 wrote:

I did not threaten I just stood next to him with my very friendly pit bull sniffing him.

Why would you ASSUME I threatened him!!!

I want to hear from Sligo bikers about the problems with bikers not calling out.

I call out based on conditions and perceived competencies of the pedestrian. For dogs with too much slack in the leash, I don’t call out and go wide. A call out would just make the dog unpredictable. I’d rather pass the dog before he even know I was there.

[AFHokie]

@Brendan von Buckingham 161244 wrote:

I call out based on conditions and perceived competencies of the pedestrian. For dogs with too much slack in the leash, I don’t call out and go wide. A call out would just make the dog unpredictable. I’d rather pass the dog before he even know I was there.

Purely anecdotal, but I’ve noticed a percentage of dogs that react better (move ro the right as far as they’re able) to my bell than their owners

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[GovernorSilver]

@AT_Hiker59 161143 wrote:

I don’t live in the area but visit family who do frequently. Many times this spring I have been on the Sligo Trail. I have noticed only 7 bikers calling out their passes. Bikers who do not call out their passes whizzing close by me are too numerous. I am not used to bikers not calling out. Is this a DC area norm? Sligo Trail is too narrow to be speeding by. Is there any educating bikers to sensible courteous trail usage?

Not signaling passes is the typical behavior I’ve observed here. I’m still new to cycling and bike commuting – 2 years experience so far.

Once in a while I pass a pedestrian who thanks me for signaling a pass. My preferred method:

1. Ring bell
2. As I pass the pedestrian, say “Good morning/Good evening” (inspired by komorebi). Usually defuses anyone who might be upset at the sound of the bell. Some people can’t tell the difference between a cyclist ringing a bell before passing, and a car honking a horn.

Early in my cycling experience, I ran another cyclist off the trail by accident. I rang my bell to pass a walker on the MVT. As a passed him/her (forgot, sorry), I heard a sound to my left – it was another cyclist falling off the trail. I didn’t know he was there because he didn’t signal his pass. I had been instructed in WABA classes to look left before passing so that was I was also at fault, but he really should have signaled. Of course nowadays I use my helmet mirror to check, plus a quick glance over the shoulder for confirmation, before passing anybody.

Yes WABA works hard to educate cyclists in this area, but you can’t really force cyclists to attend WABA classes. DC is notorious for being a city of transients – people move in and out all the time, and there’s no telling what kind of people the newcomers will be like once they get on the saddle.

[creadinger]

@GovernorSilver 161258 wrote:

Early in my cycling experience, I ran another cyclist off the trail by accident. I rang my bell to pass a walker on the MVT. As a passed him/her (forgot, sorry), I heard a sound to my left – it was another cyclist falling off the trail. I didn’t know he was there because he didn’t signal his pass. I had been instructed in WABA classes to look left before passing so that was I was also at fault, but he really should have signaled. Of course nowadays I use my helmet mirror to check, plus a quick glance over the shoulder for confirmation, before passing anybody.

Any cyclist that insists on passing another cyclist who is coming up on or in the act of passing a pedestrian has just pulled a dick move. I don’t care if they call the pass or not. Fortunately it seems to be a rare occurrence as we all seem to get it. Unless they fell in the river, or wiped out in some fashion from you running them off the trail I wouldn’t feel too guilty about it.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@GovernorSilver 161258 wrote:

Early in my cycling experience, I ran another cyclist off the trail by accident. I rang my bell to pass a walker on the MVT. As a passed him/her (forgot, sorry), I heard a sound to my left – it was another cyclist falling off the trail. I didn’t know he was there because he didn’t signal his pass. I had been instructed in WABA classes to look left before passing so that was I was also at fault, but he really should have signaled. Of course nowadays I use my helmet mirror to check, plus a quick glance over the shoulder for confirmation, before passing anybody.

The fault is 100% on the other rider, IMHO. Riders should always yield to the rider at the front, and if not, they need to make their presence very clearly known. Granted, this is behavior that doesn’t seem to really be taught explicitly, but it’s applied in a variety of contexts essentially out of common sense.

[CBGanimal]

Got to love the walkers/joggers wearing headphones! I still call the pass but I usually see they are startled…so I smile and say good morning and watch them move more to the right as they continue to walk/jog.

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