Originally Posted by
roccobike
To the OP, I just completed an event ride. Unfortunately, the courtesy of notifying another cyclist you're passing them is so rare, I startled some when I let them know "I'm on your left". Interesting , I let one guy know I was passing on his right, due to the weird traffic at that point, and sure enough, he turned right into my path.
I stopped doing the "On your left [or right]" thing some years back. I started to realize that a lot of inexperienced riders, the ones for whom the warning is most necessary, will turn their handlebars to the right when I say "Passing on your left", even if I just sort of breathe it gently so as not to startle them. As car drivers, they think that this will make them give way to the right, but of course it merely makes them bank left into my planned overtake path.
So now, on normal roads, I pass slower riders on the left unannounced, with enough clearance to protect us both if the rider looks wobbly, and I keep a vigilant lookout. I'll nearly always say something like, "G'day", or "Hi-yah" as I draw alongside though -- as a greeting, not as a warning. Really fast riders I don't pass much anymore, but the ones that pass me I can usually hear coming well enough to keep my line to the right without any additional warning. Maybe I'm not *so* much slower (yet) that they blast by me or have to take evasive action. I think the less noise in the passing, the less the startle -- that's why we get annoyed at cars that beep at us, even if it's a little respectful warning toot, right?
I never ride on multiple-use paths, because the traffic on them is just too chaotic for any system to work safely.