Giant Doofus

Funny thing happened on my commute yesterday. I was riding through the park and needed to pass an older couple walking side-by-side along the path. I rang my bell, and the woman turned around and exclaimed "oh, a bike bell. Lovely!" Once I was around them I heard her saying to her husband "that was so much nicer than when they yell at us."

gdhillard

I do the bell thing before any pass on the path. Mostly good responses from those who can hear it, but more than have the walking crowd have ear buds in and hear nothing. Many of these walk in the middle of the path, and a few drift from side to side. Passing is a little like playing Frogger.

Giant Doofus

I've seen plenty of that too. By the way, I don't think cyclists are actually yelling at this couple. I think people are just calling out "on your left," which she experiences as a yell.

TransitBiker

And that is why i only use my bell & not ON YOUR LEFT etc.

- Andy

Dave Cutter

I think your correct. But I think sometimes cyclists forget that the noise blowing in their ears.... isn't heard by people walking along a quite path. So when shout out "on your left" (I merely say "bicycle") to someone not wearing ear buds... we might sound like we're yelling.

Giant Doofus

That's a good point. I'd never thought about how the sound of our self-generated breezes might affect perception. Thanks!

RoadTire 

I get positive comments, or nice acknowledgements from the bell also, even though I sometimes feel dorky using it. Nice to hear, "I like your bell..."

And I always try to say, "thank you" as I get get past. Courtesy counts for everything.

a1penguin

As a pedestrian on a MUP, I always ack with a hand wave or thumbs up when someone announces they are passing. The one sign I usually don't see on MUPs which I think would be beneficial is "People and bikes both use right hand lane". It's annoying when walker are coming at me in my lane.

GeneO 

+=1
I appreciate it when I get acknowledgement and I feel the same way about the wrong side of the mup.

Lug

I also felt dorky the first few times I used a bike bell. But after getting a lot of thank yous and good evenings or mornings my feelings towards the bike bell have changed. Wonder if the sound of the bell changes the thank you/no thank you ratio?

locolobo13 

I used to "yell" excuse me. I don't think it matters what you say or yell tho. When I'm walking and a bike comes up behind me unawares it is startling and a little scary. I try to pay attention to what's behind me on the sidewalks. But sometimes, OK maybe a lot of times, I daydream while walking.

Leebo

I use the bell and say" passing left" It gives a clear picture to the other uses of you intended actions.

Tundra_Man 

One of my regular commuter bikes has a bell, but the other one doesn't. I realized earlier this year from the reaction of pedestrians that when I say, "Passing!" it does sound kind of like a yell.

So, believe it or not, I've started singing it. "♫Pass ♪ ing!♬"

I guess it may make some people think I'm a dork, but who cares? By the time they start laughing I've whooshed by them and I'm gone.

Papa Tom

I slow down as much as possible and get as close to the pedestrians as possible, then gently say (in a calm, conversational voice) "passing on your left." Like the bike bell described above, this seems to startle and/or offend people a lot less than the usual holler.

e0richt

i don't ride on MUP's but on a local quiet road where people like to go for a walk... I always get a smile and hello after using my bell... it makes me happy too...

fietsbob

The PU truck passenger's task is to yell and startle you or just do an incomprehensible Terrets expression as they drive by.

DunderXIII

Well that's funny, just yesterday I started experimenting saying To Your Left in a nice manner (not yelling, a bit musically like Tundra_Man) and generally got a better response than using the bell. For some reason, people don't seem to care about the bell, they don't seem to react at all.

Rootman

I start out with my bell, if I fail to see anything from the pedestrian (or fellow bike rider) that indicates they are aware I then call out. Sometimes they are completely zoned out, or as the above posters mention - have those dratted earbuds in and the music cranked up.

One guy I dinged my bell at, he continued to drift left, I dinged some more then called out . . . nothing. I called out louder and closer and still got no response. I just crept behind him till he wandered right again and cautiously passed him. I thought he was going to have a coronary right there. He jerked so hard it was a wonder he didn't get whiplash. He actually screamed like a girl and jumped. He then yanked his buds and started to lay into me verbally. I just shrugged and continued on. Gotta pick your battles and arguing with this guy was probably not going to net me anything.

I actually was thinking on how much it would weigh and how many blasts I could get out of an old air tank and truck horn I have sitting around in my garage. I think that would cause more issues than it resolved.

It happens.

qualla

Acouple of weeks ago, I was forcefully reminded that "the yell" can actually be counterproductive - and not just because it can startle pedestrians or newbies without providing meaningful information.
I was riding along the MUP, in an area with a lot of casual foot traffic. Ahead of me mostly in my lane, was a woman with a stroller and (at least) two young children. She was conversing with another woman standing just off the path on the opposite side with her golden retriever. This is not at all unusual on that section. Just as I was about to sound my bell I heard a yell from one of them, so I naturally slowed down even more. Since I had a good view of the dog who was under control, I moved slightly left figuring that one of children, obscured by the stroller, might be running out into the path.
As you have probably realized the unintelligible yell came from a bicyclist racing (complete with numbers written on the back of her calves) up for behind me. People aren't very good at telling whether a sound comes from ahead or behind without external cues, and in this case those cues said that the yell came from in front of me. Had I not heard the yell there would have been (slightly) more room when she whizzed between me and the dog walker. Yes, she was riding inappropriately for both the location and the circumstances, but that's not the point. The point is that "the yell" is often unintelligible and ambiguous in its perceived location. Under those circumstances, people will often simply startle or, as I did, attend to exactly the wrong thing.
A bell, at least, has a clear sound and a relatively clear meaning ("bicycle!") - at least in the absence of ice cream carts.

ericy

We could use a few more ice cream carts out where I ride. Then again, maybe it would be better if there weren't any .

Null66

I should get a good bell.
Can anyone suggest a decent bell?

People seem to react to "Beautiful Day", Or "Good Afternoon"... better then on your left...

MikeRides

I used to ring my bell on the MUPs when passing others, until they decided to assume I was going to pass on the right and cause a potential issue. Now I just call out "On your left" or "Passing on the left, stay straight". I always slow down to pass with care just in case, but calling out has been more successful to me than the bell.

In my experience you've got to time it right, if you call out On your left too soon than when they don't see you pass they'll assume you aren't moving to the left side of the path, on the other hand if you wait too late then they'll move out of being startled.

mustridebikes

I do something similar, or even just say "Right behind you guys/ladies" and wait for them to either jump out of their skin or slowly meander out of my way. No matter how polite I try to be, I'm still a big guy on a bike creeping up behind people sometimes

mrodgers

The one thing I don't see mentioned very often in threads such as this (there's a lot of them and it's always popping up) is slowing down.

I don't call out. I don't have a bell (I want to pick one up.) I slow down as I come up behind them to close to their pace. Then as I approach, I too gently say "coming by" or something like that, or give a greeting. Where I ride, it is mostly older folks walking or biking very slow side by side. I wait for them to react as they may move single file on the right, they may split on each side and slow down, or they really panic and pull completely off and stop.

Never do I just buzz right on by calling out and not slow down to their pace.

Dave Cutter

Yes.... Some areas of the MUP's aren't really convenient for cycling... because of pedestrian use. For those areas it may be best to sit up, slow down, and enjoy the view. Bell or not.

But I love this Youtube video! Shows just how effective bicycle bells are... and it's funny too.