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Passing other cyclists on roads/paths

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Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Passing other cyclists on roads/paths

Old 06-18-14, 02:47 PM
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Originally Posted by LesterOfPuppets
I gave up announcing my passes a few years ago. I just try to give at least 3' berth and say hi as I roll past.

On the MUP announcement results are negative just as much as they are positive.
Most of the time announcing isn't necessary if there's room to safely go around. If there's two riding abreast and not enough room, I'll usually say something to alert them like "coming through" or "on your left" so they get the hint and move over to make room to slip by. The most frustrating is when someone has earbuds in and they are in lala land.

There's a guy that I ride with on occasion that has a bell and it is very effective. Not sure why, but the bell makes me chuckle.
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Old 06-18-14, 05:21 PM
  #77  
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Originally Posted by wphamilton
Does anyone here call out passing on the open road?
Any time I pass a car, I call out on the side I'm passing. It can be a pain if I'm going past a line of cars stuck in traffic but I'm sure it makes everyone safer. When I'm driving, I just honk the horn. You have to be diligent if the lines of traffic aren't moving the same speed.

I'm not sure what the problem with some drivers is -- a lot of people here seem to like to give the finger...
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Old 06-18-14, 10:13 PM
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I've found a bell works great if done in advance. People often glance back and see you coming, then stay right. As far as verbal, it should stay as "on your left". Changing it up makes it harder to educate those not knowing what that means. After they're used to it the just move right automatically. But not everyone is out there all the time. It's the once in a blue moon types that are more of a risk. Everybody has a right to be out there. Be respectful, safe, and slow down as needed-usually no issues that way.
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Old 06-19-14, 05:53 AM
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This morning was a great example of azzholes and why I said earlier I judge them. I commuted in this morning and made it to the bike path just before 6am. It's usually pretty empty at that time except for the people who comply with the rules, this path actually has several signs that ask all users to stay to the right, and lot's of it has a line down the middle.

Just up ahead I see two guys jogging side by side. They were taking up the whole path. There was another oncoming cyclist so it was very obvious they could see him. They didn't bother to move at all and the cyclist rode just onto the grass to get around.

I didn't bother announcing myself as I'm sure they would have impeded my passing even more.

Some people are just jerks.
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Old 06-19-14, 06:15 AM
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The only time I've ever gotten any pushback from passing without warning by another cyclist is when passing a large group of riders at once. There's a route I ride regularly with minimal traffic and generally minimal riders, but once or twice a week I'll come across a group ride of 10-15 riders. I believe all but a handful of then generally have helmet mirrors, so I'll say "On your left!" when passing the last rider in line (with at least 5 feet of clearance) and then just give a finger wave as I pass the rest of them . One of the guys in the back will shout that someone is passing, so honestly I don't know what else they want me to do, but at least one of them always wobbles, makes a surprised exclamation, and shouts at me as I pass. I think they're just shaky group riders in general so any variables scare them. Oh well.
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Old 06-19-14, 12:20 PM
  #81  
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Originally Posted by Dan333SP
The only time I've ever gotten any pushback from passing without warning by another cyclist is when passing a large group of riders at once. There's a route I ride regularly with minimal traffic and generally minimal riders, but once or twice a week I'll come across a group ride of 10-15 riders. I believe all but a handful of then generally have helmet mirrors, so I'll say "On your left!" when passing the last rider in line (with at least 5 feet of clearance) and then just give a finger wave as I pass the rest of them . One of the guys in the back will shout that someone is passing, so honestly I don't know what else they want me to do, but at least one of them always wobbles, makes a surprised exclamation, and shouts at me as I pass. I think they're just shaky group riders in general so any variables scare them. Oh well.
We have some of those around here. I call them group ride Nazis. They also tend to call out "car up!!!" when there's a car approaching on a straight stretch of road, and "car back!!!" every 3 seconds when they're riding along a busy street with a steady stream of cars coming. As well as point at every possible thing in the road that isn't clean, smooth pavement.

There's no earthly reason to announce a pass with 5' of space. Maybe, in a fairly long paceline, the last rider should say "I'm last, we're clear" or something like that every few riders or so. And FWIW, unless you are deaf or have ear buds in, you can hear the wheel noise from a paceline well before they pass you.
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Old 06-19-14, 12:31 PM
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It depends on the situation. If I'm descending fast downhill at 25+, I don't pass, even if there's room. Too much can go wrong. I also don't want to scare the other rider. If it's uphill at a slow speed and I know it'll take me a few seconds to pass, I'll just say "on your left", somewhat quietly so I don't startle the rider. If we're moving on the straights at a decent clip, and there's a lot of clearance, I'll just go wide left, 3 or 4', and not say anything. If there's too much traffic to do that then I'll go with the standard, "on your left", when I'm 5' back and wait for a acknowledgement before making my move.
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Old 06-19-14, 12:36 PM
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On my mountain bike it also depends on the situation of course. On singletrack, if I need to pass a bike, hiker, horse, whatever, I'll say, "Can I pass when you find a safe spot?" If it's a fire road or wide path I'll say, "passing on your left". On downhills I try not to pass. If it's a long downhill, I'll just stop and wait.
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Old 06-19-14, 01:13 PM
  #84  
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Originally Posted by mprelaw
We have some of those around here. I call them group ride Nazis. They also tend to call out "car up!!!" when there's a car approaching on a straight stretch of road, and "car back!!!" every 3 seconds when they're riding along a busy street with a steady stream of cars coming. As well as point at every possible thing in the road that isn't clean, smooth pavement.
We have those too. I don't indulge them.

Any approach based on everyone else changing their behavior (in this case issuing a warning) is delusional. I cut plenty of space when passing other cyclists though because you never know what they'll do. Or more accurately, you know that every once in a long while, one that doesn't realize you're there will swerve right as you reach them so you need to be ready for that.
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Old 06-19-14, 01:18 PM
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Originally Posted by coasting
i used to say passing on left and then realised people veer left. now i either say nothing and speed up to nip past quickly or say "stay right".

Do this or the option I use on MUPs and the road. Loudly and clearly shout BIKE BACK.

You should also consider your speed and conditions when verbally notifying others. There is a lot of noise out there competing for our hearing.
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Old 06-19-14, 02:38 PM
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When i am longboarding i always look behind me and move out of the way so they can pass me. on my bike i usually just fly right past them.
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Old 06-19-14, 03:22 PM
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Originally Posted by Dan333SP
The only time I've ever gotten any pushback from passing without warning by another cyclist is when passing a large group of riders at once. There's a route I ride regularly with minimal traffic and generally minimal riders, but once or twice a week I'll come across a group ride of 10-15 riders. I believe all but a handful of then generally have helmet mirrors, so I'll say "On your left!" when passing the last rider in line (with at least 5 feet of clearance) and then just give a finger wave as I pass the rest of them . One of the guys in the back will shout that someone is passing, so honestly I don't know what else they want me to do, but at least one of them always wobbles, makes a surprised exclamation, and shouts at me as I pass. I think they're just shaky group riders in general so any variables scare them. Oh well.
Same thing happened to me yesterday. Group of about 10 older riders. All looked like they had mirrors. Going about 5-7 mph on a surface street hugging the curb, 4 lane road. I waited until the right lane was clear for a couple block behind me and then past the entire group. I passed at about 15-17 mph and I was as far left as I could get in the lane without going into traffic in the next lane so probably 3 feet between me and the group and I still got some gasps and "whoas!"
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Old 06-19-14, 04:43 PM
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I personally just slow down and give as much space as possible when passing another rider. I don't waste my breath with the yelling "on your left" bs.
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Old 06-19-14, 04:47 PM
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Originally Posted by banerjek
I'm not sure what the problem with some drivers is -- a lot of people here seem to like to give the finger...
You forgot to wave so of course they had to flip you off for being an arrogant roadie!
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Old 06-19-14, 05:06 PM
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When passing other strong cyclists I'll pull alongside and say hello, if they are social we might ride together for a bit. If they are so slow that I'm blowing by them, I say "on yer left" and ride on by giving a safe amount of room. If they are riding cruisers on a MUP, I give ample warning and thank them(for not crashing into me).
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Old 06-19-14, 06:11 PM
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The assumption is that if you call out "on your left" the person actually hears that and not some garbled noise because of the wind. Any one looking back to the left will tend to move left slightly too so don't be surprised if they move to the left as they look back to see what that hell that noise they thought they heard was.

I treat it as I did when downhill skiing, the person in front has the right of way and you need to assume the responsibility not to run into them. Calling out "on your left (or right depending on the country") may not help much though if it is a long line of riders indicating that there is a group might be helpful if the first in the group as he/she is beside the overtaken rider tells them that
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Old 06-19-14, 06:30 PM
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I can't believe how many times I've read the word 'bell' in this thread. The 41 isn't what it used to be..
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Old 06-19-14, 06:36 PM
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Originally Posted by nuke_diver
The assumption is that if you call out "on your left" the person actually hears that and not some garbled noise because of the wind.
Exactly why I don't bother. When I am riding with friends and try to talk they can't hear or understand anything unless we are right next to each other.

My favorite thing I've noticed lately is I will pass younger guys on single speed/fixie because they are going slower than my cruising speed. They apparently see that as a challenge to their manhood and pedal like hell to pass me and I wait for them to gas out and then pass them hard and never see them again for the rest of my ride
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Old 06-19-14, 06:51 PM
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I want to welcome all the denizens of A&S to the 41.
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Old 06-19-14, 07:33 PM
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I was waiting at a light and got buzzed on the right by a slower cyclist I had passed earlier. He is lucky I did not veer to the right; no verbal anything. He must have thought he was being cool but may not have thought that if he was laying sprawled out on the road. The most dangerous riders are the ones who don't ride enough to have good sense of road safety. I would hazard a guess that they account for a large percentage of bike accidents.
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Old 06-19-14, 08:40 PM
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"Passing on your left." Easy.
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