On Your Left - Humor
 

This site could use a little levity.
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/dail...s-on-your-left
Extract

Bells may not be "cool", but I've found them to work much better then yelling out on your left. I think some people get confused as to what you are saying, but everyone recognizes a bike bell. Not to mention that hearing someone yell out when you think you're alone can be scary.

I hate that 1990”s saying. I ding my bell.

I scream "WATCH OUT WATCH OUT WATCH OUT NO BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKES!!!" And they split like the Red Sea.

Yes, seriously, I do this if there's a crowd. No risking them scattering like cockroaches back and forth.

Not everyone can hear or even reacts to the bike bell. So you have to prepare to use your secondary warning system.

What I find very interesting on the rail-trails here in Waterloo Region (Ontario, Canada) is that ringing a bicycle bell causes most people on the rail-trail to stop and look UP! No kidding. I told a bicycling buddy about that and he put a bell on his bike and tried it and got the same result. Do people walking on rail-trails here think that the ringing bicycle bell is from ET and his friends in the sky?

Not only that, with many walkers no wearing earbuds on a high volume setting, they don't even hear a bell. I would use a boat air-horn if not for the fact I don't want to ruin the experience of those out to see critters and/or birds.

Cheers

THANK YOU

did not know any New Yorker article could be so short. I'm used to reading page after page after page. now I'm wondering about the writer's motivation & if they ever ride a bike themselves

This is A&S, speculate away :)

Be sure to include the magic buzz words that apply to almost everything here: cellphones and texting, bad drivers, clueless pedestrians, and a conspiracy theory involving law officers, government officials and powerful interests motivated by opposition or indifference to the rights of bicyclists everywhere.

That is why I just always yell passing. They almost always move right.

The one that really annoyed me was the old guy in the walker behind me that yelled "on your left" :)

I friend of mine said he was tried of the On Your Left mother f---ers on the bike paths.

I told him I resembled that remark.

When I pass someone I yell out, "On your left mother f---er!"

I'm not fond of bells because they seem to me to be akin to honking your horn behind the car in front of you while driving, or walking up behind a fellow pedestrian and yelling "MOVE!" I would also think a voice would be less jarring than a sudden loud bell behind you. (Bell on friend's tandem is just for when voice doesn't work. Sometimes she will still ring when she hears me say "On your left!" but I did have to let her know that she didn't have to lay on the bell hard unless I told her she needed to, lol. I don't want to run over pedestrians because they're jumping out of their skins at overzealous ringing... she was having a lot of fun with that bell but it was freaking people out!)


That surprises me... so many phones have a "bell" notification sound, and it seems to be so popular, that I would think people would all look at their phones. (I've said this before but) when I bought my friend a bell for her tandem, I specifically bought one that sounded like a bike bell. The little "ting" bells sounded very nice, but I didn't want us trying to alert someone that we were coming and instead of moving and/or looking around, they stop and pull their phone out...

I yell, "bike behind you" and let them decide.

"Passing on your left". Works better than anything else. Nothing is perfect.

Me too. Not 100%, but pretty close.

Is it wrong to be annoyed by people who see me calmly approaching in the left lane of the MUT and scramble out of the way anyway? Half the time I ring my bell and call out to alert the dog(s); never startle the dog(s). There's plenty of room, I'm passing at 10mph or less, and they still jump off the trail like I'm an approaching SUV.

The secret to a safe and courteous interaction is to slow to a minimal speed disparity as you approach. That's what I do. If I see ear buds, I very slowly ease around them. If I don't see buds, I say in a conversational tone "I am easing around YOUR left." Then I ease around and say something polite when I do. Kids always get complimented on their bike and dogs are often told they are good doggies.

Obviously, we all basically operate from a position of n=1, so I'm not claiming you're wrong and I'm right, only that we have different approaches and let's take it as a statement of good faith that our perceptions that our methods are working are valid.

I don't rely on slowing as much as you do, what I find is the startle and annoyance is greatest when I make the announcement too close to the actual pass. I therefore announce a bit further back than other people I observe and don't slow that much unless there's a) other people on the path, b) dogs or c) children (those add too much unpredictability not to slow). Generally, I announce pretty far back in as friendly a voice as I can muster, then thank the person as I actually pass. I get a lot of thank yous back, and I don't recall any such encounter turning sour. On the other hand, I find that if I don't announce until I'm close, it doesn't matter how slow I'm going, I'm very likely to get that startled response. I've had that happen at less than 5 mph.

I never made the connection of distance not startling the person you are passing. But with some exceptions for very noob walkers and cyclist, I think you are on to something there.

One of the benefits to me from announcing as reasonably far away as I can be heard is that I get to see their reaction in time for me to react.

One of the reasons I'm always so careful to say "this is what works for me" is that I've done enough public speaking and a little stage acting so that I'm very adept at announcing loudly without sounding like I'm bellowing. People's voices vary so much that I don't know whether they could announce as far back as I do and have it be effective and/or perceived as non-hostile.

I first noticed the startle effect at a street fair. The street was blocked off, and I pedaled my bike at about walking speed (definitely less than 3 mph). I was behind an old man, maybe 10 feet back before I decided I could pass him a good 7-8 feet to his left. As I passed him at maybe 5 mph, he actually yelled because he was so startled, and said something about me nearly hitting him. From his perspective, it looked like I flew out of nowhere and then slowed, I guess. Whereas, if they know I'm coming, I can pass at 20 mph, and it's a total non-event, provided the path is wide enough so we're not right next to each other.

I do get an occasional startled response, but never an unpredictable response. I have never had anyone move left.

I've had it happen a few times, but it's almost always been headphone wearers. I think the actually confused person moving the wrong way scenario has probably occurred twice in several years, and really was more amusing than dangerous. I had plenty of room to adjust to itbecause of the early announcement. I put in so many miles on MUPs that even really unlikely events are bound to occur at sometime regardless of how carefully I ride. Just a silly example--after going about 35 years without a single bee sting, I got stung by bees twice in 2 weeks this year.

Dogs and toddlers can't help being unpredictable. I generally slow to a crawl, especially with the kids on bikes or a loose or nonexistent leash on a dog.

All I'm saying re your post is that there's more than one safe and courteous way to skin this particular cat (which is a really weird expression).

No doubt. Different means to the same end, which is a safe, courteous interaction. I mention my method in most of these discussions so folks can consider it, and maybe try it to see how it works out for them. It's certainly not the only way to get the job done.

She's a comedian. I find her funny.

p.s. She's not an artist. Well, not a visual artist. But I find her funny. And prescient.

Updated Museum Etiquette for 2019 | The New Yorker

-mr. bill

I say 'Hello' from a distance to give a bit of time for a reaction which is usually a look over one shoulder or the other a brief re-balancing and then a move to the side. As I approach I may have to say hello more than once.