I usually sound the bell for everybody I'm overtaking on a bike path (at a distance and in a way that won't startle them), whether they are walking, skating, or cycling. I didn't use to (didn't even have a bell for years), but I find even other cyclists are just as unpredictable as walkers. And both can startle easily and veer into your path or right into you. I don't take any chances, having had way too many close calls. It just takes one moment of inattention or looking at something along the way for a cyclist to veer into your path as you're passing (and sometimes there's just nowhere else to go because of a railing, trees or whatever). Then there are the yahoo cyclists who pass me at high speed *while* I'm passing someone else on a relatively narrow path! That's really smart. Sometimes I think the roads are safer.

By the way, sometimes I'm a pedestrian on multi-use bike paths. When some idiot is suddenly on your rear end at high speed and then passing in the one foot wide space between you and bike or pedestrians going the other way, it can be more than a little un-nerving.

Same here. I'd add "if they're not presently blocking the way, but are riding somewhat erratically".

99% of MUP users are unfamiliar with the "on your left" warning, and have no idea what to do, and many find it rude.
For the joggers and walkers that are maintaining their line I usually do not indicate but do pass with plenty of space. For those people strolling or dog walking I give them a polite "Hi" or "Hello". If that doesn't get their attention I give a ruder "Excuse me" and finally a loud "Hey" if they still ignore me. So people cannot here if their attention is on something else. Ofcourse there was nothing to do with the three bikes strewn across the path by some kids who left them to play in the river.

Craig

Ding Ding Ding.... I ring the bell from a ways back. If they are walking a dog, the dog will hear it long before their owner.

If they are stupid, I have to give them the "Passing on your left".

If they have headphones and are taking up more than thier fair share, buzz them because they cant hear you coming.

Ok.... Australian or English? No one over here calls a Cigarete that! (god forbid, somone might get offended)

Billy

English. Yeah, I had a spot of confusion once in the States asking someone if they had a rubber. (Eraser)

Sure there is -- stop and toss the bikes into the bushes.

Probably depends on your MUP. On our local MUP, I'd say 90% of users are familiar with proper signaling. Additionally, you can usually break them down into groups based on their behavior. Almost all runners (at least, those who run enough to achieve a decent pace) are familiar with it and often respond with a brief wave to acknowledge your signal. All cyclists moving at over 12 mph (and most under that) are familiar with it. These groups make up most of the weekday population and the entire bad-weather population of our MUP.

The only people who don't get it are people who use the trail a couple of times a year. You're talking about weekends in the spring and fall in heavily residential areas - and I avoid the MUP like the plague during those times. Other times, I usally average 1 moron per 10 miles, and I can't complain at that.

I have basically stopped using direction words, like "left", because I find that kids tend to move left when they hear the word left. That only makes matters worse. Now I tend to announce "bicycle" and everyone seems to know what to do.

I like the metric of Morons/mile.

Weekends on the MUP I'd guess I see about .1; weekday commute on on-road bike paths, maybe .01.

I usually ring the bell 3 times when I'm passing. I find that gives them a better idea of how fast I'm coming up. Usually I'll slow down a bit if there's more than one non-cyclist or they're with little children or pets.
MUPs here are about 6ft (2m) wide most of the time. Some places are really wide while other spots are slightly narrower. If there are peds or bladers blocking the entire lane up and oblivious to the fact that I'm passing I usually yell 'coming through'. Although, occasionally I've been tempted to yell 'AHHHHH! outta the way, no brakes! no brakes!'

If you're not riding fast enough for people to tell from the Doppler, you should speed up!

Hee hee. That would be fun... I'm not evil enough to try it though

Some of my MUP observations:


Slower cyclists with mirrors that don't know enough to stay to the right...also never look in their mirrors.

Saying "on your left" produces some strange reactions...

a couple of days ago I was passing an older couple on bikes on when I called out, the woman began ringing her bell for some reason.

One time an older man swerved his bike to the right when I called out right into his wife. They both crashed.

Last week I called out to a doofus cell phone talking/dog walking guy who was weaving from one side of the trail to another. He fliched and crouched to the side of the trail and shouted into the phone..."Holy Christ they're all over the place".

If there is room to pass without calling out I will pass silently.

A couple of decades ago I was young and stupid, I got my kicks out of hollering "on your LEFT" when I passed folks. Occasionally, I'd have to pass someone on the right, and so I'd holler "on your RIGHT." While I was doing a 50-mile organized ride from Rosarito-Ensenata (Mexico) I was feeling pretty awesome and tried to pass between two road-hogging riders. I hollered "on your RIGHT on your LEFT" and made my dash to squeeze between them. Unfortunately, they each looked over their inside shoulders, drifted together, and I ate Mexican pavement at 25mph.

Now I try to pass conservatively, without jackassery. Don't always holler, but always try to take enough room so as to avoid either surprising the other person or have them get in my way.

Oh bull crap! I am not the fastest on my loaded commuter, stick to the right when practical, have a mirror and use it. But all the more reason it makes sense to let them know you are coming.

Okay. Very, very funny image.

Yeah, imagine it. Bicycles on a bike path. The nerve!

Me too, because of foolishness just like in your stories.

If i need to pass close enough to let them know I am passing, I instead do not pass and wait for a time when there is more room.

This is something I really don't understand. Do they understand they're on a multi-use path, and that bicycles are very common, perhaps more common, than pedestrians? Once I approached a pack of peds and announced my presence. One of them panicked and yelled out "Oh my god!"

My favorite way to indicate passing is when riding at night. My commuter path is lined with those poles that have reflectors on them. As I approach a cyclist, I switch my headlight to blinking mode, and all the reflective poles ahead of me blink (as well as any traffic signs). Everyone has veered to the right when I've done this.

Always say it to pedestrians. Always have gotten a good response, the first person I did it too was a jogger and got like three feet off the path. I call out very early. The startled ones never seem to move left for me, they just jump and say "Oh my gosh." I've never passed a cyclist on an MUP, and only one on the road. No need to announce, I just took the lane as he was riding on a paved shoulder.

I've found that with a lot of people.. some bikers included... when you say "On your left" they tend to move to their left. Either looking over their shoulder and inadvertently tracking left or sometimes get jumpy and move to the left. It's not specific to bike paths an MUP's. It happens all the time on the slopes, too.

So I usually announce "Passing". I seem to get a better reaction that way. And I always say thanks as I pass. I think anyone over 16 is used to cars passing on the left as a standard in a vehicle on the road, so the idea isn't complete foreign, but "on your left" may very well be.

LOL. "We cant stop here, this is Bat Country!"

I need to work on my ped-freak technique.

My bell usually causes them to start looking around for the source of the sound. They often think they have kicked something on the path. Saying "passing left" seems to work best and is less ambiguous than "on your left". However, many people are seemingly lost in thought or plugged into their personal sound systems and either startle randomly or totally miss any warning unless it approaches the threshold of pain in volume. Avoiding a collision and/or injury to all concerned is my first priority followed by a reasonable level of consideration for fellow beings.

I usualy holler "Bicycle from the rear" and watch what they do.... Yell loud and well in advance. Seems to work

For safety's sake, I rev my straight pipes and fire my pistol in the air. Oh, sorry, wrong threads.

I have a bell, I mean the kind you'd hang from a goat, swinging from my handlebars. I just let it ring softly the whole time. People seem to hear it gradually from the distance and move to the side. Maybe they think a goatherd is catching up to them. Less scary than a bicyclist, apparently.