oooooh. I like that one. I don't yell "left" much for the same reason. I'll try "bicycle" next time.

And to the OP, I don't say anything to someone with mirrors. I can see them from pretty far back and so I already know I've been seen; especially when the rider moves to the right.

Of course you should announce. In my park system, it is required to announce any passing. Of course the iPod users can't hear you, but most do. I also usually get a wave and a "thanks" when I pass someone.

This idea of "if there is enough room I don't announce" is just wrong. You are startling people for no reason other than you don't want to be polite. Yes, I do stay to the right and expect others to do also. I will even say something to people that don't. But I also use this path when I walk my dog to the dog park and do expect others to pass me. I am staying right but a biker zipping pass me with no warning is startling.

Depending on how fast I am going and who I am about to pass determines how far away I will announce. Typically, this means about 4 or 5 seconds before I get to them. The path I ride the most goes through the woods with many blind turns. I do not pass anyone in these situations. I will tail the biker in front of me until I am at a spot where I can see it is safe to pass, then even if they know I am there, I will announce my intentions. This really helps with families with small children out riding.

One time, I was on a MUP and saw a lady sitting on a bench and a dog on the other side of the path. Something didn't look right to me, so I announce my intentions to pass a sitting person. Luckily I did because she had that dog on one of those long skinny leashes. I would have rode right into that leash if I did not announce.

Oh, and I say "Passing Left" seems to work most of the time, but some do get confused. But with my 4 to 5 second warning, I have plenty of time to make an adjustment.

I too found "On your left confuses a lot of pedestrians". So now I slow way down, Calmly in a soft voice announce "Steady as you go, Passing on your left". Nobody jumps anymore, most thank me, and after I pass them I get to break into a sprint from very slow speed.

I ride a mountain bike or a hybrid most of the time, so even going of the trail a
little bit if they are taking up the entire width is no big deal.

Happy Trails

Maybe it's ok should you have like an extra 6 feet to pass by to not say passing on left . But to not indicate, passing on the left or whatever is as simple as do you have to use turn indicators when passing other cars. Its the law. To me , same principal holds to cyclists. And, I think it's rude not to. I do not alwasys adhere to a totally straight cycling when riding on bike paths. There have been a few close calls since I was not told they were passing.
And I regretted once having spat on a passing cyclist. He was really pizzed. Don't blame him and I regretted it. But, I did not know he was was there. I would not have spit on that person had he said passing on left. Luckily I think I hit him on the leg.Guess, I should have spit to the right. Just thought I was alone.

On busy MUPs do y'all yell on your left every 5 seconds?
I sure as heck am not. It makes more sense to slow down or relocate to the street. On my route I have a MUP that is one of the busiest in the city and the alternative street routes are insanely slow. I slow down and occasionally yell on your left to the aimless. Unfortunately, even with yelling on your left or going slow I still have close calls from time to time. I really wish I had a decent alternative to that MUP.

In some cities, I have found laws requiring bikes be installed with bells. What else might they be used for. Guess, I have never been on an MUP all that busy. Yelling out every five minutes. Is that really all that difficult.

It's a pity carrying a big jousting-lance would be frowned upon. Punting the gormless out of the way would be such fun.

Some of you who are comfortable yelling "on your left!" must ride on sparsely-used MUP's. If I did that on the paths here, I would have lost my voice by the time I got home. I use the bell, and if that doesn't work, I just slow down and pass as safely as possible. If you aren't prepared to have to slow and even stop occasionally, you should think of riding on the road instead - which is both faster and probably safer on days when the bikepath is really crowded.

probably a bell is an easy solution . and all know what it means. Even tho they look and sound funky.

Sounds to me like you're judging based on your local experience. Not announcing isn't "just wrong"; it might -- might -- be wrong on your local path at the times when you ride, but it's not categorically so.

I'm of the radical opinion that every single user on a Multi Use Path must take into account all other types of users who might be there. That means that, just as cyclists must expect slower-moving users, other users -- pedestrians, skaters, dog-walkers -- must expect that there are bicycles on the path that will be traveling quite a bit faster than them. All users need to be aware of their surroundings and on the lookout for other users. If that means that you, a (dog-)walker, have to turn your head to look behind you every once in a while, well, that's just part of your responsibility as a path-user, as I see it.

No, of course not - if you're saying 'on your left!' every 5 seconds, that's your cue that said MUP is not in a condition for speedy cycling - as you point out. On the MUP part of my commute this morning, for instance, I'd say I said 'on your left!' maybe 5 times in 3 miles.

If you're having close calls, you need to work on your psychic powers. ;) I've gotten decent at recognizing the clueless, and I announce extra early for them. Of course, it also helps that probably 2/3 of the traffic on our MUP during weekdays is cyclists, so the peds get used to it.

Unfortunately, I've noticed lately that some peds have taken to intentionally walking against traffic on the MUP, no doubt because they're sick of being buzzed by silent cyclists. So to those who find no reason to ever announce...there's your result.

So what is it in a condition for? Staying home and not using it, because you've got the audacity to ride a bicycle? Or, if you're riding along at a crawl, should you still constantly say, "On your left"?

Er, well, perhaps. Is it a reasonable result? I'm not so sure. Given that a pedestrian on a MUP is in an environment where they may reasonably expect other users of the Multi Use Path to be using the path in other ways -- and that most of those ways involve moving faster than a pedestrian -- I think that this pedestrian bears some responsibility to maintain awareness of other traffic. I don't think it's too much to ask to turn your head and look behind you from time to time. It seems to me that that's part of the pedestrian's accomodation to other types of users on a Multi Use Path. Cyclists have to make some accomodations; pedestrians should as well.

My paved bike trail isn't so busy that I'm having to announce myself that often. Maybe 14 times on a good 2hr/30 mile ride. I use a bell way in advance of meeting anyone so they have time to realize I am not an Icecream Truck and indeed am a bicycle that's approaching rapidly and they should move.

And hey I guess I'm a bit in the odd camp anyway since I actually get positive vibes from seeing others on the path. Wether it's walkers, runners, rollerbladers or people on slower bikes... it's good to see people out getting a work out. I say "Hey" or "Howdy" to everyone or atleast give the one handed wave or a good nod.

Create some positive vibes for others and it can make the whole experience better as some of them will then say hi to others they meet on the trail. Announcing your presence with a bell is a lot better than having someone drift infront of you and causing a big accident or giving some poor old person a heart attack.

I have to admit, a tiny bit of my reluctance to announce verbally my intent to pass is an introverted inhibition. Most of you, and all extroverts, will find this silly, but some of you introverts may understand where I'm coming from. Seriously, I'm not trying to be an a-hole when I pass silently, and I assess each situation as they appear, so I will make a verbal announcement when it's likely I'd startle someone. And I actually prefer cyclists passing me to do so silently. If they yell something, I'll know it's because they've adequately determined the necessity to do so.

But I do know the law is the law, and most locales require an announcement when passing. You know, I'll follow that law when motorists stop blowing through red lights, which is enormously widespread now more than ever before.

I have a little < $5 bell on my bars. It's just a spring-loaded plastic handle you push down and let go - it strikes the metal casing and DING! I'll pop it a couple of times to indicate my presence, with enough time to dodge the pedestrians if they wig out and do something dumb. If I can clearly see headphones in their ears, I don't bother since they're ignorant of their surroundings anyways, I just give a wide berth as I pass.

I generally signal to other cyclists because my bike is usually fairly quiet.

As a side note, I love it when I see an old squeaky MTB going down the paths and they use a bell, like you couldn't hear them coming from about a hundred feet back. lol.

I'm mostly an introvert as well. The bell keeps me from having to say much... however I still will say hi/howdy/sup/yo or nod or something just to help make everyones experience a little better on the trail.

Yelling out "on your left" or "bicycle" or something just isn't for me at all. The bell is where it's at

**rrring rrring**

This happened to me once; I rang my bell and some guy who wasn't all that old started ringing back until I had completely passed him.

I would hazard a guess that was their response to you calling out and not having a bell... As in a haughty suggestion you get one.

I'll say something for other cyclists (professional courtesy). For pedestrians it will depend on my mood. I find that most of the time they won't hear me over their headphones, or they act like deer: some whip their head around and freeze, some get to the right, and some get to the left.
Several months ago i was trying to pass a kid on his left and called out appropriately. He looked over his right shoulder, didn't see anything and kept rotating his head around, causing him to drift left, nearly forcing me into gravel and grass and whatever else was there. He was also carrying his helmet.
Since then, it just depends on my mood and circumstance. If I'm going to pass quickly and the person is far enough over, I usually don't say a thing.

+1, but I get towards shouting for the ones with their MP3 players plugging their ear canals.