Cyclist0108

I just say "Good morning" or "Good afternoon," and the crowds part like the Red Sea in front of Moses.

Flip Flop Rider

*cough*

Cyclist0108

That'll work too, especially if you really whoop it up and wear an anti-vaxxer T-shirt.

wphamilton

It's always pretty bad at this time of year, with new riders or else cyclists who forgot over the winter how to behave. It will chill out some in a couple of weeks.

FWIW I don't call out either. I ring my little bell.

FiftySix

I hate the sound of the little bell coming from my bike. It's so petite and gentle.

But I need to use something. Tonight's ride had the usual couple with dog walking down the middle of a street. A side walk on either side, but they'd rather walk where the cars and trucks go.

I'm thinking cowbell. Some of y'all know what I mean.

BOC.

one4smoke

I'm really "all of the above." I really just play it by ear at different times, with different situations and people. Also, depends on what type of mood I'm in too. Sometimes I'm feeling very talkative, then other times I'm rather quiet. I've had people be rude to me no matter which way I went with it, either announcing or not. One time, I passed an elderly man without announcing and got absolutely scolded for not letting him know I was coming. The very next person I encountered, an overweight jogger about a mile down the trail, rudely told me "you don't own the damn trail" when I politely said on your left ...having just learned my lesson from the elderly man. You just can't please all the people, all the time.

For the most part, if someone "is holding their line" not showing any erratic behavior, I don't find it necessary to announce. Especially someone wearing earbuds that probably won't hear me anyway. If it's a group taking up the entire trail, I'll sound out a demanding "coming up to pass on your left folks" so they have time to organize. With kids, I almost always have to give very detailed directions, being super cautious and slowing way down. Coming up at full speed and just announcing on your left and doing nothing more with them, is asking for disaster. I always compliment them on a great job as I go by. Makes their day.

On a more humorous note, one time I was approaching two very attractive female runners, and was gonna announce something like "coming up fast behind you, ladies." Somehow, it came out as "coming hard on your back, ladies!" It drew quite a hardy burst of laughter and giggles as I rode by.

I find that on busy weekends when everyone has their brother and mother with them, I simply just get tired of announcing all the time and eventually get to the point of not giving a rat's azz. I'm still courteous and cautious, especially with the kids, but for the most part I just shut up, ride and don't worry about it.

raceboy

When I’m on my bike, I try to treat pedestrians the way I would want a car to treat me.

2cam16

And that has happened to me a few times too. It's a damned if you do and damned if you don't for us riders.

bruce19

My experience is that many recreational cyclists have no clue about communication with others. The ones that are a part of my club and, thus, ride with accomplished cyclists have learned to communicate. Not all but most. On the R/T there is a great percentage of riders who ride a half-dozen times a year and always on the R/T. These are the people who are truly dangerous. And, the mix of serious cyclists cranking down the path and these people is a catastrophe waiting to happen. I plan my R/T rides for times when no one else is riding.

FlMTNdude

Most people are too wrapped up in their phone and wearing headphones to notice. They walk anywhere, some even ride three abreast dawdling along and seem offended when someone (including runners) wants to pass. I try to announce whether on bike or when running, but mostly falls on deaf ears. For some reason most Floridians don’t poke their head out the door before it hits 85 degrees, so as long as I hit things up early it is mostly clear.

Dr.Lou

In NorCal and Nevada announcing is still a common practice, however in the Philippines and the myriad other countries I've ridden verbal announcement is a foreign concept, many use bells instead.

Paul Barnard

I employ a cocktail of strategies based on my "feel" for the situation. I have never uttered the words "on your left" on an MUP. I often say "I am easing around your left." That has never netted me an unpredictable response. Often people who walk on MUPS behave like people in parks. That is to say they they lose their awareness and tend to meander. Some bicyclists do to. For me the most important thing is to pass with minimum speed disparity.

Paul Barnard

I have never had an unpredictable response to an "I am easing around your left." I have seen confused responses to the sound of a bell.

I have a hunch if I came blasting up behind someone and yelled "on your LEFT," that I would get a different response.

ironnerd

There should be an App.
Like aviation's ADS-B to let pedestrians know that a bicyclist or jogger is approaching, and also alert cyclists and joggers that there is a guy with earbuds listening to music around the next turn.
▲▲▲ Kinda half tongue-in-cheek - I actually think modern smartphones could make this a reality.

I go with a bell rather than verbal announcement. Noting seems to say "A bicycle is coming" like a little bell. Odd really...

As for our wandering pedestrians...the only time I have ever seen people walk down a path with any kind of organization was when I was in the Army.

livedarklions

My default is "passing on your left". I can count on two fingers the times people have gotten confused by this.

The main reason I call it is because when I don't, people assume that if they don't hear something, it's ok to move to their left without looking, and a couple of close calls convinced me that default mode should be to make my presence and intentions known. Occasionally, someone mistakenly thinks I'm telling them to move over, so I sometimes follow up with a friendly "I have plenty of room".

Nothing works perfectly, but I've see enough confused responses to bells that I know what I'm doing works best for me.

BTW, there's a bit of a logical fallacy going on when people say that it's the pedestrian's fault that they don't know to go right when the bell rings. Keep in mind that from their perspective, they don't know whether the person ringing the bell knows the rule so if the bell-ringer doesn't say which side, there's a pretty good chance that passing on the left would be an incorrect guess.

Spinay70

I have noticed that when i am out riding and get passed by a 'serious' rider, they rarely announce. I have also seen them buzz past unsuspecting walkers without a word.

This past weekend i spied a 'serious' rider approaching fast in my rear view and they ended up zipping by without any word...and quite close as well.

Spinay70

justin70

My frustration is MUPs aren't for going fast all the time on my bike. I wish they could be for bikes only and I could time trial away from traffic. But if I'm really pushing the speed I stick to the actual roads. The speed limit on my local MUPs is 15 mph which I exceed easily. So if there's pedestrians to pass I slow way down and holler "on your left" expecting them to veer towards the left...when they don't it's a bonus. Bikes have to yield to pedestrians. The last thing I'd want to do is hit a pedestrian on my bike, because we'd both get hurt and there's no way I'm not liable coming up behind someone on who is foot.

Yendor72

I had this discussion with one of the mechanics at my LBS. He said the same thing as I did. The spastic response to "On your left" (signs are posted on the MUP indicating that we should use those terms) has prompted him to search for the least "Fred" like bell.

Dominae

I used to say “on your left” but it seemed to surprise and confuse walkers, runners and other cyclists and they would often jump to the left right into my path. I have now decided to pass in stealth mode giving as wide a berth as possible. I am not responsible for others situational awareness. I am only responsible for my own. First and foremost, my job is to avoid hitting someone not to provide them with information they should be able to learn on their own (if they were paying attention).

JoeyBike

Is there a minimum speed on this MUP? Just curious.

2cam16

Problem is, 99.9% of them are not paying attention.

Nachoman

I like to yell "woo-hoo" about 30-50 yards out, in a super piercing voice.
This gives me plenty of time to gauge their reaction, which allows me to assess how to safely pass.

JoeyBike

And their most important sense - that can detect sounds in 360° - is jammed up with ear buds blaring some Satanic symphony.

rseeker

If I'm approaching people on foot I go with "behind you" because it's a simple message and they're just gonna do whatever they do anyway. I slow down and go whichever way they don't, which is usually me going left but not always. If I'm approaching someone on a bike (very very rare up here in the sticks) I'll go with "on your left", on the assumption that they know what that means and because the V-sub-C is low enough that they'll have time to process and react in some sane way.

(In the surrounding 144 square miles I've seen people on bikes eight times, four of which were probably the same guy and two of which were probably the same woman. Plenty of people walking on the greenway though.)

DropBarFan

I use Crane bike bells & ring with enough time for folks to hear & comprehend. On the local MUP a lot of bikers announce pass 1/2 second before doing so which is irritating. IMO a good bike bell is more polite than yelling.