You'd think! I'd think! Nonetheless, no matter how many times I hear it, I still move to the left when I hear it, THEN realize that someone wants to pass me and that I should go FRAP in the path so that they can. It's a completely counterproductive signal, sort've like telling people "The signal for you to stop what you're doing instantly is the word 'Go'!"

A wobbler, usually no warning for the above reason, but if I do give warning it's just yelling LEFT. A bell, absolutely not....

Bell.
(this would have been good as a poll)

I don't have a loud voice, and when people say "on your left" or "passing" or even "good morning" most times I can't quite hear them properly and don't even know if they're talking to me. Bell-noise is instantly recognized.

haha! I know exactly what you mean by this.

That's pretty much the way it works on the MUP around here.

However, I have met ped's plenty of times who seem to absolutely ignore or have no idea that there is a "ding ding" sound coming from behind them. Up until the point where I am right behind them and I just say "excuse me". At this point I am of course coasting at walking speed :mad:

Almost never, ever happens around here. Of course, if I see no reaction, I start ringing with a frequency inversely proportional to the distance to the pedestrian until they react.

Where to do Ding Ding?
 

Hey Guys!

If you're Ding Dinging, that must mean that you're either on the sidewalk or some place where both bike and pedestrian sometimes can legally comingle. That would be in a park, perhaps along the boardwalk, or possibly even a parking lot. Otherwise, the pedestrians are in the street, where we should be.

If it is on the sidewalk or the boardwalk (like in the Japanese video), then we should not be too perturbed by folks who don't react so quickly to our ding ding warnings.

If it's in the street, then give 'em eternal Hellish Dings forever! :thumb:

That is why when riding on a MUP if I say anytign I say it before passing, and not jsut before. That means having to slow before passing.

Most of the time I say nothing and pick a time when I can pass quickly with plenty of space. So 'On your left' is reserved for those going not that much slower than I am and is easy to say well before passing. (And I'm perfectly happy with someone I just passed grabing my wheel for a while, not happy if I then slow to safely pass someone else and they blow by botjh of us. In that case next pass I'll blow by and try to quickly leave them far behind).

I'm a bell man.

Two dings with a short space between give people an idea of how fast you are catching up to them (i.e. move now!!)

I'd considered you one of the shaky riders and a threat to others. I'd take extra caution while passing you seeing how you react to my verbal warning that means, "I will be passing on your left" not "I am on your left".

Plus, if someone says "onyerleft", it doesn't necessarily mean you have to move FRAP. It is used as a warning so that other rides hold position to avoid swerving into the passing rider.



There are shaky scary paranoid riders and then there are safe cool, well disciplined riders that are safe.

Check out the 5 year old kid on the bike at the beginning of my video. I shouted "onyerleft". He knows how to ride, hold his line and remains calm without panic. :thumb:

Thanks Everyone...
 

Good and well-reasoned answers. Thanks, everyone. I can see now why my wife prefers the voice. She's a good rider, but just as frequently jogs on MUPs through our town.

From my perspective, I've also learned (from this post) that adding voice to the bell may be a better answer in many cases.

As a post script, I told my wife about the question here... Her response: "Why ask THEM? They're all bike riders. You need to ask the walkers and runners." [Head slap] "You're right, Honey" :love:

Phil

I always slow down and ding from a healthy distance back at people with dogs or kids, and at groups that are blocking the path. When passing people who're already to the right, I just slow down to a respectful speed and inform them in a normal tone of voice that I'm passing, sometimes with "On your left", sometimes with "Hello" or "Good morning/afternoon/evening". If it's a lone runner or walker and I have room to move all the way over to the far side of the path to pass, I will often say nothing at all.

I hate the feeling of yelling at people, which is what if feels like if I both use my voice and pass at speed, so the only people I pass at speed are other cyclists, and they get the bell.

Thank you for doing so, it goes a long way towards making the MUP a more pleasant place for all of us.

I can't hear the bell in the video due to the ringing in my ears. Neither is obnoxious--this is obnoxious:

Yeah, you're right!

I don't think my Ding Ding would have worked there!

However, it didn't look like the AirZound really worked either!

GotDm Trucker!!! :mad:

I'm a bell guy, hate yelling. Sometimes on wooded sections it's funny when they start looking up in the trees for a bird though.

Some people do other things than bicycling, though. In other things I do and have done, if someone says "Left!" it means "I just saw something dangerous that you probably haven't and it could potentially put you in the hospital if you don't trust me and move to your left RIGHT NOW!" So when I hear the word "Left!" I immediately move left. This takes priority over parsing the fact that it is preceeded by "On your".

Please.

Stay off any trails.

Seriously.

You're dangerous.

That was so very unkind!....BUT TRUE! :lol:

From my experiences, it's best not to say anything and just pass. Less chance of them moving into your path...

I prefer to scare the crap out of people by silently passing them. It sounds mean, but if a person is using a multi-use path correctly they should be out of your way anyway, and if you startle them a few times they will eventually get the idea they should stay to the right. My local MUP is about 8 feet wide in most parts, and there are still tons of people that feel the need to use every part of it. There is plenty of room to pass a couple walking hand in hand, if they're walking where they should be walking. It's beyond me why some people think they need to walk hand in hand, five feet apart from each other, swinging their arms totally oblivious to what is around them, but I get great satisfaction whizzing by them in the dirt/grass and hearing the girl squeal as if she never expected another soul would be on the trail.

Another pet peeve of mine is joggers/bikers who run or bike on the left. I mean, you drive all day, you can't understand the convention is to stay to the right when passing opposing traffic?

Some people are too dumb to understand a bell.

I'm not maimed, so i'm fine with how I am. If I stopped dumbly for a moment to try to figure out if "Left" meant 'Go left or don't go left?' where chainsaws and falling trees and such were involved I might have been.
I wasn't the one who's brilliant idea it was to embed a request to do a thing into a request not to do that thing. It's a bad phrase at a psychological level, and so I don't like it and find it seriously irritating.

As noted, "Passing" works fine with less confusion and time, and a simple greeting usually gets better results from pedestrians.

I prefer to be silent until beside the person, then a "hello" or "good morning" as I pass. Saying something while approaching seems to do more harm than good because you don't know how they'll react.

The general consensus of people I've talked to about my bell is "Oh, so that's what that noise was". People ignore it. So I now say "on your left". Or right if they are riding like maroons.