cofgrn

I was on a "MUP" yesterday and actually hit a guy more or less intentionally. I was going maybe 10-12 mph around a corner and come face to face with a runner running down the right side of the path ("right" as in the side of the path I was riding). This guy was not on the edge of the path and made no effort to avoid me. I swerved a little so as not to hit him w/ my bike, raised my right elbow and SMASHED this guy in the nose. I turned around after and saw him double-over holding his face with copious amounts of blood dripping out. Unsatisfied with this, I stopped, propped the bike against a tree, and started toward the guy and stated "I am going to beat your f-ing a$$." He sprinted the opposite direction. Riding the "MUP" is lame; I never had to do this kind of thing on the road.

cbaronzzi

I usually say "on your left" loudly as soon as I know I am barely in hearing range. Most people can't make out what I said but they hear me say something and I am far enugh away that they look and have time to think, "Ohh its another guy who needs to pass" and they get over. If there are multiple people talking or I know they won't hear me, I usually just pass silently on their left if there is sufficient room....or if not enough room, I just slow down and tailgate them until I can get around.

I used to do what many regard as the proper technique and slow down, wait until I was close enough to be fully heard, and then announce in a loud clear voice, "on your left." However, when i did that I had a couple occasions when it caused the people to whom I was speaking to panic and dodge in front of me or jump off the trail and make us both feel uncomfortable about their overreaction. After a woman with a dog did one such panic and jump off the path maneuver and almost wrecked me, I switched to the alternative technique described in the first paragraph.

As for the OPs situation, i am not sure I am ready to blame him completely if it happened like he said. I mean, you should always give yourself sufficient room to react but hey, I should eat more leafy greens too. I would chalk his wreck up to "S&%@ Happens". Sounds like you and the other kid both learned a lesson. That idiot will now know how to use a bike path and you will know to watch out for idiots.

Denny Koll

I think you showed admirable restraint. Most of us would have peed on him too.

Ed Holland

To the OP: This is part of the reason I never bother to call "on your left" (or right, if I'm in the UK). Either there is room to pass safely without warning, or there is not. In the latter case I'll bide my time.

Some of this is cultural. Where I grew up & have ridden many miles in England, cyclists do not call out to others as a matter of course. This is part of the reason I don't do it. It seems a more common practice here in the USA, though not universal.

Cheers,

Ed

timmhaan

reminds of what i did to my co-worker this morning. he tried to put some more files in my inbox! i was like, man, what the hell you think you're doing!? i didn't even wait for his reponse, i quickly UPPER CUTTED him to the jaw and then BROKE his arm. while he was crying in pain, i towered over him and asked if my other co-workers wanted a piece of me too. they all ran away like cowards.

Portis

This "on your left" BS is just that. Everybody acts like it is a widely known universal means of communication. Most in the cycling community don't even know what it means. Nobody out of the community does. Get real. YOu crashed yourself.

Paul Barnard

Chuck Norris posts on BF!!!

DScott

On our bike paths (yes, they're clearly labeled "Bike Path") even at the most lightly used times of day, I can easily pass a hundred or more people walking, running, rollerblading, pushing strollers, riding all sorts of bikes, and even combos of the above. Yes, I am responsible for not riding stupidly. Yes, I'll quietly zoom on by sometimes, or yell out "on your left!" when it seems necessary to warn them or keep them from drifting into me.

However, I'm also not the only cyclist, and it's quite possible that on even a short, say ten minute walk, a pedestrian can be passed by dozens of cyclists going in the same direction.

So why then do these non-cyclist users always seem so surprised when it happens *again*. They so often act like they have completely defective short term memory.

Oh, and if they're wearing earphones, I don't even bother calling out anymore. I'll even buzz them just *a bit*, hoping it reminds them to pay better attention. Safely, of course.

Seems more succinct than a lengthy dialogue about bike path etiquette.

aicabsolut

Or, as another example, someone makes a left turn from the right hand lane (assuming more than one lane per side).

7rider

So what do you do if there's a horse and rider on a MUP?

I know what to do if I encounter one on an off-road trail.

FixdGearHead

Smash the horse's nose with your elbow

fuzzalow

I view the use of "on your left" as a veiled form of self absorbed cycling elitism. As though the call of "on your left" is the command to yield and part waves to the speed of the superior cyclist yet to pass. It is ludicrous to hear a kitted cyclist admonish riders on the MUP to "hold your line" when one of the riders ahead is 7 years old riding a pink Barbie bike with white tires and handlebar streamers. This is seen on the Cape every day in season.

All kidding aside, the right of way on the MUP belongs not to the speedy but to the slow. Assume nothing as to skills or awareness on anyone encountered along the MUP. That's all you have to know to stay in 1 piece on the MUP. In truth, the superior cyclist is the one that knows to control the risk presented in the conditions that he or she is riding in.

The OP caused the wreck or was incompetent, wrecking at 5-8mph is driver error. The prudent SOP is to assume the worst from all other vehicles encountered so that your own margin of safe spacing increases and you can stay in 1 piece. IMO riding a MUP is the last resort of any experienced cyclist but it's nice just to trolley along and smell the flowers too. But you know going in that the pace will vary from unclipped to 17mph, and you will exchange greeting with the friendlys you pass along the way.

Got an itch in your pants to dial it up to 400 watts then go out into traffic and play with the big boys.

efrobert

This incident happened on the Cherry Creek Bike way in Denver. A very popular bike path. These are the rules of the bike path, as posted on signs all along the Bike way, as well as on all the Bike way maps.

"Rules for Multi-use trails"
Ride on the Right. Single File. With Flow of Traffic.
Don't block trail, Groups should be in single file when trail users are present and should never use more that one half of the trail to allow for the flow of traffic.
CONTROL YOUR SPEED.
Obey speed regulations, Slow down and use caution when approaching or overtaking other trail users.
WHO YIELDS THE TRAIL?
Before passing another trail user, be courteous and make your approach known. A friendly greeting "Hello, passing on your left" of ringing a bell is considerate.

I did exactly as I should have according to the Bike way rules as posted. The person I was passing didn't. Instead of staying to the right he swerved all over, eventually riding perpendicular, right off the left side of the trail, where I hit his rear tire as it was sideways to the path BLOCKING the trail.
I agree I should have given him even more time before I pulled next to him. But I do not agree with this "Least common denominator" mentality. That the slowest, stupidest, most inexperienced rider should dictate how everyone else has to ride.
Bottom line, just like driving a car, you should know the RULES of the road and know how to control your vehicle, or bike in this case.
You couldn't drive on the highway, swerve all over the lanes, crashing into every car that passed you because they startled you. People wouldn't say "Oh he's just an inexperienced driver, the other drivers should have know he was on the road and stayed home today".
No, the person would loose there license, because inexperienced or not, you need to know the rules of the road and know how to control your vehicle. NO exceptions, Beginer or not.

clfjmpr44

You took the words right out of my mouth. I used to be of the school that no notification was the safest, because you wouldn't startle someone into acting stupid. That changed a few years ago after a ride with my wife. She observed my behavior and as a jogger, she hates when bikes fly by unannounced on the MUP. This is part of the reason I now shout "on your left" when I am pretty far back. Gives the people time to do something stupid, then regain composure...and their lane.
For those that don't hear so well, I slow down. T-boning is no fun.

The other reason I shout "on your left" is as an insurance policy. If I ever end up hitting someone, I can at least defend myself to them with the fact that I attempted to give notice. Not saying anything and hitting someone leaves you rightfully open to abuse. Of course I understand that in court, the one from behind in an accident has no excuse.
A

fuzzalow

^^^
You know that virtually anyone here on BF is more a brother of crankarms that any other jamoke we may encounter on the MUP. So what you're saying may be correct, but in reality that's not often the way it is. So I ride avoiding the MUP at all costs but when I find myself on it, I accept it for what it is. Dumb down to the LCD, yeah sure, unfortunately. But I can't make these jamokes better, more aware riders unless they want to make the effort themselves to do so. As I like to consider myself a serious, skilled cyclist, I will go the extra mile in compensation to the jamokes lack of skill because I expect nothing of them and. most importantly, I want to stay in 1 piece. So it's really all in my own self-interest, really.

I rarely get snotty with those riders I encounter because I believe there is always the possibility that even a jamoke may become interested in taking up the sport and become more skilled than the jamoke that they currently are. I don't want to be a cyclist prick that give someone a reason not to take up the sport because to an outsider they'll have stories about some cyclist who behaved like a prick. Kind of like the jamoke MUP stories we're sharing here right now. It's also bad cycling karma - So it's really all in my own self-interest, really.

At the end of the day all you can do is watch out for yourself. When you've decided that your own greater skill and experience can easily deal with the MUP jamoke, those guys will cease to show up on your radar.

See you out there with the rubber side down.

bluecd

for little kids with their parents, groups of walkers not paying attention, and anyone who generally looks dicey, that is exactly what i do. i don't have a problem with slowing down to a complete stop to pass someone if i have to. just gives me a reason to get out of the saddle & sprint back up to speed.

for experienced looking cyclists (most of the time you can tell who that is as you approach) an "on your left", loud & far in advance so they know you're coming, works just fine.

for headphone wearers i don't say anything but prepare myself for anything and pass as far left & as quickly as possible.

VT to CA

The majority of bike paths do not have posted signs- I'd say roughly half do, at least out here in southern California... the nicer ones usually, but there's quite a few low-rent loops with nothing but No Parking signs...

Let's recap. The argument you've made is this:

1. The OP's bike path definitely had rules posted (you don't know this)

2. The rules of this particular bike path are that when passing, one must call out "On your left!" (you don't know this)

3. Since the newb didn't read or follow these rules (which may well be a figment of your imagination) he is at fault.

Your argument is wrong for two reasons.

One, as I just said, you don't know if any posted rules at this bike path exist, and if they do exist, what they are.

Two, regardless of the rules, it's still up to the faster rider coming up behind to make sure that proper communication and understanding have been established before attempting to pass or getting on somebody's wheel.

This second reason is just basic cycling. I hope you grasp this. If you don't, than I for one wouldn't want to ride with you, because you probably also have no idea how to hold a line, pull smoothly when it's your turn, shuffle the pull, etc. etc.

FIVE ONE SIX

every time i say "On Your Left" the person in front of me moves to the left and looks over their right shoulder, so now i just say "On Your Right" and i never have a problem passing them on the left...

VT to CA

I hope you're joking.

If you're not, I'd like to invite you out to LA... you can try pulling that sh*t down at Venice Beach, where I'm sure you'll end up getting your head blown off.

OldsCOOL

....and make sure your catheter storage tank is squared away.

Oh, that was another thread.

Camilo

+1 here. Our MUPs have no dividing line and no posted rules other than "motorized vehicles prohibited" (which isn't always adhered to either). If it were in my town, OP would be totally wrong. No question, no debate.

Camilo

Denny, you have absolutely no basis for making this statement. Do you realize that this forum not only has users from throughout the world? How could you POSSIBLY know anything about MUP rules anywhere but your own tiny part of the world. As I mentioned in another post, our MUPS have no dividing lines, no posted rules.

spry

......ran into his spaceship and flew away.

spry

Northern Mich Eh?Do you know Jan?

OldsCOOL

I think so. Wasnt she going out with steve for a while?