Yeah probably, if he was a serious cyclist and I had broken some cycling code he could have explained it to me right then, but I didn't want to appear that I was a noob (although I am).

Most riders that are half alive and not listening to an Ipod can hear you coming up in back of them a mile away. I will usually glance over my shoulder well before on overtaker passes me so that they know that I know that they are going to overtake me. Nevertheless, a good percentage of overtakers wait until they are withing three feet of my left ear and then scream at the top of their lungs "on your left!", causing me to pee my chamee. Thats rude.

Yeah if that's the case then I would agree, but I definitely did not scream anything. I try to be as courteous as possible to others out on the road so I don't feel like I did anything rude at all in this case. The more I think about it the more I think maybe he was just joking and that was just his way of trying to strike up a conversation with me.

Again I am not up on all the biker etiquette so I was just ensuring I did not break some long standing biker code by passing the slower rider.

Not rude, probably a new rider that does not know the protocol

This.

On the commute to work today, I scared the crap out of this girl on a mountain bike. I said my usual "on your left", but apparently her EARBUDS WERE JAMMED INTO HER EARS TOO FAR, and she did not hear me. When I passed, she almost jumped out of her skin.

Yeah, can ya tell it's a pet peeve of mine to share the road with cyclists, in traffic, oblivious to what is going on around them?

/rant

"On your left" is pretty much the standard.

If I'm overtaking riders I think might not be experienced, i.e on cruisers, I'll make a clicking noise by pulling and releasing the inside shift lever of my Campy Ergos. It's a distinctive noise and will make people turn around and look; then I make eye contact.

That or go wide and get past fast.

Passing can be rude if you:
-Pass too closely for the comfort of the rider you are passing. Give at least 3ft, they may not be racers used to close position.
-Pass and then slow down in front of other rider.
-Pass when the rider you are passing is likely slowing down for a red light/stop ahead.

When I pass I rarely say anything, but I also pass using far left side of shared lane or in the adjacent lane which usually means at least 6ft of passing clearance and in a place where normally there would be motor vehicles passing the cyclist.

I used to say "on your left," but got sick of riders and pedestrians moving to their lefts, so I changed it to "passing left." Seems to work a little better.

I usually give them a few words of encouragement like " move it fatso" or "quit now and save money" Its important to keep it friendly out there.

i've had people get really huffy when I pass them, esp. those with bikes that cost twice what mine does. people just hate being passed, it seems... i personally don't really care.

Not rude... pass commuters all the time, if they are slow & holding a line I might not say anything, just pass them with a small wave & a nod. If they have some speed on 'em or I'm not sure what they are doing, I'll say, "on your left" with the small wave and nod. Guy must've just been new or startled.

Nonsense! Just add some mandatory BF Average Speed Inflation and you're ready to go pro! In all seriousness, "on your left" seems like a MUP formality, and I have never had anyone say it to me while on the road, but I realized on a ride the other day that it's better than saying "hello/hi/howdy" as you pass them. I was passing a rider on Saturday and planned to say "Howdy"* when he started to change lanes to make a left turn when I was next to him but out of sight, and he just saw me and got a little startled.

*I almost always say "howdy" to everyone I pass, but I NEVER say it in off the bike, and I don't know why.

I have to believe the other rider was joking. How is it rude to overtake someone? Unless he thought you were wheel sucking. I rarely encounter other cyclists on my route, but when I do, I just go ahead and overtake (when I can) with a quick "how ya doin'" or "nice day".

I always yell out "on your left", sometimes a quick "left" if I am suffering, or if there are multiple groups of people I am overtaking and too lazy to say it all, and sometimes, I mix it up and say, "coming by, left hand side". I used to just scoot on by, and not say a word, but it freaked out a few people I noticed, so I started with the vocal warnings. If someone ever said some crap like that to me, I would have responded depending on my mood with "harden the f__k up!", or "keep at it you'll get faster" as I dropped them with a quickness. It's not your fault he is slow. I was just thinking how I have never been passed to know if anyone else signals. The good thing is he is on the bike, starting to get in shape. Speed will come later.

Yeah like I said earlier when I did slow down and talked to him he said he had less than 100 miles on the bike so I figure he was still pretty new. I remember when I first started I was barely doing 8-10 mile rides and averaging something like 14 mph. I bought my bike almost 2 years ago, but only have a little over 800 miles on the bike now since it was in storage for about 15 months while I finished up school. I finally got the bike back out last month and plan to ride every weekend between now and when I leave for a 2 month school up in Rhode Island.

I really hope you're joking....

He isn't. He has spikes on his shoes. I've seen it.

no kidding! I had to overtake a paceline going about 13 mph on the flats. I had coasted to a really low speed to drink and get some food out of my pocket so this paceline over took me. I thought they would be long gone by the time I finished eating and drinking but there they were right in front of me slowing me down. I overtook them and they gave me the stink eye....all 6 of them. 13 mph paceline? come on! I was hardly going at it hard and i was doing 19.

At that speed, is it even really a paceline? More like a group of people coincidentally riding single-file. I can't imagine the aerodynamic benefits to be very significant at that speed, you'd have to be pretty much rubbing tires with the person in front of you to find any kind of draft at all.

Next time drop him like a hot potato, I love passing cf guys in team cloths on my old steel bike and tennis shoes and flapping tank top, they get all wound up and pass me back but after a bit, they wear down and I pass them again and leave them.

LOL, they whine and complain, young people, they have to learn somehow.

Having to slow down to drink and pull something from your pocket to eat is just as bad as a 13 mph paceline!

beanz is merciless!

After calling out "on your left", did you pass him on the right? I know several people who still can't tell right from left half the time...

"I didn't want to appear that I was a noob (although I am)."

Still a noob with a 2008 join date? Slow learner, huh? ;-)

lol!