do you shout to warn others where you are?

The Northern Monkey

if your overtaking somebody, say on a track/bridleway would you shout to them before hand which way your going to pass them? ie "BIKES LEFT" etc etc

just asking because i sometimes get shouted back at by walkers...sometimes it makes them jump but surely its better than knocking them over! and i do feel like a bit of a pleb at times.

this is due to when i was back in london on a bridleway and another cyclist came speeding up behind us and just rang his bell!! now how the hell am i supposted to know where he is?! this lead to me going to the "wrong" side (which was the side i was closest to anyways as i wasnt exactly in the middle of the path) and i nearly knocked him into the Thames and got a load of abuse!

Over to you
B

beski

I would have thought a ding on the bell from a distance, which then gives whoever/whatever a chance to see you, & going to the side with the most space would be sensible. Slowing down & being positive in your positioning so that others are confident in where you are going.
Treating others as you would like to be treated I suppose, I can see that a shout if you are approaching at speed could be startling

dunker

if they hav'nt heard me breaking as my brakes are having a good day, i'll usually slow down and ask something like, can i come past please. then wait for them to go which ever way they want and gather their dogs or kids to the side. same works with slower cyclists riding in the middle of the path/trail. so kinda yes and no i guess.

if they're already on the side i'll coast up and give them a hiya or good morning and wait for the "omg you scarred mee!" hehe

dave_hill

I give 'em plenty of warning from behind, generally "bike up!" or something similar and I slow right down. This gives them time to slow down, turn round, assess the risk and decide which side they're going to move to. I then pass wide and slow with plenty of big smiles and thank you's.

In fact, I've even started stopping on occasion and having a natter with walkers. It completely baffles them and I find that forcing them to into a conversation can often have extremely beneficial effects...

With horses, I start the process even earlier and nearly always stop for a quick word.

DON'T creep up behind other trail users, THEY CAN'T HEAR YOU!!! It's tantamount to creeping up behind your gran and bursting a crisp bag. You just don't do it!

If you're approaching each other from the front, if it's walkers, slow down, and again big grins, smiles, hello's etc. With horses, unless the track is plenty wide enough its best to always stop and indicate that they should proceed. Even then, don't set off again until the beast is well past you.

nicklouse

mount a bell to your bars, like the bear bells they have in BC.

Andy B

Bears have bells :shock:

I'm pretty much the same as Dave_Hill when on the trails.

dave_hill

nicklouse wrote:

like the bear bells they have in BC.

Sod that, a Colt Magnum .44 is better...

Come to think of it... :twisted:

Dazzza

Bells can spook horses, i know i used to ride em, best way with a horse is to approach diagonally so it can see you without startling it.

indysmith

I'm always suprised how bloody deaf people are!
I usually come up behind people, expecting them to hear me, they don't.
I say "excuse me"...
I shout "excuse me"...
I fucking SCREAM "excuse me"...
Am I a ghost? can they not hear anything? Are they just really rude?
It drives me insane. I've actually searched the internet for handlebar mounted foghorns before.
When eventually I've been yelling for about 10 seconds and they finally hear me, they jump out their skin! This is when the abuse begins, I receive all manner of nasty words, looks, gestures etc.
You just can't overestimate how much I loathe the general public.

nicklouse

best results are with NO BRAKES

grumsta

indysmith wrote:

It drives me insane. I've actually searched the internet for handlebar mounted foghorns before..

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=20105

FSR_XC

I shout 'coming through' or 'passing' on right/ left.

I then slow down a bit & say thank you.

Never had any issues.

toby_g

^^ I do same as above.

The key is the Thank you as they move aside.

schmako

They'll hear me coming whether its my Pro II's buzzing away or just me skidding close to them, combination of both usually works pretty well.

cee

I often let them know I am there, but don't usually tell them which direction I am coming past them.

From snowboarding, this 'Passing on the left' thing can be seen as a bit of a no-no...

It just seems to panic and confuse the person in front.

It is the person who is behinds responsibility to navigate safely, and the person in front should have to make no adjustments to their trajectory.

Obviously this is a little different on singletrack........there is nothing worse than tailing someone at a trail centre who is a lot slower than you would like to be going, but simply won't allow you through. I have asked them if I can get past on a switchback or somewhere handy......but usually let them move and head for the gap.

*edit.....

oh and a thank you when they do let you through.

dave_hill

cee wrote:

From snowboarding, this 'Passing on the left' thing can be seen as a bit of a no-no...

It just seems to panic and confuse the person in front.

This is particularly true of large groups of walkers (that pisses me off too, but that's another story...).

That's why I give them plenty of warning and let them make their own minds up which way they're going to go.

I had this a while ago riding down the bridleway from the New Delight Inn at Colden in West Yorkshire down towards Jack Bridge and Hebden Bridge. Anyone who knows this track will tell you that the top section is fast, rocky and fairly tricky.

I'd got a fair bike of speed up at one point and was crashing and banging my way down, but about 100 yards ahead I could see a fairly large group of the red sock brigade, probably 20 of them. I slowed down, got within about 50 metres and called "Bike Up!"

No response. Gap decreasing.

"Bike Up!"

Still no response. Gap now 15 yards.

"BIKE UP!!!!"

The response was amazing. They all turned round at once, panic immediately set in (despite the fact that I was almost at a standstill) and chaos ensued. If you've ever seen the Keystone Cops, you'll know what happened. Running about, banging into each other, packs, trekking poles and map cases everywhere.

By this time I'd stopped and was just watching the carnage unfold, open-mouthed. Eventually they sorted themselves out, all moved to one side of the track or other, and I proceeded.

Big thank yous and smiles all round, lovely day for it, thank you, thank you.

"You ought to have a bell!"

Oh dear. Red rag to a bull. Obergruppenfuhrer Yodel-Ay-He-Hoo just had to open his big fat mouth didn't he?

Stop. "I'm sorry?"

"You ought to have a bell. Then we could hear you coming instead of creeping up on us like that! You could have hurt someone!"

"As a cyclist I'm only required by law to carry an audible means of warning to other road users and pedestrians as to my presence. As I have a big mouth, fully functioning set of vocal chords and two highly-developed lungs, I think that I'm more than covered, don't you? Fact is you didn't hear me anyway despite repeated warnings, so I fail to see what difference a piddly little bell would have made! Thank you for your timely advice!"

And rode off. Now none of the above was yelled. I remained perfectly calm, didn't raise my voice and never made him feel threatened. I have no doubt that none of it sank in, but I felt very smug leaving him there opening and shutting his mouth like so many beached fish...

cee

dave_hill wrote:

"You ought to have a bell!"

I'd have been too tempted with the 'you are a efin bell' response, but your retort is much more satisfying!

delcol

for horses i always stop move off the trail and let them pass always get a friendly response off them..

hikers are a breed to them selfs bell or no bell they still find something to moan at, i always slow down give them enough room and warn them with a excuse me or a pleasnt please may i pass and always thank them..

but as dave said you always find one bell end "you should have a bell " to which i reply i always have i bell it just doesn't ring and i cant really get it out in a public place...

i even had one guy who was in his group of about 8 hikers 4 abreast across the trail completely hogging the trail moan about having a bell despite me ringing it frantically as we approached them,. he said something like shouldn't you have a bell i replied shouldn't you have an hearing aid whats thet i have just been ringing to which his mate replied he was ring his bell,....

Rich Hcp

I usually slow down and they sometimes hear me crashing towards them!

I'll say, 'Coming through' and see what happens, usually chaos!!

Most people are fine.

Dog walkers moan, I tell them they shouldn't keep pets!

Joggers never get out of the way......

dave_hill

Rich Hcp wrote:

Joggers never get out of the way......

Yes but joggers can't hear you for the pain in their joints...

Have you noticed how ramblers and joggers never smile?

stubs

I like to creep up behind dog walkers till I am about a foot behind them then shout at the top of my voice CAN I COME THROUGH PLEASE then THANK YOU as I pass

its not big and its not funny but it cheers me up

dave_hill

stubs wrote:

its not big and its not funny

True. Especially when said dog walker turns out to be me and punches your lights out. Or lets their dog sink it's teeth into your big fat juicy calves.

stubs

dave_hill wrote:

stubs wrote:

its not big and its not funny

True. Especially when said dog walker turns out to be me and punches your lights out. Or lets their dog sink it's teeth into your big fat juicy calves.

:shock: Why would you try to punch my bike lights what have they ever done to you :shock:

The Northern Monkey

I shout 'coming through' or 'passing' on right/ left.

I then slow down a bit & say thank you.

see now this is what i do, i dont shout so loud that it seems i'm trying to people.

i just dont like some of the responses...one from today...."oooo you could have bloody warned me!!"...what the hell do you think i was doin you muppet!!! lol!

handlebar airhorn sounds fun tho

The Northern Monkey

dave_hill wrote:

cee wrote:

"You ought to have a bell. Then we could hear you coming instead of creeping up on us like that! You could have hurt someone!"

"As a cyclist I'm only required by law to carry an audible means of warning to other road users and pedestrians as to my presence. As I have a big mouth, fully functioning set of vocal chords and two highly-developed lungs, I think that I'm more than covered, don't you? Fact is you didn't hear me anyway despite repeated warnings, so I fail to see what difference a piddly little bell would have made! Thank you for your timely advice!"

Epic, i wish i could think up something like that on the spot!

beski

I like to creep up behind dog walkers till I am about a foot behind them then shout at the top of my voice CAN I COME THROUGH PLEASE then THANK YOU as I pass

its not big and its not funny but it cheers me up

I think trying to be considerate, even when others aren't!, helps the cyclists cause & influences the attitude of others to them

This is what the Highway Code says...

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BIKES
The main law for bikes is currently BS6102, probably soon to be superseded by new CEN standards, but this is for retail use only ie bikes must meet those minimum standards at the point of sale.
Bikes ridden at night need front and rear lights, flashing or steady.

At night a bicycle must also be fitted with a red rear reflector (and amber pedal reflectors, if manufactured after 1/10/85).

At the point of sale (ie shops) bikes now have to come fitted with bells but there's no legal requirement for them to be fitted to bicycles no longer on shop display.

The Highway Code does not stipulate that bells must be used. It states: "Be considerate of other road users, particularly blind and partially sighted pedestrians. Let them know you are there when necessary, for example by ringing your bell."

Another 'audible warning device' is the human voice: a polite 'excuse me' can often come across as a lot less aggressive than the apparently insistent tinkling of a bell. However, 'angry of Tunbridge Wells' type letters to newspapers continue to insist that cyclists - from church-hopping old maids to downhill mountain-bikers - ought to use bells, despite the fact their use often scares the bejesus out of pedestrians.

On the Continent, the use of bells is more widespread and pedestrians do not leap out of their skin when they hear a bicycle bell behind them. Perhaps, in time, the use of bicycle bells in the UK will once again mean cyclist approaching, please don't move to the side rather than oi, cyclist coming, get out of my way.

There's a lot more info on bike standards and legal requirements – for instance on lights – by Chris Juden of the CTC here.

HIGHWAY CODE
There are many 'do's' and 'don'ts' in The Highway Code. It's important to note that cyclists have rights and responsibilities - not just rights...

ratty2k

Nearly all the walkers we have come across in the Peaks have been fantastic, I usually holler something along the lines of "Can I get past please?" usually from 20-30 yards away. When passing always say thanks, and because of this, usually get a cheery response back and as mentioned, a few have stopped for a chat.
Only one bloke has muttered about "shouldn't be riding here" but seeing as its a bridleway I have as much right as he.... and as for responsibilities, yes I do have them- hence the warnings and the miserable bugger well I slowed right down and gave as wide a berth as possible.... Cant see how I can do much more?

andyonwight

I may look like a fool at times when cycling to and from work, but I wear a hi-vis waistcoat even in the summer and have a small bell on the handle bars which is used quite a lot on the cycle path I use in the evenings(not many people about at 5am)

Most people do hear either that or me puffing like a steam train and look over shoulder and move usually to the left. I find that riding as per a road makes life a little easier.

Whenout and about on the bridle paths I tend to make more noise such as the bell which seems to ding all the time going over the rough bits and slow to a stop when coming across groups of people or horses allowing them the room (giving me the chance for a short rest and a drink)

beski wrote:

This is what the Highway Code says...

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS FOR BIKES
The main law for bikes is currently BS6102, probably soon to be superseded by new CEN standards, but this is for retail use only ie bikes must meet those minimum standards at the point of sale.
Bikes ridden at night need front and rear lights, flashing or steady.

At night a bicycle must also be fitted with a red rear reflector (and amber pedal reflectors, if manufactured after 1/10/85).

I just wish sometimes the police would stop and warn some of the younger cyclists round here who insist on riding thier bikes with no lights or reflectors on, down the middle or wrong side of the road at night wearing completely back outfits :roll: :x . I have no doubt that it would be me to blame if I ever knocked one over.

xtreem

I'm a very shy person, so when there are people on the trail, I realy want to shout
"Watch out, bike", but I don't do that and instead I slow down to their pace and they can
hear me coming (braking) and they let me pass.

Jimbob_no5

i don't shout or anything i just stop pedalling everyone hears pro II's

Amos

I usually slow down and shout a cheery "Morning" or "Hello" etc.

I've found engaging walkers in a friendly manner is more likely to get them to move out of the way without giving me an earful then tearing up behind them. It's a lot harder for them to justify being mouthy if you are nice to them.

There are a few who will still say something like "wheres your bell" but it's not worth letting it bother you, lifes to short to be wound up by some rambler out with their sticks!