On your left

[ritaxis]

So I'm a juror for the first time. I'm not happy to have gotten this case in particular about which I will say nothing to anybody until it's over, but somebody's got to do it. The jury selection process was hilarious: it took only a day and it had more people excusing themselves than were excused by the judge and lawyers put together, which tells you something. Or it will tell you something in about three weeks when I tell you the keywords that had people shaking and crying and begging to be let off. HInt: it's not that bad. I will say I kind of like the judge and neither lawyer seems to be horrible.

Anyway, the courthouse is about a mile from my house so I'm biking. We have an hour and a half lunch so I'm coming home for lunch. So that adds four miles of biking to my day -- a distance I could easily have been doing all along and probably should have been.

Half the distance is on a fairly busy street. Not New York City busy, but busy enough. The other half is on pedestrian-bicycle paths (mixed use by design) along the top of the levee and through the park by the benchlands. Here is my observation. Not everybody on a bicycle bothers to say anything when they pass walkers and slower bikes. And they really, really should. OH my, they really, really should.

I've been wanting to talk about this for a long time, actually. When I walk on the Moore Creek Trail with my dog, for example, it's a serious problem. I am walking with a dog, I have intermittent problems walking, I don't hear super well, and often I'm foraging wild fruit. If I think I am alone on the path my first thought isn't "cower over here on the very right edge of the path where the brambles aand poison oak are in case some hotdog with a silent bicycle comes zooming up behind me with no warning." I'm saying I might wander a little in the path. Other walkers might have small children with them, or people with walkers or other reasons why they aren't necessarily going to be completely predictable in their trajectory unless they know someone is coming.

When I ride on the levee I am far from the fastest bicycle out there. I do cling to the right when there are no pedestrians to pass but I am not going to hang out on the very edge of the asphalt. That's not safe, as any bicyclist knows well. Also, honestly, coming up from the underpasses that go under the bridges, I might wobble a bit on the steep part. If you're a hotdog on a fast silent bicycle and you're going to overtake me or a pedestrian, you should really, really, really say something. That's the only way we know that you're coming and that now is the time to focus on being predictable and cooperating with your passing venture. Honestly, I will cooperate. I have no desire to be creamed by a hotdog on a silent bicycle, whether I am walking or riding.

"On your left" is a good thing to say because nobody but bicyclists say that, so if your bicycle is silent the person in front of you knows what's going on. "Excuse me," "Passing," or "Watch out" are less likely to convey the whole message so cleanly. And while "ting ting" is apparently what they say in Amsterdam, it probably wouldn't work in Santa Cruz, since few will have heard it.

Another tip. If the slow little old ladies in front of you are meandering over on the left side of the path looking at the cute little duckies, do not try, as I did, saying "on your right" and slipping around that way. It doesn't work. It confuses them and they go every which way at once as they are trying to process what you're doing. I will never do that again. (the good thing about being slow is that you can stop very quickly if you're in such a situation, so nobody got hurt or even mad. We were all little old ladies, so we just all apologized and laughed at ourselves for being doofuses)


Another thing: people give you very nice responses. Some people avow as how it's really quite a beautiful day, isn't it? Some people thank you for having said something. And one fellow said "You certainly are," which made me wonder.

edit: it also means I have to cancel the appointment to have my refrigerator looked at Tuesday. Oh well.

Comments

[joycemocha.livejournal.com]

Saying something is also important when coming up on someone riding a horse, especially if you're riding a racing bike with a higher tire PSI than the typical road bike. The wheels sound different on pavement and horses tend to startle more at the sound of a fast racing bike than from someone riding at a more reasonable rate.

Mocha taught me this, because she won't startle at a regular bike (non-racing). But a racing bike startles her, and it's clearly an auditory startle, not a visual, because of when and where she reacts.

[hrj.livejournal.com]

Downhill skiers have also been known to use "on your left". (I have a bell on my commute bike which I use to good effect on the shared-use paths that make up about a third of my route to the BART station. But if there's a dog or small child involved, I'll slow to a speed where I can stop on a dime if necessary.)

[ritaxis.livejournal.com]

But I doubt that anybody's going to think a downhill skier is coming along the levee here, and if they did think so, they'd be sure to jump out of the way.

[heleninwales.livejournal.com]

After one summer of confusion and frustration, I bought a bell for my bike. As I usually ride on the old railway track, which isn't tarmac, the bike joggles enough on the slightly uneven surface to keep the bell gently tinkling most of the time. That's often sufficient warning, but if necessary I can actually ring it to attract attention.

The thing that irritates me is people who seem to have no concept that the track is shared with cyclists and you'll get, say, a family of four with two dogs on extending leads blocking the track from side to side, ambling along talking completely oblivious to anyone coming up behind and ringing a bell at them.

[al-zorra.livejournal.com]

There is no question that bicyclists breaking every traffic rule there is all the time and this almost all the bicyclists -- plus riding with no lights and earbuds in and looking at their cell phones -- are a huge and constant danger to my safety and longevity.

They are entirely out of control.

Love, C.