Cycling etiquette

suztheq

I can definitely see both sides. I am a cyclist and the path that I use to ride has a 20 mph speed limit. We have cyclists, runners, people on roller blades, walkers (some with dogs, kids, strollers...) all trying to use the same path. I think everybody needs to exercise some common sense and some overall courtesy. I do go 20 mph on the path, when it is safe and reasonable. I am about to meet up with my group to ride. It's going to be 6 pm, after work on a gorgeous day. Safe to go 20 mph? Absolutely not. There are way too many people out at this time. 20 mph 8 am on a Saturday? You bet. There is a cyclist duo that tears down the path and the warning they give you is very loud whistle and very little time to react. Honestly, I would love to push them over (I would never do that because they could be seriously injured). But there are plenty of times when I've been trying to be polite by letting people know that I am passing on the left and they don't move to single file, or say something snarky, or don't pull their dog in, or don't tell their kids to move over and it's super frustrating. I really do hope your dog is OK. I can't stand hearing about rude cyclists, however there seems to be plenty of dumb people out there...

_Dan_

kaned_ferret, nothing a stick won't fix next time you see him on the path ;-)

Eleisabelle

as a cyclist and a runner, i see both sides of it. personally, i don't think dogs should ever be off their leash, unless in a specifically closed in dog park. new york city has them all over the place, and most people are very very good about keeping their dogs on leashes while in public.

now please do tell us, was the dog kind of running all over the place, since he had the freedom of being leashless, and ran into the cyclist as much as the cyclist ran into the dog?

i've been on my bike and and almost got knocked down by a pebble. i find it hard to believe that a cyclist could run over your dog and just keep going.

It sounds like the OP was in an area where dogs are permitted to be off leash. If you are a cyclist in such an area, it's your responsibility and risk to deal with dogs that might be running around everywhere. Same if you're walking your dog ON leash in an area designated for cyclists.

jazz0matic

As a commute cyclist I always get so furious when I see bikes on the sidewalk or going against traffic. So many cyclists want to be cars with pedestrian privileges. That is just plain wrong. If a bike wants to be in the road it should act and be treated like a car. If a bike is on a pedestrian path they should act and be treated like a pedestrian. When bikes don't follow this code others don't know what to expect from them and a lot of accidents happen that way.

Most trails and paths I know of have a designed bike lane (usually to the right) and bikes are supposed to call out if the need to pass someone or leave the lane. What happened is really awful and gives all cyclists a bad name

heybales

Agree with so many comments made.

If the cyclist chooses NOT to use the road where he belongs, then he should be prepared for the facts of trail use, slower when people are out.

If he really needs a workout, he should be on unused path, or unused road if he is concerned. Or go slow using the path to the road.

When I hit the paths, I know it's not for a workout or to have a good avg speed.

jenj1313

Yeah... uncalled for. I hate when cyclists act like that because it makes us all look bad. Cyclists should always yield to pedestrians, period... and yes, I have been known to ride over the 15 mph speed limit on my local bike paths when there are no pedestrians, so I'm not just a rule-follower for the sake of being a rule follower, but... if we want cars to give us the right of way, how can we turn around and not yield to pedestrians?

One thing to all pedestrians, though... "on your left" means that I am going to pass on your left and you should stay to the right... it does NOT mean that you should move to the left (or allow your dog to pull to the left). That one seems to confuse a lot of people somehow.

kaned_ferret

as a cyclist and a runner, i see both sides of it. personally, i don't think dogs should ever be off their leash, unless in a specifically closed in dog park. new york city has them all over the place, and most people are very very good about keeping their dogs on leashes while in public.

now please do tell us, was the dog kind of running all over the place, since he had the freedom of being leashless, and ran into the cyclist as much as the cyclist ran into the dog?

i've been on my bike and and almost got knocked down by a pebble. i find it hard to believe that a cyclist could run over your dog and just keep going.

In response to this, it's quite different over here with regards to dog laws, and whilst I always keep my dogs on lead anywhere unsafe, eg roads, down the town or whatnot, when in the woods, or along the beach, it's normal to have dogs off lead, which I feel very fortunate to live in an area that allows and encourages that.

The cyclist was actually heading towards us, but at the speed he appeared and disappeared, I would think he didn't see my dog (she's pretty small after all), so I don't blame him for that, but I just felt the speed, and lack of etiquette to stop and see if she was ok was what was irking. She wasn't haring about all over the place, she's a sensible 7 years old and as I posted above, I've taught her "don't get run over!"

I'm all for everyone sharing public spaces, I live in a beautiful area that SHOULD be enjoyed by all, but if you're riding at that speed, use the roads please!

For future runs down the beach however, (if she still wants to come with me that is!), I'll be keeping her on lead around that time, the guy was obviously on his commute home so leisurely pacing wasn't going to come into it.

ETA: Actually we don't have dog parks round here at all!

jazz0matic

I'm going to ruffle some feathers here but in my experience most cyclists are @ssholes. Sorry if I offend any of you but it's just the truth, clogging street lanes during rush hours, weaving between cars, running stop signs, passing walkers without any warning...ugh, I can't stand it.

Those people suck and the only way to get bike car harmony is for us to all act the same. I often get into traffic and take a whole lane (when there's two going the same direction and there's no bike lane-- and in CA it's ok in the driver manual) because it's DANGEROUS for bikes on the shoulder. If traffic is crawling I'll scoot up on the shoulder even if I'm scared but I would never do it just to get in front of a car, I'm usually slower than them! I see so many cyclists disobeying traffic laws, I usually get angry and shout "red light!". The discord between cars and bikes is going to get us all killed

This is such a touche subject for me right now. I'll stop ranting, but you should check this girl out: http://bikeyface.com/ she has the right idea ^_^

engineman312

as a cyclist and a runner, i see both sides of it. personally, i don't think dogs should ever be off their leash, unless in a specifically closed in dog park. new york city has them all over the place, and most people are very very good about keeping their dogs on leashes while in public.

now please do tell us, was the dog kind of running all over the place, since he had the freedom of being leashless, and ran into the cyclist as much as the cyclist ran into the dog?

i've been on my bike and and almost got knocked down by a pebble. i find it hard to believe that a cyclist could run over your dog and just keep going.

In response to this, it's quite different over here with regards to dog laws, and whilst I always keep my dogs on lead anywhere unsafe, eg roads, down the town or whatnot, when in the woods, or along the beach, it's normal to have dogs off lead, which I feel very fortunate to live in an area that allows and encourages that.

The cyclist was actually heading towards us, but at the speed he appeared and disappeared, I would think he didn't see my dog (she's pretty small after all), so I don't blame him for that, but I just felt the speed, and lack of etiquette to stop and see if she was ok was what was irking. She wasn't haring about all over the place, she's a sensible 7 years old and as I posted above, I've taught her "don't get run over!"

I'm all for everyone sharing public spaces, I live in a beautiful area that SHOULD be enjoyed by all, but if you're riding at that speed, use the roads please!

For future runs down the beach however, (if she still wants to come with me that is!), I'll be keeping her on lead around that time, the guy was obviously on his commute home so leisurely pacing wasn't going to come into it.

i wasn't agreeing with the cyclist or anything, so thanks for not thinking i'm acting like a douche. i never ride with headphones, and always very concious of my surroundings and people around me. and even other cyclists bother me. swear to god, i rode past a couple going at a very leaisurly pace in the bike lane while next to each other and holding hands. and this is a very big, double wide bike lane, with traffic paint to seperate directions, and they still took up both lanes!! plus the cyclists 'playing' on the path.

and this bike lane is also seperated by park benches from the walking path. i never run on the bike path, and always tell runners that the running path is next to them. i mean, why would they want to risk being hit by a cyclist going 22 mph??

kaned_ferret

As a commute cyclist I always get so furious when I see bikes on the sidewalk or going against traffic. So many cyclists want to be cars with pedestrian privileges. That is just plain wrong. If a bike wants to be in the road it should act and be treated like a car. If a bike is on a pedestrian path they should act and be treated like a pedestrian. When bikes don't follow this code others don't know what to expect from them and a lot of accidents happen that way.

Most trails and paths I know of have a designed bike lane (usually to the right) and bikes are supposed to call out if the need to pass someone or leave the lane. What happened is really awful and gives all cyclists a bad name

This sums it up perfectly. I can only hope to make a better cyclist than fits this unfortunate stereotype!

IronmanPanda

On MUP the right of way as posted is Horses>Pedestrians>Bicycles.

MassiveDelta

On MUP the right of way as posted is Horses>Pedestrians>Bicycles.

no mention of dogs?

shenanigen

As a commute cyclist I always get so furious when I see bikes on the sidewalk or going against traffic. So many cyclists want to be cars with pedestrian privileges. That is just plain wrong. If a bike wants to be in the road it should act and be treated like a car. If a bike is on a pedestrian path they should act and be treated like a pedestrian. When bikes don't follow this code others don't know what to expect from them and a lot of accidents happen that way.

Most trails and paths I know of have a designed bike lane (usually to the right) and bikes are supposed to call out if the need to pass someone or leave the lane. What happened is really awful and gives all cyclists a bad name

I completely agree. I'm a commute cyclist in London and it is actually illegal to ride on the footpath (sidewalks) sometimes there is a cycle lane, but it is very short or also where cars park, so you are weaving in and out (over here its on the left :-)

I always use my little bell, thats what it is there for and is required by law, to nicely let people know if you need to pass. generally if i am on the canals and i see a dog i go rather slow because i don't know if he will be startled or one time the owner had to hold his dog because other wise he would have attacked me. poor thing maybe got ran over by a bike like your pet (im so glad they are ok)

So im terribly sorry you had this happen to you. I would have chucked something at them! on the topic of getting into cycling, im not sure what part of the world you live in but i would highly suggest it. it cuts down on travel costs to work, you get daily exercise, and its better on your body than running. (i only say that because i have bad knees and ankles, running can be good for other people too)

toaljasa

This was so not the case where we lived in Belgium. Lots and lots of bikes---we lived in a university town--but the vast majority obeyed the same rules that autos had. Plus it is a requirement that bikes have a bell on them to alert pedestrians. Oftentimes there would be separate pedestrian and bike lanes...we learned to not walk on the red bricks!

If a bike was on a road and could not move over, drivers of vehicles would patiently drive behind it until it was safe to drive around it.

It was quite civilized from both sides. The only annoying thing was when chums would want to ride side by side!

wellbert

Cyclists yield to pedestrians.
Pedestrians should keep dogs on a short leash, and stick to one side of the path on multi use pathways (Generally, cyclists on the right, pedestrians on the left.)
Cyclists should call "Side" or "Left" when coming up behind a pedestrian.

Cyclists should stay the hell off of regular sidewalks.
Joggers should stay the hell out of the bike lane.

everybody is happy.

PS - if a dog is unleashed, or pedestrians walk across the entire path, there is something called an 'Airzound' attached to my bicycle. It works quickly and efficiently at removing the problem.

IronmanPanda

On MUP the right of way as posted is Horses>Pedestrians>Bicycles.

no mention of dogs?

Not unless you're riding a dog on the MUP....

MassiveDelta

As a commute cyclist I always get so furious when I see bikes on the sidewalk or going against traffic. So many cyclists want to be cars with pedestrian privileges. That is just plain wrong. If a bike wants to be in the road it should act and be treated like a car. If a bike is on a pedestrian path they should act and be treated like a pedestrian. When bikes don't follow this code others don't know what to expect from them and a lot of accidents happen that way.

Most trails and paths I know of have a designed bike lane (usually to the right) and bikes are supposed to call out if the need to pass someone or leave the lane. What happened is really awful and gives all cyclists a bad name

This sums it up perfectly. I can only hope to make a better cyclist than fits this unfortunate stereotype!

In the adverse...I ride a Bike trail that was designed for bikes. That's its purpose. Its even called a bike trail. Walkers both with and without pets are always on this paved trail getting in the way and being a nuisance. I have gotten used to it and dont mind most of them as they stay to the edge and out of the way. However on more than one occasion a dog owner has had a dog on an extendable leash and the dog got across the path leash strung all the way. This trail is designed to be ridden long an hard it virtually flat with rolling hills and 20 miles long. Outback 40 is a nice ride as hard as you can go. so when I'm booking at 20ish MPH and this dog is strung across the trail there isn't much that can be done.

MassiveDelta

On MUP the right of way as posted is Horses>Pedestrians>Bicycles.

no mention of dogs?

Not unless you're riding a dog on the MUP....

Im guessing hitting a horse is not on your list of daily accomplishments at 20 mph

misskerouac

This reminded me of a saying I saw somewhere

"As a driver I hate pedestrians, As a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what my mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists"

Now, I agree, some cyclists are fine, but those a-holes who weave all through traffic, or take up a whole lane in rush hour do kind of get on my nerves. There was a cyclist the other day who went up onto the sidewalk to go around one car (it was slow as it was rush hour), then came back onto the road and cut me off and I had to slam on my brakes, I wanted to get out and smack him.

fittocycle

We have lots of bike paths here outside Denver. People walk, run, roller blade, and bike all on the same path. W

Whenever I ride my bike on the paths, I always slow down when coming up on someone. In fact, I have a cute little ice cream type bell that I ring, just to make sure people can hear me-especially those listening to music.

I am not fast on the paths like some of the cyclists. However, I nearly had an accident last summer. A lady was walking her dog and let the dog wander all over the trail. I gave warning I was coming and still had to come to a screeching halt, hitting the brakes hard. She had the dog on one of those extended leashes and did not shorten it. Those types of leashes are not a good idea on public trails and paths!