Cycling etiquette

kaned_ferret · March 2012

Following a fairly upsetting incident this evening I thought I would get people's opinions on cycling/pedestrian etiquette. I was doing my c25k session on the beach promenade, and a cyclist, going very fast, manages to run my dog over. He just kept going. Luckily she seems ok, but it has gotten a bee in my bonnet. I believe cyclists are now allowed to use the promenade, but this is fairly recent - they were originally banned (and the signs are still up!) Afaik, cycling etiquette should be to be courteous and give way to pedestrians, including children and dogs. Dogs are allowed to be off lead there by the way.

Now I'm in no way against bikes, most we come across are "dog savvy" and will slow when they see dogs. This guy was going fast, ran her over and kept going! In my opinion, if you want to ride as fast as a normal car would drive, you should be using the roads.

Am I being unreasonable? I just think if you're going to ride along such an area, you should maintain a slow speed. It's a popular beach that at this time of year is starting to fill with kids, and families with dogs wanting to enjoy evening walks. The area has been a matter of local debate as to whether it will become a recognised cycle route, but now sadly I'm erring on the side of being against it if the council don't also consider a speed limit to be enforced.

I'm planning on taking up cycling myself, and hope that my experiences as both a driver, and a pedestrian dog owner will make me a courteous rider!

cohophysh · March 2012

You are not being unreasonable. If this is a multi use path then cyclist should slow down. In Seattle, the MUP (Burke-Gillman Trail) the cycling speed is supposed to be 15mph (notice I said supposed to).

lynette111 · March 2012

On the bike/pedestrian paths where we walk/ride there are signs posted. If you are coming upon someone whether walking or riding that you are going to pass you need to let them know ahead of time by saying coming up on your left. That way they can get themselves, dog, etc.... to the right and not scare anyone half to death or worse yet someone gets hurt. My hubby and I were walking on the sidewalk recently and all of a sudden two men on bikes come barreling down on us from behind and yelled out last second they were going right when that was my instinct to go right and almost caused a collision. Of course they should have been on the road not the sidewalk!

Jgreenb · March 2012

This totally sucks! In my area, the bikes get first priority on the path followed by other wheeled items with runners and walkers as the lowest priority.

BrianSharpe · March 2012

Where I live pedestrians have the right of way on the MUP, are there rude and dangerous cyclists - you bet. Lately, the ones I've found the worst are the ones on the eBikes (they're silent, relatively fast and there's no training required) and the roller bladers who have perfected the art of swinging their arms in a manner that impedes both lanes.

The speed limit on our local paths is 20km/h - I don't normally ride on the paths as I like to go faster than that .

tonihayden · March 2012

holy crap................i wud have picked up anything i saw and threw it at him.......rude.......so so so rude. He ran over ur dog. The more i Read these things on here the more i am convinced that there are more evil peeps out there than good!!

i hope ur poor pooch really is ok.

Tropical_Turtle · March 2012

Pedestrians have the right away. This is one thing that drives me freakin crazy about bicyclists ( I see them run red lights and wonder why they dang near cause accidents) - they think they rule the road ways, and violate all sorts of rules of the road (on and off) If there are people around, be courteous, especially when crowded.

I am sorry to hear about your dog - that saddens me that someone is so reprehensible would do that and keep going.

JennaM222 · March 2012

That is horrible!

Where I live we have paths for walkers/runners, and paths for bikes.

jdelot · March 2012

I don't think you're being unreasonable. There's a trail system that runs through Omaha, that I run on. The portion of the trail close to my house is not problem...the cyclists usually announce they are passing you. However, when I run on my lunch break near my work..also near the college, they rarely announce they are passing. I almost got hit twice just yesterday. Both times I was as far to the right as I could be and still be on the path.
Anyway, I hope your dog is ok. Hard to believe the guy didn't wipe out.

SueGremlin · March 2012

That guy is a jerkface (I wish we could swear on this site). He gives cyclists all a bad name. I used to be an avid cyclist, but people are so hostile toward bicycles because of people like this that it became too dangerous to be worth it.

ncahill77 · March 2012

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.

emczech5 · March 2012

They ran over your dog and kept going? That person just sounds like a jerk an no amount of speed limits or restrictions is going to fix that. Idiots like that ruin it for the rest of is. There is cycling etiquette and it should be used. I used to cycle on paths a lot when I lived in Denver. There aren't a lot of paths where I am now. I learned you always let the person you are coming up on know you are coming by "saying to left" or something of the sort and I always slow down when I pass someone. The only time I was ever close to being rude was when I passed an old lady. I yelled like three times that I was coming up on her and she couldn't hear well I guess. I scared the crap out of her when I rode by and she yelled at me. I tried to warn her but it's not my fault she can't hear well.

_Dan_ · March 2012

Your feelings are justified. I used to mountain bike a lot. Proper etiquette is to yield to pedestrians, and if you're approaching from behind, you should announce "On your left/right" depending on which side you're coming in on. I encountered horse back riders on trails too.... horses are jumpy, and you should be extra etiquette-y. Either way, neither types of bikes Mountain/Road should be on a walking path, if it is a multi-use path bikes should have lower priority (if the walkers are "getting in your way", you're on the wrong path),and when they are on the road should be following the same traffic laws as motorized vehicles.

cyclerjenn · March 2012

I ride a MUP every day to get to work. and with the nice weather, there are tons of people on the path. I slow down, let then know that I will be passing on the left and give them time to bring their dogs in close to them so I can pass safely.

SueGremlin · March 2012

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.

This is exactly why I do not ride anymore. I have almost been killed several times by hostile drivers who have this mindset.
Too many jerks on bicycles don't grasp that they are blocking traffic. Personally I do not understand how you can be so oblivious. I wonder if these are the same people who leave their shopping cart blocking the aisle in the grocery store and don't even BEGIN to realize that there are other people in the universe besides them.

I used to lead group rides and stopped doing it because people just would NOT stop riding abreast, blocking traffic, so they could talk.

engineman312 · March 2012

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.

Eleisabelle · March 2012

I get frustrated with cyclists, too. I have a friend who is a responsible cyclist, and he's embarrassed by the other cyclists he sees. In my neighborhood, we have packs training for century rides who will ride two and three abreast and not move over when cars are behind them on regular city streets.

To be fair, though, some walkers and runners cause their own problems. Another friend who is a responsible cyclist ended up breaking his hip when a pedestrian wearing headphones and not paying attention on a shared path strayed to the left without warning. My friend had been trying to let the guy know he was coming, but with headphones on, the pedestrian couldn't hear him. My friend didn't have time to react, and now has a metal hip. Yay.

Just remember that etiquette goes both ways--but the biggest rule in the US is that pedestrians always have right of way. The bigger the machine you're operating, the more dangerous you are and therefore the more cautious you must be.

kaned_ferret · March 2012

Thanks guys, I'm glad I'm not being the unreasonable upset doggy mum! I think she's ok, got a bit of swelling across her back and a sore tail, but she's happy to eat and shout at people walking past the garden so all must be right in her world again

Thing is, she's fairly bike savvy (I've even taught her "don't get run over" - oh the irony!), so this guy was going fast enough that neither me nor her had time to react. Earlier this afternoon we were walking in the woods, on a track that is an official cycle route, and we were passed by dozens of cyclists, no problem. I guess the reason he didn't go over is she's only a little jack russell, so at that speed she just tumbled as he kept going straight over. Here was me thinking that bikes came with brakes!

_Dan_ · March 2012

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.

This is exactly why I do not ride anymore. I have almost been killed several times by hostile drivers who have this mindset.
Too many jerks on bicycles don't grasp that they are blocking traffic. Personally I do not understand how you can be so oblivious. I wonder if these are the same people who leave their shopping cart blocking the aisle in the grocery store and don't even BEGIN to realize that there are other people in the universe besides them.

I used to lead group rides and stopped doing it because people just would NOT stop riding abreast, blocking traffic, so they could talk.

I think local law enforcement should apply traffic laws to these kinds of people. I know there are some laws that prohibit such *kitten*-hattery, but most of the time you can do it in front of police and they don't know or do anything about it.

iamlottiebee · March 2012

Yeah, I think the rider was out of order. I ride a river-side path myself, it's winding and there are often walkers, runners, children and dogs. I could ride a lot faster than I do when I ride this path, but because I don't want to injure myself or others, you have to ride slower and a little more defensively. I think you maybe just encountered a really rude rider... I would hate to think that kind of behaviour is the norm, and I don't know any riders who behave that way.

AActon28 · March 2012

I am a cycling enthusiast and I have always seen signs where I ride that instruct bikers to give right of way to ALL others. Bicycles are lowest on totem pole. This makes sense to me as they are traveling the fastest and, as such, should bear the most responsibility regarding the safety of others. That being said, one of my biggest gripes is that peds walk on the left side of a path as you would on typical roads (agaist traffic), which is not the correct side to walk. When you approach these people and say "on your right" they almost always meander back to their right and into the path of the biker. I would argue that idiot walkers are just as dangerous as idiot bike riders. Bikers are always thought of as the @$$holes though because they never stick around for pleasantries and apologies...they get back to pedaling almost immediately because they have a pace to keep up. That... and most of them are @$$holes.

Cycling etiquette

Replies

Categories