Damned if You Do...

[XLFD]

Bicycle riding is supposed to be fun, but sharing the road, sidewalk, and multi-use paths isn't.  Consider, that when riding in the road we are continually muscled around by vehicles that are at least 100 times more massive than us, and about four times as fast.  Many of the owners that believe they are entitled to the road.  And although most will hold bikers to the same rules of the road they adhere to, they themselves pass us in dangerous no-passing-zones and at stoplights, and then expect us to ride on the shoulder or sidewalk when they are available, even though a motor vehicle cannot do so.

The situation reverses on sidewalks and paths.  The bicycle becomes the speedy, more massive conveyance whose progress is continually impeded by pedestrians, skaters, slower/young bicyclists, etc.  Those other users have no real duty to let you pass, and many are perturbed that you do, particularly if you ride around them because they and their friends cover the whole pavement.

 

This brings me to a May letter to the editor posted in the Ludington Daily News.  The writer was upset with a bicyclist who passed their horse with them on it on a country road.  It wasn't that the cyclist had tried to spook the horse or violated any rule of the road.  It was that the cyclist  had made no noise when it passed, and its appearance made her horse start.  They finished by telling cyclists to speak conversationally as they pass horses, so as not to make the horse think a silent predator is about to strike.

 

I have had limited experience in passing horses, but I fondly remember going down Hawley Road behind an Amish carriage, drafting that vehicle at over 20 mph for awhile.  The first time I rode past a horseback rider, I spooked the rider a lot more than the horse by noting to them I was passing, they were upset with me.  The next (and last) time I passed such a rider, I didn't and got less grief, but he heard me coming on the gravel road.

 

Now, my mount doesn't get startled, but when a vehicle honks or someone talks out an open window before passing me, I may get startled.  If the vehicle passes with just the normal associated noises, I'm fine.   But few cars could sneak up on me without me hearing or 'feeling' them there. 

I will make my approach noticed to pedestrians when I pass them on a path in advance.  Many, react by jumping or moving to the other side of the path, making the passing seem less safer than passing them in silence.  But if you don't say a word, they will do the same when they notice you, and you may have a crash.   So always let the peds know you're coming, even though they'll give you the dirty look.

 

I love the silent efficiency of the bicycle, but other users of the road don't.  Horses, their riders, other bicyclists, and pedestrians need to hear you coming.  Don't worry, they probably won't like you either way, but it will be safer for all.