Cyclepath etiquette
Discussion
Not sure if this is a discussion or an observation or what...
Riding up and down my local cyclepath (Clyne - typical tarmaced ex railway line) general etiquette suggests (though there are no rules) that people keep to the left. I've noticed, however that when I approach someone and ring my bell almost without exception men will naturally move to their left (whether i'm behind them or in front of them) but women just go everywhere! left, right, left then right, freeze in middle, dash to one side after freezing....
Coming home from work yesterday approaching a group of walkers, women in front coming towards me, as i was already over to my left i expected them to drift across to their left. Instead the women went even further to their right to the point they were running out of path and verge! Is it biological?
Riding up and down my local cyclepath (Clyne - typical tarmaced ex railway line) general etiquette suggests (though there are no rules) that people keep to the left. I've noticed, however that when I approach someone and ring my bell almost without exception men will naturally move to their left (whether i'm behind them or in front of them) but women just go everywhere! left, right, left then right, freeze in middle, dash to one side after freezing....
Coming home from work yesterday approaching a group of walkers, women in front coming towards me, as i was already over to my left i expected them to drift across to their left. Instead the women went even further to their right to the point they were running out of path and verge! Is it biological?
Worse is where there is two of them and they both go in different directions, meaning you have to squeeze through the middle.
Or where a dog walker has one of those extension leads and instead of stepping towards the dog and this shortening the lead, they step the away from the dog and then have to drag the dog by the lead to bring it to them.
Women are totally random, or rather the few that actaully notice your presence further than 10cms away!
Or where a dog walker has one of those extension leads and instead of stepping towards the dog and this shortening the lead, they step the away from the dog and then have to drag the dog by the lead to bring it to them.
Women are totally random, or rather the few that actaully notice your presence further than 10cms away!
shouldbworking said:
In other mysteries -
"Coming by on your right" = pedestrian steps to the right
"Coming by on your left" = pedestrian steps to the left
"Morning / Afternooon" = look as if ive just taken a dump in their shoes
I've never tried calling out that I'm coming by on one side or the other. I might give it a go though - one of the quandaries I often face is how to alert a pedestrian that I'm approaching them from behind when I'm on a bridleway or byway. Most of them seem to have a mobile phone or Ipod shoved in their ear so don't hear me even if I go for a tactical crunchy gear change. Is shouting out "coming by on your left/right" the normal etiquette people use?"Coming by on your right" = pedestrian steps to the right
"Coming by on your left" = pedestrian steps to the left
"Morning / Afternooon" = look as if ive just taken a dump in their shoes
I get the same response when I say "Morning / Afternoon / Thank You" though. It's even worse if someone has had to get their dog under control because I'm nearby. I'm not sure how I sleep at night by causing dog walkers so much effort by being somewhere I have as much right to be as they do
I tend to use a cheery greeting followed by "on your right/left" as appropriate.
Doesn't work on people wearing headphones, and they can be hard to see. Also doesn't work on groups of schoolkids who are apparently too cool to notice the slightly overweight bald guy on a full susser closing in fast.
My current fear is dusk with someone walking a dog on a long lead while wearing headphones. You won't see the lead until you're about 3 meters away...
Doesn't work on people wearing headphones, and they can be hard to see. Also doesn't work on groups of schoolkids who are apparently too cool to notice the slightly overweight bald guy on a full susser closing in fast.
My current fear is dusk with someone walking a dog on a long lead while wearing headphones. You won't see the lead until you're about 3 meters away...
And then there's the problem of when to ring the bell... Too early and they move then move back. Too late and they get all startled... Never realising that if I just swept by silently they'd sh*t themselves. And how to ring? One ring may be missed, two rings seems ok but anymore and I'm an arsey tw@t.
When running or cycling and catching other path-users, it's almost guaranteed that a cheery "excuse me" will result in a couple merely swapping sides on the path, rather than making room for me. They'll usually swap a couple of times before sorting themselves out. It's so common that I'll often give a longer range shout to allow them time to faff, rather than a more appropriately timed call.
It's usually just an "excuse me" from me when I'm closing down on them. I tend to slow down myself too though, so if a late decision on which side to use is taken I can sort it out.
Luckily most around here are fine with it though and the "morning/how-do/afternoon" gets the same response.
Luckily most around here are fine with it though and the "morning/how-do/afternoon" gets the same response.
Mr E said:
My current fear is dusk with someone walking a dog on a long lead while wearing headphones. You won't see the lead until you're about 3 meters away...
My pet hate! Idiots who can not train thier dogs so have chosen to reel in thier dog. Usually small rat type things. Just the situation you describe, dusk, the woman was walking towards me and I went past only to find a length of rope coiled around my chan ring and a few meters away a very surprised looking rat on a lead skimming on its arse. Luckily I was not going too fast. The woman went crazy though...Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff