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Have You Ever Called Out Another Cyclist?

05.01.2014 by Ray Niekamp // 10 Comments

I made a run for carry-out food this evening, and while driving home, I saw something that teed me off. A cyclist was in the bike lane on the four-lane street I was in, but was riding against traffic.

There are bike lanes on each side of the street. The direction of travel is clearly marked by arrows. The lanes are in generally good condition — not too much grit or gravel — but they’re wide enough for only one bike. And this guy was traveling in the wrong direction.

The bike lane in question, seen in a Google Street View. The cyclist was traveling away from you -- against both bike lane and street traffic.
The bike lane in question, seen in a Google Street View. The cyclist was traveling away from you — against both bike lane and street traffic. An arrow pointing the direction of travel in the bike lane is clearly visible.

He was on a higher-end hybrid bike. Wasn’t in cycling clothes, but normal street clothes, wearing a baseball cap instead of a helmet. That’s fine — he’s perfectly capable of deciding what safety measures are appropriate for him. But in this case, he would have caused problems for any cyclist who rode in the right direction in the bike lane. Or, he would have caused a problem for himself, because if he met another cyclist, he would be the one who would have to leave the bike lane and ride in the traffic lane — against traffic.

And there I was, in my car, windows up, radio blaring. I really wanted to yell, “Wrong way, you idiot!” or something equally derisive. If I had been on my bike, I certainly would have. But this was a missed opportunity.

Now, I’m by nature not a confrontational guy. Rarely do I call out other people’s behavior, and when I do, you know I’ve really been upset. But I’ve ridden with others who aren’t as restrained as I am. They’ll let other riders have it over what I consider minor, forgive and forget, infractions or breaches of etiquette.

Which camp are you in? Do you yell at other bikers when they do something wrong, or stupid, or illegal? Today’s incident gets me wondering if I should become more assertive out there.

 

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Categories // Odds 'n ends Tags // etiquette

Cycling Etiquette

12.16.2012 by Ray Niekamp // 5 Comments

The president of the cycling club I belong to usually takes the lead in organizing club rides. He traditionally starts the Sunday morning ride, which is our “main” ride of the week. He’s got years of riding experience under his pedals, and is happy to share his ideas about cycling with anyone.

Last week, he posted on our club Yahoo group some points of cycling etiquette. He gave me permission to use them on the blog. “They may or may not work for you,” he wrote, “but at least you will know why I am doing what I am doing the next time we ride together.” Here they are:

•Passing other cyclists on either the right or left is OK as long as you can safely get by. Corollary: if there is no room to pass on either side then passing is not OK.

•You are responsible for your own behavior: as opposed to “I ran the red light because someone else on the ride did it too.” If your friends all jumped off a bridge would you do it too? (Sorry, I forgot who I was speaking to. Of course some of you would!)

•If you hit someone from behind it is primarily your fault.

•If someone hits you from behind it may still be just a bit of your own fault (esp. if you vary your well established line abruptly), but it is still primarily the person behind you who didn’t give enough room for your unexpected behavior who should bear responsibility for the crash.

•Calling our “On Your Left,” etc. will more often than not cause the person you are planning to pass to turn his or her head that way. As goes the head so goes the bike. If you do that nine times and get by safely and then once you come to grief, well then it is still mostly your own fault and memories of those other nine safe passages will fade before your road rash.

•Among riders who are very familiar with each other, a gentle touch on the passing side hip will alert the rider in front to the fact that you are coming by and it all should happen like clockwork. (Warning: Don’t touch strangers; they may not like it.)

•If you come upon a group of riders in single file you must make absolutely sure that:

A. You are welcome in that line,

B. You have the skill and ability to negotiate your turns in the line (ride along behind and to the side for at least one whole rotation of the line to be sure you aren’t getting in over your head), and

C. There is adequate room for you to slide in safely (that means a gap of ~1.5 bike lengths if you are all experienced riders: give more room if any of the affected parties are less experienced in pace line dynamics).

•Under no circumstances should you assume any of the above. Make darn sure it’s a fit before you throw your personal monkey wrench into their gears. If you cram into a line of riders unannounced or unwelcomed, or unsafely, you should expect to get an earful. Cyclists are not generally well known for self-editing.

•If you hear this complaint more than once you should assume you are guilty and fix your problem.

•Most Bikes don’t have brake lights to let riders behind know that you are going to suddenly slow down (If yours does, trust me, nobody knows what they are for).

•Good riders can pick up on the audio and visual cues when someone in front takes pressure off the pace but if you hit those brakes you will rapidly find very close company from the rear about whom you may have been, until just then, blissfully unaware.

•When you are planning to hit the brakes you should make that announcement orally and, if you can do so without increasing the risk, with a hand signal (hand raised, palm forward, like a cavalry captain for the entire peloton, or held palm facing out behind your saddle for just the rider immediately behind you).

•If you need to touch your brakes suddenly you should be well aware that the person behind you will find your deceleration problematic and you may want to consider first altering your own line (if you can do that safely without cutting off an overlapping wheel) to give all of you more room to breathe.

•When you are in a large group on a narrow winding road it makes sense to stay together to establish a substantial visual impact on passing motorists.

•However, if you find cars stacked up behind the group you will find it easier to wave them past if your group is not so large that it blocks visibility of the road ahead. Consider breaking into more, smaller groups to give cars a chance to get by safely.

•On this same topic, if the group is too large for a following car (or even cyclists at the back of the group) to see the front rider waving a left arm for a safe pass then the group may need to be broken into smaller segments.

•And if the riders in the middle are too far from the rear of the group to even know there is a car looking to pass, then your group might be too large.

•It’s not about rights or owning the road, it’s about not causing a problem situation in which you will be severely disadvantaged. Car>>Bike in terms of F=M*A. That’s higher math for “OUCH!” and “OH NO, MY COSTLY BIKE IS DESTROYED!”

He continues: “You probably have your own set of rules for keeping safe. Please share them. Making sure others around you know how you plan to behave in tight circumstances can only help those rules to do their intended job, i.e. keep you safe.

“If your personal rules differ from mine I’m happy to hear it. If your logic is convincing I’ll most likely steal your ideas and claim to have invented them myself.

“But, if your plan is to take unwarranted chances, exposing yourself and others around you to needless risk, then you should not expect willing company in that adventure except as it may involve others who could represent a hazard to themselves and you with their own Brownian Motion bike handling skills.”

Your thoughts, Bike Noob readers?

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Categories // Safety, Technique Tags // etiquette, Safety

What Does “Car Back” Mean to You?

01.31.2012 by Ray Niekamp // 16 Comments

It happens every time more than one cyclist is riding on the roads. Sooner or later, one will raise the call, “Car back!” It’s an important warning, because whenever we cyclists tangle with two tons of metal, we’re going to lose — so it’s a good idea to minimize any possibility of car-bike contact.

However, I’ve been concerned lately by some behavior I’m seeing on the roads.

If cars aren’t around, cyclists tend to ride side-by-side and have rolling conversations. This social aspect of cycling is one of the things that attracts people to the pastime. We’re not just out riding — we’re spending some quality time with our friends.

Harrisburg (PA) Patriot-News

Nothing wrong with riding side-by-side. The law says it’s fine, too: Persons operating bicycles on a roadway may ride two abreast. (Texas Transportation Code, 551.103c)

However, in that same paragraph, the law states: Persons riding two abreast may not impede the normal and reasonable flow of traffic on the roadway. Here’s why we (or at least I) yell, “Car back!”

Now, what’s supposed to happen when that call is raised? I like to see cyclists out in the middle of the lane ease into single file. A person operating a bicycle on a roadway who is moving slower than the other traffic on the roadway shall ride as near as practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway (551.103a). Riding in single file accomplishes two things: It lets the overtaking vehicle pass, which will free up the lane more quickly so cyclists can resume their chats; and it creates goodwill between cyclists and cars.

Here’s what I see sometimes: The rider on the inside of the lane (closest to the center line) moves closer to the line of cyclists along the edge of the roadway, without getting into the single file. The overtaking car swings wide to pass. In the most egregious cases, the rider doesn’t even attempt to make way for the car.

We can’t be doing that, folks. Things are tough enough out there between drivers and bikers without adding to the animosity. And yes, drivers can be prats sometimes (often?). That doesn’t justify antagonistic behavior.

So the next time one of your co-riders cuts loose with a bellowing, “Car back!,” do what you’re supposed to do. Stop the chatter, ease into single file, wait for the car to pass, then resume the conversation. You’ll finish your ride with a lower stress level.

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Categories // Safety Tags // etiquette, Safety

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