{"id":6780,"date":"2014-04-07T21:40:01","date_gmt":"2014-04-08T04:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/?p=6780"},"modified":"2014-04-07T21:40:01","modified_gmt":"2014-04-08T04:40:01","slug":"30-days-biking-day-seven-left","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/04\/07\/30-days-biking-day-seven-left\/","title":{"rendered":"30 Days of Biking, Day Seven: Left"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day Seven in the 30 Days of Biking, 30 Words, 30 Pictures series<\/em><\/p>\n

Executing left turns. \u00a0Being left behind. Sure, I can write about those with “left” as the word of the day.<\/p>\n

\"Sign<\/a>

Good manners. Good sense. For goodness’ sake, say something.<\/p><\/div>\n

For today’s ride, however, I mean “Left!” as in “On your left” or “Passing on your left” or any of the other trail etiquette warnings. I rode my bicycle for miles without hearing this heading northbound on the Burke Gilman Trail around 6:30pm or so.<\/p>\n

Nor did the people passing me ring their bells instead, a perfectly acceptable alternative. That’s my preferred method because I get more response from people wearing earbuds when I use my bell and I think it sounds friendlier, but today my bell was broken so I called out repeatedly.<\/p>\n

The idea behind saying “Left” is that you won’t surprise people you’re passing. It’s not only polite, it’s safer; a\u00a0surprised rider\/pedestrian is an unpredictable rider\/pedestrian.<\/p>\n

If I know you’re coming up behind me faster than I’m riding I can navigate accordingly. You don’t know I’m about to execute some maneuver I wouldn’t if I knew you were there, or that I need to swerve around an obstacle I could warn you about. Wouldn’t you like me to assist in keeping our interaction pleasant and collision-free?<\/p>\n

Occasionally I try to keep track of who says it and who doesn’t. So far I haven’t identified any strong or stereotypical patterns. You can be wearing street clothes or Spandex, riding an upright bike or down in the drops, loaded with panniers or wearing a heart monitor, alone or in a group. You say it. Or you don’t. The “you don’t” people far outnumber the “you do” people, in my highly unscientific sample.<\/p>\n

If you do say it when you pass me I say “Thank you!”.<\/p>\n

I have one grumpy response I use occasionally. If you pass me without calling out or ringing your bell, I<\/b> may say, “On my<\/strong> left!” as you pass by, particularly if you were extra-fast and extra-close. I figure that way at least one of us has acknowledged the interaction, and perhaps I’ve given you a motherly little reminder that you should be saying it. I can dream.<\/p>\n

It’s not a totally crazy dream. I’ve noticed that my saying of it reminds others who weren’t saying it and they sometimes start up, which I get to observe when someone I passed fires up and passes me.<\/p>\n

In my really crazy dream, people also say it when passing in a bike lane. Those tend to have less margin for error and more street noise and I appreciate it even more.<\/p>\n

Left. It’s oh-so-easy. Just say it.<\/p>\n

NOTE: We have trail etiquette rack cards available upon request to anyone who’d like a batch to give out. They’re really popular when we take them to events and we’ve seen them in brochure holders at some trail heads. Contact <\/span>Louise <\/a>to request a batch.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Related Reading<\/strong><\/p>\n