I need a better horn

[Hakaman99]

the thing is most all of the zombies have earbuds and cant even hear another zombie walker yelling at them.

pertty wild that they do that really.

I was walking my dog on a sidewalk and out of nowhere a biker buzzed past me going about 30 mph and I could feel the wind rushing at me as he went by because he was that close. He made no attempt to alert me as he approached and went by, I didn't know there was a biker approaching until he was past me. I felt like taking a baseball bat to his bike and destroying it, but he was long gone at that point and I wouldn't want to get into that kind of Confrontation anyway. Although, I can see the animosity from walkers towards bikers, and it's basically because of the small minority of rude bikers that give the rest of bad name.

 

[CoffeeandBikes]

I was walking my dog on a sidewalk and out of nowhere a biker buzzed past me going about 30 mph and I could feel the wind rushing at me as he went by because he was that close. He made no attempt to alert me as he approached and went by, I didn't know there was a biker approaching until he was past me. I felt like taking a baseball bat to his bike and destroying it, but he was long gone at that point and I wouldn't want to get into that kind of Confrontation anyway. Although, I can see the animosity from walkers towards bikers, and it's basically because of the small minority of rude bikers that give the rest of bad name.

As I mentioned in a post above, where i used to live there was a paved walking/bike path. Competitive road bike racers would do 40 mph right past families with no notice. You could REALLY feel the wind. They would shoot between people on trail, coming really close to people. We're talking half a foot or less. There were confrontations involving boards and sticks through wheels - mass carnage. People need to learn to get along and not be dicks.

 

[biknut]

I used to love going on group rides, but I've all but given up on them, because almost every time they head straight for a trail to terrorize. That's not really their aim, but that's how it always turns out here in Dallas.

 

[HumanPerson]

I used to love going on group rides, but I've all but given up on them, because almost every time they head straight for a trail to terrorize. That's not really their aim, but that's how it always turns out here in Dallas.

Stop bro!
We are getting older!!

 

[HumanPerson]

I'm just weirded out right now.
Have any of you met eachother?

I have with a few members, met and shared smiles and coffee.

I Traveled to meet one and now he's gone.
Hold closely to the moments in time that you can make and remember with the ones you Love.

We're here to help eachother, remember that.

Love & Hugs!!

HP

 

[biknut]

Stop bro!
We are getting older!!

Its true, I am usually the oldest one.

 

[Smaug]

A lot of people wear earbuds while walking, so there is a chance people don't hear you at all. As Smaug said, the problem could be resulting confrontations. I used to live in a suburban area where there is a 30 mile+ paved bike path along a river. There would be groups of people who deliberately walk abreast to block the whole trail. I rode a mountain bike so I would ride offroad around them. Many of them were groups of single ethnicities such as Russians or Samoans, we're talkinn 10+ large people. They would most certainly cause physical trouble if someone blared a horn at them.

That is next level entitlement right there. Maybe they don't read English, so you could translate a photo of a sign for them, pointing out that it is a SHARED path...

Then, there were the yahoos who give all bikers a bad name. They were competitive riders decked out in their numbered spandex suits, riding multi thousand dollar road bikes. They would fly by doing 40 mph within inches of people walking. It was such a problem the county installed 15 mph speed limit signs along the path. It didn't help since this was a fairly rural path with a couple miles between access points to roads.

Well, two things about this. As a card-carrying member of The Spandex Crowd, I can tell you that most of us would never do this. We ride in a group and we are certainly the 2nd-fastest ones on the path, without even trying. We're typically going 12-15 mph and we always shout out "coming up on your left" or something. Or we shout: "Walkers up!" to each other, loudly enough that the walkers can hear us. Maybe not all bike clubs or groups of riders are so courteous. In WI, this is what's required of us. Keep speeds reasonable and announce our approach. We are not responsible for being heard over ear buds.

Walkers are to stay to the right; there should never even be a reason to NEED to announce our approach. What I like is when we announce it, and they give a sign of acknowledgement, like a thumbs up or a wave; then we know they're not going to swerve in front of us.

We find that a lot of the time, if we shout the brief "On your left" walkers will WALK left, right in front of us. I find an old-fashioned bell, the kind with the machine gun ring, to be the most effective. It seems to be heard through ear buds much of the time, but without seeming rude, like a horn may be. Some of us just gave up on announcing, because it causes problems as often as not.

Some road cyclists also are passive-aggressive and will execute a close pass on pedestrians who are not yielding or staying right. They don't have to be going 40 for it to be scary, but being a bit scared is the point, I think. They're just damn sick of pedestrians acting entitled to be everywhere. I don't condone this bully mentality. It's the same mentality as the motorists who want to teach US a lesson for daring to ride on "their" road.

I guess my mission in typing all that out is to point out different mentalities, differing points of view. You seem like a reasonable person, CoffeeandBikes, but don't have the viewpoint of a road cyclist.

Young eBikers have a different viewpoint.

Soccer mom-type pedestrians have another viewpoint.

Mature eBikers (like most of us here) have another one, etc.

I try to be a good ambassador no matter HOW I'm using the MUP. Same on the street. I signal, I stop at lights, slow down at stop signs I smile and wave to people. Escalating rarely helps, and when it does, it makes someone feel bad or bullied. It's why cops are trained in de-escalation these days. One has to swallow one's pride and righteousness.

I even go a step further. I wave at throttle-type eBikers (as long as they're not engaging in jerky behavior at the time) when I'm on my road bike in a club ride. I say hello or give a little wave to oncoming pedestrians. I'm a MUP goodwill ambassador!

Prior to us moving the situation seemed to escalate year after year. It was a combination of family members who were sick and tired of the road bike guys almost hitting them and their children in strollers and just some bad elements. On top of all that there were many people wearing earbuds who certainly couldn't hear a regular bike bell or horn. They would jump in surprise as I rode past them (slowly, usually.)

We really need some friendly cops on eBikes to go around educating people.

 

[Hakaman99]

When I'm on my road bike in a club ride. I say hello or give a little wave to oncoming pedestrians. I'm a MUP goodwill ambassador!


We really need some friendly cops on eBikes to go around educating people.

^^^^^^^^
like

I always say thank you when I pass walkers whom I have forewarned with my thumb bell. I like the Bell that you mentioned, a machine gun bell, the type that toddlers have on their tricycles. It can give the walkers that impression of Innocence, and isn't offensive sounding like an air horn .

 

[Annieolnie]

I'm just weirded out right now.
Have any of you met eachother?

I have with a few members, met and shared smiles and coffee.

I Traveled to meet one and now he's gone.
Hold closely to the moments in time that you can make and remember with the ones you Love.

We're here to help eachother, remember that.

Love & Hugs!!

HP

Hey, you. You lost a friend and it was a surprise. You are going to be weirded out for quite awhile. Grief creates chemical changes in the brain that don't even start to settle down, until after about a year. So just go slow and cut yourself whatever slack you need. We will all be right here.

 

[CoffeeandBikes]

That is next level entitlement right there. Maybe they don't read English, so you could translate a photo of a sign for them, pointing out that it is a SHARED path...


Well, two things about this. As a card-carrying member of The Spandex Crowd, I can tell you that most of us would never do this. We ride in a group and we are certainly the 2nd-fastest ones on the path, without even trying. We're typically going 12-15 mph and we always shout out "coming up on your left" or something. Or we shout: "Walkers up!" to each other, loudly enough that the walkers can hear us. Maybe not all bike clubs or groups of riders are so courteous. In WI, this is what's required of us. Keep speeds reasonable and announce our approach. We are not responsible for being heard over ear buds.

Walkers are to stay to the right; there should never even be a reason to NEED to announce our approach. What I like is when we announce it, and they give a sign of acknowledgement, like a thumbs up or a wave; then we know they're not going to swerve in front of us.

We find that a lot of the time, if we shout the brief "On your left" walkers will WALK left, right in front of us. I find an old-fashioned bell, the kind with the machine gun ring, to be the most effective. It seems to be heard through ear buds much of the time, but without seeming rude, like a horn may be. Some of us just gave up on announcing, because it causes problems as often as not.

Some road cyclists also are passive-aggressive and will execute a close pass on pedestrians who are not yielding or staying right. They don't have to be going 40 for it to be scary, but being a bit scared is the point, I think. They're just damn sick of pedestrians acting entitled to be everywhere. I don't condone this bully mentality. It's the same mentality as the motorists who want to teach US a lesson for daring to ride on "their" road.

I guess my mission in typing all that out is to point out different mentalities, differing points of view. You seem like a reasonable person, CoffeeandBikes, but don't have the viewpoint of a road cyclist.

Young eBikers have a different viewpoint.

Soccer mom-type pedestrians have another viewpoint.

Mature eBikers (like most of us here) have another one, etc.

I try to be a good ambassador no matter HOW I'm using the MUP. Same on the street. I signal, I stop at lights, slow down at stop signs I smile and wave to people. Escalating rarely helps, and when it does, it makes someone feel bad or bullied. It's why cops are trained in de-escalation these days. One has to swallow one's pride and righteousness.

I even go a step further. I wave at throttle-type eBikers (as long as they're not engaging in jerky behavior at the time) when I'm on my road bike in a club ride. I say hello or give a little wave to oncoming pedestrians. I'm a MUP goodwill ambassador!


We really need some friendly cops on eBikes to go around educating people.

This is most definitely a mixed use paved trail with the general rules you mentioned. There absolutely were courteous road bike people who would shout, "ON YOUR LEFT!" I would do the same. They were NOT the majority though. That's the reason the money was spent to install all those 15 mph signs. Those signs took away from the beautiful natural scenery. I believe they did it so they could properly cite the cyclists. I'm not exaggerating when I say they would do 40 mph, probably more. They would still do this even after the 15 mph signs were installed. Why they rode there I have no idea. There were plenty of rural highways and frontage roads they could ride as fast as they want.

It appears a lot of the issues must have been due to escalation, a tit for tat. Shortly before I moved away from there, I was hearing of incidents.....

 

[any name you wish]

If you don't like following pedestrians at walking speed stop riding on the trails. What's the big hurry anyway?

Well if I wanted to go at a walking speed I would walk. Fact of the matter is that the path is a multi use path and people people should be considerate of others. Not to mention that there are other bikers coming up and soon enough you will have dozens of bikers going at a walking pace.

Not to mention if you are blocking bikers like that you are also blocking traffic going in the other direction.

But if you insist, this is how to handle it. If they aren't giving you room to pass, ride up close and every few seconds ring your bell. Don't act annoyed, Instead act like you're good with following them all day. Quickly this will become very annoying for them, and they'll step aside just to get rid of you. The key is you need to adjust your thinking.

I'd rather yell "Get the @#&% out of the way you inconsiderate &^#@" at the top of my lungs.

You have no particular right to ride faster than walking speed on the trail.

Oh and they have the right to block traffic? These are the type of people who get to the end of the escalator and just stand there unaware that there are more people coming.

 

[Hakaman99]

Well if I wanted to go at a walking speed I would walk. Fact of the matter is that the path is a multi use path and people people should be considerate of others. Not to mention that there are other bikers coming up and soon enough you will have dozens of bikers going at a walking pace.

Not to mention if you are blocking bikers like that you are also blocking traffic going in the other direction.


I'd rather yell "Get the @#&% out of the way you inconsiderate &^#@" at the top of my lungs.


Oh and they have the right to block traffic? These are the type of people who get to the end of the escalator and just stand there unaware that there are more people coming.

I don't think I agree with this type of thinking, as it just causes a greater divide between walkers and bikers. It's sort of like our country right now, we are divided like I have never seen it before. So the next time a bike passes these people do you think they'll be friendly because of the unfriendliness that some might display to them? 'and the beat goes on!'

 

[Colin1230]

If/when I ride up on a group of walkers that don't want to move over, I just leave the path and ride around them. No big deal and nobody gets butthurt.

 

[biknut]

Well if I wanted to go at a walking speed I would walk. Fact of the matter is that the path is a multi use path and people people should be considerate of others. Not to mention that there are other bikers coming up and soon enough you will have dozens of bikers going at a walking pace.

Not to mention if you are blocking bikers like that you are also blocking traffic going in the other direction.


I'd rather yell "Get the @#&% out of the way you inconsiderate &^#@" at the top of my lungs.


Oh and they have the right to block traffic? These are the type of people who get to the end of the escalator and just stand there unaware that there are more people coming.

Everyone is in total agreement that these people are breaking the rules. We just all have different ideas about how to annoy them into getting out of the way without assaulting them.

 

[biknut]

This will really get everyone's bowls in an uproar, but no matter how you try to justify it the only reason it's not against the law to ride a bike on a city trail is because federal statutes require it. Before these statutes came into play it was almost universal everywhere in the land that it was against the law to ride on a sidewalk.

There's an Andy of Mayberry from the 60s where a kid got his bike impounded for riding on the sidewalk. There was even talk of arresting his father.

The reason was because back in those days people were smart enough to know it's a bad idea to mix pedestrians with bicycles, never mind eBikes. Federal law makes it legal but can't make it a good idea.
.

 

[Pinhead]

https://www.airzound.co.uk/

 

[Smaug]

This will really get everyone's bowls in an uproar, but no matter how you try to justify it the only reason it's not against the law to ride a bike on a city trail is because federal statutes require it. Before these statutes came into play it was almost universal everywhere in the land that it was against the law to ride on a sidewalk.

There's an Andy of Mayberry from the 60s where a kid got his bike impounded for riding on the sidewalk. There was even talk of arresting his father.

The reason was because back in those days people were smart enough to know it's a bad idea to mix pedestrians with bicycles, never mind eBikes. Federal law makes it legal but can't make it a good idea.
.

Yes, but those were the days when motorists cared about their fellow humans enough to give them some room on the street, maybe even slow down. Nowadays, cops are probably finding cyclists getting killed in the street a LOT more than pedestrians getting hurt on sidewalks, so they take the lesser evil.

In those days, I bet a motorist would have gotten in BIG trouble for hitting a cyclist who was obeying the law, and they would've felt bad about it too.

 

[any name you wish]

Yes, but those were the days when motorists cared about their fellow humans enough to give them some room on the street, maybe even slow down. Nowadays, cops are probably finding cyclists getting killed in the street a LOT more than pedestrians getting hurt on sidewalks, so they take the lesser evil.

In those days, I bet a motorist would have gotten in BIG trouble for hitting a cyclist who was obeying the law, and they would've felt bad about it too.

Well it does take two to tango. Cyclists have gotten a bit more arrogant in the past few years. I have seen three cases of a car hitting a cyclist and in all three cases ot was the cyclist fault. One of them I misses the cyclist by less than a foot when the cyclist riding at the side of the road made a sudden left turn to cross the street in the middle of the block. Unfortunatly the car next to me hit him.

 

[Smaug]

Well it does take two to tango. Cyclists have gotten a bit more arrogant in the past few years. I have seen three cases of a car hitting a cyclist and in all three cases ot was the cyclist fault. One of them I misses the cyclist by less than a foot when the cyclist riding at the side of the road made a sudden left turn to cross the street in the middle of the block. Unfortunatly the car next to me hit him.

Yep, absolutely. Cyclists routinely blow stop signs and sometimes lights. (as inertia is precious)

I do blow stop signs when I can see it's clear, and I only blow lights that I know won't change for me after checking they're clear.

When I'm riding with a group of cyclists and there's a button, one of us will go over and press the button to change the light for the group, but many times, we would just sit there all day if we waited. Stoplights with mag loops will often not change for bikes, eBikes and even motorcycles that don't have a lot of steel. Optical sensors are getting more common now; they're installed on the stoplight pole and then there's no need to dig up the pavement to put a mag loop in.

 

[any name you wish]

Yep, absolutely. Cyclists routinely blow stop signs and sometimes lights. (as inertia is precious)

I do blow stop signs when I can see it's clear, and I only blow lights that I know won't change for me after checking they're clear.

I often use the Idaho stop where you slow down and if its clear go through the stop sign. But many just go through without even slowing down.

When I'm riding with a group of cyclists and there's a button, one of us will go over and press the button to change the light for the group, but many times, we would just sit there all day if we waited. Stoplights with mag loops will often not change for bikes, eBikes and even motorcycles that don't have a lot of steel. Optical sensors are getting more common now; they're installed on the stoplight pole and then there's no need to dig up the pavement to put a mag loop in.

Here in Illinois the law states that bicycles and motorcyles can go through a red light if it doesn't change within 2 minutes smd traffic is clear. That being said I know of at least 2 lights where the mag loops are sensitive enough to be triggered by a bicycle.