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is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass?
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Had a guy basically want to fight me on the bike at eagleman yesterday. An older guy on a specialized transition with an older zipp disc.

He was riding close to the yellow line and as I came up on him I said "on your left" as I always do. He swerved in front of me and starting cursing to F'ing pass him if I want to that there is plenty of room and he doesnt need to move. Took me by surprise so I sat up and he yelled at me to start peddling and F'ing pass him.

My description doest due justice to how angry this guy was I called on your left.

I ignored my instinct to confront this guy directly and just powered past him.

But wtf, I hate agro people.

Yellowfin Endurance Coaching and Bike Fits
USAT Level 1, USAC Level 3
Last edited by: surfNJmatt: Jun 11, 18 16:29
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [surfNJmatt] [ In reply to ]
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on your left is still the polite way to pass. you know as well as i do this guy was just an angry fool, and by far the exception to the rule. now, riding on the left while not passing is NOT the exception to the rule. unfortunately. let me give you a little history.

i suggested to a prominent west coast head ref, and this was maybe 15 years ago, that he take the time in between waves to give a 30sec reminder to each wave (since they had nothing else to do but listen). just, you know, the basics. including, ride on the right, EASE to the left when passing, and make sure you complete the pass.

he told me no, his job was to officiate, not to educate. fortunately that attitude did not persist and i was happy to eventually see refs do precisely what i suggested to this ref. sadly, tho, i note that this behavior has kind of fallen off, and maybe that's because a lot of RDs are not choosing to "buy" refs and the RDs themselves aren't taking advantage of these times between waves to remind folks of these rules.

i raced yesterday, my first road tri in quite a few years i think, and i had to nicely remind a fair number of people of this. but nobody was agro.

you got the odd curmudgeon. that's very rare. but RDs could do themselves, you, and the angry fool a favor if they did a little more to keep that from happening.

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [surfNJmatt] [ In reply to ]
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surfNJmatt wrote:
Had a guy basically want to fight me on the bike at eagleman yesterday. An older guy on a specialized transition with an older zipp disc.

He was riding close to the yellow line and as I came up on him I said "on your left" as I always do. He swerved in front of me and starting cursing to F'ing pass him if I want to that there is plenty of room and he doesnt need to move. Took me by surprise so I sat up and he yelled at me to start peddling and F'ing pass him.

My description doest due justice to how angry this guy was I called on your left.

I ignored my instinct to confront this guy directly and just powered past him.

But wtf, I hate agro people.

"On your left" is great if you want a decent percentage of people to veer left into you. Try "passing" instead.
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [Arch Stanton] [ In reply to ]
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Arch Stanton wrote:
surfNJmatt wrote:
Had a guy basically want to fight me on the bike at eagleman yesterday. An older guy on a specialized transition with an older zipp disc.

He was riding close to the yellow line and as I came up on him I said "on your left" as I always do. He swerved in front of me and starting cursing to F'ing pass him if I want to that there is plenty of room and he doesnt need to move. Took me by surprise so I sat up and he yelled at me to start peddling and F'ing pass him.

My description doest due justice to how angry this guy was I called on your left.

I ignored my instinct to confront this guy directly and just powered past him.

But wtf, I hate agro people.


"On your left" is great if you want a decent percentage of people to veer left into you. Try "passing" instead.

Or, I find a bell works wonders :-)

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [Tom A.] [ In reply to ]
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Tom A. wrote:
Arch Stanton wrote:
surfNJmatt wrote:
Had a guy basically want to fight me on the bike at eagleman yesterday. An older guy on a specialized transition with an older zipp disc.

He was riding close to the yellow line and as I came up on him I said "on your left" as I always do. He swerved in front of me and starting cursing to F'ing pass him if I want to that there is plenty of room and he doesnt need to move. Took me by surprise so I sat up and he yelled at me to start peddling and F'ing pass him.

My description doest due justice to how angry this guy was I called on your left.

I ignored my instinct to confront this guy directly and just powered past him.

But wtf, I hate agro people.


"On your left" is great if you want a decent percentage of people to veer left into you. Try "passing" instead.


Or, I find a bell works wonders :-)

I've seen on FB recently an air horn also works...
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Post deleted by Calamityjane88 [ In reply to ]
Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [Tom A.] [ In reply to ]
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Tom A. wrote:
Arch Stanton wrote:
surfNJmatt wrote:
Had a guy basically want to fight me on the bike at eagleman yesterday. An older guy on a specialized transition with an older zipp disc.

He was riding close to the yellow line and as I came up on him I said "on your left" as I always do. He swerved in front of me and starting cursing to F'ing pass him if I want to that there is plenty of room and he doesnt need to move. Took me by surprise so I sat up and he yelled at me to start peddling and F'ing pass him.

My description doest due justice to how angry this guy was I called on your left.

I ignored my instinct to confront this guy directly and just powered past him.

But wtf, I hate agro people.


"On your left" is great if you want a decent percentage of people to veer left into you. Try "passing" instead.


Or, I find a bell works wonders :-)

i agree. the bell is great. just, you used your bell in which triathlon? ;-)

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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Blocking is becoming a huge problem on IM bike courses. People seem to bike like they drive, never leaving the left side. Some dude did this to me at Chat 70.3 this year and turned to spit in my face. Then he accused me of drafting. It was shameful behavior on his part. I passed him like a little biatch though. Eff em!

Slowman wrote:
Tom A. wrote:
Arch Stanton wrote:
surfNJmatt wrote:
Had a guy basically want to fight me on the bike at eagleman yesterday. An older guy on a specialized transition with an older zipp disc.

He was riding close to the yellow line and as I came up on him I said "on your left" as I always do. He swerved in front of me and starting cursing to F'ing pass him if I want to that there is plenty of room and he doesnt need to move. Took me by surprise so I sat up and he yelled at me to start peddling and F'ing pass him.

My description doest due justice to how angry this guy was I called on your left.

I ignored my instinct to confront this guy directly and just powered past him.

But wtf, I hate agro people.


"On your left" is great if you want a decent percentage of people to veer left into you. Try "passing" instead.


Or, I find a bell works wonders :-)

i agree. the bell is great. just, you used your bell in which triathlon? ;-)
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [surfNJmatt] [ In reply to ]
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I always go with “Left Side!â€

And then in my head is whisper “strong side†😂
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [surfNJmatt] [ In reply to ]
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Since half of the people I pass are wearing ear-buds and the other half don't hear me until I'm right next to them I rarely say anything anymore.
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [jaretj] [ In reply to ]
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The only time I say anything is when some dumbass is riding left and I need them to move out of the way. It’s just not necessary to say anything when they’re riding to the right and I can pass them giving plenty of room.
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [Arch Stanton] [ In reply to ]
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Arch Stanton wrote:
"On your left" is great if you want a decent percentage of people to veer left into you. Try "passing" instead.

This is a good point. I’m an “on your left†guy but I might be changing now.

Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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Slowman wrote:
RDs could do themselves, you, and the angry fool a favor if they did a little more to keep that from happening.


Agree. I've guessed that many RDs say little or nothing about positioning rules in pre-race announcements because they worry about intimidating the newbies with too many rules.

I had to instruct a adolescent female riding very near the center line yesterday to stay right unless passing. I was able to easily pass on the right so maybe I didn't sound too much like an old curmudgeon.
Last edited by: Mark Lemmon: Jun 11, 18 18:44
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [surfNJmatt] [ In reply to ]
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Ignore them. A special place in hell is reserved for people like that.

However, always look to set an example by politely letting people know when you are passing them. Over here in the lands up over (NZ and Aus) I always say 'Passing right' as a minimum, adding 'when there's a chance' if on trails.

As for the people with earphones? I usually find 'PASSING RIGHT' as I'm close to them works. Just have to be careful they don't fall off/fall over in front of you!

Trust me I’m a doctor!
Well, I have a PhD :-)
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [surfNJmatt] [ In reply to ]
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I had a guy, not in a race, who started to have a fit when I wouldn't move from the far right (he was riding on the left, going against traffic). He looked like a legit cyclist. I think some people are so unaware of their surroundings sometimes.

USAT Level II- Ironman U Certified Coach
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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Slowman wrote:

i agree. the bell is great. just, you used your bell in which triathlon? ;-)

But, I thought the OP was talking about a bike path encounter, no?

Anyway...are bells illegal in triathlon or something?

http://bikeblather.blogspot.com/
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [surfNJmatt] [ In reply to ]
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So "Pull the €¿§¡ over if you're not passing!" is actually not the preferred phrasing?

I am so, so sorry to the very, very few of you that I have been able to pass.

***
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [surfNJmatt] [ In reply to ]
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I normally just get really close behind to catch as much draft as I can and then scream left.

@floathammerholdon | @partners_in_tri
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [surfNJmatt] [ In reply to ]
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He's probably taking a bit too much Testosterone from his anti-aging doctor.
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [PhilipShambrook] [ In reply to ]
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I second the use of "passing left" instead of "on your left." I can't speak in the context of races, but this has proven to cause less pedestrian and other cyclist confusion over time.
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [surfNJmatt] [ In reply to ]
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I'd say it generally works for me but 1 in 10 do interpret it as an invitation to race and try to deny the pass.
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [daleks] [ In reply to ]
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daleks wrote:
I second the use of "passing left" instead of "on your left." I can't speak in the context of races, but this has proven to cause less pedestrian and other cyclist confusion over time.

i might have to try to that, or ideally "passing on your left" if i have the breath - every so often you get someone who just hears "left" so moves left just as you're moving past them.
unfortunately in the heat of the moment we don't necessarily process things as well as we might otherwise and similarly it makes it hard for me to change from my standard call

it should only be necessary when road space is tight though
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [surfNJmatt] [ In reply to ]
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On some multi loop courses ‘on your left’ is practically a song.
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Re: is "on your left" no longer the polite way to pass? [surfNJmatt] [ In reply to ]
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I never say anything unless they start to move left as I'm passing.
Then I say "hup hup!".
I have had to use the "keep to the right, asshole" only a few times for egregious displays of cycling etiquette ignorance.
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Post deleted by windschatten [ In reply to ]
Last edited by: windschatten: Jun 11, 18 23:53

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