The problem is obvious: the disparity between walking speed and biking speed, guaranteeing that collisions will be from behind. The technological solution is equally obvious: require bikers using walking lanes to be equipped with one of those thumb-operated bells that you used to have on your tricycle. The handlebar bell would be automatically actuated by a connection to a cam on the front wheel axle, and thus ring any time the bike was in motion. And in fairness, the paths should also require that the walker have at least one functioning ear that is not stuffed with an earbud.
‘Tis the season. And like I advise every year, please be careful out there, pedestrians, bicyclists and motor vehicle drivers. Remember to OBEY all traffic laws; doesn’t matter which of the three above you are. And please be polite to one another when maneuvering in high traffic areas. Bicyclists: It’s a good idea to slow down and announce your passing by around with more than enough time of notice.
Up here they have a law passed that cyclist can blow through stop signs. I’ve to find out do they have to stop if a vehicle is in a 4-way stop first. Love how they claim this will cause fewer accidents. Until they drive a car and now have the habit of not stopping.
I’m a cyclist, too, but without Lycra and on a normal bike, riding to work and for groceries, to meet friends and for nearby lakes. What stupid people use their cars for and get fat.
Impossible! I walk on our local greenway nearly every day and it is NEVER the spandex-clad Lance Armstrong wanna-bes that bother to say “On your left”!
nah… bikers are! And most drivers… government office clerks… Politicians! Don’t forget those! Religious zealots are… ironically… People posting their grievances online… Humans are a punishment from God to the Universe! :D
Probably before my “On your left” they will hear my favorite tunes blasting from my iPod; but so far I’ve only received compliments on my choice of music.
Many walkers wear ear buds, so a small bell is of little use. I can make a nice loud whistle, which usually cuts through the fog. I always slow down when passing pedestrians and thank them for moving over and sharing the path. p.s. I do wear lycra.
Not a lycra loon, but telling someone they’re about to be passed is just a courtesy. That and once in a while you get people that hog the entire multi-use path.
I can’t really laugh at this one much – she’s long since recovered, but an acquaintance of mine got flattened while out walking by a guy who lost control of his bike – and I mean she got knocked out for a few seconds, her face got scratched, and she ended up having to have a tooth replaced. At least he had the decency to – 1) Try to yell to warn her when he couldn’t pedal straight, and 2) Wait with her until the ambulance crew arrived.
For cyclists — just as for drivers — who use the roads cooperatively and safely as a means of transportation, I have respect. For cyclists who apparently believe that the roads are their personal place to exercise and cruise around in social packs, thereby endangering and inconveniencing everyone else, I have only contempt. Keep up the crusade, Stephen!
What is worse is if you are on a bike too and they yell out “on your left” when they are actually passing(wheels 1’ apart) which can startle the other cyclist causing him to lose control and have a collision. Too many cyclist ride like it is the final kilometer of the Tour de France" and would rather run over a five year old than slow down. My experience is the more expensive the bike, helmet, shades, spandex the bigger the a$$..
Typical ped walking on a ‘bike’ trail with signs posted “keep right, bikes have right of way” weaving back and forth all over the place while looking at their phones, but it’s the biker’s fault.
That’s why i have a bell on my bike, to give early warning, and also i avoid riding multi-use paths like the plague- too many pedestrians staring blankly at their cellphones, wandering all over the place and stepping out in front of me.
I always slow down and call out when passing people. Turns out there’s a lot of “Jef the Walker” out there meandering aimlessly down the path and paying no attention whatsoever. Some even have their dog off leash. Turns out that rudeness thing goes both ways.
Cyclists do not belong on pedestrian trails. If the trends in this world stay true to patters, cyclists and pedestrians will have separate paths, once a large enough tragedy, or a large enough sum of tragedies, occurs.
I am a cyclist, but other cyclists scare me almost as much as the texting or drunk drivers. And then there are dog walkers with killer dogs unleashed or on 12 foot leashes. Cyclists over 7 years need to get off the sidewalks and drivers need to learn how to share the road safely.
Ask yourself: Are you cycling to get where you need to be, or are you cycling for the sake of cycling?
If the latter, consider that a pilates class will likely have some attractive women in it, and leave the roads for transportation.
(That said; there is no bonus for taking out cyclists with your car. Exercise a little care and share the road gracefully, mindful that the cyclists have every bit as much right to be on the road as you.)
I, too, am not a fan of the general cycling crowd. I live on a steep, long, winding, narrow road and travel at least once a week with my 30ft horse trailer, full. These guys are a definite hazard and rude to boot. They look behind at me and continue on their middle of the road merry way. I have incorporated an air horn in my truck and I know how to use it! Right up behind them as close as I dare to get (don’t want them landing on my truck;) , and lay on it for a few seconds. Two out of three will move, the third is frequently picking himself up out of the briars. Have a nice day : )
Calling your pass – whether good morning or on your left – is even tougher when others have earbuds in place. Rat needs earbuds – would appreciate reinforcing the safety behavior we want to see!
I wizz by people at 15mph but I give them a wide berth. Once I said “on your left” and they panicked and jumped to the left, I nearly hit them, so now I just go very wide around. Are stupid pedestrians a punishment from God?
“On your left” yelled out a fraction of a second before passing is startling, not informative. That doesn’t give the pedestrian time to think, let alone time to distinguish left from right and make a proper movement to the side. Sharing a path with pedestrians means going slowly and giving plenty of warning.
I don’t suppose you cyclists sharing a road with automobiles would appreciate every automobile laying on the horn as they pass, going 30mph faster than you.
Are some cyclists annoying? Absolutely. Do some ride recklessly? Yes. But compare that irritation to the devastation that is wrought by our obscene obsequiousness to all things automotive. The demands of car cultists are causing irreparable harm to the natural environment and have already decimated the built environment with their “pave the world” mentality. And the incredible sloth that tends to accompany complete reliance on motor vehicles is one of the factors that is causing the rate of preventable diseases to go up, raising health care costs and insurance rates for all of us.
No Rat, they are agents of Satan. Not all of them, some cyclists are actually courteous and obey traffic laws but they are becoming an endangered species.
I’m a cyclist (more than a jogger), but not to the level of your character. Those guys are ridiculous. They’re not training for the tour-de-france, so why do you think you need the spandex?I will be honest, a good number of pedestrians around here don’t stay to the right like they should. we need to share the path with each other.
I worked in SF for 15 years. On my last Friday I crossed a street through Critical Mass. I told myself that pedestrians were safe and lucked out. Almost all of my pedestrian close calls there involved bike messengers.
It’s the law here in Colorado that a cyclist must announce his approach. So at least here in Colorado it’s not the cyclists fault for following the law.
I never understood the “On your left” warning. Am I supposed to pay attention to an incomplete sentence? I should expect to hear something like “On your left there’s a snapping turtle” or something equally useful to know.
BE THIS GUY about 1 month ago
Right up there with locusts and raining frogs.
ronaldspence about 1 month ago
Pastis knows they don’t read his strip, he is safe!
BasilBruce about 1 month ago
“Won’t slow down! You have no right to be here!”
Wilde Bill about 1 month ago
That was pretty much my attitude the 4 years I rode a bike in college. But I’d never go back.
enigmamz about 1 month ago
Yes.
hariseldon59 about 1 month ago
Not nearly as annoying as many automobile drivers.
Gent about 1 month ago
Eh there too many entitled loons these days. Just like steenky cycleests.
franki_g about 1 month ago
or, he could just run into your back as you wander left, then right, then more right, then suddenly veer to the middle.
Walkers, especially those in groups or with dogs, often don’t seem to understand the concept of other people on the path.
Qiset about 1 month ago
Be grateful that he said anything. A lot don’t.
Zykoic about 1 month ago
City adding bike lanes on our narrow, steep street. I plan opening a spandex repair shop and bumper cleaning service.
joyisanroman about 1 month ago
At least rat is asking, but the cyclist takes offense because his intent when he went by rat makes him guilty.
jonnytest about 1 month ago
From God? No. They’re from the dark side.
Its just me about 1 month ago
I never walked on shared paths of a weekend, valued my life too much.
Aviatrexx Premium Member about 1 month ago
The problem is obvious: the disparity between walking speed and biking speed, guaranteeing that collisions will be from behind. The technological solution is equally obvious: require bikers using walking lanes to be equipped with one of those thumb-operated bells that you used to have on your tricycle. The handlebar bell would be automatically actuated by a connection to a cam on the front wheel axle, and thus ring any time the bike was in motion. And in fairness, the paths should also require that the walker have at least one functioning ear that is not stuffed with an earbud.
Keno21 about 1 month ago
Got flipped off by a cyclada who flew past a stop sign, and nearly got hit. He honestly thought it was MY fault…
minty_Joe about 1 month ago
‘Tis the season. And like I advise every year, please be careful out there, pedestrians, bicyclists and motor vehicle drivers. Remember to OBEY all traffic laws; doesn’t matter which of the three above you are. And please be polite to one another when maneuvering in high traffic areas. Bicyclists: It’s a good idea to slow down and announce your passing by around with more than enough time of notice.
orinoco womble about 1 month ago
Cyclists aren’t as bad as the idiots on escooters, because they don’t have motors.
cdward about 1 month ago
I’d much rather have them call out “On your left”or ring their bell (which they are required to do in some places) than just whizz by with no warning.
Purple People Eater about 1 month ago
They’re a punishment, but they’re not from God.
iggyman about 1 month ago
The Spandex Speeders Rat?!
iggyman about 1 month ago
I live between 2 trail heads and I always have to be careful when I open my car doors, as they come up behind fast and silently!
SameAsOldFfred about 1 month ago
Admit it, your wife has you mowing the lawn wearing spandex shorts. Or basketball guy skirts.
win.45mag about 1 month ago
I’m gonna vote yes
JoeStoppinghem Premium Member about 1 month ago
Up here they have a law passed that cyclist can blow through stop signs. I’ve to find out do they have to stop if a vehicle is in a 4-way stop first. Love how they claim this will cause fewer accidents. Until they drive a car and now have the habit of not stopping.
unfair.de about 1 month ago
I’m a cyclist, too, but without Lycra and on a normal bike, riding to work and for groceries, to meet friends and for nearby lakes. What stupid people use their cars for and get fat.
Huckleberry Hiroshima about 1 month ago
They can be rather entitled, yes. Walkers too, of course.
Ellis97 about 1 month ago
It could be. It’s not as bad as the river turning red, being invaded by a swarm of bugs, or having your firstborn killed overnight, but still…
bobnanski about 1 month ago
Impossible! I walk on our local greenway nearly every day and it is NEVER the spandex-clad Lance Armstrong wanna-bes that bother to say “On your left”!
James Wolfenstein about 1 month ago
nah… bikers are! And most drivers… government office clerks… Politicians! Don’t forget those! Religious zealots are… ironically… People posting their grievances online… Humans are a punishment from God to the Universe! :D
Geophyzz about 1 month ago
Probably before my “On your left” they will hear my favorite tunes blasting from my iPod; but so far I’ve only received compliments on my choice of music.
cslice about 1 month ago
He’s lucky he got a warning, the cyclists on our local trail act like you’re in their way!
Croc Holliday about 1 month ago
God is not real.
Kilrwat Premium Member about 1 month ago
Many walkers wear ear buds, so a small bell is of little use. I can make a nice loud whistle, which usually cuts through the fog. I always slow down when passing pedestrians and thank them for moving over and sharing the path. p.s. I do wear lycra.
mindjob about 1 month ago
Just pass already, don’t make a federal case out of it
Randall J. Harris Premium Member about 1 month ago
At least he was on a trail instead of the street – or a winding, hilly, narrow road with short sight-lines…
MS72 about 1 month ago
How many comments today? I think they enjoy pushing our buttons.
mrwiskers about 1 month ago
When I announce, “On your left”, more often than not, I’ll receive a wave of the hand or a “Thank you” from folks.
Oofta about 1 month ago
Not a lycra loon, but telling someone they’re about to be passed is just a courtesy. That and once in a while you get people that hog the entire multi-use path.
Slowly, he turned... about 1 month ago
I think more likely cyclists are a joke from God.
The Orange Mailman about 1 month ago
Some of us just wear regular clothes while bicycling.
akachman Premium Member about 1 month ago
They are indeed a punishment. Clowns on two wheels.
KageKat about 1 month ago
I can’t really laugh at this one much – she’s long since recovered, but an acquaintance of mine got flattened while out walking by a guy who lost control of his bike – and I mean she got knocked out for a few seconds, her face got scratched, and she ended up having to have a tooth replaced. At least he had the decency to – 1) Try to yell to warn her when he couldn’t pedal straight, and 2) Wait with her until the ambulance crew arrived.
Goat from PBS about 1 month ago
I’m sure people can go cycling on a public pathway. I don’t know. I’ve never done it.
n31tf about 1 month ago
For cyclists — just as for drivers — who use the roads cooperatively and safely as a means of transportation, I have respect. For cyclists who apparently believe that the roads are their personal place to exercise and cruise around in social packs, thereby endangering and inconveniencing everyone else, I have only contempt. Keep up the crusade, Stephen!
Gen.Flashman about 1 month ago
What is worse is if you are on a bike too and they yell out “on your left” when they are actually passing(wheels 1’ apart) which can startle the other cyclist causing him to lose control and have a collision. Too many cyclist ride like it is the final kilometer of the Tour de France" and would rather run over a five year old than slow down. My experience is the more expensive the bike, helmet, shades, spandex the bigger the a$$..
txmystic about 1 month ago
Jef……..
F-Flash about 1 month ago
That’s telling em Steph, the pen is mightier than the sword.
well-i-never about 1 month ago
I keep Frazz right next to Pearls Before Swine just for days like this – or it just happened somehow. I don’t remember after the bike incident.
Ichabod Ferguson about 1 month ago
Typical ped walking on a ‘bike’ trail with signs posted “keep right, bikes have right of way” weaving back and forth all over the place while looking at their phones, but it’s the biker’s fault.
gigagrouch about 1 month ago
That’s why i have a bell on my bike, to give early warning, and also i avoid riding multi-use paths like the plague- too many pedestrians staring blankly at their cellphones, wandering all over the place and stepping out in front of me.
PeaceWouldBeNice about 1 month ago
There are good people that ride bicycles: I think I met one, once…
Munch about 1 month ago
I always slow down and call out when passing people. Turns out there’s a lot of “Jef the Walker” out there meandering aimlessly down the path and paying no attention whatsoever. Some even have their dog off leash. Turns out that rudeness thing goes both ways.
morningglory73 Premium Member about 1 month ago
Being a tad hard of hearing I appreciate a warning if something is approaching from behind when out walking.
Ignatz Premium Member about 1 month ago
The Hudson River promenade on the West Side of Manhattan used to be such a pleasant walk. Now it’s all bikes whizzing past you, and no peace.
Alfred about 1 month ago
This vendetta against cyclists is getting very tiresome.
Steverino Premium Member about 1 month ago
In answer to Rat’s question: Yes.
harf59 about 1 month ago
Cyclists do not belong on pedestrian trails. If the trends in this world stay true to patters, cyclists and pedestrians will have separate paths, once a large enough tragedy, or a large enough sum of tragedies, occurs.
triathlete1066 Premium Member about 1 month ago
Lies. Rat out taking a “peaceful” walk beside a creek? For what, exercise? To enjoy nature? Yeah, and then everybody clapped…
elbow macaroni about 1 month ago
You’d rather be hit by a bike?
elbow macaroni about 1 month ago
You’d rather be hit by the bike?
Call me Ishmael about 1 month ago
Dude – it’s the “electrics” you need to fear ! People who never rode before are now approaching you silently – at 25 mph ! I hate those things.
Woodstock Generation Premium Member about 1 month ago
I am a cyclist, but other cyclists scare me almost as much as the texting or drunk drivers. And then there are dog walkers with killer dogs unleashed or on 12 foot leashes. Cyclists over 7 years need to get off the sidewalks and drivers need to learn how to share the road safely.
ladykat about 1 month ago
This is why I don’t go out for walks alone anymore. I’m afraid of being run over by a random cyclist.
Ishka Bibel about 1 month ago
If I am on a mixed use path I call out “On your left, please”. Usually followed by “Your other left, moron”On a marked bike path I am less polite.
zwilnik64 about 1 month ago
Ask yourself: Are you cycling to get where you need to be, or are you cycling for the sake of cycling?
If the latter, consider that a pilates class will likely have some attractive women in it, and leave the roads for transportation.
(That said; there is no bonus for taking out cyclists with your car. Exercise a little care and share the road gracefully, mindful that the cyclists have every bit as much right to be on the road as you.)
delennwen about 1 month ago
The Lycra Loons did a good cover of “Bicycle” by Queen.
Spacetech about 1 month ago
You’ve got a nerve
rex.vecors about 1 month ago
Apparently Steph is ribbing Jef Mallett again. I do not read “Frazz” much: I cannot recall “Frazz” making a joke about Steph Pastis.
pheets about 1 month ago
I, too, am not a fan of the general cycling crowd. I live on a steep, long, winding, narrow road and travel at least once a week with my 30ft horse trailer, full. These guys are a definite hazard and rude to boot. They look behind at me and continue on their middle of the road merry way. I have incorporated an air horn in my truck and I know how to use it! Right up behind them as close as I dare to get (don’t want them landing on my truck;) , and lay on it for a few seconds. Two out of three will move, the third is frequently picking himself up out of the briars. Have a nice day : )
makarnowski Premium Member about 1 month ago
As a lifelong cyclist who mostly loves PBS, on days like this I just roll my eyes and think, “Haters gonna hate.” We all have our issues, I guess.
elgrecousa Premium Member about 1 month ago
The problem with cyclists, especially the motor types, is that they think they are immortal and subject to no traffic rules.
Moore 1 about 1 month ago
Just don’t me started on Cyclists disobeying traffic laws.
wildlandwaters about 1 month ago
unfortunately too many have the attitude of “go ahead and hit me…I dare ya!” (gotta admit…it’s awfully tempting!)
Hello Sweetie about 1 month ago
Yes. And we must have been very bad.
zeexenon about 1 month ago
Yes, we are, far Left, far Right, whatever, same thing.
[Unnamed Reader - b7d875] Premium Member about 1 month ago
Calling your pass – whether good morning or on your left – is even tougher when others have earbuds in place. Rat needs earbuds – would appreciate reinforcing the safety behavior we want to see!
cdgar about 1 month ago
Hope you continue to belittle these annoying lycra bottomed people.
chriscc63 about 1 month ago
I wizz by people at 15mph but I give them a wide berth. Once I said “on your left” and they panicked and jumped to the left, I nearly hit them, so now I just go very wide around. Are stupid pedestrians a punishment from God?
centoxyz about 1 month ago
Maybe cyclists just do not like rats.
whelan_jj about 1 month ago
“On your left” yelled out a fraction of a second before passing is startling, not informative. That doesn’t give the pedestrian time to think, let alone time to distinguish left from right and make a proper movement to the side. Sharing a path with pedestrians means going slowly and giving plenty of warning.
I don’t suppose you cyclists sharing a road with automobiles would appreciate every automobile laying on the horn as they pass, going 30mph faster than you.
fishbulb239 about 1 month ago
Are some cyclists annoying? Absolutely. Do some ride recklessly? Yes. But compare that irritation to the devastation that is wrought by our obscene obsequiousness to all things automotive. The demands of car cultists are causing irreparable harm to the natural environment and have already decimated the built environment with their “pave the world” mentality. And the incredible sloth that tends to accompany complete reliance on motor vehicles is one of the factors that is causing the rate of preventable diseases to go up, raising health care costs and insurance rates for all of us.
Bilan about 1 month ago
Those cyclist are still better than the motorist that whiz by bicycles with only a foot of space.
Katje about 1 month ago
You will end up in Hell! And it will be filled with bikes! :D
marilynnbyerly about 1 month ago
It’s obvious I don’t use walking paths. My first thought was Sam’s comment in the AVENGERS movies.
ggoskie about 1 month ago
At least they yell “On your left.” ;^)
pchemcat about 1 month ago
No Rat, they are agents of Satan. Not all of them, some cyclists are actually courteous and obey traffic laws but they are becoming an endangered species.
Christopher Putt Premium Member about 1 month ago
I’m a cyclist (more than a jogger), but not to the level of your character. Those guys are ridiculous. They’re not training for the tour-de-france, so why do you think you need the spandex?I will be honest, a good number of pedestrians around here don’t stay to the right like they should. we need to share the path with each other.
[Unnamed Reader - 14b4ce] about 1 month ago
I wish it were possible for speed cyclists to painfully run over their own feet
Spiffy about 1 month ago
Let’s not get all frazzled, Jef.
Buoy about 1 month ago
Honestly I’d rejoice if a cyclist gave any sort of warning before whizzing by.
ekke about 1 month ago
Yup, startles me every time (someday it’ll be a heart attack) and they’re already past me by the time I get startled.
willie_mctell about 1 month ago
I worked in SF for 15 years. On my last Friday I crossed a street through Critical Mass. I told myself that pedestrians were safe and lucked out. Almost all of my pedestrian close calls there involved bike messengers.
Mad4U about 1 month ago
Around here, the colorful loons ride up the middle of the street and shake their fists at you if you dare to pass them.
gr about 1 month ago
I’m out.
ExSubSailor about 1 month ago
It’s the law here in Colorado that a cyclist must announce his approach. So at least here in Colorado it’s not the cyclists fault for following the law.
pamela welch Premium Member about 1 month ago
I agree with Stephan!
Robert Miller Premium Member about 1 month ago
In GTA, I love to run over the cyclists…
Otis Rufus Driftwood about 1 month ago
To my fellow cyclists: You are not the center of the universe.
puddleglum1066 about 1 month ago
My bicycle has a friendly little bell.
eddi-TBH about 1 month ago
At least that one warned Rat.
Formedras about 1 month ago
American cyclists are just Americans on bicycles, instead of rolling coal in a gigantic truck. The rudeness isn’t from the “cyclist” part.
MichiganMitten about 1 month ago
Really startle my dad, who’s in his 80s. How hard is it to slow down when approaching people on foot?
cafed00d Premium Member about 1 month ago
Kids zooming past me from behind on their electric bikes is even worse.
love2cook about 1 month ago
I’d say they are Stephan!!
boblivious2 about 1 month ago
A thin line from cycle paths to psychopaths.
alantain about 1 month ago
That’s just the warning that will make me jump right into your path. I can’t always tell my left from my right, especially when I’m panicking.
wordsmeet about 1 month ago
I never understood the “On your left” warning. Am I supposed to pay attention to an incomplete sentence? I should expect to hear something like “On your left there’s a snapping turtle” or something equally useful to know.
MVMartinek about 1 month ago
It’s better than them whooshing past without an “on your left!”