Etiquette for the heck of it

Pedestrian and cyclists can be thankful that cars aren't silent.

At least, that is, until Elon Musk has his way and we’re all driving electric vehicles on autopilot, but that discussion is for another day.

The other Sunday,  I was riding along the path through City Park, cruising along at eight to 10km/h so I wouldn't startle the walkers, dawdlers, picnickers, and the rest of the beach-going public.

I would hang back if I saw two groups about to cross.

Sometimes, if it was safe, my wheels would go faster to scoot around a larger group. All the while I was calling out “On your left” or “On your right” if appropriate.

Suddenly, I heard a whizzing noise behind me and I stopped to turn and see what it was. A teenager on a retrofitted e-bike was speeding through the grassy area.

He was doing about 20 km/h when he hit a slack line stretched between two trees. He hit at the level of his steering tube and it brought him to a Warner Bros/Coyote/Roadrunner-type stop.

Thankfully, he didn’t fly over the handlebars and he was wearing a helmet. But his front wheel, where the motor was, had completely ripped out of the front forks and the bike was no longer ride-able.

His speed was now going to be hampered not only by having to use two feet, but also having to carry both pieces of his bicycle.

I can only speculate what his reason was for using the route he took. Most likely he was in a hurry and felt that  respecting the people on the normal was going to slow him down.

I'm guessing he didn’t know there is a paved path around the other side of the park that doesn’t have many people and would shoot him onto the roadway quickly where he could go the speed he wanted.

The same thing happens in bike lanes with cyclists going different speeds and needing to pass another. And everyone is familiar with the cyclist speeding by the pedestrian along one of our multi-use paths.

Bicycles are silent and you can get startled easily when someone just “appears” next to you within arm’s length.

When we ask guests to arrive at 6:30 p.m. we expect they will be there within five minutes of that, 15 minutes being rude. Similarly, we expect that others users of the path should try not to scare or startle someone.

It’s recommended to use a bell to notify pedestrians and others that a cyclist is approaching. In Ontario, it’s law to have some kind of device but B.C. hasn’t quite gotten there yet and Kelowna doesn’t have anything on the books either.

Even if you don’t have a bell on your bike, you have your voice. Unless you’re in a large convoy of trucks, your voice will carry to the other person. Though that doesn’t count for people who have ear buds and wouldn’t hear an approaching freight train until the wind from its passing whips them back to reality.

This kind of etiquette is a first step toward showing respect. We know that to get respect, we have to give respect. The number of pedestrians who cyclists can get on their side just by being respectful and not speeding along the sidewalk or startling them with a close pass would be amazing.

The number of times I've heard people bitching about a cyclist whipping around them is horrendous; this needs to be turned around so that we can all find our safe places.

Let people know you’re coming, it doesn’t cost you anything and will only result in a smoother ride.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.