Column: Sometimes you don't need to know a cyclist is "on your left"

My husband, Paul, and I enjoy walking on our local rail trail. It’s lined with trees, shrubs and wildflowers, and borders a river. It’s usually a quiet place—at least until a voice booms out behind us. “On your left!”

We understand that bicyclists want to stay safe. So do we. Yet we are intensely annoyed by these announcements.

There may be groups of people who walk together, chattering and oblivious of their surroundings. Perhaps they need a warning from cyclists. But Paul and I stay firmly to the right and do not dance or weave. We are minding our own business, and when a shout comes from behind, I often jump. Literally.

Now, that’s dangerous.

We have a friend who is a serious cyclist. He does not agree with us. Bicyclists should always call out a warning when approaching from behind, he says. But he doesn’t shout. It would help, at least a bit, if others followed suit. The riders who annoy us the most are the ones who yell.

They not only startle us, they are officious. They zoom by and rarely say thank you should we move even farther to the right. Usually they are dressed as if they are competing in the Tour de France. The rail trail is really not the place to practice racing, unless you are out there very early in the morning. Most people are walking, many with dogs.

Perhaps I am overly sensitive, but I interpret the shout as an admonition, as if I’m doing something wrong by walking on the right side of a walking trail.

Recently, Paul and I were walking south when we encountered a family walking in the other direction. The mom was pushing a stroller and the dad looked like he wished he was anywhere but on the rail trail. Four very small children were on four very small bicycles, and they were headed right for us. We moved over to what passes for a “breakdown lane” — a dirt border between the pavement and the actual rails, but we had to come to a complete stop to make sure the tykes on bikes didn’t run us down.

Now, if a grown-up cyclist had come upon this group, I don’t think even a shouted “on your left” would have sufficed. Yet I’ve never seen a cyclist actually stop— for anything.

Walkers: one. Cyclists: zero.

I realize that a sign at the entrance to our trail directs cyclists to say “on your left.” I feel this is misguided. If a rider is going at a normal speed—and not imagining life in the peloton—he or she can assess whether a warning is needed. Many do just that.

Also, there are alternatives to the shout. A bell attached to the handlebars of a bike is a gentle reminder that a walker is about to be passed. And if a verbal reminder is warranted, is it too much to ask that it be delivered in a normal tone of voice, rather than at the level of the famed rebel yell?

The other day, I guess I was in a rambunctious mood. A biker shouted the offensive warning as he approached us. I said to Paul, “Yes, we really needed that because I was just about to pirouette” into the rider’s path. The cyclist was gone by then, so I moved to the left while doing a few haphazard ballet moves. We laughed. “Then I was going to do some Trail Yoga,” I said, demonstrating with a Warrior Pose. We laughed some more.

The bicyclist had turned around at the end to the trail and was now coming back our way, approaching us from the front. I wondered if he had seen my antics in his mirror. Oh, well. At my age, I think I’m beyond serious embarrassment.

Paul thinks we should have T-shirts made that say on the back, “On your right,” or “I know you’re on my left and I don’t give a darn.”

I like the idea, but then I recall the sunny day in August when we heard the not-so-wild call of an overly-cautious bicyclist behind us.

We both turned to see an elderly gentleman on what I would call a “classic” bicycle; that is, one without gears or turned-down handlebars. He was traveling very slowly, barely faster than we were walking.

In other words, he posed no danger to us whatsoever, or us to him.

Still, he came from a generation that still believes the rules are important. I get that. I even approve of that philosophy.

Except, that is, when it comes to “on your left.” It shouldn’t be a rule, just an option. I’m sticking to that point of view, just like I always stick to the right.