The Camino walker and the biker. 🤣

[MickMac]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1775180726624735686

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I'm always "the startled" in this situation if not pre-warned with a bell or an announcement.

 

[J Willhaus]

I'm the one who can't remember which is my left or right! Just as likely to step in front of the bike as away from it.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

Had a young child literally step in front of me. (And I’m a bellringer) Fortunately 1/ it was winter, he was so padded he wasn’t hurt and 2/ his parents saw the whole thing.

 

[TheRealPixie]

Startled or stop and starer here. Funny video. The dive looked painful.

 

[David]

I love that! On Camino is a problem calling left as so many non-English speaking pilgrims - gentle bell or a "Buen Camino!" and slow down seems to work - don't you hate it when a group split into two on either side? Leaving almost no room? like herding cats with a bell - hopeless

 

[Saint Mike II]

Having been both a bikigino and a peligrino I know both sides of the situation. Please note that I have an extra loud bell on my bike - audible for 50 or so metres. The one that "got me" was the female pilgrim who had her ear pieces so far into her ears that she would not have heard a jumbo jet. As I passed her - around 3 metres distant I could hear her music. I hate to think what it was doing to her ear drums. Thanks for the video lessons. Cheers

 

[makingtrax]

I'm always "the startled" in this situation if not pre-warned with a bell or an announcement.

Some like me, are easily startled due to hearing impairment! I seldom hear the bell but in the States always hear "on the left".

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Some like me, are easily startled due to hearing impairment! I seldom hear the bell but in the States always hear "on the left".

I'm unfortunately very sensitive about unexpected sounds and am startled at things that often don't bother other people.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

On the Jakobsweg (Camino) today. It was a big wide stretch and a young bloke passed me at speed. He obviously felt no warning was required but, yes, he certainly startled me!

 

[t2andreo]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1775180726624735686

That was hysterical. I fall into the "old man" category, I move out of the way, but in my time. But, it is always in enough time if the overtaking party announces their presence soon enough. Haven't been hit yet.

I much prefer bells, to an announcement, as many riders and walkers might not understand English. But, a loud "brrring" bell is universal. A ding-ding bell is a waste of time. The best ones sound for a couple of seconds and are LOUD.

In a related story, when I lived in Belgium for a few years, I quickly learned that, as a pedestrian, if you heard a bell behind you, you jumped to the right promptly, or the next sound you would hear would be the harps played by the angels in Heaven. The bike riders there and in the Netherlands were drop-dead serious about maintaining their right-of-way, especially on a designated bike path.

Bell are best.

Thanks for sharing it.

 

[Louise Comacchio]

Had a young child literally step in front of me. (And I’m a bellringer) Fortunately 1/ it was winter, he was so padded he wasn’t hurt and 2/ his parents saw the whole thing.

Same thing happened to me. Thank heavens the mother witnessed it. I had called out, rang my bell etc the child was on the left of the path kneeling on a scateboard but when she turned and saw me she leapt up like a startled rabbit running toward me. I rode off the path onto the grass but she kept coming. I did my best to avoid her. I was thankful the girl was OK and that the mother saw the whole thing.

 

[Farmer Col]

I fall into the undecided. Being an Australian, my instinct is to move to the left, which in Europe would be into the path of the bike. Sometimes don't have time to correct my mistake and have to hope the cyclists accepts my appology.

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

I fall into the undecided. Being an Australian, my instinct is to move to the left, which in Europe would be into the path of the bike. Sometimes don't have time to correct my mistake and have to hope the cyclists accepts my appology.

As a Kiwi, ditto. I’ve now been here long enough to - normally - overcome that.

But if you get hit, it’s not about apologies, it’s about hospital. As a young woman my wife was hit by a cyclist, she was hospitalised for a week, off work for a month. Hate to think how the same thing would have affected an older person

 

[bks]

Had a young child literally step in front of me. (And I’m a bellringer) Fortunately 1/ it was winter, he was so padded he wasn’t hurt and 2/ his parents saw the whole thing.

I also had a young child run in front of the bike ahead of me. That bike braked, I crashed into it, fell and got a concussion. It could have been worse if I wasn't wearing a helmet!!

 

[SoulDesire]

I do a lot of walking training on shared paths, and am annoyed by the lack of courtesy shown by bikers. Few, perhaps one in ten, will give a signal, and then it is a little "ting" which, coming from behind, with a bit of wind in the ears is barely audible - even worse if you have age-related hearing loss. To be hit by a bike at anything above walking speed will injure both rider and walker - and even a slow fall can kill. So when these lycra-loonies zoom past me like they're in the last 50 metres of a stage of the Tour de France, I can only imagine the mangled mess if we were to collide. It is so easy to step to the side on the path to avoid doggie-doo or a stick, not knowing a bike is silently approaching at speed.
Because these bikers are acting like road "traffic", it would make sense to walk on the side facing the bikes, as you would on a road with vehicle (and bike) traffic. Then you could see them coming on your side, and avoid them, while the ones going your way would have a clear path without having to swerve around you. But the rule, well sign-posted, says walk on the LEFT (in Australia at least) - the same side as wheeled traffic.
Sometimes "rules" and common sense do not coincide.

 

[David Bedlow]

'On your left' is meaningless and I have never heard anyone say it before. To me it also sounds rude. A complete sentence might be preferable. 'I am coming along behind you on your left'? What about a bell, the meaning of which would be more readily understood?

 

[J Willhaus]

'On your left' is meaningless and I have never heard anyone say it before. To me it also sounds rude. A complete sentence might be preferable. 'I am coming along behind you on your left'? What about a bell, the meaning of which would be more readily understood?

Sorry, probably a US saying. Often used here for passing joggers, bikes, skateboards (or not depending on the courtesy of the individuals or whether they are out of breath from jogging).

 

[Camino Chrissy]

Sorry, probably a US saying. Often used here for passing joggers, bikes, skateboards (or not depending on the courtesy of the individuals or whether they are out of breath from jogging).

Yes, in the US I hear it often as a walker, where the biker behind announces "on your left", especially on my winter Snowbird months where I walk in a huge state park full of boardwalks and paved paths where bikers and walkers are probably 50/50%. It is NOT rude to say "on your left". In fact it is very courteous where I come from and I appreciate it!

 

[WGroleau]

I'm always "the startled" in this situation if not pre-warned with a bell or an announcement.

Most of the ones I passed on bike were startled in spite of both bell and announcement.

 

[WGroleau]

I do a lot of walking training on shared paths, and am annoyed by the lack of courtesy shown by bikers. Few, perhaps one in ten, will give a signal,

I keep reading this accusation here, yet when I walked, it was not true of most of the cyclists that passed me. Yes, there were a few jerks, but a small minority.