Conflict
I like to think of myself as a good ambassador for bicycling. I always endeavor to ride by the rules of the road, I nearly always wave and say “hi” to pedestrians and other bicyclists, and I do my best to cooperate with my fellow users on multi-use paths. But, no matter how hard I try, every now and again something doesn’t go quite right.
If you’ve visited this blog before, you know a portion of my commute takes me along a separated bike path. It’s a pleasant stretch of trail that is far preferable to riding on the busier roads that parallel the route. The only problem is that when going my direction, the trailhead is mid-block on the opposite side of a 4-lane divided parkway. The only way to access the trail without back tracking a fair distance is to cross the road at the intersection before the trailhead, then ride the 1/4 block to the trailhead on the sidewalk. I’ve been doing this for two years without incident. (Note: It’s legal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk in our city).
Today was different. It was pitch black this morning, and I was probably riding a little too fast, when I came upon a man heading my direction walking two dogs. Because we met at a little bend in the sidewalk, we were all startled simultaneously (the dogs, him, and I). I’m sure they were startled worse than I was due to the fact that I have my full 400-lumen winter light set-up installed and I probably looked like a motor vehicle coming down the sidewalk.
Before I had a chance to say “sorry” the man said something to the effect of “there’s a bike lane over there” in a stern voice. I tried to explain to him about the problem of accessing the trailhead while traveling south but he was having none of it and just kept repeating “there’s a bike lane over there”. By now adrenaline was pumping on both sides, and after attempting to explain the situation for the 4th time, I finally gave in to frustration and told him he should “just mind his own business” as we both muttered expletives under our breath and continued on our ways.
The entire episode only lasted a minute and no real harm was done, but it’s been bothering me all day and it took all day to figure out why; in retrospect I think it’s because the situation so unexpectedly spun out of control. Given another chance I would have handled it far differently, but the emotions of the moment took over and turned what should have been a benign encounter into something worse. Certainly, the last thing I wanted to do when I rolled out the front door this morning was startle a pedestrian, argue with him about my right to be on the sidewalk, then part ways angrily.
In hindsight, I have to admit my headlights are far too bright for riding on a sidewalk, even if we’re only talking a 200-foot stretch of rarely travelled sidewalk (until today, I hadn’t encountered a pedestrian at that time of the morning, on that stretch of sidewalk, in over 2 years). Going forward I’ll probably just skip the trail on these dark mornings since my lights may be too bright for other trail users too. Of course, that’s only avoiding the real issue that’s eating at me, the issue of allowing my emotions to draw me into a conflict on the road when I know better and want better, both for myself and for the other bicyclists who will come down the road behind me.
34 Responses to “Conflict”
It’s a loosing battle. I get told on my own island, by tourist and the few local who don’t know me but treat me like a tourist, to get on the bike path…. the only problem is there is NO bike path. There IS something that resembles a three foot shoulder scattered sparcely around the island but THIS island (Orcas) was NOT made for cyclist (or at least novice cyclists) and the occasional three foot shoulder almost always has loose gravel glass, potholes, and an edge. I sometime want to tell them to drive like they have a brain in their head but realize they don’t, never will. They’ll never see from my perspective and so I usually say something like, “sure as soon as you build me a safe bike path, I’ll get out of your way… arsehole”
I think what is hard in these situations is that we do not intend to be startling to others and yet, sometimes, we are. In those situations, the startled person’s response is to be defensive and we react to that because we did not mean to be offensive and are embarrassed so we become defensive in return. Somehow, that 2 way defensiveness becomes aggressive because neither side knows what to do with the swirl of emotions and energy and then the finger pointing starts.
There is nothing to be done. It is hard to be aware of all of that happening in such a tiny period of time so it is hard to stop it in the first place. I will admit, though, the super bright lights in the face could be working against you- it is a tactic the police use to keep people off balance so they can keep control of situations.
This type of situation will crop up on occasion. Sometimes the other person involved is just flat unreasonable. I was actually yelled at by some guy with a walker to get off his side of the side walk yesterday….and I was walking my bike!
All you can do is let it go and take precautions to avoid the situation again.
Aaron
I’ll agree with what Adrienne said. Startling someone usually makes the other defensive. It’s almost automatic behavior somewhere beneath conscience thought; therefore the arguement is past rational level of thought. But during the moment, it’s hard to remember that. So, I”d just apologize and be on my way.
Everybody owns their road. You, me and everybody else using a path or divided highway. Everybody travels in their own bubble. If that bubble is threatened or encroached on, warning buzzers go off in our primal territorial self. Cyclists may have smaller bubbles with some connection to the environment, usually; however, it is my observation with myself and other cyclists that our bubbles causes us to be self-absorbed in the self-importance of being where we are. Other travelers beware!
As far as lights, if I have bright light on, I try to either turn it off or point it down a tisch when oncoming traffic is nigh. that is if I remember to.
But, I tell ya, there are times when I want a freakin’ searchlight on really dark stretches or to get back at the monster truck loaded with too many lights.
Did I say that out loud?
Darryl – the night time is the right time to travel
I’m sorry this happened. I would note (in your defense) that the lighting system you are worried about also should alert him (even around the bend) of your approach. If he’s awake, then he knows something is coming, even if he isn’t sure what type of vehicle it is. Frankly, a cyclist using too bright a light is a problem I wish we had more often.
I would agree with Ian, he should have been far less startled by you than you were of him. However, regardless, it’s a rough situation. I’m not sure I’d worry about your lights on the path, or if you’re worried about blinding people, also roll with one of the larger Knogs or a PB Blaze and switch to it when jumping on the trail.
PS – Is it explicitly illegal in your area to ride your bike on the sidewalk? If not, than, frankly don’t be worried about the guy’s actions.
I understand how upsetting this kind of thing can be–and it is depressing, unfortunately. On my commute home last Friday I startled a horse and rider on a multi-surface MUT, a very wide MUT by the way. I was slowing to stop to let the two riders–headed my direction–by, but they had already stopped for a jogger and were apparently stopped for me, too. Even tho’ I was sayin’ “no!” inside my head, “just stop,” I stood on the peddles and accelerated; as soon as I accelerated my dynolight went full bright. The lead horse got scared. The rider couldn’t control it and got bucked (well, sort of slid) off the back. The rider was fine, and the horse took off down the trail away from me. Rider (now walking away from me) said, “It was your light. Turn it off, please!” I know both riders were shaken, but I was shaken, too, and after several minutes of standing there puzzling at why I just didn’t stop, I turned around and rode back the way I came. I too consider myself a good ambassador of cycling, but now I think I’ve only helped fuel the local tension between horsepeople and cyclists on our MUTs. And this bugs me no end.
I have more conflicts than I would like with oblivious pedestrians. Most often here, a ped who suddenly steps down off the sidewalk into my path without looking or giving any subconscious hints that they are about to do so (I can often see well ahead of time if someone seems to want to cross the street). Usually on a cell phone or playing with a blackberry. The worst is people who cross against the light, again, without so much as a look to see if anything is coming. I obviously know that I am to yield to these people regardless of how egregious their behavior is. And I’m just fine with that. But the laws of physics exist, and there’s only so much I can do. There’s also nothing I can do to avoid startling, frustrating, or inconveniencing such pedestrians.
My only solution is not to let it freak me out too much, keep riding, try to be gracious wherever possible, and hope that our encounter taught them something about how to get around the city without taking your life in your hands.
I was riding in the bike lane of a busy avenue once, when all of a sudden this older man decided he had to jump off the sidewalk and jog in my lane in the opposite direction, and “ordered” me to get “out there” in the main traffic lane where I “belong”. Never mind that it was a bike lane, that it is illegal in my state for pedestrians to travel on the road when there is a sidewalk available, etc., etc. I proceeded to inform the man what I thought of him and his manners in very colorful language, but muy outburst wasn’t enough to blow off all the steam and I stayed fairly pissed off for a good while.
I see many, many joggers taking over bike lanes in Austin. Most will get out of you way, but some seem to believe they own the bike lane. What is it with these people? They have sidewalks all over town, cyclists have few bike lanes, and yet they insist on jogging on the road!
I wouldn’t worry about the brightness of the lamp too much. It doesn’t seem to be a very significant component to this conflict. Like you said, you may have been going too fast for a sidewalk. It sound to me like the safest option for you going forward is to simply do what you’ve been doing all along. If that part of the sidewalk is only about 60 yards, just go slower. If you feel the light is too bright for the bike trail, use your battery powered backup for that part of your commute.
Alan, I can’t imagine you getting steamed. I wish you’d captured it on video. :)
There is no answer for this, I don’t think. I just follow a simple rule. As a cyclist, I always give the benefit of the doubt to the ped. As a driver, I always give the benefit of the doubt to the cyclist and ped. So if I have an encounter with a ped and he lets off a little steam, I just smile and say sorry, or something like that (assuming he/she is not being a total a*s). I think your thoughts about the lights are good ones. The new bike lights are awfully bright. That’s good for some situations and perhaps not so good for others.
“What is it with these people? They have sidewalks all over town, cyclists have few bike lanes, and yet they insist on jogging on the road!”
This reminds me of us cyclists, or to be more specific, ME, typically hating being in the painted bike lane. If it is clear of gravel and isn’t in horrible condition, I’m fine with the bike lane; if it isn’t I prefer to be in the lane. I can see joggers hating to be on the sidewalk; they’re even worse and more dangerous than bike lanes, with uneven slabs sometimes lifting 3 or 4 inches from the slab next to them, jogging at night or twilight, I wouldn’t want to jog on them.
I have three lights too. I turn off the bright one if I think there are going to be people coming, but I’ve been surprised before too.
My ride has a lot of twisty corners on it, and I have got in the habit of ringing the bell on my bike before I go around a corner, just in case there is someone there. I did this the other day, and someone actually said “Thank you for ringing your bell” which totally blew me away. But then I thought if I was walking I would have appreciated the warning too.
If it is any consolation, this happens to all of us:
I had a similar unpleasant encounter last week. In retrospect, if either I or the pedestrian had been the least bit courteous or willing to “budge” then things would have been normal. I think we were both just having a bad day.
So where I normally would have had a reasonable reaction, instead I took the same “Who do you think you are?” approach.
And if it is further consolation, yes I feel some guilt about it. Of course, I have no idea how I will react if we happen to meet again …
– Bryan
There were two ducks floating down the river towards each other. They were both minding their own business doing what ducks do so neither noticed that they were heading straight for each other. When they were almost at the point of colliding they noticed each other. They both gave a loud squak in protest. After they passed each other they both ruffled their feathers and settled back down to just floating down the river just like they were doing before the almost accident. Both ducks immediately forgot about what just happened and carried on minding their own business. One duck did not go and find other ducks so that he could say to them “did you see what that other duck over there did to me?”
I try as hard as I can to be patient in traffic but I’m never able to keep my patience because both cars and pedestrians always react on such a knee-jerk level that there’s never any chance for it to be a reasonable conversation about appropriate use of roads and trails. I remember riding on a shared path and trying to pass a man walking his dog who veered into the left side of the path where I was trying to pass him instead of staying to the right. I slammed on my brakes hard enough to taco my rear wheel (this was before I learned good braking technique) and fell in a heap just in front of the man who immediately started screaming.
Man: you have to get off your bike and walk around any time someone has a dog
Me: You don’t make the rules
Man: I don’t but I try to abide by them
Me: There’s no rule that says I have to walk around you, you’d have to lobby to get that written into law. It’d be a whole lot easier to just stay on the right side of the path. It’s what you do in your car and it’s what everyone else I’ve passed today has done.
Man: There’s enough room for all of us here.
And then I cursed at him.
“…the issue of allowing my emotions to draw me into a conflict on the road when I know better and want better, both for myself and for the other bicyclists who will come down the road behind me.”
I like your ending sentiments.That statement is the ‘take away’ that I most paid attention to.
Thank you for your well tempered tone and end reflection, it is so refreshing! I tire of reading other blogs citing all the annoyances and clashes with motorists, other bicyclists and pedestrians. Great for people to vent I’m sure, but it leaves me with nervous apprehension.( I think I am the typical risk adverse female rider.) You however left me wanting to be my best self and to strive for the best when encountering any situations giving rise to possible ensuing road rage. I’ve learned road rage can happen to anyone; motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike.
I also liked how you identified the best solution(s) on a practical level so as to remedy a repeat experience from happening again… prudent way to learn from the experience and then share this with your readers. All good stuff.
Thanks for sharing this story. I know it’s hard to admit when we make a mistake, but it’s good to say it out loud. You can forgive yourself and move on. It’s nice to share it with other people so we can remember that we all make mistakes and should be very forgiving. Thanks for your honesty.
just a question and not a troll… but how many lights, how bright, does it need to be? especially on the mup? any way to control how that 400 lumens lights up the surface in front of you?
i repeatedly get blasted (esp. in the fall, before the snow flies) by the ‘brighter is better’ crowd. yes, i know night vision is a personal thing… but properly aiming a set of lights, turning them to low (if possible) on the mup or dawn situation… it all helps.
being the ufo floating down the mup on dog walkers who i guarantee are still dozing with a leash across the path… well i’ve found that there is no remedy to the situation. i do try to be a responsible user though – esp to other cyclists or runners out there.
and that goes for blinkies too. turn the damned things to steady please. there might be some folks behind you that don’t want to have a siezure while riding to work or to the store. and in steady mode a driver can actually track where the heck you are without guessing what happens in between blinks…
;)
“and that goes for blinkies too. turn the damned things to steady please. there might be some folks behind you that don’t want to have a seizure while riding to work or to the store.”
Honestly, red blinkies aren’t going to give anybody a seizure. You may find them annoying, but that doesn’t compromise their effectiveness. From a very unscientific observation, made up completely of watching videos of night cycling in other countries, it seems that every country has developed a *standard* when it comes to tail lights. I’ve noticed that France seems to be anti blinky. Amsterdam and Copenhagen seem to be pro blinky. I think everybody should do what immediately identifies him or her as a cyclist from 100 yards behind, based on the standards of that location.
Hi Mike,
Only a portion of my commute is on the bike path, with the remainder being in commuter traffic mixing it up with all the folks “dozing” in their automobiles. Under those circumstances, brighter is almost always better (as long as the beam is focused). Like I mentioned in the OP, I’m probably better off just staying off the trails in the early morning since I’m not willing to give up the megawatts I need to stay safe while sharing the road with sleepy motorists.
Regards,
Alan
OK, here’s one that got a little more interesting than Alan’s :)
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/manhattan/091005_Pedicab_Operator_Taxi_Driver_Brawl
Wouldn’t ducks on a river float in parallel, not towards each other?
Alan –
Thanks for the clarification. Yes – sometimes brighter is better ai but I personally would rather have light where I need it at an appropriate level than potentially blinding a dozing driver who may not then see a cyclist on his or her own side of the road.
But – we all need to ride with what we feel makes us safe. Otherwise we won’t ride – so I don’t begrudge you of the choice – esp as I can’t see your lights from here.
Re blinkies: I do not think most dyno powered tail lights blink – so I find it hard to believe that Amsterdam would be a city of blinkies.
From how I see it the forward facing strobes have no place on a mup nor the road. The rear facing should be tempered with a steady light on the road if you must – and I would argue that reflective ankle bands would do more to identify you as a cyclist than a blinkie – the motion is easily identified.
Mike
Mike,
I would have thought the same thing about Copenhagen, but here they are, on a Copenhagen street, too many blinkies to count.
I’ve heard others who agree with you on the about the front white blinkies, and I can totally see where you’re coming from on that, although I haven’t seen enough from the front to form an opinion. All the streets in my city are one way. What I’ve heard others say is that when they’re riding down a dark path at night, a blinking white light coming at them plays tricks with their own perception in the darkness.
Personally I run close to 700 lumens day and night off the front of my bike(s).
Alan, was this guy with the dogs wearing any type of reflective gear? Sometimes I think the best reason to have my lights is so I don’t run into the pedestrians and cyclists out at night dressed in the darkest clothing without any reflective clothing or lights what so ever.
Other than all the G D cars, trucks and buses that use the MUPs as they please the most absurd encounter with a pedestrian(?) was the roller blader pushing a baby jogger stroller. The problem was that she was all over the path and when I honked my little Honka Hoota horn there was no response. At about 15′ behind her I could clearly hear the music from her head phones.
I tapped the Air Zound and still no reaction. The way she was swerving side to side I dared not try to pass. I laid on the Air Zound a little harder and still no response.
I was slowed down to her speed and got close I reached out and tapped her on the shoulder.
She freaked out and jumped big time. She then started to curse me and babble on about how to use the bike path with me trying to interject the importance of moving in a strait line in a predictable manner. I couldn’t get a word in and as I was getting really pissed I finally told her to blow it out her arse with a few other words interspersed, I went on my way.
Which brings to mind yet another another roller blader who in broad day light was coming towards me on his side of the path way when he decided to spin around coming towards me back side first. The trouble was this time he was coming right at me. I laid hard on the Air Zound and he went off the path and was glaring at me as I passed.
Geese. Now that you mentioned it, I could just about write a small novel about about my encounters with nincompoops on the MUPs.
On a bicycle built for three such as my kids and I ride around on, the third person is referred to as the Tail Gunner. Perhaps it’s time to arm the Tail Gunner.
@David
Well I’m glad to see I’m not the only one. I enjoy the paths, if only they’d keep other users off of them… ;-)
“On a bicycle built for three such as my kids and I ride around on, the third person is referred to as the Tail Gunner. Perhaps it’s time to arm the Tail Gunner.”
Water cannon perhaps? :-)
Alan
PS – He didn’t appear to be wearing any reflective gear or lights.
@Mike – for what it’s worth, every “bike safety” and “rules of the road” type publication I’ve ever read pertaining to my city has specified blinkies. They’re also the overwhelming norm here in New York (for people who bother to use lights at all, *eyeroll), and when I got my bike kitted out all my cycling friends advised me to always use my lights in blinkie mode. Though I will admit that sometimes a very bright blinking front light can be distracting. I wouldn’t say it’s blinding or dangerous or seizure-inducing, though, just a little distracting.
dukiebiddle – those blinkies look a lot like reellights, which are a poorman’s hub generator that work off magnets that you attach to your spokes. I have a set as back up lights on my single commute bike.
Alan- my experience with bike/ped lanes in Chicago versus bike lanes that are part of the actual street is that I don’t use them if I want to go over 8 mph with super vigilence. The jogger/walker that goes left for no apparent reason is so common that one has to assume it. The last time it happened to me with a kid on a tandem, I didn’t get upset at the jogger in question, I got really upset with myself for using the multi use path. I was also happy that I didn’t actually hit the jogger with 400 pounds of bone crushing tandem power. My wife and I both pretty much stick to streets in Chicago solo or with kids on tandems because we want to be able to predict what traffic is going to do. If you’re tooling along in the 15-22mph zone you just can’t predict pedestrian behavior well enough for using a path. My biggest problem personally is getting passed by an extra long bus because they don’t wait long enough to move back into your lane. This is a VERY FRIGHTENING prospect when tooling along at 20+mph and having to do an emergency stop as you’re squeezed into parked cars. After explaing to CTA( chicago transit authority) that no I didn’t want to sue them(which you only have 1 year to do) I just wanted the bus drivers to be adequately trained for passing a bike going the speed limit (why pass a vehicle going the speed limit?), I realised that I needed to change my behavior to be safer. I slow down when being passed by a bus, and blow by them fast, on the left, when passing them. I take up the lane so that they can’t pass where there isn’t room for it. Not to be too long winded, but I find that I feel better in the long run if I can change my own behavior once I have found a danger/issue that needs to be addressed, because I’m the constant in my interactions, whereas the cars are always different. I’m also down with more light is better as long as it is correctly adjusted
The Opoponax, as to the blinkies, I think environment plays a huge role. In a city, with lots of lights all around you, large, small, red, white, reflecting off of surfaces and puddles. I have seen white front blinkies, always on the other side of the street, and I’ve never really paid them much mind. They might even fully serve the needs of an urban cyclist, as discharging a beam or illuminating the road is never necessary. The blinking helps make the cyclist stand out against all the other lights.
In an environment where there is a great deal of darkness, especially on dark MUTs,
I can understand the argument that they can disorient a rider coming from the opposite direction. And they certainly don’t serve a practical function in less urban environments in the first place. I use a weak LED beam that makes me visible from the front, and just barely puts out enough light for me to see the road for the darker stretches of road thru parks, which for me is perfect.
Joe, thanks! I’ve never heard of those before. It’s always best to be better informed. ;-)
As a commuter it is hard to be placed in a situation that you fear the most next to being hit by a car. Would it be best to not speak and keep your frustrations hiding or say a few harsh words to get your point across?
Commuting puts everyone in a tough place everyday. We are pretty low on the totem poll, never being looked for and always being looked at funny if we are even seen.
Hopefully you can see this person again and share happier words but for now I know I probably would of said other louder not so nice words if I was stuck in the same place as you.
For me it comes down to how attached I become to the event after it’s all over. Do I allow it to influence how I behave or feel the rest of the day? I think it’s best to simply move on.
One of the biggest benefits of living carfree for me is living without the stress of being on the road with other automoble drivers. Whenever I’ve had instances on the MUP in which harsh words were exchanged I’m left with the feeling that somehow I’ve brought the stress of the road onto the bike path and have contaminated the experience somehow.
Having an almost accident with a pedestrian is a lot different than having an almost accident with another 4000 lb vehicle. I try and react accordingly.
Blinking front lights are my personal nemesis on the MUT that I use for commuting. When it starts getting dark (like now), I find them almost overwhelmingly distracting.
There are some places where it feels dangerous, because the trail is up on an embankment or has ditches, or even a lake (!) on one side or the other, and there’s not a lot of other lighting. Plus I’m riding the opposite direction of most of the bike-commuting traffic, so the headlights are generally coming straight towards me.
I’ve found myself just pulling over and stopping until the other bike passes. I wish I knew a way to ask people to switch to a steady light…while they’re going the opposite direction, and we’re both going 10-15 MPH. ::sigh::
Elaine -
Something I’ve done is to flick my hand in front of my light, or set my ‘be seen’ light into flash mode. Sometimes… rarely yes, it will garner a slow down and question. A strobe belongs in a club… not on the MUP. ;)
Another way might be to fake a flat or mechanical. When the blinker slows (if they slow) – you can tell them you couldn’t see…
And – if you have the time – a few folks have been receptive to me slowing, and turning around, letting them pass, then chatting them up. I don’t think it has stopped them – but at least we had a conversation human to human about it.
-Mike