I know there have been some discussions around rider pet peeves and etiquette but wanted to get wisdom of the crowds on talking to fellow cyclists when they're in the wrong - or just plain rude.
Yesterday morning I was shoaled multiple times by a woman who whizzed in and out of traffic, running red lights, etc and a fellow rider yelled on the left as she approached. The woman yelled, huffed and sped up to try and out ride her, offended that she had yelled "on the left" to let her know she was passing.
If you see someone on the road that is doing something to endanger others - or just doesn't understand the rules of the road how have you responded in the past? Embarrassingly I usually ignore and keep riding but feel some responsibility to make the city a better (biking) place.
Keep quiet and bike on or stop and talk?
p.s. Some of the worst shoalers on my ride home are not wearing helmets. SMH.
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What is "shoaling"?
BTW if you were the female rider on Clybourn that took the high road, good on you! :)
shoaling can be annoying but it is rarely dangerous. As such I keep my mouth shut. If I re pass somebody many times I will say something like, "Well, hello again" or "We meet again" or "Gee, I haven't seen you since the last light" hoping the sarcasm gets through. Most of the time I mind my own business.
Like you, I generally watch out for my own safety and keep my distance if I see another rider doing dangerous things. (I'm typically not riding where there are a lot of other riders.) If I think another rider is being really dangerous, I try to give other riders nearby a heads-up and just say something like, "Hey, watch out for that guy/gal. He/she is [whatever that person is doing]."
I've gotten negative/aggressive reactions to yelling "on your left" in particular, so I try extra hard to say that in the nicest, sing-songy, smiley way possible, like "Hello, I'm just passing on your left. Have a good day." I understand that being yelled at from behind and with a weird phrase like "on your left" can be a disconcerting experience for people who haven't been exposed to that etiquette before.
(I'm much less empathetic to people, particularly drivers, who are stupidly obstructing a bike lane I'm on.)
I usually don't say much, just watch the behavior, except when it comes to watching someone ride right alongside the parked cars, maybe only one foot away. I have missed being doored by inches more than once this year. I usually try and catch up to them and politely inform them that riding like that can get them killed. So far I have been met with "thank you's".
Is there a certain speed below which you find this practice less objectionable? There are certain streets where I find it unnerving enough to be close to the moving cars that I will ride near the parked ones. But I keep my speed low at those times.
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