On Your Left: Commuting and Tourists
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Written by admin on October 7, 2008 – 10:32 am
It feels like for at least three-quarters of the year, there are tourists groups in DC. School trips in the spring and fall and family trips in the summer mean that there are often tourists walking on the bike paths or on the sidewalks you might be riding on. Here are some things to try and remember if you are riding amongst them on the paths and sidewalks:
1) Bike as if they don’t see you - tourists (and pedestrians in general) aren’t really focused on the fact that there are other people who might be using their sidewalk for a reason other then walking. This means they span the whole sidewalk, stop unexpectedly, or shift directions. As frustrating as that might be (and believe me, I want to kill them too), try and bike as if they can’t see or hear you. Give them wide berth and expect the unexpected.
2) Call out warnings - I know I just said bike as if tourists can’t hear you, but that doesn’t mean you should whiz past and scare them. Call out warnings like “on your left” or “bike coming through” - it’s common courtesy and I think promotes a measure of good will.
3) Take to the street - me personally, I’d rather take to the road and contend with the cars then try and maneuver around tourists. While riding in the streets has its own dangers, but at least cars have brake lights and turn signals! If you feel comfortable doing so, consider this as an alternative to riding on the sidewalks.
So there are a couple of ideas for how to deal with the tourists you might encounter on your commute. You never know - you might just impress some of them enough with your awesome calves and quads as you ride by to convince them to commute to work in their town!
