Riding bikes as a kid was pretty simple in my suburban neighborhood in Fort Worth, Texas. We rode whatever bike we had: a loose troop of 2nd-6th graders riding to and from school together, racing up and down our street most nights and weekends, and keeping each other safe-ish by yelling "CAR!" at the top of our lungs as soon as one came near. Etiquette meant helping each other up when you fell down, sharing your bike pump, and inviting the new kid to join in the fun.
Somewhere along the way though, things got a bit more complicated. Riding a bike in a city with lots of other folks requires compromises, unwritten behavior contracts, and a certain etiquette. As we head into "fair weather season", as one person put it on Twitter, when the "newbs come out not knowing what they're doing", I think it's a really good time to talk about bike riding etiquette.
I know, as people on bikes, we like to think we're immune to impacting anybody. "I'm not causing a traffic jam, I'm on a bike." "I'm a zero-emission vehicle." "One less car" etc. But in reality, unless you're riding in a really rural place, you do have an impact on other folks. And there's some small actions you can take while on your bike ride to ensure everybody has a safe and pleasant journey.
Look at all those patient folks, sharing a bike lane.
To be honest, I've been writing this post in my head for a while now, mostly on my morning commutes while adding up how many times I get passed way too closely in the Westlake bike lane. I've taken my experience, combined it with some crowd-sourced advice from Twitter and am proud to present to you Basic Bike Etiquette...or How Not to be an Asshole on a Bike.
Make yourself known, especially when passing. This can be a bell or a verbally, but silent passing isn't cool. It's downright dangerous.
Slow down, especially on shared multi-use trails during commuting hours. Commutes are not the time to go for that Strava record or KOM. This might be an unpopular opinion, but do your fast training rides outside of popular commute times. If you're going over 15mph on the Westlake path or the Burke Gilman, you might want to re-evaluate why you're riding so fast on those paths. There are pedestrians, kids, dogs, and people of all speeds and abilities. Slow down.
Pass at a smart time. Narrow spots on a trail, going around a blind curve, on the Fremont bridge, etc? All stupid places to pass. Slow your roll and wait a minute.
Don't pass at a light. Queue up just like you would in any other line, and when everybody starts moving, take the opportunity to pass. I don't care if you think you're faster than the person at the front of the line, don't do it. (I learned that there's a term for this, called Shoaling. I'm not going to use that, because we don't need another exclusionary bike word. But here's an article BikeSnob wrote about it. I'm not the only one with strong feelings about it.)
Get fenders. It rains here and riding behind somebody without fenders is pretty miserable. There are affordable options for fenders at Recycled Cycles, the Bikery and other shops, or get crafty and make your own.
Turn off the blinking lights. I've written about this before. They're illegal in Washington, they can induce seizures in folks with sensitivities, and they don't make you any easier to see. Turn your lights onto steady and everyone wins.
Turn down your music. I get it, you love your bluetooth speaker and think we all will too. We don't. (There's an exception here for families on cargo bikes. It might be the cutest thing in the world to see a kiddo on a cargo bike rocking out to Caspar Babypants.)
Share the rack. Be aware of how and where you're locking to the bike rack. If another person showed up on a bike, could they also lock up to that same rack?
Look out for each other, including pedestrians. Really, it's ok to chat with other folks to let them know about hazards in the road (glass, gravel, potholes, etc.), to say hi, or just to wave. Being on a bike is a lot more fun - we can act like it too :) On the same note, if you see somebody stopped on the side of the path struggling with a flat or other mechanical, maybe check in with them. Don't assume they need help, but a friendly "Hey, you ok?" can go a long way.
Follow the rules of the road. I know, an Idaho stop makes way more sense and is probably safer, but at a red light, you should definitely stop.
Stop with the judgments of other folks. Does it really matter if the person who just rode past you is on a $300 bike or a $4500 bike? Does their choice of footwear, clothing, or other personal choices impact you? Nope. It doesn't. Sure, I get annoyed when I see people riding with backpacks who clearly have a rear rack (why do you do this to yourself??) but there is no need to comment on it.
An early Monday commute in February through downtown Seattle
And with that totally non-exhaustive list, happy riding folks.