[Laker14]

Originally Posted by Guitarman1951

I hadn't beeped as I came up to a cyclist before thinking it might startle them. Knowing what have said here, I'll start doing that.

WHAT??? Have you read ALL of the posts?

Or did I miss the sarcasm sign again?

[DonH57]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

In the past couple of days I have ridden my bicycle over 70 miles on the multi-modal trails. Only one cart driver had the common courtesy to beep their horn so I would know to keep right and let them pass. All the others (and I mean at least 100 carts or more) just whizzed by without a sound. With a helmet on and the wind noise I cannot hear even a gas cart until it is almost on top of me. I always ring my bike bell when approaching walkers or slower bikes & beep my horn if in my cart. Many golfers seem to think the multi-modal paths were built just for them...wrong. Let's share the road and be courteous & safe - use your horn before passing.

As an aside, I watched a cart almost roll over today on the path between Bradford & Chitty Chatty. The male driver took a curve too fast & I watched as his right rear wheel lifted several inches off the path. I cannot believe the speeds at which cart drivers take curves. In particular, the aluminum chassis electric carts running lithium ion batteries (like mine) are extremely lightweight compared to their gas counterparts and much easier to roll. Use a little common sense and live to a ripe old age!

We watched a guy speed through the path coming up to El Santiago and El Diablo starter shack obviously late for his tee time. Gave us a dirty look as he almost struck another golf cart. Daily occurrence.

[Mrprez]

Not everyone driving a golf cart is a golfer.

[jswitzer9]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

In the past couple of days I have ridden my bicycle over 70 miles on the multi-modal trails. Only one cart driver had the common courtesy to beep their horn so I would know to keep right and let them pass. All the others (and I mean at least 100 carts or more) just whizzed by without a sound. With a helmet on and the wind noise I cannot hear even a gas cart until it is almost on top of me. I always ring my bike bell when approaching walkers or slower bikes & beep my horn if in my cart. Many golfers seem to think the multi-modal paths were built just for them...wrong. Let's share the road and be courteous & safe - use your horn before passing.

As an aside, I watched a cart almost roll over today on the path between Bradford & Chitty Chatty. The male driver took a curve too fast & I watched as his right rear wheel lifted several inches off the path. I cannot believe the speeds at which cart drivers take curves. In particular, the aluminum chassis electric carts running lithium ion batteries (like mine) are extremely lightweight compared to their gas counterparts and much easier to roll. Use a little common sense and live to a ripe old age!

Make an investment some great technology. Buy a Garmin 1030 and pair it to a Garmin Varia Radar detector. This will give you tail lights and the ability to read on your handle bar mounted Garmin 1030 computer any cart or car that's coming up behind you. It's like having eyes on the back of your head. Go to you tube and watch how the system works.

[DaleDivine]

Originally Posted by Bilyclub

I've seen many posts from bicyclist complaining that a horn blast startles them.

My horn is a Harley type horn and very loud. I would never honk when approaching a bicycle or pedestrian(walking on wrong side of path) because it would definitely startle them. I could just imagine all the noise we would hear if cars and trucks honked on the streets when approaching bicycles.

[irishwonone]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

In the past couple of days I have ridden my bicycle over 70 miles on the multi-modal trails. Only one cart driver had the common courtesy to beep their horn so I would know to keep right and let them pass. All the others (and I mean at least 100 carts or more) just whizzed by without a sound. With a helmet on and the wind noise I cannot hear even a gas cart until it is almost on top of me. I always ring my bike bell when approaching walkers or slower bikes & beep my horn if in my cart. Many golfers seem to think the multi-modal paths were built just for them...wrong. Let's share the road and be courteous & safe - use your horn before passing.

As an aside, I watched a cart almost roll over today on the path between Bradford & Chitty Chatty. The male driver took a curve too fast & I watched as his right rear wheel lifted several inches off the path. I cannot believe the speeds at which cart drivers take curves. In particular, the aluminum chassis electric carts running lithium ion batteries (like mine) are extremely lightweight compared to their gas counterparts and much easier to roll. Use a little common sense and live to a ripe old age!

You bring up a couple of very good points. Many corners on multimodal paths are semi or totally blind depending on how the bushes are trimmed. I too really enjoy riding a bike yet enjoy running even more. That’s probably because my running days are numbered. I run toward the bikers and golf carts stay as far left as possible and find almost everyone that passes me to be pretty cautious. When I get close to the blind corners I stop look and cross over to run with the traffic until I clear those corners. Most drivers are exceptional but some come around those corners with their hair on fire. Now to be fair that’s also true of some young electric bikers that actually put their foot out when screaming around blind corners so they don’t fall. The bell is a great idea but most don’t use it. We used to say biker or runner on your left/right as a courtesy. In fairness many that bike haven’t done so in years so their skills have diminished. It’s great to see most bikers wearing a helmet taking safety seriously. I appreciate being able to share these facilities with all my great fellow Villagers. It’s been a real blessing.

[toeser]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

In the past couple of days I have ridden my bicycle over 70 miles on the multi-modal trails. Only one cart driver had the common courtesy to beep their horn so I would know to keep right and let them pass. All the others (and I mean at least 100 carts or more) just whizzed by without a sound. With a helmet on and the wind noise I cannot hear even a gas cart until it is almost on top of me. I always ring my bike bell when approaching walkers or slower bikes & beep my horn if in my cart. Many golfers seem to think the multi-modal paths were built just for them...wrong. Let's share the road and be courteous & safe - use your horn before passing.

As an aside, I watched a cart almost roll over today on the path between Bradford & Chitty Chatty. The male driver took a curve too fast & I watched as his right rear wheel lifted several inches off the path. I cannot believe the speeds at which cart drivers take curves. In particular, the aluminum chassis electric carts running lithium ion batteries (like mine) are extremely lightweight compared to their gas counterparts and much easier to roll. Use a little common sense and live to a ripe old age!

I bike on the multimodal trails every single day of the week. I DON'T want golf carts beeping at me.

Put a mirror on your bike. No one should ride without one.

[dhdallas]

I will attempt to rebut some of the dubious replies.

Horns startle cyclists: yes they do, if you wait until you are right behind them and then lay on a long blast. I am talking about a quick beep when you are 100' or so behind.

The Villages will sound like the taxi horn bedlam of NYC: C'mon really? If there was bumper to bumper carts and bikes, then yes it would.

Cyclists don't like car horns: Correct! We do not need to have cars beeping at us because we are on a highway and expect cars to be roaring by as we hug the berm.

Cyclists need to stay to the right and not hog the middle of the path: I do not ride in the middle but always stay in the right lane however, I am not going to hug the edge. It is a MULTI-MODAL path and cyclists, runners, and walkers have every right to use all of their lane just as the carts do (BUT to move over to let faster carts, bikes, runners, etc. to pass).


Cyclists giving you the finger: There are rude cyclists just as there are rude individuals everywhere. At the risk of receiving hate mail I will bet that every cyclist that flipped you off was riding a road bike as in a bicycle with drop bars and was wearing Lycra shorts and a garish looking cycling jersey plastered with logos. The rest of us older non-competitive recreational POLITE cyclists appreciate a simple beep from a reasonable distance and don't wave our middle fingers about.

Cyclists should have mirrors: Should walkers have mirrors? Joggers? I do have a mirror but as fast as these cart drivers come up on you, its easy to miss seeing them until the last second. I am sure anyone driving a car has had a car suddenly appear on their tail seemingly out of nowhere.

Cyclists should be able to hear even with wind noise: Have you ever ridden a bike, especially on a windy day? You can only hear if you turn your head sideways. Add to that we are not youngsters anymore and many of us have mild hearing issues. Plus electric carts are silent.

The Villages is supposed to be Florida's Friendliest Hometown. Judging from some of the intolerant and thoughtless replies, I am not so sure!

I once saw a bumper sticker that stated a good philosophy to live by. It read: Life is short. Don't be a dick!

[srswans]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

In the past couple of days I have ridden my bicycle over 70 miles on the multi-modal trails. Only one cart driver had the common courtesy to beep their horn so I would know to keep right and let them pass. All the others (and I mean at least 100 carts or more) just whizzed by without a sound. With a helmet on and the wind noise I cannot hear even a gas cart until it is almost on top of me. I always ring my bike bell when approaching walkers or slower bikes & beep my horn if in my cart. Many golfers seem to think the multi-modal paths were built just for them...wrong. Let's share the road and be courteous & safe - use your horn before passing.
!

No, no, no - never honk at a cyclist. This is a well-established courtesy and safety measure. I recommend a mirror for your bicycle. Do not encourage honking.

[srswans]

Originally Posted by Guitarman1951

I hadn't beeped as I came up to a cyclist before thinking it might startle them. Knowing what have said here, I'll start doing that.

Please, no honking.

[OhioBuckeye]

I totally agree with you. Besides I didn’t know a cart was suppose to honk when passing as being polite or it was the law. The biker should have a mirror on his bike if he can’t hear, that’s not safe not to hear who’s coming up behind you! Besides I thought bikers had to yield for auto’s & cart, not the other way around!

[Trent525]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

In the past couple of days I have ridden my bicycle over 70 miles on the multi-modal trails. Only one cart driver had the common courtesy to beep their horn so I would know to keep right and let them pass. All the others (and I mean at least 100 carts or more) just whizzed by without a sound. With a helmet on and the wind noise I cannot hear even a gas cart until it is almost on top of me. I always ring my bike bell when approaching walkers or slower bikes & beep my horn if in my cart. Many golfers seem to think the multi-modal paths were built just for them...wrong. Let's share the road and be courteous & safe - use your horn before passing.

As an aside, I watched a cart almost roll over today on the path between Bradford & Chitty Chatty. The male driver took a curve too fast & I watched as his right rear wheel lifted several inches off the path. I cannot believe the speeds at which cart drivers take curves. In particular, the aluminum chassis electric carts running lithium ion batteries (like mine) are extremely lightweight compared to their gas counterparts and much easier to roll. Use a little common sense and live to a ripe old age!

Thank you for sharing your experiences and observations. Hopefully you stay safe. May all your Guardian Angels always watch over you especially on the multimodal paths!

[Laker14]

Originally Posted by dhdallas

I will attempt to rebut some of the dubious replies.

Horns startle cyclists: yes they do, if you wait until you are right behind them and then lay on a long blast. I am talking about a quick beep when you are 100' or so behind.

The Villages will sound like the taxi horn bedlam of NYC: C'mon really? If there was bumper to bumper carts and bikes, then yes it would.

Cyclists don't like car horns: Correct! We do not need to have cars beeping at us because we are on a highway and expect cars to be roaring by as we hug the berm.

Cyclists need to stay to the right and not hog the middle of the path: I do not ride in the middle but always stay in the right lane however, I am not going to hug the edge. It is a MULTI-MODAL path and cyclists, runners, and walkers have every right to use all of their lane just as the carts do (BUT to move over to let faster carts, bikes, runners, etc. to pass).


Cyclists giving you the finger: There are rude cyclists just as there are rude individuals everywhere. At the risk of receiving hate mail I will bet that every cyclist that flipped you off was riding a road bike as in a bicycle with drop bars and was wearing Lycra shorts and a garish looking cycling jersey plastered with logos. The rest of us older non-competitive recreational POLITE cyclists appreciate a simple beep from a reasonable distance and don't wave our middle fingers about.

Cyclists should have mirrors: Should walkers have mirrors? Joggers? I do have a mirror but as fast as these cart drivers come up on you, its easy to miss seeing them until the last second. I am sure anyone driving a car has had a car suddenly appear on their tail seemingly out of nowhere.

Cyclists should be able to hear even with wind noise: Have you ever ridden a bike, especially on a windy day? You can only hear if you turn your head sideways. Add to that we are not youngsters anymore and many of us have mild hearing issues. Plus electric carts are silent.

The Villages is supposed to be Florida's Friendliest Hometown. Judging from some of the intolerant and thoughtless replies, I am not so sure!

I once saw a bumper sticker that stated a good philosophy to live by. It read: Life is short. Don't be a dick!

You confuse disagreement with disagreeable. The fact that I think you are wrong does not, by itself, make me a dick. Even amongst bicyclists, you seem to be in the minority on this idea of honking.
Your reaction to being disagreed with, even among your fellow bicyclists may qualify you for the honor.

[dewilson58]

Originally Posted by Mrprez

Not everyone driving a golf cart is a golfer.

And not every golfer is a golfer.

[Laker14]

Originally Posted by OhioBuckeye

I totally agree with you. Besides I didn’t know a cart was suppose to honk when passing as being polite or it was the law. The biker should have a mirror on his bike if he can’t hear, that’s not safe not to hear who’s coming up behind you! Besides I thought bikers had to yield for auto’s & cart, not the other way around!

Bikers are not required by law to yield to carts and autos. They are entitled to their space on the road, equally to cars and carts.
It is also not mandatory that a bike pull off onto the shoulder where all the broken glass and muffler pieces are laying, in order to make it easier for cars to pass.

Cars should not attempt to pass a bicyclist by squeezing between the bike and the center line. They should wait until they have clear vision and can ascertain they have sufficient room ahead in the oncoming lane to use it to pass and give the bike plenty of room when they pass.