Passing on the left!

I just love the bike and walking paths in Hilton Head. There are miles and miles of them...enough that you can avoid walking on the roadside altogether, which is what we do unless we go off the beaten path and walk right down the middle of the street.

The paths are probably 6 to 7 feet wide...plenty of room for everybody...or so you would think. There is no problem when you encounter oncoming traffic, whether walkers or cyclists. The problem is with the cyclists coming up from behind. We try to stay to the right of the path, much as we drive to the right of the road. It is downright alarming, however, when a bike whizzes past unannounced. No "ringy-dings" of a bell or a honking horn to warn us that they are approaching from the rear. No "coming through" or an "excuse us" to alert us that cyclists want to pass. Many times I have narrowly avoided a collision with a bike and it was only luck that spared me.

So this is my request to all cyclists on the bike/walking paths. When approaching pedestrians or even other cycists that you wish to pass, please just call out, "passing on your left" and we will happily get out of your way!