Silent Riding

I have been ruminating on this a while now. I ride for peace, pleasure, and sometimes punishment (when I eat too much). But I mostly ride for peace. You know, get out the frustrations and get some exercise in the great outdoors. Just be at one with nature. But, some rides I have been on are the noisiest, least peaceful places I can think of.

HOLE!

CAR UP!

STOPPING!

I know these callouts are for safety, but many rides and riders seem to take pleasure in disrupting the beautiful silence of riding sometimes. So, I have started do some things of my own to try and be more quiet and efficient without jeopardizing the safety of other riders.

Here  are my voice warnings.

UP, BACK, LEFT, RIGHT – I never use the UP voice warning on striped road. The car has their side, and we have ours. No need to break silence for the obvious. I don’t add the word CAR… we know what’s there.

STOP – saying “stopping” is wasted breath… I need all the oxygen I can get! LOL If I am mid-pack or back I use hand signals instead.

CHANGING – When a light is going to go green. This means pay attention and get ready to clip in and go.

HOLE – Only to be used when there is a large and dangerous road defect.

For almost everything else I use hand signals.

CRAPPY ROAD SURFACES – Point to it… especially if you are among the front riders.

JOGGER UP or passing a cyclist – use the right arm behind the back signal (aka Hammer lock pose)

CLEAR – Well, unless you are willing to take responsibility for the rider(s) behind you or put your life in the hands of the rider(s) in front of you, you should NEVER call clear or follow that signal without looking yourself. I might say clear quietly, so only the nearest riders to me can hear it. Otherwise I use a tomahawk chop above my head with my finger pointed. Kind of like signaling “charge!”

LEFT/RIGHT TURN – Stick out your arm!

SLOWING/STOPPING – Put your left or right arm down and palm facing behind you.

HELLO/THANK YOU/BEING NICE – Wave or give a thumbs up to everyone else you see out exercising, running, cycling, etc. Also give this signal to the friendly drivers that yield.

There may be other signals and warnings, but these are the main ones. Don’t get me wrong here… you can talk to your fellow riders all you want. But in terms of riding signals and commands… a quiet ride is a peaceful ride, and usually a safer one.