the unspoken language of cyclists

when riding a bicycle, since we don't have automatic turn signals and mirrors, we usually rely on hand signals or shoulder checks to indicate direction change

in taiwan, (I think) not everyone knows hand signals, so even those who know might not do it, and doing it is just not comfortable for casual cyclists

but glancing back (shoulder check) can let you check the traffic, make you more noticeble, and indicate your direction, so most people do it before turning

while grabbing some formosa chang and jenjudan on yanping south road, I noticed a student carrying a backpack in pale pink jacket

she was riding a youbike and pulled onto the sidewalk to wait for the light

she got off the bike, looked like she might walk her bike to the cafe ahead, but I thought she was gonna go straight

light turned green, she hopped back on and pedaled across the crosswalk, glanced left a few times, I knew for sure she was actually going straight

I was behind her, hit the brake immediately and gave her space to merge left

I was right, she was going straight

her saddle was set quite high, not sure if she didn't like waiting for the light with the scooters and cars or was just mimicking what others do, also went onto the sidewalk to wait for the light

although I'd like to do it too, but that will immediately produce a merging conflict, and unlike in git, you can't undo it, so it's actually better to avoid it, unless you're going straight into a bike lane

on the road or on bike lanes, most people usually glance back (shoulder check) to signify a turn, so we become quite sensitive with the glancing

today's encounter was quite memorable, because I had been predicting her entire route since she pulled onto the sidewalk, xd