Better than bells

Pat Lamb said:

The human voice: the ultimate alert device.

The other night I was heading home at dusk when I came upon a string of
8-10 Canada geese wandering across the road. There was almost no
traffic, and the geese were blocking three of five lanes, and heading
for my lane.

What to do? Hitting one would trump most squirrel stories, but I really
didn't want to do that. I've seen the geese in this area ignore car
horns, squealing tires, people shouting, etc.

After a few moments thought, I let out my best imitation dog howl. All
the geese looked at me. The lead goose eyed me suspiciously, as though
I didn't LOOK like a free-running dog, but decided to turn around
anyway. It slowly waddled back until it almost walked into goose #2,
who decided to turn around then, and the ripple effect was back to the
third and fourth geese before I passed them.

It was almost as much fun as yelling "beep-beep" at a couple kids last
week -- one of them asked me as I passed, "Do you have a horn on that bike?"

Pat

we have a lot of idiots here asking wheres your bell ? when I was a
courier downtown but in an emergency I want my reflexes to hit my
brakes and yell at the person not ringing a stupid bell; once going
through stopped traffic I had someone pop a car door on me, I was able
to yell close the door in time; I was telling a friend of mine who
recounted he was in a similar situation and when he rang his bell the
person just looked where the sound came from and he slamed into the
door- bells are dangerous

Quoted message said:

we have a lot of idiots here asking wheres your bell ? when I was a
courier downtown but in an emergency I want my reflexes to hit my
brakes and yell at the person not ringing a stupid bell; once going
through stopped traffic I had someone pop a car door on me, I was able
to yell close the door in time; I was telling a friend of mine who
recounted he was in a similar situation and when he rang his bell the
person just looked where the sound came from and he slamed into the
door- bells are dangerous

I'm not a big fan of bells but they aren't dangerous. Dangerous is
riding in the door zone and relying on your reaction time, the caution
of parked motorists, and their reaction time when that caution fails.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Bob said:

Quoted message said:

we have a lot of idiots here asking wheres your bell ? when I was a
courier downtown but in an emergency I want my reflexes to hit my
brakes and yell at the person not ringing a stupid bell; once going
through stopped traffic I had someone pop a car door on me, I was
able to yell close the door in time; I was telling a friend of mine
who recounted he was in a similar situation and when he rang his
bell the person just looked where the sound came from and he slamed
into the door- bells are dangerous

I'm not a big fan of bells but they aren't dangerous. Dangerous is
riding in the door zone and relying on your reaction time, the caution
of parked motorists, and their reaction time when that caution fails.

Funny (not) you should mention that. My buddy Ken just got doored at the
end of our ride on Sunday afternoon. (Cops, paramedics, taped to board like
Gumby, E.R., whole works). Huge welt/bruise on front right chest; arm and
back jacked up. (And yes, he got a big wide scrape on his helmet; would
have lost some scalp for sure.) Picked him up later that evening; he could
barely move.

He ended up out in the middle of the road and couldn't get up; very lucky no
cars were coming up behind him.

Nasty stuff; be careful out there.

Bill "wide berth (but then get passed too close)" S.

Bob said:

Quoted message said:

we have a lot of idiots here asking wheres your bell ? when I was a
courier downtown but in an emergency I want my reflexes to hit my
brakes and yell at the person not ringing a stupid bell; once going
through stopped traffic I had someone pop a car door on me, I was able
to yell close the door in time; I was telling a friend of mine who
recounted he was in a similar situation and when he rang his bell the
person just looked where the sound came from and he slamed into the
door- bells are dangerous

I'm not a big fan of bells but they aren't dangerous. Dangerous is
riding in the door zone and relying on your reaction time, the caution
of parked motorists, and their reaction time when that caution fails.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

Around 1996 one of my supervisors rode a motorcycle to work and did lane
splitting on the freeway. He was cruising at about 30-35 MPH when
somebody opened a door in front of him while the car was moving and he
hit it and went over the door. Trashed his bike and hurt his back so
naturally he sued, but I don't know what the outcome was since he left
the company before me. The point is, this [censored] on the freeway opened
the car door intentionally, apparently because he was [censored] about
sitting in traffic and here comes a guy on 2 wheels, cheating the cagers.
Don't assume that just because a motorist sees you he won't open the
door anyway. This country has no shortage of jerks, so avoiding the door
zone is really the only defense.
Bill Baka

Bill Sornson said:

(And yes, he got a big wide scrape on his helmet; would
have lost some scalp for sure.)

How do you know "for sure"? Was the scrape as deep as the thickness
of the helmet? If not, wouldn't his head missed entirely whatever it
was that "scraped" the surface of the helmet?

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 17:28:45 GMT, "Bill Sornson" <[email hidden]> wrote:

{context???}

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(And yes, he got a big wide scrape on his helmet; would
have lost some scalp for sure.)

Quoted message said:

How do you know "for sure"? Was the scrape as deep as the thickness
of the helmet? If not, wouldn't his head missed entirely whatever it
was that "scraped" the surface of the helmet?

Can't argue with THAT "logic"!

LOL ROTFL LOL

(Psst. Try falling sideways suddenly and unavoidably from 4-to-5 feet in
the air while suspended and moving forward, and magically STOP YOUR 12-POUND
HEAD A HALF-INCH FROM THE PAVEMENT. And then, KEEP IT THERE just off the
ground a few more seconds as your body mass settles. Good luck with that.)

Flailor... Too rich.

In case you're wondering, Flailor cross-posted this to RBT. Only surprise
is no UKC.

Bob said:

Quoted message said:

I'm not a big fan of bells but they aren't dangerous. Dangerous is
riding in the door zone and relying on your reaction time, the caution
of parked motorists, and their reaction time when that caution fails.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

yeah, well, I was a courier at the time so it's do that or don't make
enough to put food on the table (plus get blacklisted by dispatch), no
choice in that kind of occupation. now, all my rides are out in the
boonies, no bell, no problemo

Bill Sornson said:

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 17:28:45 GMT, "Bill Sornson" <[email hidden]> wrote:

{context???}

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(And yes, he got a big wide scrape on his helmet; would
have lost some scalp for sure.)

Quoted message said:

How do you know "for sure"? Was the scrape as deep as the thickness
of the helmet? If not, wouldn't his head missed entirely whatever it
was that "scraped" the surface of the helmet?

Can't argue with THAT "logic"!

LOL ROTFL LOL

(Psst. Try falling sideways suddenly and unavoidably from 4-to-5 feet in
the air while suspended and moving forward, and magically STOP YOUR 12-POUND
HEAD A HALF-INCH FROM THE PAVEMENT. And then, KEEP IT THERE just off the
ground a few more seconds as your body mass settles. Good luck with that.)

Yep the 'ol "your head wouldn't have hit anything if you weren't
wearing a helmet" routine. Every time "jtaylor" or one of the Limey
AHZs puts forth that argument, I just about fall off my chair! Surely
they don't actually believe that drivel, or do they?

Quoted message said:

Flailor... Too rich.

Quoted message said:

Bob said:

Quoted message said:

I'm not a big fan of bells but they aren't dangerous. Dangerous is
riding in the door zone and relying on your reaction time, the caution
of parked motorists, and their reaction time when that caution fails.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

yeah, well, I was a courier at the time so it's do that or don't make
enough to put food on the table (plus get blacklisted by dispatch), no
choice in that kind of occupation. now, all my rides are out in the
boonies, no bell, no problemo

Nothing throws a monkey wrench into a delivery
like hitting a door. Don't ride in the door zone,
rookies. At least, not with any speed.

Bill Sornson said:

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 17:28:45 GMT, "Bill Sornson" <[email hidden]> wrote:

{context???}

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

(And yes, he got a big wide scrape on his helmet; would
have lost some scalp for sure.)

Quoted message said:

How do you know "for sure"? Was the scrape as deep as the thickness
of the helmet? If not, wouldn't his head missed entirely whatever it
was that "scraped" the surface of the helmet?

Can't argue with THAT "logic"!

He asked you a few questions. Can you answer any of them?

JT

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John Forrest Tomlinson said:

On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 19:13:19 GMT, "Bill Sornson" <[email hidden]> wrote (/in
part/):

{where's the rest of what I wrote?!?)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 17:28:45 GMT, "Bill Sornson" <[email hidden]>
wrote: {context???}

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> (And yes, he got a big wide scrape on his helmet; would
> have lost some scalp for sure.)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

How do you know "for sure"? Was the scrape as deep as the thickness
of the helmet? If not, wouldn't his head missed entirely whatever
it was that "scraped" the surface of the helmet?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Can't argue with THAT "logic"!

Quoted message said:

He asked you a few questions. Can you answer any of them?

You deleted my answer. (Shocking! LOL )

{8 empty sig lines trimmed}

Why do you rail against helmets while owning numerous models and
photographing them admiringly, comparing their ventilation characteristics
(not to mention wearing them about 70% of the time you ride)?

That's just ONE question.

Bill "one line sig, too" S.

"Pat Lamb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The human voice: the ultimate alert device.

Quoted message said:

It was almost as much fun as yelling "beep-beep" at a couple kids last
week -- one of them asked me as I passed, "Do you have a horn on that
bike?"

Sometimes motorists respond very well to a voice-generated imitated car
horn -- much better than the cheery tinkle of a typical bike bell.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Bill Sornson said:

John Forrest Tomlinson said:

On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 19:13:19 GMT, "Bill Sornson" <[email hidden]> wrote (/in
part/):

{where's the rest of what I wrote?!?)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] wrote:
> On Tue, 05 Sep 2006 17:28:45 GMT, "Bill Sornson" <[email hidden]>
> wrote: {context???}

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

>> (And yes, he got a big wide scrape on his helmet; would
>> have lost some scalp for sure.)

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> How do you know "for sure"? Was the scrape as deep as the thickness
> of the helmet? If not, wouldn't his head missed entirely whatever
> it was that "scraped" the surface of the helmet?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Can't argue with THAT "logic"!

Quoted message said:

He asked you a few questions. Can you answer any of them?

You deleted my answer. (Shocking! LOL )

You didn't answer any of his questions.

Quoted message said:

Why do you rail against helmets while owning numerous models and
photographing them admiringly, comparing their ventilation characteristics
(not to mention wearing them about 70% of the time you ride)?

That's just ONE question.

I haven't railed against helmets.

JT

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Quoted message said:

Nothing throws a monkey wrench into a delivery
like hitting a door. Don't ride in the door zone,
rookies. At least, not with any speed.

Even at low speed, a door can hurt AND cause a dangerous situation. My
friend on Sunday was going quite slow (having just climbed a steep hill,
stopped at a light, and then started up again on a fair incline), but
couldn't avoid the swinging door and ended up in the middle of the road,
dazed and in pain.

Could have been /really/ ugly.

As you say, stay well clear as much as possible. Ouch.

Claire Petersky said:

"Pat Lamb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The human voice: the ultimate alert device.

Quoted message said:

It was almost as much fun as yelling "beep-beep" at a couple kids last
week -- one of them asked me as I passed, "Do you have a horn on that
bike?"

Sometimes motorists respond very well to a voice-generated imitated car
horn -- much better than the cheery tinkle of a typical bike bell.

I stick to:
"Let's go, man"
"Watch it there, idiot"
"HEY HEY HEY HEYYYYY!!!"

Also
Pointing at drivers seems to help them see me. Maybe just a series of
coincidences leads me to believe this, but I think our social
insecurities alert us to pointers even in our periphery.
\\paul
--
Paul M. Hobson
Georgia Institute of Technology
..:change the f to ph to reply:.

John Forrest Tomlinson said:

Bill Sornson said:

Why do you rail against helmets while owning numerous models and
photographing them admiringly, comparing their ventilation
characteristics (not to mention wearing them about 70% of the time
you ride)?

You know, the more I think about your comments about helmets the more
I realize you're just plain stupid. Equating skepticism about the
efficacy of helmets, or even just questions about them with being
anti-helmet or railing against helmets. Dopey.

As I've said many times, we're all ignorant about some things. I'm
ignorant about many things. But I'm also aware of most of my
ignorance and try to deal with it -- either by learning or by at least
not arguing about things I don't know.

While the true dopes revel in their ignornance and argue about things
they don't understand. Like simple division. Or questions about
helmets. LOL.

{8 annoying sig lines snipped}

Gee, for a bright guy you sure have to answer posts TWICE a lot.

ROTFL

Bill Sornson said:

Why do you rail against helmets while owning numerous models and
photographing them admiringly, comparing their ventilation characteristics
(not to mention wearing them about 70% of the time you ride)?

You know, the more I think about your comments about helmets the more
I realize you're just plain stupid. Equating skepticism about the
efficacy of helmets, or even just questions about them with being
anti-helmet or railing against helmets. Dopey.

As I've said many times, we're all ignorant about some things. I'm
ignorant about many things. But I'm also aware of most of my
ignorance and try to deal with it -- either by learning or by at least
not arguing about things I don't know.

While the true dopes revel in their ignornance and argue about things
they don't understand. Like simple division. Or questions about
helmets. LOL.

JT

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Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Sometimes motorists respond very well to a voice-generated imitated car
horn -- much better than the cheery tinkle of a typical bike bell.

I stick to:
"Let's go, man"
"Watch it there, idiot"
"HEY HEY HEY HEYYYYY!!!"

Next time, I'm going to give it the old Ah-OOO-gah car horn and see what
happens!