I need to relieve my guilt...................

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

Quoted message said:

so here's my confession.

On my home I was passed a youth on a BMX. He lobs two eggs in my general direction and luckily for
me he misses. Since I was only sedately cycling and not at my full pelt, I change gear and go
after him. When I catch up with him he is a little stunned at first, but then he goes for a basket
attached to his handle bar, which has more eggs in. So I drop back just a little to give the top
of his rear wheel a little nudge with my foot and then shot off again. Resulting incident was him
sprawled over the floor

with

Quoted message said:

one hand in a basket of smashed egg and leaving with nothing to throw but insults. I felt
justified at the time but now feel a little guilty.

I seek to relieve my guilt by confessing to one and all here.

That's better.

Many Thanks for listening to me prattle on.

Gadget

I got hit in the face by a water pistol yesterday. Fortunately I wasn't moving, and was waiting for
lights to change. They got stopped by the next set of traffic lights. I wished I thought about
emptying my litre of water over them, but instead just gave them a thumbs up, and laughed. Harmless
fun at the end of the day.

Gadget said:

so here's my confession.

On my home I was passed a youth on a BMX. He lobs two eggs in my general direction and luckily for
me he misses. Since I was only sedately cycling and not at my full pelt, I change gear and go
after him. When I catch up with him he is a little stunned at first, but then he goes for a basket
attached to his handle bar, which has more eggs in. So I drop back just a little to give the top
of his rear wheel a little nudge with my foot and then shot off again. Resulting incident was him
sprawled over the floor with one hand in a basket of smashed egg and leaving with nothing to throw
but insults. I felt justified at the time but now feel a little guilty.

I seek to relieve my guilt by confessing to one and all here.

That's better.

Many Thanks for listening to me prattle on.

Gadget

Good for you .. 😉

--

Completed 1708 Seti work units in 12974 hours setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edusetiathome.ssl.berkeley.eduOpen ↗

elyob said:

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

Quoted message said:

so here's my confession.

On my home I was passed a youth on a BMX. He lobs two eggs in my general direction and luckily
for me he misses. Since I was only sedately cycling and not at my full pelt, I change gear and go
after him. When I catch up with him he is a little stunned at first, but then he goes for a
basket attached to his handle bar, which has more eggs in. So I drop back just a little to give
the top of his rear wheel a little nudge with my foot and then shot off again. Resulting incident
was him sprawled over the floor with one hand in a basket of smashed egg and leaving with nothing
to throw but insults. I felt justified at the time but now feel a little guilty.

I seek to relieve my guilt by confessing to one and all here.

That's better.

Many Thanks for listening to me prattle on.

Gadget

I got hit in the face by a water pistol yesterday. Fortunately I wasn't moving, and was waiting
for lights to change. They got stopped by the next set of traffic lights. I wished I thought about
emptying my litre of water over them, but instead just gave them a thumbs up, and laughed.
Harmless fun at the end of the day.

I reckon I must disagree with the 'harmless fun' bit. My son, just turned 8, was out cycling a while
ago and was hit with some kids using a water pistol,. He was so distracted, yes I know it's easy at
that age, that he fell off. No real harm done, but then he's lucky we now live on a very quiet,
traffic-wise, street. If he'd fallen off almost anywhere else it may have been a different story.

Personally, I'd have emptied the water all over them, and given them a mouthful of advice .. 😉

--

Completed 1708 Seti work units in 12974 hours setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edusetiathome.ssl.berkeley.eduOpen ↗

"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

elyob wrote: I reckon I must disagree with the 'harmless fun' bit. My son, just turned 8, was out
cycling a while ago and was hit with some kids using a water pistol,. He was so distracted, yes I
know it's easy at that age, that he fell off. No real harm done, but then he's lucky we now live
on a very quiet, traffic-wise, street. If he'd fallen off almost anywhere else it may have been a
different story.

Just in my case I thought it was harmless (whilst trying to guilt up Gadget 😉 )

If I had been moving and not waiting for the cyle crossing at the time I'd have been with them in a
shot. I keep forgetting that I'm carrying the water bottle when I arrive in those situations though.
A chap did get a nice greeny on the back of his car for pushing out across my cycle path, had at
least 30 secs to move back with no one behind him. Hopefully he washes his car by hand.

Quoted message said:

Personally, I'd have emptied the water all over them, and given them a mouthful of advice .. 😉

As above, I never remember to 'give them a taste of their own medicine' and end up in a
slagging match.

"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I reckon I must disagree with the 'harmless fun' bit.

Me too, maybe I'm a miserable old git but I consider being squirted by water pistols, or in my
case a shaken drinks can, a form of assault. After all if you were walking down the street and
someone did to you it would it be acceptable? If not why should it be acceptable because you're on
a bicycle?

Pete

"Gadget" wrote ...

Quoted message said:

so here's my confession.

On my home I was passed a youth on a BMX. He lobs two eggs in my general direction and luckily for
me he misses. Since I was only sedately cycling and not at my full pelt, I change gear and go
after him. When I catch up with him he is a little stunned at first, but then he goes for a basket
attached to his handle bar, which has more eggs in. So I drop back just a little to give the top
of his rear wheel a little nudge with my foot and then shot off again. Resulting incident was him
sprawled over the floor

with

Quoted message said:

one hand in a basket of smashed egg and leaving with nothing to throw but insults. I felt
justified at the time but now feel a little guilty.

I seek to relieve my guilt by confessing to one and all here.

That's better.

Many Thanks for listening to me prattle on.

Gadget

Well done. You meant to stop him from throwing eggs at other people, right?
--
mark

"Peter B" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I reckon I must disagree with the 'harmless fun' bit.

Me too, maybe I'm a miserable old git but I consider being squirted by

water

Quoted message said:

pistols, or in my case a shaken drinks can, a form of assault.

Sometimes its funny, sometimes its not. A cola can is definitely not funny.

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

Quoted message said:

I got hit in the face by a water pistol yesterday. Fortunately I wasn't moving, and was waiting
for lights to change. They got stopped by the next set of traffic lights. I wished I thought about
emptying my litre of water over them, but instead just gave them a thumbs up, and laughed.

I think a knuckle sandwich might have been a more appropriate response than throwing water over
them. Psychology 101: reinforce desired behaviour positively and undesired behaviour negatively. You
did the opposite.

Quoted message said:

Harmless fun at the end of the day.

Not at all. Apart from the danger of being distracted while riding, how do you know it's just water
they're attacking you with?

--
Dave...

"Gadget" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

so here's my confession.

On my home I was passed a youth on a BMX. He lobs two eggs in my general direction and luckily for
me he misses. Since I was only sedately cycling and not at my full pelt, I change gear and go
after him. When I catch up with him he is a little stunned at first, but then he goes for a basket
attached to his handle bar, which has more eggs in. So I drop back just a little to give the top
of his rear wheel a little nudge with my foot and then shot off again. Resulting incident was him
sprawled over the floor with one hand in a basket of smashed egg and leaving with nothing to throw
but insults. I felt justified at the time but now feel a little guilty.

I seek to relieve my guilt by confessing to one and all here.

That's better.

Many Thanks for listening to me prattle on.

Gadget

Anyone who lobs anything at me will get something lobbed back at them. A right hook followed by a
left hook. These scumbags need to learn that it is unacceptable and anti social behaviour and that
it is downright dangerous.

Where does it end? They go on to what? Throwing rocks through moving train windows? I realise that
giving them a good kicking is not the ideal answer but I reckon it does enough to make them think
about doing it again. Act now and immediately to this before one of these creeps ensure that it is
your skull smashed to bits in the alloy wheels of someones Jag.

And dont no one here give me the do goody good [censored], it aint harmless fun, and they get all
they deserve.

Gibbo.

--
Posted via Mailgate.ORG Server - mailgate.orgmailgate.orgOpen ↗

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

Quoted message said:

Resulting incident was him sprawled over the floor with one hand in a basket of smashed egg
and leaving with nothing to throw but insults. I felt justified at the time but now feel a
little guilty.

Don't, you did well. He who lives by the basket of eggs shall perish by the basket of eggs. With any
luck they were rotten.

Quoted message said:

I seek to relieve my guilt by confessing to one and all here.

While we're in confession mode I too downed a youth a few months ago. I was cycling at about 25 mph
on an otherwise empty road when 2 youths on full suspension wannabee MTBs emerged to cross it from a
path by a housing estate. They looked me directly in the eyes and I loudly shouted, "No." Because
the only thing coming down the road towards them was a stupid old git on an uncool bike with drop
handlebars, however, they ignored said old git completely and started cycling s-l-o-w-l-y across in
single file, completely blocking my path.

My front wheel hit the second youth's back wheel at a 90 degree angle just behind the sprockets. I'd
braked hard of course, and the impact was the gentlest of nudges but the result was spectacular. His
bike went down like a playing card and he lay sprawled face down beside it. I leaned my own bike
against a post and went over to pick him up. He was still lying there and his comrade was standing
beside him in the road, still astride his bike, his mouth wide open catching flies.

His bike wasn't damaged and he didn't appear to have any significant injuries but his hands were
obviously hurting like hell where he'd slapped the road. I tried talking to them but I couldn't
induce either of them to utter a word and presently they continued on their way. I think they were
more stunned by the result of the collision than the collision itself. In their universe middle aged
gits are frail and harmless, and old-fashioned bikes with narrow wheels and no suspension are
ludicrously flimsy. The scoreline H.R. Morris 1, Carrera 0, is not supposed to happen.

You might think this would have felt satisfying, but it didn't at all. I felt very bad about it for
several days. The crash was technically their fault but I had not done everything I could to avoid
it. I could probably have swerved and squeezed behind them, and if I'd really wanted to I could
probably have come to a complete halt about a yard further back. Once I was down to less than a
walking pace, however, something - bloody-mindedness, anger, whatever - impelled me to relax my
braking and let the contact happen.

--
Dave...

What Gibbo said. Last year a child of tender years thought it would be amusing to hit my with the
business end of a broom as I rode past. More by luck than judgement, I managed to grab the
broomstick and wrest the thing from his grubby little mitt. I contemplated stopping and belabouring
the brat about the head with it, but instead rode off into the sunset and placed the broom,
trophy-like, in the shed. I should have liked to know what he told his mother when she enquired as
to the whereabouts of her Sweeping Apparatus...

If attacked with a water pistol, try the following:

o seize attacker's hair o brake sharply

Dave Larrington - legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uklegslarry.beerdrinkers.co.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================
Editor - British Human Power Club Newsletter
bhpc.org.ukbhpc.org.ukOpen ↗
===========================================================

Quoted message said:

Well done. You meant to stop him from throwing eggs at other people,

right?

Quoted message said:

--
mark

Eeeeeerrrrrr, yeah that was my intention. :o)

Gadget

elyob said:

"Peter B" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I reckon I must disagree with the 'harmless fun' bit.

Me too, maybe I'm a miserable old git but I consider being squirted by water pistols, or in my
case a shaken drinks can, a form of assault.

Sometimes its funny, sometimes its not. A cola can is definitely not funny.

'specially when the can is still on the outside of the cola .. 😉

--

Completed 1708 Seti work units in 12974 hours setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edusetiathome.ssl.berkeley.eduOpen ↗

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

Quoted message said:

Resulting incident was him sprawled over the floor with one hand in a basket of smashed egg
and leaving with nothing to throw but insults. I felt justified at the time but now feel a
little guilty.

I seek to relieve my guilt by confessing to one and all here.

As a victim of a recent failed attempt at egging, I just have to say well done! Hopefully it'll
deter the little bugger from trying the same thing again with other cyclists!

Rich

"Dave Larrington" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I should have liked to know what he told his mother when she enquired as to the whereabouts of her
Sweeping Apparatus...

That's the trouble, the kids parents would prob have thought 'thats ma boy' Without realising it,
those little snots that we might have noticed 20 years back are now that kids parents 🙁 Den

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

Quoted message said:

Resulting incident was him sprawled over the floor with one hand in a basket of smashed egg
and leaving with nothing to throw but insults. I felt justified at the time but now feel a
little guilty.

One time on me way back from work in the dark a couple of "youths" on bikes were hanging round on
the street and one of them decided it's be a jolly good jape to ride fast at the side of my bike and
swerve off at the last moment. Got a kick at the side of his bike which meant he had to put his foot
down and stop in front of me. I think I stopped too.

I had a jacket on and in the inside pocket was my big old pump, about 15" long and 1.5" in diameter
and painted black. I used to carry it there because it never stayed in the holder. Anyway, I pulled
the pump out and held it in my hand like a truncheon and just calmly started riding toward him.
"OOooohh fsck" he uttered, and rode off like a bat out of hell! Anyway, I followed him for about a
mile before turning off, and I'll bet he's never ever done it again!

Wouldn't have worked in daylight, and wouldn't have been much good to hit him with, either, being
extremely thin and light aluminium.

Trev

Nice one Dave...........2 down....."How many" to go? Honestly, no need to tell us about it........

Alan

[email hidden] (Dave Kahn) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Resulting incident was him sprawled over the floor with one hand in a basket of smashed egg and
leaving with nothing to throw but insults. I felt justified at the time but now feel a little
guilty.

Don't, you did well. He who lives by the basket of eggs shall perish by the basket of eggs. With
any luck they were rotten.

Quoted message said:

I seek to relieve my guilt by confessing to one and all here.

While we're in confession mode I too downed a youth a few months ago. I was cycling at about 25
mph on an otherwise empty road when 2 youths on full suspension wannabee MTBs emerged to cross it
from a path by a housing estate. They looked me directly in the eyes and I loudly shouted, "No."
Because the only thing coming down the road towards them was a stupid old git on an uncool bike
with drop handlebars, however, they ignored said old git completely and started cycling
s-l-o-w-l-y across in single file, completely blocking my path.

My front wheel hit the second youth's back wheel at a 90 degree angle just behind the sprockets.
I'd braked hard of course, and the impact was the gentlest of nudges but the result was
spectacular. His bike went down like a playing card and he lay sprawled face down beside it. I
leaned my own bike against a post and went over to pick him up. He was still lying there and his
comrade was standing beside him in the road, still astride his bike, his mouth wide open
catching flies.

His bike wasn't damaged and he didn't appear to have any significant injuries but his hands were
obviously hurting like hell where he'd slapped the road. I tried talking to them but I couldn't
induce either of them to utter a word and presently they continued on their way. I think they were
more stunned by the result of the collision than the collision itself. In their universe middle
aged gits are frail and harmless, and old-fashioned bikes with narrow wheels and no suspension are
ludicrously flimsy. The scoreline H.R. Morris 1, Carrera 0, is not supposed to happen.

You might think this would have felt satisfying, but it didn't at all. I felt very bad about it
for several days. The crash was technically their fault but I had not done everything I could to
avoid it. I could probably have swerved and squeezed behind them, and if I'd really wanted to I
could probably have come to a complete halt about a yard further back. Once I was down to less
than a walking pace, however, something - bloody-mindedness, anger, whatever - impelled me to
relax my braking and let the contact happen.

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

Quoted message said:

I seek to relieve my guilt by confessing to one and all here.

seems a perfectly acceptable action. you removed the threat by taking the scally down a peg or two
*without* serious damage to either him or his bike; nothing to be guilty about!

Alex

[email hidden] (Dave Kahn) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Resulting incident was him sprawled over the floor with one hand in a basket of smashed egg and
leaving with nothing to throw but insults. I felt justified at the time but now feel a little
guilty.

Don't, you did well. He who lives by the basket of eggs shall perish by the basket of eggs.

Absolutely - don't put all your eggs in one basket. Er, I'll get me coat....

David E. Belcher

Dept. of Chemistry, University of York