Wrong to confront?

Quoted message said:

Now, I'd never go there, even in a car.

After a few years you can appreciate the beauty of the design and
forget how it wasn't really meant to be a car city.

It really is a bicycle and pedestrian city held hostage by cars.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------
__________306.350.357.38>>[email hidden]__________

When something like that happens, the police should be called
immediately.

mark said:

AustinMN said:

Roger Zoul wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I really think you might want to consider using a car instead of

riding

Quoted message said:

a

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

bicycle if you don't learn to control yourself. You might hurt

someone.

Quoted message said:

He apparently has the most basic qualifications for operating a motor
vehicle...getting angry in traffic.

Austin

The OP did not brandish the Kryptonite, nor did he use it to vandalize the
SUV, nor did he assault or batter anyone with it.

For crying out loud, I did not accuse him of doing so, either.

Austin

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

Quoted message said:

But dayum, they were facing me, and looking right at me at 125yds. At
100yds the shrieking began, and continued long after I passed. You'd think
I'd run over her foot or worse, the little dog.

You might have asked the other woman when it would be time
to return her friend to the mental ward.

Raoul Duke said:

What's up with all this Chairman Mao stuff, btw?

I like Mao because he is such a brilliant aphorist. There's a kind of
poetry to Maoist sloganeering that appeals to me. He is certainly far
better in the aphorisms department than Lenin (no great Leninist oneliners
spring as quickly to mind).

I'm not a fan of the level of thought control (among other forms of
coercion) that Mao's system imposes. Here, sadly, the poetry of the
aphorism doesn't keep pace (to say the least) with the reality: "Let a
hundred flowers bloom; let a thousand schools of thought contend," clangs
dissonantly against the orgy of destruction that was the Cultural
Revolution.

It's also a bit of a wry take on the way that many cyclists have come to see
themselves as revolutionaries, or members of some larger movement.

Obligatory bicycle content: Mao also put China on two wheels; the Flying
Pigeon is still probably the most numerous single type of bicycle in
existence today.

-Luigi

--
www.livejournal.com/users/ouij
Photos, Rants, Raves

Fx199 said:

Quoted message said:

I think that's a perfect application for Halt. It will stop almost all
dogs. It doesn't hurt them for long, but it burns their eyes and nose
enough that they learn.

Careful with the halt though, It can get on you and sting!

Yep. And don't ever, ever run with scissors!

--
--------------------+
Frank Krygowski [To reply, remove rodent and vegetable dot com,
replace with cc.ysu dot edu]

Quoted message said:

For crying out loud, I did not accuse him of doing so, either.

Your fear level isn't high enough yet.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------
__________306.350.357.38>>[email hidden]__________

Sat, 04 Sep 2004 22:37:17 -0400, <[email hidden]>,

Eric S. Sande said:

Quoted message said:

You mean on the driver's side edge...or do you mean in the left lane
of a two-laned one way? That's just crazy. ;-)

No, L Street is a five lane East bound one way urban arterial, to
get technical. Delivery and commuter access stacks on both sides
of the street. The DC bicycle regs state that if you're in this
[censored] on a bicycle and intend to turn left (which I do intend) you
should be in the leftmost travel lane.

But you're not prohibited from using the rightmost travel lane if
turning right. Right?

Westbound, I went around a car stopped for the red light by passing
them on the right rather than at the gutter and getting hooked. They
were signalling a left turn off of this one-way street onto a one-way
bridge feeder. It's identical to making a right turn on red and
absolutely legal. Traffic was light and way was clear so I went. I
heard a blaring horn very close and momentarily freaked. Then I saw
the fluffy, still stopped, shaking their finger at me. I shrugged.

He'd seen me sitting off his fender because we were both looking
right. I'd stuck out my left arm. It's not as if I'd scorched him in
stealth mode. It's apparent he hadn't a clue.

Southbound, I could have stayed in the left lane and from there gotten
to the sidewalk This bridge permits bicycles on the road or the extra
wide east sidewalk. I instead moved to the far right lane to cross on
the road. The light must have changed because when the same idiot
caught up he was honking again and coming across 3 lanes _at!_ me,
pointing left indicating that he figured I should use the sidewalk.
I spit.

Sorry I don't remember who said it, but I like it: "empty boats".

(. . . among the scuds)
--
zk

Quoted message said:

But you're not prohibited from using the rightmost travel lane if
turning right. Right?

Of course not. Normal rules apply except when there are exceptions.

--

_______________________ALL AMIGA IN MY MIND_______________________
------------------"Buddy Holly, the Texas Elvis"------------------
__________306.350.357.38>>[email hidden]__________

Pete said:

A friend of mine used to tell them he was Church of Satan. With the
requisite evil grin. They usually did not hang around.

Oh no, you just reminded me... !

I was visiting a couple of guys one Saturday afternoon, hanging out
getting ready to go to a birthday party, when a couple of JW's came to
the door, a pair of older women.

One of them answered the door and engaged the ladies in conversation.
The other grinned wickedly at me, disappeared into his bedroom and came
back with a couple of books. Walks up behind his roommate and says,
"Hey Mike, was it the book on witchcraft you were wanting or the Satanic
Bible?"

Mike didn't miss a beat and replied, "The Satanic Bible, thanks -- just
put it on the table will ya?" Then turned back to the old ladies and
said, oh-so-politely and pleasantly, "You were saying?"

At this point, I'm out of sight of the door, desperately trying to
contain my laughter, and the little old ladies are sputtering. They
fled. We laughed till we cried.

We were kids, just out of high school. So mean. Hehe.

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts

Luigi de Guzman said:

DRS said:

Quoted message said:

Rather like using a sledgehammer to swat a fly.

In my experience a lot of people who blithely ignore a bicycle bell jump
several feet when they get blipped by an air horn. Ditto for cars. I
don't
have to let it rip, a quick blip is usually enough. And they'd have to be
clinically deaf to ever claim they didn't hear it. My Air Zound is louder
than many car horns.

I'm sure it is. But the question remains: do you really need to be that
loud all the time?

Most of the time, my warnings are heard and acknowledged without having to
resort to brutality. The louder shouts are usually accompanied by some
sort of evasive action on my part, and usually directed at people who
wouldn't be able to hear anyway--cars with loud stereos, earphone-wearing
ignorami, etc.

Resorting to maximum force in all situations cements in the minds of the
masses the image of the cyclist as an ill-humored, brutal scofflaw.

I agree. Previously, all I'd ever had to do was call out a cheery,
"Excuse me, behind you!" and most people, slower cyclists as well as
pedestrians, clear room. Behaving toward them with aggression and
rudeness, when they have just as much right to be there as I have, only
makes ME look bad.

I still think I'm going to avoid the rail-trail from now on, though.

-km

--
the black rose
proud to be owned by a yorkie
http://community.webshots.com/user/blackrosequilts

"Luigi de Guzman" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:EHw_c.5005$aW5.925@fed1read07...

Quoted message said:

Obligatory bicycle content: Mao also put China on two wheels; the Flying
Pigeon is still probably the most numerous single type of bicycle in
existence today.

I am working informally with a Chinese academic (how this should happen is a
long story) on a paper in English on the debate within China as to whether
or not city planning to should continue to accomodate bicycles or be more
car-oriented. There are certain forces within China that believe that modern
= America-like, and are vigorously arguing for more car-centric design.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Careful with the halt though, It can get on you and sting!

Yep. And don't ever, ever run with scissors!

oooh. Biting sarcasm at it's finest!

Eric S. Sande said:

The capper was, as soon as the HCL had mastered her windows, she
stated, "Ah'm rat, ah works for the bahsicle program and you're
wrong."

I carry copies of exerpts of the state traffic statute stating
bicyclist's right to use the road. Easy to toss them into windows as
you roll by, hand out to the ignorant or stuck under the wiper blade
if need be.

Zoot Katz said:

In some areas of town I say "Gucci, Gucci" figuring that's more
recognizable than "ding ding".

Ever get slapped by someone thinking you'd said "hootchy-kootchy"?

--
Ray Heindl
(remove the Xs to reply to: [email hidden])

the black rose said:

One of them answered the door and engaged the ladies in conversation.
The other grinned wickedly at me, disappeared into his bedroom and came
back with a couple of books. Walks up behind his roommate and says,
"Hey Mike, was it the book on witchcraft you were wanting or the Satanic
Bible?"

A history student with an interest in early modern Europe is likely to have
a lot of very "dodgy" books on his shelf at any one time. I remember the
week I had to write up on demonology, witchcraft, and the so-called "Witch
Craze" of the seventeenth century...I was up to my eyeballs in thaumaturgic
circles, black sabbaths, manuals on how to consort with demons, and various
commentaries and analyses on works of this nature.

It was a fun week.

-Luigi

--
www.livejournal.com/users/ouij
Photos, Rants, Raves

Luigi de Guzman said:

(no great Leninist oneliners
spring as quickly to mind).

"A lie told often enough becomes the truth."

"While the State exists, there can be no freedom."

"[capitalist dupes] will sell us the rope with which to hang them."

"It is true that liberty is precious; so precious that it must be
carefully rationed. "

"One man with a gun can control 100 without one."

"The goal of socialism is communism."

"The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the
millstones of taxation and inflation. "

"There are no morals in politics; there is only expedience. A
scoundrel may be of use to us just because he is a scoundrel. "

On Sun, 05 Sep 2004 15:15:05 -0400, Luigi de Guzman <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

the black rose said:

One of them answered the door and engaged the ladies in conversation.
The other grinned wickedly at me, disappeared into his bedroom and came
back with a couple of books. Walks up behind his roommate and says,
"Hey Mike, was it the book on witchcraft you were wanting or the Satanic
Bible?"

A history student with an interest in early modern Europe is likely to have
a lot of very "dodgy" books on his shelf at any one time. I remember the
week I had to write up on demonology, witchcraft, and the so-called "Witch
Craze" of the seventeenth century...I was up to my eyeballs in thaumaturgic
circles, black sabbaths, manuals on how to consort with demons, and various
commentaries and analyses on works of this nature.

It was a fun week.

-Luigi

I -hope-, you follow the example set by Ron Perlman, and at least trim the
horns in public.

-B
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0167190/

Quoted message said:

Luigi de Guzman [email hidden]

wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

Their preconceptions of Godless, possibly Communist, and definitely
terrorist cyclists have just been reinforced.

Sorry Luigi but IME most non-cyclists just think cyclists are geeks. Theology
and political philosophy don't really enter into it.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

"Eric S. Sande" wrote in part:

Quoted message said:

...she was riding my ass for a block and a half
honking continuously. With a clear lane to her right.

I wasn't there but I don't get why you just didn't move
into the "clear lane" momentarily to let the crazy ladies pass.
Lookin for a fight?
General rule is slower traffic keep right, pass on the left.
Another general rule is let the honking [censored] have her precious
lane and she will realize immediately how silly she was being. If
you can't then pull up behind her close enough to see the whites
of her guilty eyes as she stares nervously into the rearview,
you probably shouldn't have been there to begin with.

Personally I save my wrath for drivers who deliberately buzz,
swerve at riders, or otherwise use their vehicles to threaten and
intimidate. I am not inclined to let these things slide.

Quoted message said:

One way street, Robert. In DC a bicycle is required to ride on the
left on a one way, believe it or not.

I dont believe it. Really? Damn, that's strange. I
suspect you may be confusing the legality of riding on
the far left of the left lane of one ways (a law
common to many cities including NYC and Seattle) with
a legal requirement to use the left lane. Maybe I'll
look it up after I get back from a ride.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you're into legal obligations.

Only casually.

In many ways the laws governing bicycles in traffic are
arbitrarily formulated. At best they are designed to
keep traffic moving, not for rider safety. So we gotta
live by some higher law.

Quoted message said:

It was better than the alternative.

Pretending to take a Polaroid would have had much
less chance of success.

Robert