Shouts of "I love your bike"

[PaulM]

Clown bike

Someone I know was riding a

space frame Moulton and a kid he passed remarked to it's dad "look, that bike's still got the scaffolding on!"
.

My ex-girlfriend saw me on my Strida III and later mentioned seeing me on my clown bike, you know the kind that goes round and round the circus ring.

 

[squeaker]

My ex-girlfriend saw me on my Strida III and later mentioned seeing me on my clown bike, you know the kind that goes round and round the circus ring.

Explains the 'ex' then

FWIW even sans flag, horses frequently take exception to my recumbent bike, so I make a point of slowing down, talking to the rider, and if necessary stopping and standing up (more to show that 'it's a human', although it does give me the option of legging it if things get pair shaped).

 

[Amanda P]

After several exchanges along the lines of:

"Hello, don't worry it's only a bike".

"Oh, Hi. I can see it's a bike".

"I was talking to the horse".

I've learned eventually to say:

"Hello, horse, don't worry, it's only a bike".

 

[BentMikey]

LOL, it's funny isn't it, how the rider assumes you're talking to them.

 

[byegad]

After several exchanges along the lines of:

"Hello, don't worry it's only a bike".

"Oh, Hi. I can see it's a bike".

"I was talking to the horse".

I've learned eventually to say:

"Hello, horse, don't worry, it's only a bike".

The time to worry is when the horse replies!

 

[ufkacbln]

Thanks for highlighting the important flag-horse problem. I shall be out on my trike for the first time this weekend and there are plenty of horses about in rural Suffolk, and I had not thought of how animals might react. In France recently my 'bent seemed to make horses in fields rather curious, with them staring fixedly as I cycled past - but it isn't a lowracer, and could resemble a conventional bike to a short-sighted horse.

We do have a difficulty in Newmarket with racehorses, because they are particularly highly strung. They are taken through the centre of town to the gallops, and many of them are not schooled with respect to traffic as ordinary horses usually are. I can well remember the pandemonium caused one day by a carrier bag stuck in a hedge; it caused mass panic among a whole string of racehorses crossing a busy road.

Given that a fair percentage of the public think that all trike users are disabled in some way, I wonder how many people feel ashamed of their laughs and catcalls when, and if, they later reflect on their actions.

Several years ago there was a "Disabled games" held in Portsmouth. Two kids spent ten minutes explaining a project they had done at school and how they looked forward to seeing me race my "Wheelchair"

 

[ufkacbln]

It's not the flags with Horses, it's the shape.

I have found that even without flags my recumbents (Especially the Hurrican and Catrike) freak horses.

An animal pyschologist explained to me that horses are a "prey" animal and therefore are "programmed" to avoid predators.

In the animal world predators are low sleek and fast. In the cycle world low sleek and fast is a recumbent!

Hence the horse thinks you are a predator and will be spooked!

 

[BentMikey]

My thoughts exactly, Cunobelin!

 

[CopperBrompton]

The talking thing has always worked for me. I stop, then say hello to the rider, and not had any problems.

 

[Aperitif]

The talking thing has always worked for me. I stop, then say hello to the rider, and not had any problems.

"The Trike Whisperer..."
Enjoy Sunday Ben - might see you there if I get time...

 

[B13]

An animal pyschologist explained to me that horses are a "prey" animal and therefore are "programmed" to avoid predators.

I'm a horse-rider as well as a cyclist and yep, I can confirm this. Horses - as prey animals - perceive everything they don't understand (or anything they haven't experienced before) as a potential threat and their instinctive reaction is to get away from that threat as fast as possible. Their flight instinct is SO strong, they simply cannot override it - they are running for their very lives.

Horses don't know what bikes, flags and plastic bags are. We humans do coz we invented them. So to a horse, something whizzing rapidly towards them can only be a predator - and it's best to run first and ask questions later.

That said, a horse can learn that a bike isn't dangerous if it's allowed to calmly inspect it. It will look at the bike first from a safe distance, then come forward and sniff it. OK, the horse might be a bit spooky, but don't worry, it's unlikely to kick The Big Scarey Horse-Eating Monster, it will save all it's energy to make a quick exit!! (You only kick something if it attacks you first!!)

So as a horse-rider, can I say a HUGE "Thank you!!" to you fellow cyclists who have the good sense to stop if a horse spies a bike and panics. It may be a young horse who's never seen a bike before and simply doesn't know what the hell it is! (If you've got the time and don't mind doing a bit of freebie Horse Education, a good trick is to ask the rider if the horse can 'chase' you (i.e. walk or trot behind you) that way, the horse has chased 'The Big Scarey Horse-Eating Monster' away.)



Also, if the rider doesn't say "Thank you" when you slow or stop, just remember that you've just done so for the horse's benefit, not the rider's. The horse can't thank you, but because his experience with the bike has been positive he will always remember that positive experience, thus making the horse more confident and therefore safer around us cyclists. I ALWAYS thank cyclists who stop when I'm on a horse, and I always slow down and/or stop for horses if I'm on a bike.

B)

P.S. I'm new here, so here's a big "HELLOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" from me!!

 

[BentMikey]

Yes, it's annoying when the horse rider isn't appreciative, but I guess no different from the few rude cyclists.

 

[Arch]

Yes, it's annoying when the horse rider isn't appreciative, but I guess no different from the few rude cyclists.

I agree to some extent, but having been in the equine saddle myself, sometimes you are just concentrating on being on the horse. At least I always was, being a bit of a novice. Just the same as being on a bike, sometimes I'm thinking more about the road ahead than acknowledging other people.

That said, there are bound to be rude folk, but no more than any other group of people....

 

[TheDoctor]

Well, ultimately (as others have said) we're saying hello to the horse really...

 

[Arch]

Well, ultimately (as others have said) we're saying hello to the horse really...

True, although I've met some fairly rude horses... Well, they wouldn't do what I wanted, anyway... And man, they fart a lot...