Yesterday's Random Hostility

[bottlemsher]

I find peds with earphones listening to their illegally downloaded crap won't hear a bell,

So I now use a mountain rescue whistle,
I give them a good blast on it when I 'm about 6ft behind them

It makes them jump out of the way

 

[Origamist]

I find peds with earphones listening to their illegally downloaded crap won't hear a bell,

So I now use a mountain rescue whistle,
I give them a good blast on it when I 'm about 6ft behind them

It makes them jump out of the way

I'm hoping, your joking!

 

[bottlemsher]

Yes I'm joking

but I do feel like doing it if I get a thick ped

When on riding the recumbent and we come up behind a horse and rider
I'll give a couple of short blows on the whistle to give as much warning as possible

 

[totallyfixed]

If you don't have a bell or any other warning device, what word do you shout? For instance when I'm approaching a horse and rider from behind I just shout BIKE! and nearly always get a thank you.
When I used to cycle in Cambridge I soon learnt to avoid riding cycle / shared paths as the foreign students in particular always rode on the wrong side and you ended up playing chicken with them when they were coming towards you. Mind you it always added spice to the commute.

 

[Origamist]

"Hello", "Good Morning", "Good Afternoon" and "Good Evening". Not an imaginative greeting I grant you, but when intoned in a cheery and polite manner, I very rarely get any grief...

 

[BentMikey]

"Hello", "Good Morning", "Good Afternoon" and "Good Evening". Not an imaginative greeting I grant you, but when intoned in a cheery and polite manner, I very rarely get any grief...

+1 IMO much better and normally interpreted positively by pedestrians. Unlike a bell or "Excuse me". It's what I do. Well, not "Hello", as I think that's not as good as the other three.

 

[BrumJim]

I find bells useful when i'm cycling along canals when i get to bridges, as i can't see if there's anyone around the corners.

I prefer to supplement this with a good throaty yell, since I am blind to anyone the other side of the bridge. This gives a much greater element of warning/danger than a light-hearted tinkle.

Met my nemesis again this morning - we had a crash a few weeks ago due to neither of us concentrating before the bridge. I spotted him and gave a VERY strong yell. He stopped his side, and we gave a cheery welcome rather than an exclamation of surprise and fear, as per last time.

 

[Twenty Inch]

I find peds with earphones listening to their illegally downloaded crap won't hear a bell,

So I now use a mountain rescue whistle,
I give them a good blast on it when I 'm about 6ft behind them

It makes them jump out of the way

I used to do this on my cycle from Tower Hamlets to Nine Elms, through the City - so many bankers just stepping into the road.

Then the whistle was wearing my teeth out, so I would scream instead.

Don't do it now though....grown up a bit.

 

[swee'pea99]

I don't like bells, whistles, horns or anything like that, and I prefer not to say much less yell anything. On the few occasions I find myself held up by peds while tootling thru' the park, I just slow right down and wait till they clock my presence - very rarely does it take more than a few seconds, and then they invariably step aside with an apology. Seems worth the tiny delay to me...I'm never in that much of a hurry.

 

[Norm]

that[/I] much of a hurry.

Indeed. In a group so quick to criticise car drivers for pushing through rather than wait a second or two, it does seem the right thing to do.

 

[John the Monkey]

I see horses & riders quite a lot when I'm out on Sundays.

I usually say "passing on your right" before overtaking - if there isn't room, I'll either wait, or ask whether they can single up for me to pass. Nice people, by and large.

Incidentally, followed someone along the Whitworth Street path who pinged their bell like they were ringing a fire alarm, or summat. That did come off as a bit aggressive.

 

[Wheeledweenie]

Another cyclists called 'On your right!' the other night as he passed me and my bike buddy on a narrow section and it was much appreciated.

 

[Arch]

Another cyclists called 'On your right!' the other night as he passed me and my bike buddy on a narrow section and it was much appreciated.

I wouldn't do that most of the time because a) most cyclists in York are commuters or just getting about on their bikes, and are likely to be confused by the phrase* and I'd probably get it wrong and shout 'on your left...'

I think it's something roadies or club members would understand, but a lot of people might move TO the right in confusion.

Coming up behind a horse, I tend to call out "Cyclist behind!" Mind you, last time I did, I passed the guy and then it got uphilly and as I struggled along he breezed past me again at a canter on the verge!

 

[WeeE]

In the park, tend to just slow down & wait to be noticed.

If someone's dawdling along the middle of a shared path - or just if someone's old, or on their own and possibly daydreaming - I give a little "ping" and say, "Passing on your right" just so they don't jump.

When four people yakking away are taking up the entire path, I just say "excuse me...excuse me...excuse me..." louder and louder, over and over, till the oblivious one (there's always an oblivious one, always furthest right!) finally gets pulled aside by their friends. Then I say a nice, cheerful thank you. They always apologise - and their friends always laugh at them.

My pet hate is oblivious parents who like to stand around gassing while the kids play, sit and even lie down on shared-use paths and cycle paths; I feel it's really irresponsible of them, teaching their kids to play around on tarmac. I "ping" the bell once and say a friendly "toot-toot!" and then thank the kids for moving aside.
A gentle ping gets their attention while the adults are still oblivious, but very small children just tend to just stand where they are and stare. I find they always seem to know what "toot-toot" means, though. Some of them quite enjoy bossing their parents out of the way.

 

[hackbike 666]

I find peds with earphones listening to their illegally downloaded crap won't hear a bell,

So I now use a mountain rescue whistle,
I give them a good blast on it when I 'm about 6ft behind them

It makes them jump out of the way

They heard me tonight at Aldgate as they jumped out of their skins.I only gave a toot on the horn(s) but they must have thought it was a car or motorbike.

As usual they cross the road and totally lose the fact that there may be traffic in the 4 lanes.Oh and it was dark which meant I was easier to see than them.If they bothered looking that is.

I ended up right behing a ped a few months ago about 4 in the morning who stepped out into the road right in front of me with his back to me @ Stratford and I made a noise,he jumped out of his skin and said sorry.I felt really sorry for him as when he looked round his eyes were all red.He looked knackered.