Audible warning was :Re: Pedestrian on the phone

[Cudzoziemiec]

'Ding!Ding!' ... called from a distance, usually does it for me, occasionally it elicits  a smile from the ped.

Yep. 

[Greenbank]

Half the time I say "Ding! Ding!" someone will respond with "That's just rude, you should say 'hello' or something."

Half the time I say "Hello there!" someone will respond with "Bloody cyclists, you should have a bell."

[Kim]

Interestingly (if you're me) (accepting low stats) IME I had more confusion from pedestrians when I called out "Passing on your right"; the move to "on your right" is clearer to them, potentially because there are less words.

I think that 'On your right' can sound a bit like a half-greeting of 'You alright?'
'Ding!Ding!' ( I don't have a bell on anything other than the Brommie - and that's soon going to go when I fit a friction lever when I convert it into a 3-speed) called from a distance, usually does it for me, occasionally it elicits  a smile from the ped.

Ah, but the Brompton bell performs two vital functions:

1) Accelerometer-based road surface quality assessment device.
b) Making a satisfying typewriter-style PING! when you allow the handlebars to flop down as the last step in the fold.

[ian]

I have no idea which side is LEFT or RIGHT unless I think about it. Generally, if you shout anything at a pedestrian you're telling them to PANIC and thus do something fabulously unpredictable.

[Kim]

I have no idea which side is LEFT or RIGHT unless I think about it. Generally, if you shout anything at a pedestrian you're telling them to PANIC and thus do something fabulously unpredictable.

This is why I tend to favour mechanical noises, once I get up close on a shared use path.  Flicking brake levers, a deliberately noisy gear change, creaky seat, expensive freehub, that sort of thing.  (Studded tyres on brick is the absolute best, if only practical on limited occasions.)  It says "something, possibly a bike, is coming" without being open to being misinterpreted as aggression or an incorrect instruction.  The exception being squealing brakes, which means they're about to be killed utterly to DETH, and I try to avoid except for actual lemming situations.

I tend to keep vocalisation to a cheerful "morning/afternoon/evening" or "thanks" as appropriate, but will keep witty retorts in reserve in case they decide to tell me off for not using the bell I just rang^[1], or make the "lying down on the job" joke.


_{[1] Last time this happened, the dog heard it and moved to one side.  The pedestrians didn't, and shuffled over to fill the resulting gap.}

[caerau]

_{[1] Last time this happened, the dog heard it and moved to one side.  The pedestrians didn't, and shuffled over to fill the resulting gap.}

Dogs-owners
Parents-toddlers.


Quantum entanglement.   

[Greenbank]

I have no idea which side is LEFT or RIGHT unless I think about it. Generally, if you shout anything at a pedestrian you're telling them to PANIC and thus do something fabulously unpredictable.

And when they turn round left and right are reversed, so they complain that you're coming past them on the other side.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Interestingly (if you're me) (accepting low stats) IME I had more confusion from pedestrians when I called out "Passing on your right"; the move to "on your right" is clearer to them, potentially because there are less words.

I think that 'On your right' can sound a bit like a half-greeting of 'You alright?'
'Ding!Ding!' ( I don't have a bell on anything other than the Brommie - and that's soon going to go when I fit a friction lever when I convert it into a 3-speed) called from a distance, usually does it for me, occasionally it elicits  a smile from the ped.

Ah, but the Brompton bell performs two vital functions:

1) Accelerometer-based road surface quality assessment device.
b) Making a satisfying typewriter-style PING! when you allow the handlebars to flop down as the last step in the fold.

You know what a typewriter is 
I thought you were much younger 

Ha, my son (who is less than half Kim's age) actually possesses (inherited) a manual typewriter!

[Cudzoziemiec]

_{[1] Last time this happened, the dog heard it and moved to one side.  The pedestrians didn't, and shuffled over to fill the resulting gap.}

Dogs-owners
Parents-toddlers.


Quantum entanglement.   

Toddlers can display less spatial awareness than dogs but at least they're never on expanding, too thin to be seen leads. 

Actually one of the 'closest' cycle path moments I've had was with two older-than-toddlers, who suddenly broke away from their mother on scooters and passed one each side of me. Left? Right? Both sides together! 

[quixoticgeek]

Dogs-owners
Parents-toddlers.

Quantum entanglement.   

On one of the Amsterdam shared use paths through a park, that sees thousands of cyclists every day, the dog walkers in winter are a right pain. The worst ones are those that make a point of putting lighty stuff on the dog, lighty stuff on the human, and then having an invisible 10m long garrote between the 2.

That said, the most invisible user of said path was the pair of police horses with cops on their backs. They had fluorescent clothing on, but nothing actually reflective, so the black on black colour scheme in the dark was interesting. I only saw them from the green power LED's on their radios were in a weird position.

J

[caerau]

_{[1] Last time this happened, the dog heard it and moved to one side.  The pedestrians didn't, and shuffled over to fill the resulting gap.}

Dogs-owners
Parents-toddlers.


Quantum entanglement.   

Toddlers can display less spatial awareness than dogs but at least they're never on expanding, too thin to be seen leads. 

Actually one of the 'closest' cycle path moments I've had was with two older-than-toddlers, who suddenly broke away from their mother on scooters and passed one each side of me. Left? Right? Both sides together! 

My favourite unexpected moment was over a small bridge leading from North Road into that there Bute Park in Cardiff.  Two people playing ... wait for it... Pooh Sticks... they chose the moment I was crossing the bridge on my bike to SUDDENLY run across from one side to the other to see where their sticks were going.   I very nearly did Pooh sticks myself 

[citoyen]

I have no idea which side is LEFT or RIGHT unless I think about it. Generally, if you shout anything at a pedestrian you're telling them to PANIC and thus do something fabulously unpredictable.

This is true. But their unpredictability is all too predictable, which means any sensible cyclist will adjust their riding accordingly (ie slow the fuck down).

[ian]

I have no idea which side is LEFT or RIGHT unless I think about it. Generally, if you shout anything at a pedestrian you're telling them to PANIC and thus do something fabulously unpredictable.

This is true. But their unpredictability is all too predictable, which means any sensible cyclist will adjust their riding accordingly (ie slow the fuck down).

I try and adjust my passage to allow for this, obviously if someone opts to bound cheetah-like across the road or dance the fandango mid-crossing, I can't account for everything. But it seems a reasonable adjustment that a lot of cyclists – and drivers – don't make. I'm also minded that shouldn't run someone down just because they're wrong.

[caerau]

... or that they made a mistake.  People make mistakes, it doesn't need punishment by DETH

[Kim]

I don't know about anyone else, but no matter how WRONG the pedestrian might be, I've no particular desire to injure them / fall off my bike / damage the car to prove some sort of point.

[ian]

Well, I think in many cases they don't intend to hit them, just 'show them.' It's the same with those close passes by cars. They, of course, don't want or intend to damage their precious automobiles. A cyclist whizzing by a pedestrian who they believe shouldn't be in front of them is the same behaviour. I'm sure they don't want to hit them, but there's a lesson they wish to impart. If there were a lesson to be learned in all of this, it's the usual don't be a dick.

[Ham]

I think there's an inverse square law going on here.

Let's take a towpath as a good example because they are mostly shared paths of limited width, so the options are, well, limited.


The progress/escalation works something like this:

Two people walking with a dog.

At 30 meters away, (~10s?) you ring your bell.

a) They hear you, look around and can shuffle both ways before deciding to clear a path on the water side. Success.

b) They don't hear you.

At 15 meters away (~5s?) you ring your bell again

a) They hear you, you are now at least 4 times more likely that they will each shuffle the other way, with the dog completing a cat's (??) cradle of lead across the path, but there is still a chance they may clear the way. By now, you will have started to slow down

b) They don't hear you

At 7 meters away (~3s) you ring your bell again.

a) They hear you. Really? These two? They wouldn't hear a volcano unless you shoved it up their backsides, you know that already. Even if they do by this stage the odds are up to 16:1 that confusion will rule their placement. You are almost certain to have to (hushed tones) stop. Smile, excuse me!! and be on your way

There is no plan b

[Nuncio]

May I provide a frinstance of something?

On Sunday I was riding along a country lane with a friend with a bell (on his bike) and two women were ahead, oblivious to our approach. From a good distance away my friend deployed the bell. The woman on the left turned round to see what had made the noise, moved further to the left and said something to her co-walker. It was presumably something like 'Bikes coming' although, judging from the reaction, it could have been 'BIKES! AAARGH! DEATH IS UPON US!' because she reacted by immediately jumping to her left. Then she turned round, saw us, and by the time we were by her we were all laughing at the ott reaction. 'No need to panic', said my friend, to which the panic-er [panicker?] replied: 'I wouldn't have panic-ed [panicked?] if you'd rung a bell'. D'oh!

As I see it, whatever noise you or your bell might make, it may be interpreted as a peremptory 'get out of my way!'. And if you don't make any noise, then sometimes you should have. So be prepared to slow down or stop.

[tonycollinet]

These are really good bells:

http://www.lionbellworks.co.uk/

[Kim]

As I see it, whatever noise you or your bell might make, it may be interpreted as a peremptory 'get out of my way!'. And if you don't make any noise, then sometimes you should have. So be prepared to slow down or stop.

I've covered this before: Many BRITONS by default interpret a bicycle bell as meaning the same thing that a car horn is de-facto used for: "Get out of my way, pleb.", rather than "Silent vehicle approaching, prepare to be overtaken".

The only thing that seems to improve matters is the presence (on a shared-use path or similar) of signs instructing cyclists to use their bells.  Then you're more likely to be perceived as a rule-abiding cyclist obeying the signs.

[Cudzoziemiec]

The cowbell for bars might avoid that by making a continuous noise thereby being more akin to mechanical noise than any sort of deliberate action. Dunno though, I reckon it's probably a bit too quiet to make much difference.

[Ham]

A Hope freewheel has practical application in that regard

[Kim]

The cowbell for bars might avoid that by making a continuous noise thereby being more akin to mechanical noise than any sort of deliberate action. Dunno though, I reckon it's probably a bit too quiet to make much difference.

Phone sodcasting probably has the desired effect.  Choice of music left as an exercise for the reader.  (Hip-hop and Christmas music are popular choices, but consider the merits of Kraftwerk or Wagner...)

[Cudzoziemiec]

But does a Hope freewheel scare away bears? As it's not made in Surreyn (have the bears reached Lancashire?), it might not have been a design point.

[Kim]

I think the rain keeps the BEARS out of Lancashire.