I agree wholeheartedly! My genuine feelings are much more effective than some criticism! Dave
_____ From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of [email protected] Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 9:40 AM Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Bikies] I met THAT guy I think involuntary screaming in shock and fear is usually appropriate. I do it all the time - like when my cat leaps across the room to attack my shoelaces or when a motorist at Segoe and Tokay decided that the perfect time to to enter the intersection would be when I was almost directly in front of her car (it's a four way stop, I was at the intersection before her, had yielded the right-of-way to vehicles that had been there before me, she was at a full stop and had appeared to be yielding the right-of-way to me, yadayadayada). But involuntary shouts of fear and shock are usually only one or two syllables, maybe three, like "Hey!" "What the?" "Aaaagh!" "F--kin' A!" If that doesn't make the reckless driver/cyclist/cat pause to reconsider their behavior, shouting a clarification probably won't help. If they do stop to ask, it might be more effective to calmly say, "You really scared me" and if that is accepted without threats, follow it with "Could you ride a little more slowly on the sidewalk?" Maybe the "I've been hit by two cars and a bus" would be a good time to say, "That sucks. You know, I was hit by a car once when I was on a sidewalk. I was worried about riding again so I took this cycling safety course given by the League of American Bicyclists and it really taught me how to avoid crashes when motorists are being idiots." (I realize that crashes are not always caused by motorists, but this is an attempt to sympathize with the cyclist, who clearly thinks that the motorists were at fault in his crashes.) Having said all that, I can't guarantee that I wouldn't have sworn a blue streak at this guy. Kathryn Kingsbury www.kathrynkingsbury.com On LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kathrynkingsbury --- On Wed, 12/2/09, Peter Hart-Brinson <[email protected]> wrote: From: Peter Hart-Brinson <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [Bikies] I met THAT guy To: "Patrick Lenon" <[email protected]> Cc: [email protected] Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2009, 9:21 AM Honestly, I think it's best just to not say anything. If I had a nickel for every time someone said "Hey, I'm a cyclist, and what you are doing is wrong," I'd have... well, I'd have about 25 cents. But all manner of comments come from people who instantly judge you because of something real or fictitious. I've had bikers on the bike path yell at me for not having a light, even when I've had it and it has been on or when it had run out of batteries or whatever. I've had drivers yell at me for being in a left-hand turn lane waiting to turn left. I've had people yell at me to get on the sidewalk. It's ridiculous. Now, you may have been correct, but that biker may have been justifiably defensive--who knows how many times he has been yelled at for being on the road? Bottom line: I don't think the solution is to shout annoyed-sounding comments at each other. Safe cycling classes would be the way to go. Don't know how we can go about making those classes more common and widespread, but I think that would be the appropriate venue for teaching appropriate cycling behavior. Peter On Dec 2, 2009, at 8:52 AM, Patrick Lenon wrote: You know how when people complain about obnoxious bikers, and (most of) you think, "I never do that, who are they talking about?" Well, I met him this morning. Out walking my dog before work on my very wide street, and some guy comes down the sidewalk on his bike at 15-20 mph. Street is completely empty. I pull off to the side and give him the universal "give me a break" pleading gesture and say, "Can't you ride in the street?" and turn to go on my way. Screech of bike tires. I turn and he's pulling out his earplugs. I notice that he is wearing a wool cap in lieu of a helmet. "I been hit by two cars and a bus!" Gist of the ensuing conversation was that, 1) I do not value his expertise on the topic of safe bicycling, and 2) If he'd take his ear plugs out maybe he could hear the bus before it hits him, and 3) He should keep his bike off the frickin' sidewalk. He seemed unpersuaded. So, did I overreact, or should I invest in spike strips for the next time he comes barreling down my sidewalk? ------------ Patrick Lenon _____ Get gifts for them and cashback for you. Try Bing now. <http://www.bing.com/shopping/search?q=xbox+games&scope=cashback&form=MSHYCB &publ=WLHMTAG&crea=TEXT_MSHYCB_Shopping_Giftsforthem_cashback_1x1> _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
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