Bloody iPods

[bitingmidge]

Like a number of others on this board, I'm rather partial to taking a turn on my cycle most mornings.

I am fortunate to live in an area with many tens of kilometres of very pleasant bikeways, and similarly some fairly special walking paths so the bikepaths are relatively free of pedestrians. Nonetheless, they do exist.

Pedestrians think they own pathways, and I used to get abused reasonably regularly for "sneaking" up behind them, then I bought a loud horn, and got abused even more for scaring the crap out of them.

Eventually I did the terribly uncool thing, and got a bell. My pedestrians and I have survived very well for the last several years as I gaily tinkle my bell, barely disrupting their perambulation in a "cheerio" sort of way. Some of them even look forward to it.

Today, I nearly killed three of them.

I rang my bell, I RANG MY BELL, THEN I RANG MY BELL but they just kept going in their own little world.

Bloody iPods!~

What am I to do now?

P

[Bodgy]

What am I to do now?

Bullbars on the push bike

[womble]

I always find it ironic that many people who complain about the 'hectic, noisy' modern pace of life, go back to nature to 'escape' it and promptly whack on a walkman/discman/ipod with loud music blasting their eardrums.

nature not cool enough I guess

[DavidG]

Cattle prod mounted on front of bike.

[anthonyd]

I fell very sorry for the up and coming generation. With all these new personal entertainment devices (iPods - sony PSP - diskman - new cell phones with everything in them etc...) their social skills are not developing all that well. You see them on the public transport and walking the streets in their own world totally oblivious of everyone around them.

[Zed]

get a golf club and do a "happy gilmore" as you woosh past.

[Slavo]

how about a squirt to the back of the head with a water pistol

[Ratbag Oz]

I take it you are passing from behind them?
Simple solution, get a white T-shirt and print on the back clearly in black,
"If I surprised you, it is because you weren't paying attention!" or
"If you didn't hear me ring - your music is TOO LOUD!"
or similar........

Ratbag

[Grunt]

When you find a solution let me know. I nearly ran over someone with a walkman who decided to change lanes as I approached. I go pretty slow past peds when I'm on the bike path.

I prefer to ride on the dirt roads. Only have to deal with cars and you can hear 'em a mile off.

[DanP]

Anthony,

What's a cell phone?

Dan

[bitingmidge]

What's a cell phone?

It's what the watchouse boys let you use to make your one phone call.

P

[silentC]

I put a bell on my bike last year (they tried to sell me this big silver thing with an Aussie flag on it - I said putting a bell on my bike is enough of a leap, believe me. There's no way I'm putting 'Big Ben' on my handle bars. So they sold me an inconspicuous little black one). The reason was because shouting didn't appear to have the desired affect.

My problem down here is not the iPods because no-one can afford to buy one. It's the deaf old dears out for their constitutional who can't hear the bell. Trouble is, they're the ones most likely to keel over from a heart attack as I go whizzing by.

Oh, and the 3 year olds on their trikes who sudden'y dart across in front of you. And then there are the horses. Still, I can't say my daily rides aren't exciting.

I've often felt like writing a letter to the paper about it. One ding means "I'm coming up behind you, please do not be startled or make any sudden course changes". Two dings means "I'm really close to you now and you're still meandering about with no fixed purpose in mind". Thirty or so dings in rapid succession means "Get out of the ####ing way, you geriatric old phart". Do you think it would help? No, neither do I.

[Termite]

Took SWMBO down to the Big Smoke a few weeks ago to see Macquarie St specialist about her smashed finger, and I felt left out because we seemed to be the only ones without something jammed in our ears.

Of course we know why the blondes have one.

[anthonyd]

Anthony,

What's a cell phone?

Dan

Sorry - still stuck using phrases from south africa. I think you guys call it a mobile phone?? Cell phone is short for cellular phone so named because the phone network works in cells...

[Termite]

Sorry - still stuck using phrases from south africa. I think you guys call it a mobile phone?? Cell phone is short for cellular phone so named because the phone network works in cells...

Anthony, you were sucked in mate. Dan strikes again.