Call me a retro curmudgeon, but I have be honest and say that I hate bells and using one would make me feel like a total dork. Sorry. I know they have a long and honorable history but in today's frantic, wound-up world, they give me that irritating "excuse me, excuse me, but I have to get through" feeling. Like someone pushing past you to get to the baggage carousel, or shoving their kid in front of you at a museum exhibit.
I like to ride in silence.
The problem is that bike trails have become victims of their own success. Some popular routes here in Minneapolis are now so crowded and so full of flaky, oblivious people that I avoid them and take the streets.