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Old 06-02-08, 10:58 AM
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Paul L.
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Arizona, USA
Posts: 2,601

Bikes: Mercier Corvus (commuter), Fila Taos (MTB), Trek 660(Got frame for free and put my LeMans Centurian components on it)

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To the Bell Nazi of Chandler Boulevard

Ordinarily, in the past I have been of the mindset of people just jump in your way when you ding or yell when you are passing, but lately I have been playing the good boy and calling out the side I will be passing on. So this morning I am taking the 2 mile cutoff along the canal path. There are usually less than 4 or 5 people on this stretch so I view it as an acceptable part of my commute. 3 out of the 4 people I called out to this morning heard me with the exception of a guy with a bike trailer who I did successfully pass but due to his reaction I think I may have made him stain his shorts. First I was riding my recumbent this morning for the first time in a year and seeing my feet as the first thing in his peripheral vision might have freaked him out a bit. Second I don't think he heard me for some reason. Anyway, after I passed he sprinted to catch up to me and told me a bell or horn would be a good addition to my setup in a rather frumpish way. I informed him that he had been the exception in not having heard me this morning and he got more snooty saying something about it not being his fault if I ended up in the canal sometime.
Personally, I have found the horn I was born with far superior to bells as I can indicate which direction I will be passing on. A bell merely suggests my presence and then I have to wait while you react to it and decide which of your other lefts you are going to pull over on. Anyway, I have never seen a bell used this side of the Mississippi. Perhaps I don't ride on MUPs enough but my voice has always been sufficient and it also has the added benefit of being able to slide a parting thank you to folks as I sidle past them. Anyway, I am probably being a snooty roadie here but I found myself wanting to tell the guy to get a set of training wheels as I left. If he hadn't of sprinted to catch me and then start off the way he did (A polite, " Oh you yelled? I must not have heard, sorry my mistake" would have been better in my mind). If I see him again and he brings it up I am going to get an Air Zounds and let him have it I think. But then again perhaps that is just a revenge fantasy. If there were more people using the MUP I wouldn't even consider it as an option. I guess I just don't belong there, still the guy's approach was really stupid. Funny how a simple thing can ruin the rest of an otherwise beautiful commute.
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