My bell did something for me entirely unexpected.
 

It made squirrels get out of my way.

How about that?

Nice! I have found that geese respond well to the bell, too.

Even dogs and small children seem to understand a bell, unlike "On your left".

Aim for the geese with your bike.

Good for the squirrel! Now if only by bell worked on the NUTS who walk into the road without looking.... that would be something. :commute:

My bell has made more little children smile and wave than it has made things get out of my way. Totally worth it!

Worked for me on a bunch of wild turkeys Saturday. =D

I was commuting while a woman's triathalon bike leg went the other way one morning.
It wasn't a cowbell, but almost every woman smiled at my manical bell rigning. A few even stood up to crank it a bit harder. (bell lap conditioning?)

At one point on my ride yesterday, I saw a kitten up ahead obliviously sauntering up the road. With no bell on my weight-weenie roadie, I used the only source of sound available to me, and yelled "beep!" It bounded into the woods with plenty of time to spare.

Yeah, and my daughter swears that her cat obeyed a "sit" command yesterday.

I say, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

ha ha. nobody knows the meaning of "on your left". the usual response is to go to the left side if it's one person. or if it's 2 or more, this happened on friday when another commuter was following me, they split to both sides. i just said "or...on your right too. that's...fine" and sped past.

:saweeet: :D

Well, it did stop in its tracks, look directly at me, and then run as fast as it could for the nearest cover. But I'm sure you're right, it's all just coincidence. I apologize for my arrogance.

Just don't sneeze near them. Apparently that is squirrel talk for "RUN AT MY WHEELS, SCARE THE CRAP OUT OF ME, THEN RUN BACK JUST BEFORE GETTING HIT!"

This squirrel is obviously in training with those elite rabbit forces the SBS (Suicide Bunny Squad):twitchy:

+1 Geese are a bunch of Jerks.

Since I took my bell off, I've had good results with making a loud "kissy" sound at squirrels. They tend to run away from the path when I do that.

Dunno why it works, unless they're all females, because it it makes human girls run away, too.

I like bells! I use mine way more for that purpose and if I want to yell something nice to a fellow biker then to actually go around people. Today I rang my bell at a really adorable elderly woman who was walking her bike up a hill and told her I liked her vintage bike :)

Bells don't seem to work for the deer, squirrels or occasional cat that wanders on to the MUP....

So, I bark. Loudly. Like a big, mean dog. It's goofy, but they move right away.