Mood Change
Posted: Wed 18 April, 2007 Filed under: Charm School, MOTB, Sweary 2 Comments »While MOTB may now be officially over, I notice that still there is nothing that changes my mood from OK (if “Oh God it’s early”) to Growl quicker than some stupid little smeghead cunt cycling up behind me on the path and ringing their bell in order to make me get out of the way.
In fact, it’s like flipping a switch. One little *ting* from that bell and Bastard returns, slowing down, making sure that the shit-for-brains arsewipe fucker behind me can’t get past.
In the end I didn’t quite slow down enough for them to fall off their bike, but they had to go off the path and onto the road in order to get past. And didn’t quite dare yell anything at me, as they’d been in the wrong anyway. (not that that appears to matter to Cambridge cyclists most of the time)
Really quite satisfying.
You don’t say whether the cyclist was on the (pedestrian only) pavement at the time, in which case he would of course be in the wrong, but I feel I’ve got to stick up for the ‘ting’.
I commute in on one of the National Sustrans Cycle Routes, which is also used by a lot of pedestrians, dog walkers etc. I sometimes ring my bell (just once and quietly) when coming up behind someone, if I think they haven’t heard my approach. It’s absolutely *not* meant to mean “get out of my way” – I just want to let them know that I’m there so that they don’t jump out of their skins when I pass them, or suddenly step into my path at the last minute, even though there’s plenty of width for a cyclist and pedestrian to pass (this happens often). I’m quite happy to slow down and wait until there’s room to pass safely, even though it is a legitimate cycle route as well as pedestrian path. Other cyclists do it to me sometimes if I’m pedalling along slowly and they’re coming up behind me fast, and then it’s a safety thing so that you don’t unwittingly wander across the path straight into them. You never, of course, ring your bell when you are approaching someone from the front, because it’s unnecessary.
You’d be amazed how many people, particularly older people, thank me for letting them know that I’m there. I always say “thank you” or “morning/afternoon” in a pleasant way as I pass, even if they didn’t actually move out of the way. The problem, of course, is that some people (like you, obviously 😉 ) think that *ting* means “get out of my way”, rather than a polite announcement of presence.
BSAG – if the pavement were shared, I’d have less issue with it as (in theory at least) I’d have been walking in the wrong area of t’path. But this was ped-only pavement.