I think nothing beats riding a unicycle if it comes to silent earth-bound
locomotion for humans at comparable speed. Out in the countryside, it
happens to me at times that pedestrians* don’t see or hear me approaching
and there is no room to pass by. I sometimes say “pardon” or “hello” or
“ring ring” and all of those work equally OK. What do you say or do?
Klaas Bil
*all others approach me
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked
automagically from a database:” “Stinger, terrorist, tank”
Klaas Bil wrote: > Out in the countryside, it happens to me at times that pedestrians* > don’t see or hear me approaching and there is no room to pass by. I > sometimes say “pardon” or “hello” or “ring ring” and all of those work > equally OK. What do you say or do?
“Ring ring” works well for me.
A few years ago I experimented with mounting a bell on the front grab rail
of my 20", but I broke so many bells I gave up. I don’t drop the unicycle
so often now, but I’ve never bothered to try again.
> I think nothing beats riding a unicycle if it comes to silent > earth-bound locomotion for humans at comparable speed. Out in the > countryside, it happens to me at times that pedestrians* don’t see or > hear me approaching and there is no room to pass by. I sometimes say > “pardon” or “hello” or “ring ring” and all of those work equally OK. > What do you say or do? > > Klaas Bil
> I think nothing beats riding a unicycle if it comes to silent > earth-bound locomotion for humans at comparable speed. Out in the > countryside, it happens to me at times that pedestrians* don’t see or > hear me approaching and there is no room to pass by. I sometimes say > “pardon” or “hello” or “ring ring” and all of those work equally OK. > What do you say or do?
“Beep beep” or “on your left” to let them know which side I intend
to pass on.
Same here. Mine is usually, “Coming up on your right/left.” More times
than not, the ped knows his/her right from left and throws their caution
in the right direction.
Also, I just realized and was commenting to my sons last weekend after
coming in from a ride, “You know what’s different about unicycling over
bicycling? It’s quiet!” We don’t have the click-click-click of the bicycle
in coast and there’s not the powerful tire or wind noise of a bicycle.
After this great revelation, we were even more convinced that unicycling
was a pretty nice way to get around.
> > I think nothing beats riding a unicycle if it comes to silent > > earth-bound locomotion for humans at comparable speed. Out in the > > countryside, it happens to me at times that pedestrians* don’t see or > > hear me approaching and there is no room to pass by. I sometimes say > > “pardon” or “hello” or “ring ring” and all of those work equally OK. > > What do you say or do? > > “Beep beep” or “on your left” to let them know which side I intend to > pass on. > > -Rick
Same here. Mine is usually, “Coming up on your right/left.” More times
than not, the ped knows his/her right from left and throws their caution
in the right direction.
Also, I just realized and was commenting to my sons last weekend after
coming in from a ride, “You know what’s different about unicycling over
bicycling? It’s quiet!” We don’t have the click-click-click of the bicycle
in coast and there’s not the powerful tire or wind noise of a bicycle.
After this great revelation, we were even more convinced that unicycling
was a pretty nice way to get around.
> > I think nothing beats riding a unicycle if it comes to silent > > earth-bound locomotion for humans at comparable speed. Out in the > > countryside, it happens to me at times that pedestrians* don’t see or > > hear me approaching and there is no room to pass by. I sometimes say > > “pardon” or “hello” or “ring ring” and all of those work equally OK. > > What do you say or do? > > “Beep beep” or “on your left” to let them know which side I intend to > pass on. > > -Rick
> I think nothing beats riding a unicycle if it comes to silent > earth-bound locomotion for humans at comparable speed. Out in the > countryside, it happens to me at times that pedestrians* don’t see or > hear me approaching and there is no room to pass by. I sometimes say > “pardon” or “hello” or “ring ring” and all of those work equally OK. > What do you say or do? > > Klaas Bil > > *all others approach me > – > "To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been > picked automagically from a database:" “Stinger, terrorist, tank”
I say “on the left”(right), “look out” ,etc. I used to have a bell under
the seat. Some people are always shocked when they see me even if they
hear me 1st. Riding a Coker at speed makes some tire noise. I remember the
first time I really noticed the hum of the Coker tire…I had had it
about 3 days & was starting to get brave with my speed. It took me a while
to realize it was my tire making that noise…I thought it was a bike
about to pass me… -Mark
If I need passing room, I whistle a tune. It gives them time to realize
I’m there and wake up. Things like beep-beep or “on-yer right” tend to
alarm people and send them running for safety. Since I’m always on the
sidewalk, I always give pedestrians the right of way, and it’s fun to
silently idle behind them while I wait for them to move, snail-like, out
of the path.
Here in NYC, we usually just pass by with no warning, even if it’s within
inches, and, since most pedestrians are so numb with over-stimulation,
they don’t flinch or notice. Warnings usually make the situation worse.
Once I passed a guy, at least a foot away. He saw me coming. When I was
ten feet past him, I happened to look back to see him intentionally drop
his watch on the ground. Then he yelled after me, claiming I had made him
drop his watch and what was I going do to make it up to him?
I was so amazed I just laughed and kept going. Another example of
unicycles drawing attention. Anybody ever try to scam you while your were
riding ?
Joe
> Out in the > > countryside, it happens to me at times that pedestrians* don’t see or > > hear me approaching and there is no room to pass by. I sometimes say > > “pardon” or “hello” or “ring ring” and all of those work equally OK. > > What do you say or do?
<!doctype html public “-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en”> <html> I
know what spam is (never tried eating it while riding) and I know who Sam
is. Buy what is a scam while you’re riding? <br> <blockquote
TYPE=CITE>Another example of unicycles drawing attention. Anybody
ever try to scam you while your were riding ?
<p>Joe</blockquote> </html
>Once I passed a guy, at least a foot away. He saw me coming. When I was >ten feet past him, I happened to look back to see him intentionally drop >his watch on the ground. Then he yelled after me, claiming I had made him >drop his watch and what was I going do to make it up to him? > >I was so amazed I just laughed and kept going. Another example of >unicycles drawing attention. Anybody ever try to scam you while your were >riding ?
Well, was it a scam? I think this guy was telling the truth. Or do you
believe he would have intentionally dropped his watch if you had NOT been
there?
Klaas Bil
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been
picked automagically from a database:” “Osama bin Laden, Colin Powell,
Oval Office”
There are several factors influencing how I alert pedestrians.
If, for example, I am on the Coker zooming down the ramp of the
Brooklyn Bridge and someone is walking in the cyclist lane, I usually
shout “Move!” Also effective is “Coming thru!” On occasion I will shout
“No Brakes!” That one is for when I am feeling goofy.
If I am riding on the sidewalk and get myself in a pickle, I usually
hum or sing or whistle to alert those nearby. Then they usually move
enough to let me pass. But for the most part, I can go bw a hydrant
and the curb or somesuch maneuver, so I try to avoid alerting
passers-by at all since, as Joe points out, it usually causes more
problems than it avoids. I just find a different way to get by. If
these don’t work, I idle.
I have been tempted to get a horn or bell attachment.
Getting nine women pregnant doesn’t get you a baby in a month. You just
get 81 babies. -Dilbert.com Remove “REMOVETHIS” in e-mail address to reply
> Once I passed a guy, at least a foot away. He saw me coming. When I was
ten > feet past him, I happened to look back to see him intentionally drop his > watch on the ground. Then he yelled after me, claiming I had made him
drop > his watch and what was I going do to make it up to him?
I’m too polite. I slow down real good and say, “Excuse me, sir (ma’am),
I’m coming by on your left.” I try to say this at least six feet away.
Then I idle a minute while they try to figure out which side to move to.
They walk down the middle of the path for a while, with me right behind
them, and then vaguely remember me saying “left” so they move to the left.
I pass on the right, and when they see what I’m driving, they give a
little scream and jump off the path entirely. It’s especially bad when my
unicycle is taller than they are.
Or, in the case of a biker, “Bet I can beat you!” This works especially
well going up a hill and you actually DO beat them up!
Cheers, Graham W. Boyes - Vancouver, BC, Canada
Getting nine women pregnant doesn’t get you a baby in a month. You just
get 81 babies. -Dilbert.com Remove “REMOVETHIS” in e-mail address to reply
“Klaas Bil” <klaasbil_remove_the_spamkiller_@xs4all.nl> wrote in message news:3b1d53d4.3373159@newszilla.xs4all.nl… > I think nothing beats riding a unicycle if it comes to silent > earth-bound locomotion for humans at comparable speed. Out in the > countryside, it happens to me at times that pedestrians* don’t see or > hear me approaching and there is no room to pass by. I sometimes say > “pardon” or “hello” or “ring ring” and all of those work equally OK. > What do you say or do? > > Klaas Bil > > *all others approach me > – > "To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has > been picked
automagically from a database:" > “Stinger, terrorist, tank”
I had a lot of fun doing some cutting and pasting. Imagine all of us would
be silently riding together and there’s this pedestrian. A silent
countdown and then:
Klaas Bil: “pardon” or “hello” or “ring ring” Danny Colyer: “Ring ring”
Max Dingeman: “Ding” John Foss: “Bee Beep” Rick Bissell: “Beep beep” or
“on your left” Bruce Edwards: “Coming up on your right/left.” Mark
Stephens: “on the left”(right), “look out” ,etc. Joe in NYC: whistles a
tune. David Stone: “Move!” “Coming thru!” “No Brakes!” or hums or sings or
whistles. Graham W. Boyes: “Excuse me, sir (ma’am), I’m coming by on your
left.” Or, in the case of a biker, “Bet I can beat you!”
Thanks for the responses! Klaas Bil
On Tue, 05 Jun 2001 21:59:17 GMT,
klaasbil_remove_the_spamkiller_@xs4all.nl (Klaas Bil) wrote:
>I think nothing beats riding a unicycle if it comes to silent earth-bound >locomotion for humans at comparable speed. Out in the countryside, it >happens to me at times that pedestrians* don’t see or hear me approaching >and there is no room to pass by. I sometimes say “pardon” or “hello” or >“ring ring” and all of those work equally OK. What do you say or do? > >Klaas Bil > >*all others approach me >– >"To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked >automagically from a database:" “Stinger, terrorist, tank”
–
“To trigger/fool/saturate/overload Echelon, the following has been picked
automagically from a database:” “crack, XTC, PGP 7.0”
Klaas Bil wrote: > John Foss: “Bee Beep” Rick Bissell: “Beep beep”
Tee hee, makes me think of Leo White bombing down a steep trail at BMW2.
Mrs DM was stood at the bottom and Leo came down saying “beep beep beep”,
hoping she’d move. She didn’t realise what was going on, though, and Leo
had to bail out to avoid ploughing into her. In the process, he managed
to run himself over and spent the rest of the afternoon with a tyre mark
down his back.
With seven years of being an important local public hazard, sidewalk
department, I now use a loud and comically exagerated “AAAAAAA-Chooo!”
Sometimes merely emitting a pure tenor of rising panic and impending doom
is effective.
I really liked the"no brakes" and will try it tomorrow!
I also like the quietness of my uni, the stealthiest of the human powered
wheeled machines. And the most fun when gravity isn’t a factor (then I go
for speed, lots and lots of speed)
when sidewalk over crowding forces me to cease forward motion and I have
to grab a road sign or post or (gasp) step down off my uni throne, I have
been heard to make self-accusatory chicken noises. Of course, I could
learn to idle, but that would be hard, and my slacker tendencies have thus
far prevented this perhaps desireable outcome. (please UniGods, grant me
the power of not moving forward!)
> when sidewalk over crowding forces me to cease forward motion and I have > to grab a road sign or post or (gasp) step down off my uni throne, I > have been heard to make self-accusatory chicken noises. Of course, I > could learn to idle, but that would be hard, and my slacker tendencies > have thus far prevented this perhaps desireable outcome. (please > UniGods, grant me the power of not moving forward!)
Sorry Mr. Uplickazard (great name!), but the UniGods don’t grant new
skills to people who don’t practice. Some people are blessed with favor
from these gods though. Where the average person needs many hours to learn
a skill, some few people seem to learn it almost instantly.
These people are cheating.
But they never give up their secret, how they got their “in” with the
UniGods. They just make lame excuses like “I tried it a few times and it
worked!” Uh huh, sure.
So you will just have to go out and learn those skills the hard way.
Until you’re able to idle, I highly don’t recommend you ride near
pedestrians. As you have probably experienced, they can never be counted
on to do such mundane things as walk in straight, predictable lines.
Especially when you “achoo!”
?
?