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#31
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The 10 commandments
On May 24, 9:26 am, Duane wrote:
On 5/24/2013 12:21 PM, Dan O wrote: On May 24, 9:10 am, wrote: On 5/24/2013 11:59 AM, Dan O wrote: On May 24, 8:53 am, Dan wrote: On May 24, 8:48 am, Dan wrote: On May 24, 7:51 am, wrote: On 5/24/2013 10:35 AM, Dan O wrote: snip Lol, I know you don't like rules man but I don't think James is intending you as a potential user of his commandments here. What I don't like is being held to "expectations". snip Understand, I am aware of expectations and the importance of meeting and exceeding them for success in life. But *sometime* I gotta be me and get my kicks (know what I mean?), and for me that opportunity most usually happens to be going to and from work. I try not to infringe others peaceable completion of their lifeless transportation chore, but don't count me into that scene. Hmm. My commute is not a lifeless transportation chore. Don't assume that people less outre than you are not enjoying themselves. Then why the expectation to constrain my actions - to drag me down in situations where I am simply doing my thing and asking nothing from them in terms of accommodation - just not to have a cow because they disaprove of my playful nonconformity. (I was *mostly* talking about cagers, but it's even weirder when it comes from somebody else on a bike.) You're too sensitive dude. Not having a cow. Well not today. I guess it depends on what you mean by accommodation. I recognize a familiar pattern of misunderstanding going on here :-) I'm not saying that *you're* having a cow. It started out with the proposition that the bicyclist in traffic should "be predictable". Be predictable to whom? The cagers, of course. I'm talking about matching the cagers' expectations, and *them* having a cow when I don't. However, many people here *are* - and still others here have vehemently in the past - suggested that I should be predictable, which can only be taken to mean I should behave in a way that meets cager expectations. Fortunately, the people here (at least in the present discussion), acknowledge "it depends". Moreover, _I_ acknowledge the importance of consideration. I *consider* perceived and sensed expectations, weigh them into my decisions, consider the effects of deviating from them, and often override what would be my preference otherwise and instead follow the course of action that fulfills them - (often) - but they won't rule my life (and sometimes I am probably driven to choose the *opposite* course of action just because "I'm a loner, Dottie - a rebel.") Yes, I am too sensitive. Maybe there's a class that will harden me the **** up :-) Like I said, I doubt James had you in mind as a target audience when he posted this question. Yeah, I hope that I don't come off like... well... Trevor had it pretty good, though. I think someone just starting out (riding a bicycle on the roads with all the other modes of traffic - mainly the one other mode, of course) should: 1) Grok the whole situational awareness thing. 2) Know the laws. 3) Know that it's not even remotely as dangerous as most people seem to think. 4) Know that following the law will not make them safe. 5) Know how to tell when something's wrong with their bike. 6) Know that a helmet is what it is and nothing more. 7) Know that just about anything you haven't encountered before (and plenty of what you already have) is a potential learning experience. 8) Know that passive reflectors are very effective _when aimed at the light source_, i.e. car headlights. Get the best headlight you can afford. Looking like an accident scene with flashing lights will get attention but you just want to be acknowledged when it matters and not necessarily the roving center of attention. 9) Know how to fix a flat tire at the side of the road. 10) Know the routes you've programmed yourself to use getting places in your car? Those are probably the *worst* routes you can use on your bike. The bike opens up a world of new and better options. Explore them. |
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#32
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The 10 commandments
On May 24, 4:47 pm, Dan O wrote:
snip I think someone just starting out (riding a bicycle on the roads with all the other modes of traffic - mainly the one other mode, of course) should: 1) Grok the whole situational awareness thing. 1a) Know your escape route (also the first rule of wildland firefighting) 1b) Anything that could happen, might happen 1c) Use your ability to relate to others to be inside their head and ~predict their behavior 1d) Realize that some people are incomprehensible, and your expectations of them will be necessarily more fuzzy than people you can relate to, but learn as many of the unfathomable things they are apt to do anyway, keeping in mind that they'll still surprise you 1e) Realize that many people will expect you to do what they consider the worst possible thing, but then pretend to be aghast when you do 1f) Doors open 1g) All dogs think you look like an Antelope or something 1h) Truck drivers are generally more skilled as a group than drivers of private cars, but can also have a special animosity for bicyclists. 1i) The laws of physics are immutable 1j) Know thyself snip |
#33
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The 10 commandments
Dan O wrote:
On May 23, 7:21 pm, James wrote: What commandments/rules would you offer to a novice who's just bought a bike, to help them survive biking, particularly in the (sub)urban roads landscape? snip etc. I'm considering what might be a useful sheet of info for anyone who buys a bike (or helmet in this country). Suggestions welcome. I would emphasize situational awareness. I think more important than being predictable (whatever that is in any given circumstances) is being able to predict, and knowing the limitations of same. As for someone buying a helmet, I would advise them not to count on it to save them, then loop back to #1 above. Also, thou shalt take very good care of thine bike, and thine bike will take comensurate good care of thou. Yup, should have added situational awareness to my list. Note that your predictability, visibility and legality help OTHER road users achieve THEIR situational awareness, so there is a bit of duality going on there. |
#34
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The 10 commandments
On May 24, 5:44 pm, Ralph Barone wrote:
Dan O wrote: On May 23, 7:21 pm, James wrote: What commandments/rules would you offer to a novice who's just bought a bike, to help them survive biking, particularly in the (sub)urban roads landscape? snip etc. I'm considering what might be a useful sheet of info for anyone who buys a bike (or helmet in this country). Suggestions welcome. I would emphasize situational awareness. I think more important than being predictable (whatever that is in any given circumstances) is being able to predict, and knowing the limitations of same. As for someone buying a helmet, I would advise them not to count on it to save them, then loop back to #1 above. Also, thou shalt take very good care of thine bike, and thine bike will take comensurate good care of thou. Yup, should have added situational awareness to my list. Note that your predictability, visibility and legality help OTHER road users achieve THEIR situational awareness, so there is a bit of duality going on there. I did notice that as I was thinking about the importance of predicting what others may do; and I *do* always consider how what I'm about to do might affect them in light of what I perceive (or imagine) to be their expectations. But some people are incomprehensible and unfathomable. Perhaps I am one. It's just that sometimes I probably choose the course of action that I specifically calculate will deny their appeasement. That's a rebellion thing. I don't mean to be confrontational about it (unless they started it), but I probably do need to work on not rubbing their noses in their pathetic circumstances - the difficulties and constraints of driving a car in traffic. That's a superiority thing - turning the assumed sense of car superiority on its head for them. |
#35
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The 10 commandments
On May 25, 12:47*am, Dan O wrote:
On May 24, 9:26 am, Duane wrote: On 5/24/2013 12:21 PM, Dan O wrote: On May 24, 9:10 am, *wrote: On 5/24/2013 11:59 AM, Dan O wrote: On May 24, 8:53 am, Dan * wrote: On May 24, 8:48 am, Dan * wrote: On May 24, 7:51 am, * wrote: On 5/24/2013 10:35 AM, Dan O wrote: snip Lol, I know you don't like rules man but I don't think James is intending you as a potential user of his commandments here. What I don't like is being held to "expectations". snip Understand, I am aware of expectations and the importance of meeting and exceeding them for success in life. *But *sometime* I gotta be me and get my kicks (know what I mean?), and for me that opportunity most usually happens to be going to and from work. *I try not to infringe others peaceable completion of their lifeless transportation chore, but don't count me into that scene. Hmm. *My commute is not a lifeless transportation chore. *Don't assume that people less outre than you are not enjoying themselves. Then why the expectation to constrain my actions - to drag me down in situations where I am simply doing my thing and asking nothing from them in terms of accommodation - just not to have a cow because they disaprove of my playful nonconformity. *(I was *mostly* talking about cagers, but it's even weirder when it comes from somebody else on a bike.) You're too sensitive dude. *Not having a cow. *Well not today. I guess it depends on what you mean by accommodation. I recognize a familiar pattern of misunderstanding going on here :-) I'm not saying that *you're* having a cow. It started out with the proposition that the bicyclist in traffic should "be predictable". *Be predictable to whom? *The cagers, of course. *I'm talking about matching the cagers' expectations, and *them* having a cow when I don't. However, many people here *are* - and still others here have vehemently in the past - suggested that I should be predictable, which can only be taken to mean I should behave in a way that meets cager expectations. *Fortunately, the people here (at least in the present discussion), acknowledge "it depends". Moreover, _I_ acknowledge the importance of consideration. *I *consider* perceived and sensed expectations, weigh them into my decisions, consider the effects of deviating from them, and often override what would be my preference otherwise and instead follow the course of action that fulfills them - (often) - but they won't rule my life (and sometimes I am probably driven to choose the *opposite* course of action just because "I'm a loner, Dottie - a rebel.") Yes, I am too sensitive. *Maybe there's a class that will harden me the **** up :-) Like I said, I doubt James had you in mind as a target audience when he posted this question. Yeah, I hope that I don't come off like... well... Trevor had it pretty good, though. *I think someone just starting out (riding a bicycle on the roads with all the other modes of traffic - mainly the one other mode, of course) should: 1) *Grok the whole situational awareness thing. 2) *Know the laws. 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. There are a few others but this alone should remind you that unless there has been a contractual arrangement for you to behave in a certain way, usually for something called employment of which you may receive tokens in exchange for your labour value, then you have no obligation to follow any regulations dreamed-up by the gang-masters, even when those non-applicable regulations are colloquially called "laws" by the policy officers. If arrested, the correct answer is "I do not under-stand". Without those bits of paper with your mark on it which show your agreement, they can not lawfully arrest and detain you, unless you agree with their POV or you under-stand. 3) *Know that it's not even remotely as dangerous as most people seem to think. 4) *Know that following the law will not make them safe. For good reason or reasonable excuse (if you want to play their game), see law 1 5) *Know how to tell when something's wrong with their bike. 6) *Know that a helmet is what it is and nothing more. Something to keep head warm in cold weather, to keep head dry in wet weather, protective gear for combat or in reality a headress to symbolise such protective gear. In the absence of inclement weather, it is the latter which is subconsciously perceived by many A fractured skull is not pleasant but it is more likely that one will be taken down by a blow to the neck than to the head. The "bicycle helmet" is thus next to worthless not only for regular cycling but also for combat, of which it's image does provoke due to confrontational suggestion. 7) *Know that just about anything you haven't encountered before (and plenty of what you already have) is a potential learning experience. 8) *Know that passive reflectors are very effective _when aimed at the light source_, i.e. car headlights. *Get the best headlight you can afford. *Looking like an accident scene with flashing lights will get attention but you just want to be acknowledged when it matters and not necessarily the roving center of attention. 9) *Know how to fix a flat tire at the side of the road. Practice is required and this should not be performed by an accompanying rider, to save time, under normal conditions. 10) *Know the routes you've programmed yourself to use getting places in your car? *Those are probably the *worst* routes you can use on your bike. *The bike opens up a world of new and better options. Explore them. |
#36
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The 10 commandments
On May 24, 7:59 pm, thirty-six wrote:
On May 25, 12:47 am, Dan O wrote: snip course of action just because "I'm a loner, Dottie - a rebel.") Yes, I am too sensitive. Maybe there's a class that will harden me the **** up :-) Like I said, I doubt James had you in mind as a target audience when he posted this question. Yeah, I hope that I don't come off like... well... Trevor had it pretty good, though. I think someone just starting out (riding a bicycle on the roads with all the other modes of traffic - mainly the one other mode, of course) should: 1) Grok the whole situational awareness thing. 2) Know the laws. 1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. There are a few others but this alone should remind you that unless there has been a contractual arrangement for you to behave in a certain way, usually for something called employment of which you may receive tokens in exchange for your labour value, then you have no obligation to follow any regulations dreamed-up by the gang-masters, even when those non-applicable regulations are colloquially called "laws" by the policy officers. If arrested, the correct answer is "I do not under-stand". Without those bits of paper with your mark on it which show your agreement, they can not lawfully arrest and detain you, unless you agree with their POV or you under-stand. Absolutely. Damn straight. I just say *know* the laws, because from them you can derive the reasonable expectations vis a vis the spirit and intent. With that in mind, tear it up. snip |
#37
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The 10 commandments
James wrote:
Suggestions welcome. Never, ever ride in the door zone. I've never been hit by an opening door, because I never ride in the door zone. -- K. Lang may your lum reek. |
#38
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The 10 commandments
On May 26, 8:55 pm, (Király) wrote:
James wrote: Suggestions welcome. Never, ever ride in the door zone. I've never been hit by an opening door, because I never ride in the door zone. Good advice (all good advice), but I hesitate to deal in absolutes, and have taken a ~calculated risk now and then (for some tradeoff reason or other), and my luck has held (in this regard). |
#39
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The 10 commandments
On May 26, 9:55 pm, Dan O wrote:
On May 26, 8:55 pm, (Király) wrote: James wrote: Suggestions welcome. Never, ever ride in the door zone. I've never been hit by an opening door, because I never ride in the door zone. Good advice (all good advice), but I hesitate to deal in absolutes, .... especially absolute prohibitions - and have taken a ~calculated risk now and then (for some tradeoff reason or other), and my luck has held (in this regard). |
#40
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The 10 commandments
On Monday, May 27, 2013 11:25:53 PM UTC+1, Phil W Lee wrote:
(Király) considered Mon, 27 May 2013 03:55:51 +0000 (UTC) the perfect time to write: James wrote: Suggestions welcome. Never, ever ride in the door zone. I've never been hit by an opening door, because I never ride in the door zone. And the penalty for any official who creates doorzone bikes lanes should be to be dragged along the entire length of them by the ankles, naked. Then given a nice stimulating antiseptic bath in iodine - after all, we wouldn't want to be uncivilized about it. Of course, some people exhibit a reaction to iodine so violent that it can be life-threatening. Andre Jute |
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