PhilBrew
Landlord.
Hi All
Don't really want to get involved in the debate ... but I will pass on a tip I have, for an easier life as a cyclist who frequently rides on paths shared with pedestrians ...
This is something I've gleaned a while ago from a leaflet produced by the canal and river trust (a predecessor to the information and videos now provided there (link)) around cycling on canal towpaths, where the advice for cyclists kept using the phrase "Give a 'ding ding'", rather than any other phrase for "sounding your bell" ... so I did a little "experimenting" and I've found (admittedly all personally and so anecdotally) that if, when riding up behind someone (or even in front of them and you want to make sure they're aware that you're approaching), you ring your bell once (short or long), then the response you get from the pedestrian is more likely to mimic the response you would get had you shouted "Oi you, get out of my f**king way!!" ... whereas, if you give two short rings on your bell, 'ding ding', then they're much more likely to respond with a positive attitude ... after giving a 'ding ding', I've even had pedestrians turning around and thanking me for letting them know I was approaching and apologising for taking up space on the path
There's probably whole areas of psychological research as to why this may help ... but if it helps us all get along a little more easily, it's not that hard to do
Cheers, PhilB
Don't really want to get involved in the debate ... but I will pass on a tip I have, for an easier life as a cyclist who frequently rides on paths shared with pedestrians ...
This is something I've gleaned a while ago from a leaflet produced by the canal and river trust (a predecessor to the information and videos now provided there (link)) around cycling on canal towpaths, where the advice for cyclists kept using the phrase "Give a 'ding ding'", rather than any other phrase for "sounding your bell" ... so I did a little "experimenting" and I've found (admittedly all personally and so anecdotally) that if, when riding up behind someone (or even in front of them and you want to make sure they're aware that you're approaching), you ring your bell once (short or long), then the response you get from the pedestrian is more likely to mimic the response you would get had you shouted "Oi you, get out of my f**king way!!" ... whereas, if you give two short rings on your bell, 'ding ding', then they're much more likely to respond with a positive attitude ... after giving a 'ding ding', I've even had pedestrians turning around and thanking me for letting them know I was approaching and apologising for taking up space on the path
There's probably whole areas of psychological research as to why this may help ... but if it helps us all get along a little more easily, it's not that hard to do
Cheers, PhilB