Riding Stick

[Lex Smith]

Does anyone else use any form of riding stick?  I've been trialing using one and have to say it has it's uses.  Mine is made from Rattan so very light but strong and flexible.  I've mounted a very large spike in the bottom end which stops it slipping on concrete.  It's great when coming to a complete stop since I can use it to maintain balance and not have to step off the wheel.  I actually put very little weight on it.  I have to confess it's also very good for waking up Uber drivers as they roll across pedestrian crossings - nothing beats seeing the surprised whites of their eyes when I rap it across the roof of their Prius.  I'm reasonably adept at using the quarter staff or bo staff as a self defence  weapon (and Taiiji spear) so obviously has that application should the need arise.

Another application is letting it drag on the ground when I'm coming up behind someone as an audio cue - makes quite the grinding noise (I've retired the cymbals on the gloves since they didn't quite work out).

 

[Rawnei]

By doing this I think you might be developing some bad habits not to mention having to carry that thing around.

For instance when stopping just taking one foot of the wheel is not a big operation and something you should get used to, using a bike bell on your finger instead of a stick to get attention would be a more recognizable approach.

Hitting cars with it is a big no-no and I bet some people might get scared when they see someone riding around with a long stick, also consider that unforeseen accidents can happen if you fall or in some way lose control over your posture.

[Eucner]

You could use that stick to pick up litter from ground. In other uses people could find you being scary.

[Bobby]

You should have posted this one month from today!

[alcatraz]

Haha. That smile looks a bit fabricated. "Come closer.. please."

Maybe if the stick was a bit more harmless, like a thin pvc pipe, it would be a bit easier to accept. But it'd lose its ability to support you. 

[.....]

I AM the riding stick..

[TantasStarke]

Is the cymbals thing real? I imagine someone with the giant ones you see in an orchestra just banging them together in a bike lane and it sounds hilarious to me. A stick with a sharp point might not be the best idea, and hitting cars can lead to some bad road rage so be careful. When it comes to a 50lbs EUC and a 3000lbs car, the car will win

[Lex Smith]

10 hours ago, Rawnei said:

By doing this I think you might be developing some bad habits not to mention having to carry that thing around.

For instance when stopping just taking one foot of the wheel is not a big operation and something you should get used to, using a bike bell on your finger instead of a stick to get attention would be a more recognizable approach.

Hitting cars with it is a big no-no and I bet some people might get scared when they see someone riding around with a long stick, also consider that unforeseen accidents can happen if you fall or in some way lose control over your posture.

I feel comfortable enough stepping on and off the wheel but not having to is more convenient IMHO.

Applying the pointy end of the stick to concrete is surprisingly noisy and elicits the desired result :-)

I 'm quite comfortable with the selfish idiots I encounter feeling a little nervous around me otherwise they extend no courtesy what so ever.  I tried riding 100% defensively and it was a nightmare.   Now I am the nightmare!  (Joking).

Hitting cars isn't a regular thing but a non- lethal reminder that when someone is 1/2 across a pedestrian crossing they have the right of way.  There is a very specific demographic that does this.

[Lex Smith]

10 hours ago, Bobby said:

You should have posted this one month from today!

I'll bite . . . Why?

[Paradox]

April Fool's day?

[Bobby]

10 minutes ago, Paradox said:

April Fool's day?

[Lex Smith]

8 hours ago, TantasStarke said:

Is the cymbals thing real? I imagine someone with the giant ones you see in an orchestra just banging them together in a bike lane and it sounds hilarious to me. A stick with a sharp point might not be the best idea, and hitting cars can lead to some bad road rage so be careful. When it comes to a 50lbs EUC and a 3000lbs car, the car will win

I have some tiny cymbals (called Kartals) that I fixed to my gloves.  They were OK but kept falling off and made grabbing things awkward. 

I generally keep off the roads .  It's frigging red light runners and pedestrian crossing crashers that potentially get the stick - I don't plan on making it a regular thing.

[Tawpie]

@Lex The one downside I can see (besides maybe stabbing yourself in a crash) is that when you make riding videos and are carrying a selfie stick, you have to remember not to drag your GoPro on the ground to warn the feet people. 

[alcatraz]

10 hours ago, TantasStarke said:

Is the cymbals thing real? I imagine someone with the giant ones you see in an orchestra just banging them together in a bike lane and it sounds hilarious to me. A stick with a sharp point might not be the best idea, and hitting cars can lead to some bad road rage so be careful. When it comes to a 50lbs EUC and a 3000lbs car, the car will win

Cymbals are going to act as sails too. A guy with a cymbal stuck to each hand trying to work through a set of intersections with surprise wind gusts is going to look like a one man marching band, waving, dancing, screaming. 

[Lex Smith]

52 minutes ago, alcatraz said:

Cymbals are going to act as sails too. A guy with a cymbal stuck to each hand trying to work through a set of intersections with surprise wind gusts is going to look like a one man marching band, waving, dancing, screaming. 

They're literally about 50mm (2 inches) in diameter 

[TantasStarke]

2 minutes ago, Lex Smith said:

They're literally about 50mm (2 inches) in diameter 

you gotta get the ones that are like 2 feet long that shit would be hilarious

[alcatraz]

16 minutes ago, TantasStarke said:

you gotta get the ones that are like 2 feet long that shit would be hilarious

Exactly!

[alcatraz]

20 minutes ago, Lex Smith said:

They're literally about 50mm (2 inches) in diameter 

Oh, ok. Tiny stuff. 

[bracky72]

Never run with scissors.

[Planemo]

Ok this has got to be a wind up. Riding with a 5' rattan stick with a nail in the end, not to mention use of Hare Krishna cymbals is comedy gold.

[redsnapper]

Sir SpinsAlot stands clad in black. His mount - a ridden-hard-and-put-away-wet Begode MSX - appears skittish and ill-tempered.  SpinsAlot's rattan lance is tipped with a gleaming Grip-Rite #9 x 3-1/2 in. 16-Penny Hot-Galvanized Spiral Shank Deck Nail...

Opposite - Sir BalancesPoorly wears dishevelled armour stippled & marred by numerous confrontations with his other nemesis, The Asphalt Dragon. BalancesPoorly straddles a battle scarred but still sexy 9botZ10. A hush falls over the crowd; his rattan lance is capped by the dreaded Simpson Strong-Tie Strong-Drive 3-1/2 in. x 0.162 in. Smooth-Shank HDG Connector Nail!!!

An eerie silence is broken by the metallic jingle jangle of the cymbals that adorn their body armour; both warriors teeter at the precipice (slightly more so for BalancesPoorly) -  bloody carnage is their assured fate. As The Horn of Gondor sounds (why not mix TLOTR and a little Arthurian romance?), the riders raise their lances and with an aggressive forward lean ************TO BE CONTINUED*************

 

Edited March 2, 2022 by redsnapper

[.....]

31 minutes ago, redsnapper said:

Sir SpinsAlot stands clad in black. His mount - a ridden-hard-and-put-away-wet Begode MSX - appears skittish and ill-tempered.  SpinsAlot's rattan lance is tipped with a gleaming Grip-Rite #9 x 3-1/2 in. 16-Penny Hot-Galvanized Spiral Shank Deck Nail...

Opposite - Sir BalancesPoorly wears dishevelled armour stippled & marred by numerous confrontations with his other nemesis, The Asphalt Dragon. BalancesPoorly straddles a battle scarred but still sexy 9botZ10. A hush falls over the crowd; his rattan lance is capped by the dreaded Simpson Strong-Tie Strong-Drive 3-1/2 in. x 0.162 in. Smooth-Shank HDG Connector Nail!!!

An eerie silence is broken by the metallic jingle jangle of the cymbals that adorn their body armour; both warriors teeter at the precipice (slightly more so for BalancesPoorly) -  bloody carnage is their assured fate. As The Horn of Gondor sounds (why not mix TLOTR and a little Arthurian romance?), both riders raise their lances and with an aggressive forward lean ************TO BE CONTINUED*************

 

haha, this is great. I actually thought 'jousting' when I saw the nail laden stick. I couldnt be trusted to act mature and safely on an euc carrying one, for sure.

[Tawpie]

1 hour ago, redsnapper said:

************TO BE CONTINUED*************

Sir SpinsALot, seeing the path blocked by either a rank novice or possibly the hated pedestrian (who knows why this person was standing beside their steed, either they can't pendulum or they're one of the feet people), sings out "on your LEFT! LEFT!".

This, naturally, offends BalancesPoorly and being a proud subject of the Queen he retorts "don't'cha'mean RIGHT? Where are your manners?"

Tensions rose a notch on both ends of the path. Balances Poorly wonders if he should have pushed 'buy-now' on that pin lock insert for his helmet as the situation was causing a bit of fog to appear.

************TO BE CONTINUED*************

Edited March 2, 2022 by Tawpie

[Lex Smith]

5 hours ago, ShanesPlanet said:

haha, this is great. I actually thought 'jousting' when I saw the nail laden stick. I couldnt be trusted to act mature and safely on an euc carrying one, for sure.

I have never been described as mature 😉

[Lex Smith]

14 hours ago, Planemo said:

Ok this has got to be a wind up. Riding with a 5' rattan stick with a nail in the end, not to mention use of Hare Krishna cymbals is comedy gold.

I'm special . . . What more can I say?