Cerbera Posted February 17, 2023 Share Posted February 17, 2023 (edited) I don't agree with all his strategies, but I did enjoy the video, and related facts along the way... I have to ignore the first few minutes, where the defence for doing something illegal seems to be 'loads of other stuff is illegal too', but it gets better / more interesting from there... There have been a couple of times where someone (usually grumpy old men I find) has just shouted a 'one word special' at me as I wheel past 'illegal!' being the top one, followed closely by 'dangerous!'. And I don't like those interactions, because there is so rarely time or opportunity to stop, turn round, retrace the 200 yards you have already covered, and then try and flag them down into a conversation that you can both hopefully walk away from feeling good about the encounter. Of course with hindsight I now have prepared 3 word answers to shout back at the top 2 accusations: 'Illegal !!!' - 'Yes, but incorrectly so !' and 'Dangerous !!!' - 'Not under the feet of experts !' or 'only to me !'. Occasionally I defer to people in tight alleyways, which still doesn't mollify them, and allows them to reel off something more of an extended diatribe, but it does at least give you a chance to talk to them and try and turn them round, and to find out what has led them to their initial opinion. Fortunately the vast majority of people I meet are overwhelmingly positive about the wheel, and fascinated by it, as they should be ! Edited February 17, 2023 by Cerbera 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted February 17, 2023 Author Share Posted February 17, 2023 (edited) Funny I posted this today, as the ride I was to go on shortly after doing so was full of exactly that sort adventure !! Had a number of 'interactions' today with all sorts of people, and things... First up, in a town centre alleyway, we had some unbridled hostility in the face of politeness. A typically grumpy old man was just entering the alley as I completed it, but I saw him well in advance, and pulled over and stopped, and said very politely 'after you Sir !' He barged past, and retorted 'Well I certainly would call YOU a Sir !' and walked on by, leaving me to wonder what had provoked that. 'Oh, thank you so much!' I said, somewhat lamely and went on my merry way. Only later did I think to wish I'd said - 'Right, well next time I'll just barge the fuck on through then shall I ?!' before my inner zen reasserted itself. Next up I was right in the centre of town, and I normally dismount there, but today it was very quiet in town, and so I had managed to remain unimpeded all the way in, and was very slowly and considerately making my way back out of the shopping bit, when I found myself at a crossing on the main High Street. As I arrived, cars on both sides of the road stopped to let the people in front of me cross. It was made obvious to me that they would wait for me too, and they did. One of them, I immediately noticed, was a police car. Hmmph. Should I dismount and then cross, holding everyone up ? Should I ride across slowly, but with confidence ? I did that in the end, thinking it was more important to seem calm and totally in control than to look panicky and nervously get down ! So that was Ok, I gave them an appreciative nod and thankful wave, and rode very slowly across in front of them, and then into the main shopping mall directly over the massive 'no cycling' sign on the main concourse there ! Now, I know I have permission to ride there from the owners, but I bet the police don't ! I saw in my mirror that they stopped behind me and watched me all the way to the end of the mall, which I completed very very slowly and carefully !! Nothing was said, and on we went... Next up was a particularly angry dog that I was unfortunate to meet on 3 separate occasions - once on the cycle path on the way into town, once again in the supermarket, and lastly once more about town. This dog REALLY didn't like me, and thank goodness it was on a firmly held leash every time by its owner, because I have no doubt al all that animal would have full-on attacked me if had been able. It seemed to take all the owners strength to hold it back, and it growled furiously all the while he tried. Don't think I have ever seen an animal quite that eager to 'get me'. This one was not playing. In situations like that there is only one thing to do - remove yourself from the dog's sight as soon as possible. Also had several cheery waves from pedestrians and strangers about town, mostly in appreciation of bell use on cycle paths etc, but a few positive comments about the helmet and the wheel when I got to the shops. So, a mixed bag today - 1 arsehole, 5 nice people, some benevolent police, and all-in-all a highly enjoyable ride, even though there were almost no fast bits ! In fact don't think I topped 35 kph at any point, yet still had excellent fun ! More like that please ! Edited February 18, 2023 by Cerbera 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alcatraz Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 That was a fun read. I'm waiting for Cerbera's Adventures volume 2. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted February 20, 2023 Author Share Posted February 20, 2023 (edited) Lols - thank you - no doubt there will be more. Nothing exciting to report in today's 28 miler though. Wheel behaved perfectly, and charged afterwards without setting fire to anything, everyone was nice, didn't meet many people, lovely weather, quite a bit of off-road and sketchy hills, no falls; perfect ! Off-road uphill free-mounting XP +10 ! Very happy with myself, Begode and life in general today ! Edited February 20, 2023 by Cerbera 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.