 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
| HomeDiscussion GroupsGeneral TopicsCat AnecdotesHealth and BehaviorRescue CatKB.com Contact UsLink To UsSearch & Site Map |
Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / December 2004Bring me the shades dude... semi OT
Now Nathan is cycling during hours of darkness, he & his bike have been adapted. Nathan has gone off this morning looking as bright as the mothership from Close Encounters ;-) He has:- Helmet-mounted LED light 2 x Cateye HL-EL 300 at front 1 x S-Sun SS-L120 LED at front 1 x flashing LED at front 1 x standard rear red light 1x steady *bright* LED red light 1 x flashing red LED reflective gilet reflective wristbands reflectives on ankles reflectives on helmet reflectives on shoes He is very, very visible :-) The cats sat on the front step this morning, watching Nathan as he set off, I swear they were wearing Raybans. It's quite amusing of a morning, as the cats come into the garage to inspect Nathan's bike as Vernon or I bungee Nathan's bag of school stuff to the rear rack & check lights are working etc. It's almost as if they too are giving the bike the once over to make sure Nathan's steed is up to the job. And you try bungee'ing a back to a rack when a cat decides it has to make sure you are doing the job correctly by standing on the top of the bag you are trying to bungee. I have told Waffles that as she is the same colour as Nathan's bag, one of these days she'll find herself bungeed to the rack too... I don't think she was amused, as she growled as I moved her off the bag. And... had it confirmed my son is a courteous cyclist! He was spotted giving a wave of thanks to a motorist who held back behind him and didn't overtake until safe to do so. *Excellent* - the indoctrination on assertive and courteous cycling is paying off ;-) But in the meantime, if you hear of any UFOs being spotted in Norfolk, it's probably only my son out cycling. Cheers, helen s --This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get correct one remove fame & fortune h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$ --Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel is switched off-- wafflycathcs@aol.comcomcom (dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers) had some very interesting things to say about Bring me the shades dude... semi OT: >Now Nathan is cycling during hours of darkness, he & his bike have been >adapted. Nathan has gone off this morning looking as bright as the mothership [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >reflectives on shoes >He is very, very visible :-) Glad to hear he's too smart to do the "I'm immortal, I'm bullet-proof, nothing's going to happen to ME" bit guys in his age range tend to be prone to. :-)  Signature"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding. :-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL >Glad to hear he's too smart to do the "I'm immortal, I'm bullet-proof, >nothing's going to happen to ME" bit guys in his age range tend to be >prone to. :-) That's 'cos he's a Real Cyclist [TM] as opposed to a Person On A Bike [TM] ;-) Seriously though, we are members of a cycling club where cycling is done *properly*. None of this faffing about cycling on footpaths (which is illegal in the UK) and he's been taught the rules of the road, plus he cycles competitively. For example, if he messed about & did stupid things in competition, he'd be disqualified forom the event and run the risk of being banned from competing. On club runs he cycles with guys who've been cycling all their lives, and being a teenage idiot would not go down well, so to speak. The people we cycle with do it properly, so for Nathan, it's the normal thing to do, and he is can be *extremely* cutting in his remarks when he sees adults & teenages being idiots on bikes. We were walking in town the other day and a guy (adult) was cycling on the footpath. Nathan's "Obviously his Mummy think's he's not old enough to be cycling on the road..." was well matched by his teenage human equivalent of the Feline Look Of Death in the direction of the miscreant ;-) He loathes seeing cyclists (& drivers) break the law & do stupid and dangerous stuff. I'm also extremely glad he's got enough self-belief to be able to do what he knows to be right and not be led like a sheep due to peer-pressure. His mates at college, although not cyclists themselves, encourage Nathan in his cycling, so he's got some decent mates - which helps enormously! Cheers, helen s --This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get correct one remove fame & fortune h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$ --Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel is switched off-- Just a quick query re cycling and using mobile phones at the same time - is it illegal in the UK? I saw a young woman doing so recently - it was one of those voice activated dialling things as well, so she was bellowing into it whilst cycling. Grrrrrr .....No crash helmet of course, nor any sign of reflective sash or similar. SignatureCathi >Just a quick query re cycling and using mobile phones at the same time - >is it illegal in the UK? No, it's not, but it should be. I always carry a mobile with me when I'm cycling, but it's for emergency use. I'd have the bike stopped to use it - *never* use it whilst actually pedalling. >I saw a young woman doing so recently - it was >one of those voice activated dialling things as well, so she was >bellowing into it whilst cycling. Grrrrrr .....No crash helmet of >course, nor any sign of reflective sash or similar. I'm a great believer in reflectives & lights - I wear a helmet too, as does the entire family when out cycling, but helmets are only of use for a very minor collision, e.g., if the bike keels over & you fall off that way. Bicycle helmets are of no use if in a major collision with a motor vehicle, as they aren't designed to be. It's why I'm anti helmet compulsion. It'll be used by insurance companies to wheedle out of coughing up where the driver of a motor vehicle is at fault. It's happening already even though helmets aren't compulsory. Helmet compulsion effectively victim-blames. Bear in mind that the mobile phone legislation banning use of a mobile whilst driving isn't actually being enforced, so I doubt it would be against cyclists should it be law, even though I think using a mobile whilst driving or cycling is not good. Cheers, helen s --This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get correct one remove fame & fortune h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$ --Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel is switched off-- > >Just a quick query re cycling and using mobile phones at the same time - > >is it illegal in the UK? [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Cheers, helen s If helmets for bicycle riders had been compulsory 25 years ago, my cousin would be alive today. He was a teenager when he swerved to avoid a car and fell, hitting his head on the curb. The resulting brain damage had him in the hospital for a year and in rehab for a couple of years after that. He never regained full function of his left side, although he could walk, with a severe limp. He was unable to hold a job or live a normal life. I think he was 25 when he committed suicide. Since minor collisions are more common than major ones, that seems all the more reason to make helmets mandatory. Joy >Since minor collisions are more common than major ones, that seems all >the more reason to make helmets mandatory. Whilst I sympathise with what happened to your cousin, the overall picture is not as straightforward as it seems. Certainly over here in the UK, head injuries amongst pedestrians and motorists are far more common than head injuries amongst cyclists, yet no one seems to be promoting helmets for pedestrians or motorists... or rugby players, or football players (soccer).. As I say, I wear a helmet, as do Vernon & Nathan, but am under no illusions about the level of protection it offers. The best safety device for cycling is to cycle assertively and defensively. Indeed in countries where mandatory helmet laws have been introduced, the number of cyclists has fallen - and the health benefits of cycling are lost. Cheers, helen s --This is an invalid email address to avoid spam-- to get correct one remove fame & fortune h*$el*$$e*nd**$o$ts**i*$*$m*m$o*n*s@$*a$o*l.c**$om$ --Due to financial crisis the light at the end of the tunnel is switched off-- > wafflycathcs@aol.comcomcom (dirtylitterboxofferingstospammers) had > some very interesting things to say about Bring me the shades dude... [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > nothing's going to happen to ME" bit guys in his age range tend to be > prone to. :-) And even some guys not of his age. I was driving to the market down the street one drizzly evening not long ago. If it hadn't been for the reflectors on the pedals of this bicycle, I'd never have known there was someone cycling at all and could very well have hit him. He was dressed in all grey and black and even had a hood over his head. I cursed a blue streak (to myself, not at him) and thought "What an idiot!" After I got to the market, the man on the bike came in. He's an older man, probably mid-50's, and I'd seen him and spoken to him there before. I said, "Scott, dude, I almost didn't see you out there. At least if you're going to ride at night wear something bright and reflective!" Jill |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.