drossall wrote:I have bells on one or two bikes, but never use them. To be honest, I think the periodic posts here telling others what to do get a bit repetitive. There are various ways of being polite and considerate. A bell is just one, and is not required by any rule of the Highway Code etc.
My personal preference, for pedestrians and horse-riders, is to whistle a happy tune (preferably one that is itself as inoffensive as possible!) while still 100m or so away. The sound carries well, and people seem to get the idea that there's someone around and they need to check behind them, without getting at all offended. Usually gets a smile in fact.
Isn't this whole thread a verbatim repeat of at least one previous one?
Speaking as someone who does as much pedestrianing as cycling, I can report that I find bells mildly irritating. Just can't help interpreting them as a "get out of my way" message. I find general rattling, coughing, farting and belching, etc, much friendlier.