Guest fatblokeonbike Posted August 13, 2003 Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 It's been out and about a lot. It was highly visible at Erksine last Sunday. Loads of people must have seen it. What did they do? - Did they feel sorry for me? - Did they just ignore it? - Or did they even wonder about it? Dunno, but only George has ever enquired - "Iain, are you really deaf?" Anyone who's seen me on my bike will know the back of my hi-vis slipover carries the large reflective letters D E A F I recommend it. When I took up trundling around again on my state-of-the-art (NOT) Dooley's 1970s Falcon, I quickly got fed up with how closely I was being passed by cars (I don't have to tell you what's it's like). So I said to myself "Right, before anything happens, let's give them something to think about." I've been wearing this thingie now for several months and I can tell you: not only do the overwhelming majority of vehicles no longer pass dangerously near, they're sometimes almost climbing on to the opposite pavement to give me clearance. Bus drivers and lorry drivers are magic, they really are, I won't hear a word against them. If you know the roads around Bishopton/Erskine, you'll know these are not exactly dual carriageways, and I've had heavy vehicles trail me for up to half a mile before they felt they could pass me safely. I think it must be becos, being seated higher, they can see the DEAF legend even more clearly than car drivers. The trouble is, I can't speed their passage by waving them on - I'm supposed to be deaf, remember? (Paul - you keep schtum, now, y'hear?!) The mechanics of it were simple: I went to the photo-processing shop in Yoker who measured up, 10 inches across by 3 inches high, took a couple of days to stick on the four letters, and charged me a fiver. (He wanted to put B L I N D on as well...) If you're thinking of something similar, you can tell whoever does it for you that the process is safe up to 40 degrees Celsius. The first couple of times I wore it, I felt a bit odd, but then, as my ol' Mum used to say "You wouldn't worry about what people think of you if you only knew how seldom they do". You do get funny looks in the supermarket, though, to say nothing of a memorable double-take from the leader of the church choir... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triking Dave Posted August 13, 2003 Report Share Posted August 13, 2003 Take 1. There's a lady in Edinburgh who has a "DEAF" car number-plate fixed to the back of her bike; I think she should have one with "MENTALLY RETARDED" on it 'cos she doesn't have decent batteries in her rear lights. Take 2. A trike has a similar effect to a "DEAF" sign. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dougie Da Rosa Posted August 15, 2003 Report Share Posted August 15, 2003 Nice one big guy,I did wonder but you seemed to reply okay to any of my conversation. Dougie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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