Scenic Route

" [Not Responding] " <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I really didn't fancy two hills [1] and a hack along the A27 this
evening so I took the scenic route. It's been quite some time since I
did this and I'd forgotten how pleasant it is - even in the pitch
dark. Mainly unlit roads, through a nature reserve and a skirt along
the coast. I think I'll be reverting to this route more often in
future.

The only downside is that it can be a bit of a rural rat run - with me
always heading *into* the general traffic flow. This is a double pain
not only is the peace and quiet ruined by motor traffic but I also
have to contend with undipped, naturally, headlights.

It seems I inadvertently found a solution to this. Having in vain
tried everything in the past (flicking my light on & off, frantic hand
signals etc) I was amazed to find oncoming traffic was both dipping
their lights and *slowing down*!

At home I figured it out. It seems that my handlebar fettling had
realigned my light so it was pretty much pointing directly at oncoming
drivers. Now I don't recommend dazzling people who are hacking towards
you at 60mph and in nominal control of a tonne of metal but it
certainly appears to have an effect.

[1] If anyone's worked out where I live, please don't humiliate me by
looking up on multimap what I am designating a "hill", please.

Hill Head, Titchfield, that sort of area? Probably not as I cant recall any
hills there apart from that slightly nasty (but short) one with a mill at
the bottom:-)

--
Tumbleweed

email replies not necessary but to contact use;
tumbleweednews at hotmail dot com

[Not Responding] <[email hidden]> wrote:
: not only is the peace and quiet ruined by motor traffic but I also
: have to contend with undipped, naturally, headlights.

The solution to this is a very bright front light. At least 10W
seems to work.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt
"Blogs are neither necessary nor sufficient for evil to triumph.
They're just what we call an enabling technology" - Danny O'Brien

Response to [Not Responding] :

Quoted message said:

At home I figured it out. It seems that my handlebar fettling had
realigned my light so it was pretty much pointing directly at oncoming
drivers. Now I don't recommend dazzling people who are hacking towards
you at 60mph and in nominal control of a tonne of metal but it
certainly appears to have an effect.

I found last winter that the best use for my Petzl headtorch was shining
it in the eyes of drivers who were waiting [/recte/: not waiting] to
enter roads/roundabouts. It did seem to cut down on the number of times
I had to haul on the brake while simultaneously screaming
something along the lines of "Anacoluthon! Bashi-bazouk!" at some hare-
brained @rsehole in a BMW; and in those circs, dazzling - to some small
degree - people who are barely moving and shouldn't be moving at all, I
have no great problem with.

--
Mark, UK.
We hope to hear him swear, we love to hear him squeak,
We like to see him biting fingers in his horny beak.