Do pedal reflectors actually work?

[WheezyRider]

Statistically, white and silver cars are in fewer accidents





Why are popular high visibility colours in such short supply anyway? Vinyl wrap is much cheaper than a respray...

From my point of view immediately preceding the knee and bike damage: a black BMW slowly emerged from a wall from the left, directly into the road - there was no pavement on that side of the road, I was travelling on the flat at about 18mph and I couldn't swerve - cars were speeding past on the opposite side and I had almost no time to brake. Still, could have been worse - my head could have ended up in driver side window or something. There may or may not have been a convex mirror for the BMW driver to check for approaching traffic (I was too stunned to notice at the time) - if there was, I was invisible in it - despite wearing a hi viz waistcoat. I came to the conclusion that there are some bike accidents which can't be avoided, without quitting bicycles. The only way I could have avoided that collision, is if my bike had a jetpack. 30+ years later, Covid has forced me onto an ebike and drivers seem to hate cyclists far more than they usd to - I saw a car passenger attack a cyclist with a jet of bottled orange fizzy drink a few weeks ago. The cyclist did well to not end up on the road, being run over by other cars...

Maybe I should get an airbag vest...

Sadly, your "accident" could have been avoided. As bike riders, we are too conditioned to cycle as far over to the left as possible, usually right in the gutter, for the benefit of motor traffic. We need to cycle at least 75 cm from the kerb and not be afraid of taking the primary position when being on the left would put you in danger and when there is no space for motor vehicle drivers to over take you and give you 1.5 m of clearance.

However, as you say, most motor vehicle drivers these days are an angry and frustrated bunch, who haven't got a clue as to why a bike might be "in the middle of the road" and think they should just get the hell out of the way - completely oblivious to the dangers the person on the bike is trying to negate.

 

[flecc]

Oh how I wish I had the wherewithal to specify the colour of my new car.

It's the same for company car drivers. I had a while on company cars, a new one every two years, but I had no control on the colour delivered each time. And the problem is that the supplier of the cars uses this advantage to get rid of the most unpopular colours.
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[jimriley]

It's the same for company car drivers. I had a while on company cars, a new one every two years, but I had no control on the colour delivered each time. And the problem is that the supplier of the cars uses this advantage to get rid of the most unpopular colours.
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So you drove round in your shocking pink car with a bag on your head, with eye holes?

 

[flecc]

So you drove round in your shocking pink car with a bag on your head, with eye holes?

It was never that bad, but some did have horrible colours. One was best described as Chocolate, another Maroon, and one which was described by the manufacturer as Old Gold was more accurately described by a teenager as Beige.

We aren't the only people with car colour dictated though. Funeral directors don't have much choice!
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[WheezyRider]

It was never that bad, but some did have horrible colours. One was best described as Chocolate, another Maroon, and one which was described by the manufacturer as Old Gold was more accurately described by a teenager as Beige.

We aren't the only people with car colour dictated though. Funeral directors don't have much choice!
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I seem to remember those awful colours of the 70s and early 80s - Allegro Mustard/Beige...Yuk!

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Sadly, your "accident" could have been avoided. As bike riders, we are too conditioned to cycle as far over to the left as possible, usually right in the gutter, for the benefit of motor traffic. We need to cycle at least 75 cm from the kerb and not be afraid of taking the primary position when being on the left would put you in danger and when there is no space for motor vehicle drivers to over take you and give you 1.5 m of clearance.

However, as you say, most motor vehicle drivers these days are an angry and frustrated bunch, who haven't got a clue as to why a bike might be "in the middle of the road" and think they should just get the hell out of the way - completely oblivious to the dangers the person on the bike is trying to negate.

I really didn't have any time - a car simply appeared from a wall on the left. I did try to turn a little, but there was traffic coming from the opposite direction, and I ended up running into his front wheel. I suppose if I had had a rear-view mirror, I could have ridden in the middle of the road as soon as I saw the wall with no pavement to the left, but I wouldn't have reasonably expected a driveway in the wall - not many of those around now, fewer these days. Ejector seats for bikes are the only sensible solution for situations like that, with parachutes and whole body airbag suits.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

It was never that bad, but some did have horrible colours. One was best described as Chocolate, another Maroon, and one which was described by the manufacturer as Old Gold was more accurately described by a teenager as Beige.

We aren't the only people with car colour dictated though. Funeral directors don't have much choice!
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A friend of mine was buried in a brightly decorated (by friends and relatives) coffin made of biodegradable material last year - it was in a forest with many such plots. He didn't die of cycling, but had tried very hard to.

 

[flecc]

A friend of mine was buried in a brightly decorated (by friends and relatives) coffin made of biodegradable material last year - it was in a forest with many such plots. He didn't die of cycling, but had tried very hard to.

They're popular now, but I'm both an environmentalist and minimalist. When I die in the very near future a van with two men will turn up at hospital or mortuary, pop the body into a cheap plain box, probably cardboard and take it to a crematorium of their choice, ashes dumped afterwards. No funeral or cemetary of any kind.

One of my friends disapproves of that, he's a qualified funeral director and partner in that company, but he once used to be my Express Dairies milkman and I can't rid myself of that former image!
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[Deleted member 33385]

They're popular now, but I'm both an environmentalist and minimalist. When I die in the very near future a van with two men will turn up at hospital or mortuary, pop the body into a cheap plain box, probably cardboard and take it to a crematorium of their choice, ashes dumped afterwards. No funeral or cemetary of any kind.

One of my friends disapproves of that, he's a qualified funeral director and partner in that company, but he once used to be my Express Dairies milkman and I can't rid myself of that former image!
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Tell your friend to dress in a Express Dairies uniform while conducting the ceremony, dispatching his charges to the "Great Milk Float In The Sky". Milkmen get around a bit, they meet many lonely housewives - I wonder if he's unknowingly buried any of his kids?

My friend died of cancer and he died relatively young, in his fifties. He did everything possible to live an active and healthy life, but cancer is unpredictable - one in two of us will get cancer someday. I've had it. My friend got infected during his second round of chemo - before that happened it was looking tentatively possible that he'd pull through, although the odds of recovery from his particular cancer type were very slim. Why do you assume you're going to die "in the very near future"? By the time you're 100, that'll be the average age of death. Making funeral arrangements for yourself pre-approves the visa, to a destination which doesn't exist. We're not immortal, this is all there is - enjoy the ride.

 

[flecc]

Milkmen get around a bit, meeting many lonely housewives - I wonder if he's unknowingly buried any of his kids?

Unlikely, he's gay, his partner back then a bus driver.

Why do you assume you're going to die "in the very near future"?

I'm 84 with serious heart disease. That's meant 14 attacks during 2020 where I should have called an ambulance since each had a very high risk of death or stroke, plus many lesser attacks, but didn't want to go to hospital because of the Covid threat here in London of course. Instead I just relaxed and sat out the pain each time for the usual couple of hours or so until it passed

My brother with the same heart condition died at 87.

The longest any male in my family has lasted is 88 years and that was my Italian father on the longer lived side of the family. My English mother's side much shorter, all 13 siblings dying in their 70s so that inheritance isn't favourable.

I'm really not bothered whether I die or not from an attack, my life is now so severely restricted by my heart condition that I can't enjoy any of my former activities so I see no point in hanging on for the sake of hanging on for more loss.

To avoid giving the wrong impression, I'm not in any way depressed and I hope the humour in my posts shows that.
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[Deleted member 33385]

Unlikely, he's gay, his partner back then a bus driver.



I'm 84 with serious heart disease. That's meant 14 attacks during 2020 where I should have called an ambulance since each had a very high risk of death or stroke, plus many lesser attacks, but didn't want to go to hospital because of the Covid threat here in London of course. Instead I just relaxed and sat out the pain each time for the usual couple of hours or so until it passed

My brother with the same heart condition died at 87.

The longest any male in my family has lasted is 88 years and that was my Italian father on the longer lived side of the family. My English mother's side much shorter, all 13 siblings dying in their 70s so that inheritance isn't favourable.

I'm really not bothered whether I die or not from an attack, my life is now so severely restricted by my heart condition that I can't enjoy any of my former activities so I see no point in hanging on for the sake of hanging on for more loss.

To avoid giving the wrong impression, I'm not in any way depressed and I hope the humour in my posts shows that.
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Spinach is your best friend - enough can stop a heart attack because of all the nitrates: dilutes blood vessels. Of course there's also raw garlic: three cloves per day chopped (not crushed - allicin is produced by the clove to kill fungi, after being injured) very small sprinkled raw over food can ease the flow of blood to all parts of the body (including the other). Iceland will delivery frozen spinach next day in most areas... I usually defrost then fry in a shallow pan with a bit of garlic and a tiny amount of oil plus a bit of black pepper, then eat the spinach with three raw garlic cloves chopped over the top. Allicin is the substance which thins the blood, just remember to not wait for more than 10 minutes after you've chopped the garlic, because allicin doesn't isn't stable in air. I pretty much live on raw garlic and spinach - Popeye was spot on!

Are you on statins and all that? It seems to really work for some people.

My neighbour died of heart disease. He told me when he moved in "I won't be your neighbour for long, only 15% of my heart tissue is alive". The following year, he died of a heart attack after getting hypothermia, after getting stuck overnight in a bathtub because he coudn't lift himself out.

I hope you'll be around for many more years of answering legal questions.

 

[flecc]

Spinach is your best friend - enough can stop a heart attack because of all the nitrates: dilutes blood vessels. Of course there's also raw garlic: three cloves chopped very small sprinkled raw over food can ease the flow of blood to all parts of the body (including the other). Iceland will delivery frozen spinach net day in most areas... I usually defrost then fry in a shallow pan with a bit of garlic and a tiny amount of oil plus a bit of black pepper, with three raw garlic cloves chopped over the top. Allicin is the substance which thins the blood, just remember to not wait for more than 10 minutes after you've chopped the garlic, because allicin doesn't isn't stable in air. I pretty much live on raw garlic and spinach - Popeye was spot on!

Are you on statins and all that? It seems to really work for some people.

My neighbour died of heart disease. He told me when he moved in "I won't be your neighbour for very long, only 15% of my heart tissue is alive". The following year, he died of a heart attack after getting hypothermia, after getting stuck overnight in a bathtub because he coudn't lift himself out.

I hope you'll be around for many years of answering legal questions.

As you might expect of anyone half Italian, my diet is excellent and includes fresh spinach and garlic. But there's no dietary answer for damaged heart issue and attacks which add more damage with every one. It's a one way route. It's possible that a replacement heart valve would extend my life, it did for my Mother (14 years) and Brother (9 years) from which you'll see this runs in the family. But with Covid and my age there's no chance of such a major op at present given the waiting list for them, and my age as it increases moves me ever closer to when it couldn't be carried out anyway.

Yes I'm on statins which my doctor and I juggle with dosage for best effect and he coincidentally phoned me late today for the latest update

But once again, I don't want any useless extension of life without that life permitting me some activity. Better dead dying happy than ending immobile, frustrated and unhappy.
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[Deleted member 33385]

As you might expect of anyone half Italian, my diet is excellent and includes fresh spinach and garlic. But there's no dietary answer for damaged heart issue and attacks which add more damage with every one. It's a one way route. It's possible that a replacement heart valve would extend my life, it did for my Mother (14 years) and Brother (9 years) from which you'll see this runs in the family. But with Covid and my age there's no chance of such a major op at present given the waiting list for them, and my age as it increases moves me ever closer to when it couldn't be carried out anyway.

Yes I'm on statins which my doctor and I juggle with dosage for best effect and he coincidentally phoned me late today for the latest update

But once again, I don't want any useless extension of life without that life permitting me some activity. Better dead dying happy than ending immobile, frustrated and unhappy.
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With garlic to be useful for heart disease, it's best consumed raw - heat also destroys allicin. With spinach, large amounts work best - a 900g bag of frozen once simmered in a shallow pan becomes very small in volume. Eating small amounts of spinach won't help much. You can't get dead heart tissue back, but you can maintain or improve the function of what's remaining. Going 100% veggie might be a good move? For some people, any amount of animal derived saturated fat is too much, even from fish. Getting your fat intakr from raw nuts is best: walnuts etc.

I should imagine this wave will recede for a month or so, if they lock down long enough this time - at the very least until March. The last one ended far too soon. 1 in 5 people get infected with Covid after a hospital visit (according to NHS track and trace), the next most popular place to be Covidinated are supermarkets at 14.6%, after that it's bars and restaurants. Schedule hospital visits between waves? I do, for my damned eyes, but I've resceduled every appointment since March... so it's a toss-up whether I go blind in one eye or get Covid. Oh well... I've got chronic CSR (leaky blood vessels behind the retinas) - so my vision is slightly kinky with the occasional smattering of black spots for 20 minutes after waking up. I'm allowed to drive but I choose not to. It's fine for cyling, at the mo. Airline pilots used to be the only people who got CSR but now it's a lot of IT workers:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_serous_retinopathy

It could be caused by far blue lights from staring at LED screens (airline pilots stare at too much UV at high altitudes) - the CFL backlights were far safer. I've got polarising UV film over all of my monitors now, even the 40 inch. I live in perpetual darkness - all of the windows have been completely blacked out, and even then I wear shades lol. Jogging and spinach are best for reducing symptoms, possibly (it's another medical mystery is CSR) - but even at 4 in the morning I end up bumping into other joggers! THEY'RE EVERYWHERE! The pavements, the woods - there is no place where joggers are not! Or dog walkers... I do sloooooow running, like tai chi, you drift along soundlessly like a ninja ghost lol. People walking overtake me when I'm "jogging".

The idea is to never lift your feet and keep your steps as short as possible, then slow down a bit more. Start/stop when it's too much. I'm hoping ebiking will have a similar effect - plus I'm further away from people on an ebike, so less risk of Covid. Computer modelling of Covid particles show a 65ft coronavirus trail behind joggers and cyclists.

Doing something about it (I'm not suggesting that you go jogging!) is better than waiting for something awful to happen - even if it doesn't help, it improves one's state of mind.

 

[Deleted member 33385]

Unlikely, he's gay, his partner back then a bus driver.



I'm 84 with serious heart disease. That's meant 14 attacks during 2020 where I should have called an ambulance since each had a very high risk of death or stroke, plus many lesser attacks, but didn't want to go to hospital because of the Covid threat here in London of course. Instead I just relaxed and sat out the pain each time for the usual couple of hours or so until it passed

My brother with the same heart condition died at 87.

The longest any male in my family has lasted is 88 years and that was my Italian father on the longer lived side of the family. My English mother's side much shorter, all 13 siblings dying in their 70s so that inheritance isn't favourable.

I'm really not bothered whether I die or not from an attack, my life is now so severely restricted by my heart condition that I can't enjoy any of my former activities so I see no point in hanging on for the sake of hanging on for more loss.

To avoid giving the wrong impression, I'm not in any way depressed and I hope the humour in my posts shows that.
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This is interesting, and you'd be in good company if you went vegan: Arnold Swartzeiayrnagger and Bill Clinton (yes, I know):

https://www.ornish.com/undo-it/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Ornish

Arnie and Bill have a pig heart valve, alleged prosthetic testicle (Arnie) and stents in common. Many friends of mine in their 50s have some sort of heart problem and weight issue, and it's extremely rare that anyone changes their diet or exercise regimes (or start one). Pharmaceuticals aside, lifestyle change is where we have control.

Always talk to your doc first before changing your diet.

p.s. I'm not vegan, but I don't yet have heart disease - if I did, I'd immediately adopt the planet Vega as my home and extend telepathic tentacles from my ears.

p.p.s. Could you leave me that amazing trailer of yours in your will?