Li’l Kids
Rick Proctor
When I go out for a bike ride, I try to make a friendly connection with other people if they are looking my way by giving a friendly wave, a nod, or a smile. I might even say hi, g’day, or buon giorno. Pedestrians, other cyclists, joggers, dog walkers, even car drivers when I can see through the tinted glass. I believe it’s a good policy, in general, to get on the positive side of as many people as possible. Most people seem to reciprocate the positive vibe.
Sometimes little kids in the toddler to pre-school age range will just stare at me in stunned silence, mouth hanging open, as though they have never seen someone riding a bike. I suppose there’s a first time for everything and the li’l kid hasn’t been around very long. Maybe I appear to be top heavy and unhuman with the strange bike stuff I’m wearing. Waving, nodding, or smiling doesn’t work on them yet. But if I ring the bell on my bike the kid may snap out it with a look of cheerful enthusiasm. The ringing of a bell seems to stimulate young ears with a jolt to the li’l kid happy control center.
Kids that are a bit older and know about bikes still like the bell. A few years ago, on a mid-week club ride, a group of us rode past an elementary school playground where a teacher was trying to get something organized with a few dozen kids milling about. I salute the efforts of schoolteachers who convey the values of a civilized world upon the next generation. One of the kids saw us and several of us rang our bike bells. All the kids rushed to the fence cheering and waving and made us old folks on bikes feel like rock stars! Wow, what a great feeling to bring such happiness to a bunch of kids as we rolled onward and away from the scene of our late ray of fame.
All good things come to an end, and for bike bells, the enthusiasm in li’l kids sparked by a bell wanes in middle school. Bike bells seem to trigger repulsion instead of enthusiasm before the 8th grade is completed, perhaps due to becoming a teen-ager.
Some people never seem to lose the repulsion for a bike bell. I know of a few experienced and mature bicyclists who do not like having a bell on their bike. I believe a bike bell can be an effective warning device, attention getter, and something used to annoy the bell-haters when riding through tunnels. For me, the bell earns its place on my handlebars by making li’l kids happy.
