The Whistler!

Boom_Bap · 21-06-2010 9:20am #1

Are you the cyclist who from now on i'm going to refer to as "the whistler" or possibly the "Bike Ref"...was driving to work this morning and stopped at red lights, cycle lane to the left which i was well clear of.
A cyclist went past in the cycle lane just as the lights where turning green and gave a whistle, he had a referee's whistle in his mouth. I thought to myself that it was a great idea and it was nice to get a little toot to alert me of his presence. At this point I hadnt even engagded a gear or started checking mirrors etc so it was nice to get a bit of advanced warning.

But then the loud shrill of the whistle was pretty continous for the next couple of minutes of driving, this guy pretty much was blasting the whistle at every motorist, some/most of it was justified whereas other burst where just crazy. He even was putting himself in danger at one point and nearly went smack into the back of a bus because he was concentrating too much on motorists behind him rather than the road ahead.

And before i get any comments about being a stoopid motorist here, i regularly cycle along the same street (Prussia St.) and am well aware of how dodgy motorists can be on it and how they like to stick out of junctions and block lanes.

So has anyone else encountered this guy......or is there a massive thread about this already that i have missed

ipodrocker · 21-06-2010 9:57am

i saw another 'Whistler' too cycling on the n11. He was cycling on the bus lane and whistling at taxi's to get out of the way and do it alot.

Gavin · 21-06-2010 10:01am

Jeese, this guy's mammy must not have taught him to run and have something in his mouth at the same time. He'll fall off his bike and swallow the whistle. He should stick with a bell/airhorn.

ipodrocker · 21-06-2010 10:04am

just a bit over the top in all fairness.

silvo · 21-06-2010 10:24am

I see this guy every day around the Dublin 8 area. He whistles at everyone, even at pedestrians crossing at a green man while he bates pass them. I think he may have some anger management issues...

ipodrocker · 21-06-2010 10:26am

breaking a red light too!

jman0war · 21-06-2010 10:47am

Classic!

I'm just enjoying the irony of a motorist giving out about being audibly assaulted by a cyclist.

As if motorists are not emotionally dependant upon their own "stress relief button" (car horn)!

Boom_Bap · 21-06-2010 11:08am

jman0war wrote: »

Classic!

I'm just enjoying the irony of a motorist giving out about being audibly assaulted by a cyclist.

As if motorists are not emotionally dependant upon their own "stress relief button" (car horn)!

1. I was not 'giving out', merely an observation while driving to work today.
2. Please refer to the OP where I mention that I regularly cycle which would make me a cyclist as well as a motorist. A person can co-exist as both.

EDIT: This is not another thread intended on discussing cyclists/motorists, it is about the person I seen today with a whistle while cycling.

Ant · 21-06-2010 11:12am

The OP comes across as a considerate road user. I wouldn't think it any more ironic than a cyclist giving out about another cyclist cycling the wrong way down a one-way street. Strange or bad behaviour can be called by anyone.

The Whistler sounds like somebody who doesn't enjoy his cycling and treats every journey on the bike as a battle to be fought. FWIW, I cycle up and down Prussia St. every day and I've never had a problem with bad driving.

dario28 · 21-06-2010 11:25am

I see a guy coming onto Dame street down the little lane by O'neills with a whistle every day , fooking cracks me up....

Captain Havoc · 21-06-2010 11:42am

If he's a courier, it would explain a lot.

dario28 · 21-06-2010 11:46am

Captain Havoc wrote: »

If he's a courier, it would explain a lot.

No some old-ish guy dressed in bright colors with a whistle , looks like a commuter on road bike

DirkVoodoo · 21-06-2010 11:50am

I'm waiting for my vuvuzela to arrive.

It sounds from your post that this guy needs a little education about cycling in traffic. To me, carrying a whistle in your mouth while on the bike means that you are simply not that capable in traffic. Passive warning (I mean passive as in you don't need to operate it every time you see a car) such as high viz jackets, bag covers, front and rear lights, reflective strips or simply keeping yourself visible and not fishtailing through traffic are far more effective. Worrying about blowing a whistle every time a car moves alongside you is not only diverting your own attention from everything else but it is potentially distacting for drivers.

Bluefoam · 21-06-2010 11:54am

I was thinking of getting one of these for the bike:

Vuvuzela

Doctor Bob · 21-06-2010 12:42pm

Sounds very like the guy I saw last summer in the Phoenix Park one weekday afternoon. He was on the cycle track parallel to Chesterfield Avenue, heading away from town, blowing his whistle at everything in sight- iPeds, people getting into/out of their cars, even other cyclists coming towards him. I thought about pointing out to him that the cycle track (for better or worse- I don't mean to rehearse that argument here) is actually two-way, so the other cyclists were doing no wrong, but then I realised there's no point.

Like the taxi driver on Saturday evening who blasted me out of it for making an entirely legal right turn off Mespil Road, thereby preventing him from getting to the back of the queue of stationary traffic three seconds quicker ("You're only on a push bike, you're not even a motorbike"

), there's simply no talking to some people.

I could have mentioned to the whistleblower that he'd get a lot less stressed if he stayed on the road, as I was, but then I figured he's probably in love with blowing his whistle, not with cycling home with as little fuss as possible.

el tel · 21-06-2010 12:52pm

Gavin wrote: »

Jeese, this guy's mammy must not have taught him to run and have something in his mouth at the same time. He'll fall off his bike and swallow the whistle. He should stick with a bell/airhorn.

His mother, earlier.

shaungil · 21-06-2010 12:58pm

I believe this gentlemans name is Benson and he is a groundskeeper in a picnic area on Craggy Island.
I hope he doesn't meet Father Damo or the whistle might mysteriously disappear

dario28 · 21-06-2010 9:13pm

I got a close up of the whistler on O'Connell bridge and he is a fooking idiot. I was on my bike waiting to go towards custom house.

His prob in his 50's , round de Velera gold glasses , I think he was wearing bike Ireland lycra , red helmet , red bike

Some fella in a car was just passing the yellow box and the whistlers lights went green , instead of going round ur man , he cycles straight for him and blasts the whistle into the guys face...the guy in the car just goes relax mate im moving through and the whister game him a standing blast of the whistle and middle finger

fooking twat

radia · 22-06-2010 9:59am

That sounds like the kind of antagonistic behaviour that's ultimately unproductive. I'm all for educating all road users on safe use of shared space, but there needs to be a bit of give and take. Treating each journey as a battle must be very stressful and tiring.

Then again, maybe I'm completely wrong and he arrives at his destination every day flushed with satisfaction at another small victory in his crusade.

Lumen · 22-06-2010 10:03am

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I'm waiting for my vuvuzela to arrive.

It sounds from your post that this guy needs a little education about cycling in traffic. To me, carrying a whistle in your mouth while on the bike means that you are simply not that capable in traffic. Passive warning (I mean passive as in you don't need to operate it every time you see a car) such as high viz jackets, bag covers, front and rear lights, reflective strips or simply keeping yourself visible and not fishtailing through traffic are far more effective. Worrying about blowing a whistle every time a car moves alongside you is not only diverting your own attention from everything else but it is potentially distacting for drivers.

I think perhaps that you're overanalysing it.

He's obviously a complete fruit loop, like the mad people who walk down the street shouting at goblins.

Bluefoam · 22-06-2010 10:07am

I have considered putting a bell on the bike - very handy for all the nodders walking along the cycle lanes - however I was worried people would think I'd caught the ghey...

DualFrontDiscs · 22-06-2010 10:24am

Bluefoam wrote: »

I have considered putting a bell on the bike - very handy for all the nodders walking along the cycle lanes - however I was worried people would think I'd caught the ghey...

Careful now. I've bells on two of my bikes. Very useful.

DFD.

Boom_Bap · 22-06-2010 10:31am

dario28 wrote: »

His prob in his 50's , round de Velera gold glasses , I think he was wearing bike Ireland lycra , red helmet , red bike

That sounds about right.

Bells in theory are great but sometimes they just dont work out. When pedestrians are walking in the cycle lane and you give them a tinkle, they sometimes just stop dead and turn to see what the noise is.

Completely different in the likes of Germany, give a tinkle and the person steps out of the way then apologises

I'm glad to hear that it's not only me that has encountered The Whistler, I was hoping to see him again this morning but no sighting was made. I honestly cant wait to see him again.

ROK ON · 22-06-2010 10:38am

I can't wait to meet him.
In fact if people could be kind enough to report when and where they see him we might be able to build a route map.

I just love antagonising nutjobs. It is one of my special skills in life.

rottenhat · 22-06-2010 10:50am

I will say that this man is not alone - I've encountered one or two like him in every city I've lived in. They always seem to be male and completely devoid of any sense of give and take. I've never fully decided whether they are more or less irritating than the rabbity clowns who cycle on the footpath dinging their bell imperiously at pedestrians to get out of the way.

SerialComplaint · 22-06-2010 10:53am

ROK ON wrote: »

I just love antagonising nutjobs. It is one of my special skills in life.

Is it just people with mental health problems that you pick on? Maybe you try expanding your scope to wheelchair users, people who use crutches, blind people, people with Downs Syndrome as well - see if you get even more jollies from that?

CheGuedara · 22-06-2010 10:59am

DualFrontDiscs wrote: »

Careful now. I've bells on two of my bikes. Very useful.

DFD.

Defence For De campanologists?

dario28 · 22-06-2010 11:02am

SerialComplaint wrote: »

Is it just people with mental health problems that you pick on? Maybe you try expanding your scope to wheelchair users, people who use crutches, blind people, people with Downs Syndrome as well - see if you get even more jollies from that?

Dont forget the greeks...they invented gayness

Bluefoam · 22-06-2010 11:05am

SerialComplaint wrote: »

Is it just people with mental health problems that you pick on? Maybe you try expanding your scope to wheelchair users, people who use crutches, blind people, people with Downs Syndrome as well - see if you get even more jollies from that?

Any tips? I can pick up the basics, like kicking the crutches from under someone, but I've no idea how to even begin berating a Down Syndrome sufferer. I'm new to this so maybe start of with some easy methods...

DualFrontDiscs · 22-06-2010 11:09am

Now this bell would get people's attention:

http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;navigation=1;menu=1000,5,126;product=13989

Might have to get one. Just need to pick up a bike that it would suit

DFD.

Boom_Bap · 22-06-2010 11:12am

DualFrontDiscs wrote: »

Now this bell would get people's attention:

http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;navigation=1;menu=1000,5,126;product=13989

Might have to get one. Just need to pick up a bike that it would suit

DFD.

team it up with one of these

http://thesportshernia.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451b84f69e20120a7b1b12a970b-450wi

The Whistler!

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