Orange vest reduces harrassment

[Jenerator]

I duuno, and trade it for the harassment cops get? I would not want the attention of anyone with a chip on their shoulder towards cops unless the jersey comes with kevlar lining ;-)

My LBS though has one of these jerseys from the Police Unity Tour in his window. He works on the bikes for the local bike cops.

That's the non-kevlar version. The kevlar version is much hotter and much heavier. It stops some random bullets, but not all and does nothing to stop random acts of stupidity. If people see "POLICE" on a jersey, get used to being flagged down for help & flipped off too. If I do something stupid in that jersey people will generalize it to 'all cops' too, and we certainly don't need any more stereotypes or bad press. Even though it's a really nice jersey, other than 4-5 days in May, I don't wear mine much. I generally prefer a subtle white or loud hi-viz green.

[Zen]

Well, I had to think about this.
If I didn't know them I would call them a poseur but you've given some very valid reasons. There are people who grew up all their lives in the army so they are in effect veterans too.

Permission granted

[Starfish]

Permission granted

Um...do I still have to drop and crank out that 20?

[Zen]

For you, ten.
You can do it.

[Geonz]

We had our public safety director in for a meeting yesterday to review the college's "all hazards emergency operations plan." Mostly we talked about college stuff but we also talked a bit about all that stuff about not "walking like a victim." I think people still tend to think "but I"m not *thinking* like a victim" ... but that doesn't mean that you're not presenting the opportunity to become one...
... anyway... I realized as he described how he proceeds in public that an awful lot of those same "body language" things are exactly what I do on the bicycle... basically "be very very PRESENT THANK YOU!!" and interactive with the humans. WHen he added that an effect of this is that people are very frequently greeting him (because that automatic interact-with-you pattern invites it) I realized, "that's what's going on with the bicycle, too!" It's not just being mildly infamous (with my weird bike and occasional airtime for cycling stuff). I realized that yup, the habit has carried over into the way I walk down the hall, too... even if I'm not consciously looking people in the eye, I've just got a more interactive facial expression. In previous jobs, the assorted staff folks I'd pass here and there didn't all greet me, etc... I thought it was the climate here but now I realize that it's probably because I'm behaving differently (and it's why people confuse me for an extravert when I'm really a Very Shy Person who just Walks Around With a Grin.)

Which is a convoluted way of saying that riding safely makes me safer 24-7.

[boy in a kilt]

I'm a project engineer for a construction firm. Since I work on a construction site, I get those reflective vests for free. I keep my "spare" vest at home and both my wife and I wear it when riding at night. We also get T-shirts that are bright orange with reflective stripes on them for free.

We've noticed cars give us a little more room when riding. I don't care so much about looking special. I'm 39 years old, have three kids and I've been married to the same woman for 10 years. I care very much about what she thinks about my appearance. If someone else doesn't like it, well, that's on them.

I'm of two minds about auto-morons messing with you. I've been riding since I was 14 and I rode motorcycles a lot when I was younger. So a lot of my self-awareness in traffic is based on being on two wheels, not 4. I ride like I belong in traffic and I follow traffic law (well, most of the time). A little well placed courtesy helps too. I've never been in an accident with a car in 25 years of riding.

I think riding bike paths like the Burke Gilman Trail in Seattle too much kind of hobbles you because you don't develop the skills for blending in traffic.

However. I'm a 5'9" man in decent shape. I've spent 15 years of my life man and boy in the military and I'm currently an Officer in the Army National Guard which means I've been taught to project confidence and, if necessary, a "mess with me and I will rip your head off" attitude. A large scar on my cheek doesn't hurt either.

The take-home lesson. Make yourself visible, act like a motor vehicle in traffic. Act like you can take care of yourself. If some jerk messes with you, think about the nice lady in the mini-van who let you make that left at the light.

[KnottedYet]

do you wear your utili-kilt on the jobsite? I really dig the carhartt-style ones. One of our TE'ers worked at Utili-Kilt.

How about riding in your kilt? I see a few messengers wearing them.

Cars are much nicer to me when I wear my skirts. (I always wear my vest)