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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2013 6:57:15 GMT
I'd like to get back to (bi)cycling again ... maybe once the weather gets nice again. I cycle in pretty much any weather these days. |
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Post by tangent on Jan 11, 2013 11:23:37 GMT
Not uni-cycling then, Shake?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2013 10:55:14 GMT
Or tri-cycle?
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Post by Shake on Jan 15, 2013 4:05:52 GMT
No. I meant to differentiate between that and motorcycling, which I also do not do.
As for the weather, I've found that caliper brakes become unreliable when it is wet out. Stability is also a problem when there is ice about.
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Post by tangent on Jan 15, 2013 9:56:01 GMT
As for the weather, I've found that caliper brakes become unreliable when it is wet out. I once experimented with caliper brakes. I found that they are equally ineffective for two revolutions of the wheel when smeared with vaseline or when wet. But after two revolutions, they work normally. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2013 10:38:00 GMT
Stability is also a problem when there is ice about. If the roads were icy, even I wouldn't cycle. |
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Post by Kye on Jan 15, 2013 14:41:09 GMT
It's pretty common for Montreal cyclist to ride their bicycles in the snow. They have special tires, I think.
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Post by Mari on Jan 15, 2013 17:38:35 GMT
Here you can buy those tires too, but we don't have enough snow over a long period to bother.
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Post by Moose on Jan 15, 2013 19:45:10 GMT
I haven't ridden a bike in years. I do not have good road sense
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Post by tangent on Jan 15, 2013 19:52:24 GMT
It's too hilly where you live. Does anyone ride a bike in Whitehaven?
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Post by Alvamiga on Jan 15, 2013 20:13:09 GMT
There are a few mad sorts that I have seen riding bikes, but very few. That long hill up to Moose's estate is a killer just to walk up. There are a small number of motorbikes about and, as I was wearing my jacket when I was up there for the last few days (thank goodness for the thermal lining) I got my usual customary greetings from them even though I was walking along the pavement.  That said, just walking to town, around and back home, about 20 people greeted me. In Reading that number would have been zero or very near! |
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Post by Moose on Jan 16, 2013 21:42:41 GMT
we're a friendly bunch |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 16, 2013 21:57:54 GMT
The English generally seem friendly. At least compared to the Germans.
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Post by Mari on Jan 18, 2013 7:10:53 GMT
Don't you think it would depend on where you live? Here you can see a big difference depending on the place you are at. Where I am now is fairly okay but Groningen and Haaksbergen used to be real friendly.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2013 9:13:31 GMT
It can depend on where you live, yes, but I still see a general difference, e. g. when going into a shop or on the streets. Germans hardly seem to know how to use words like "please", "thank you" or "excuse me".
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Post by Alvamiga on Jan 18, 2013 23:29:56 GMT
According to Stephen Fry, when making films the Germans use "Bitte" and "Danke" instead of "Action" and "Cut", which all seems more civilised. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2013 17:14:20 GMT
I don't know about German film-making, but generally, in every-day life, there is not much "Bitte" and "Danke".
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Post by Moose on Jan 19, 2013 20:11:45 GMT
Antti used to say that Finns do not use please or thank you much.
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Post by Miisa on Jan 19, 2013 21:21:29 GMT
Depends, I do, at places like the shops when I get my change I say thank you, and on the phone, but it varies person to person. "Please" is a little less clear and easy in Finnish than in English, and is the same phrase as "you're welcome".
Especially "Bitte" was heavily stressed in my German classes as something that is used much more in that language than in Finnish.
But ultimately using those words is less a sign of friendliness than it is of local customs. Some Finns can often be very friendly, yet not come off as suave or polite the way continentals can in their sleep, and also Brits use a lot of words that are words associated with friendliness, but it is sometimes just a way of speaking.
Finns are often shocked by that, the insincerity, if they assume someone was honestly interested and kind because of the way they spoke and then just turns away to the next person and gives them exactly the same treatment without a second thought.
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Post by Miisa on Jan 19, 2013 21:26:54 GMT
Come to think of it, there is a version of "Please" in Finish that is used a lot, but it is not a distinct word, but rather a grammatical form of the question. Like in saying "Could I have..." in stead of "I want..." Rather nuanced, but there.
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Post by Moose on Jan 19, 2013 23:09:15 GMT
Yes .. I gather that in Finnish bars you tend to say 'I want' and not 'please may I have'. But you're correct, there is a huge amount of insincerity in English speakers. We tend to use a lot of flowery phrases and pleases, thank yous and sorrys without actually giving a damn |
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Post by Alvamiga on Jan 20, 2013 0:01:10 GMT
I say please and thank-you all the time, but living here I do not think it is appreciated fully.
I just went out with Honey a short while ago and someone called me over to say hello to Honey. She was very grateful that I had spent the time to go over and talk to her. Turns out she is dying from cancer so I am glad we were able to cheer her up a bit.
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Post by Miisa on Jan 20, 2013 12:47:18 GMT
In Finnish, at a bar:
Otan oluen - "I'll have a beer." - normal, matter of fact
Saisinkohan oluen - "Could I [please] have a beer?" - more polite, perhaps even a little overly polite for a customer speaking, might work better in a different situation, though.
Not saying either country's way is right or wrong, but it does lead to cultural misunderstandings and prejudice. I am sure to foreigners Finns come off as surly and impolite, and to Finns most others come off as insincere and shallow.
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Post by tangent on Jan 20, 2013 15:10:56 GMT
I shall have to practice being insincere and shallow then for when I next visit Finland  |
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Post by Miisa on Jan 20, 2013 15:12:19 GMT
Then you will be treated as a tourist |
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Post by Mari on Jan 20, 2013 21:00:40 GMT
In Japan they say thank you for everything and apologise for everything. You learn to ignore it real fast. Just like all the silly compliments they give you when you can say 2 words in Japanese *rolls eyes*
I do believe words like 'thank you' are overused: if I order a pupil to hand in his mobile, I'll say thank you when he hands it to me because that's the common reply. It's not like I'm actually grateful. Also, it seems to imply you were asking someone for a favour, while in truth it was a demand. Takes the sincerity out of words.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2013 22:38:59 GMT
In Finnish, at a bar: Otan oluen - "I'll have a beer." - normal, matter of fact When I work, it's often: "One beer!" and turning round, sitting down at a table, expecting me to take it to them (which isn't done in that kind of bar) and getting angry when they are asked to pay right away. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2013 22:46:48 GMT
PS: What I did notice in England is that people are less aggrressive and friendlier in their whole behaviour and the service. I remember going to Primark in Birmingham one year, it was horribly crowded and busy because of the sale and the ladies in front of the changin rooms were still friendly and smiled at me. A few months later, I was in Primark in Bremen, hardly anything going on, one woman and me in front of the changin rooms andf the lady rolling her eyes when we actually got in the wrong line, not explaining that it was the wrong line, just shaking her head, rolling her eyes, saying in an irritated voice we were in the wrong place, but not telling us where to go.
When we were there in December, I had to get a few things from Boots and the lady behind the counter started chatting with me and when she wanted to offer me some card to collect points or something with, I explained we were from Germany and she began to ask questions, smiling and joking with us. The people waiting behind us didn't seem to mind, only I was getting nervous because in Germany, there would have been irritated remarks or they might even have pushed me in the back (a woman once pushed her shopping trolley in Frank's back several times because she was mad she hadn't managed to get in front of us in the line in the Lidl around the corner from where we live).
I know too much friendliness can be annoying, but it's nice to be treated like a valued customer instead of being treated like a nuissance.
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Post by tangent on Jan 21, 2013 0:01:51 GMT
I do believe words like 'thank you' are overused: if I order a pupil to hand in his mobile, I'll say thank you when he hands it to me because that's the common reply. It's not like I'm actually grateful. Also, it seems to imply you were asking someone for a favour, while in truth it was a demand. Takes the sincerity out of words. The words we use are often a form of protocol. On the phone, we use words like "hello" to ensure we have made contact and to make sure we can start speaking. And we use "goodbye" so that the other person knows we are going to put the phone down. We aren't wishing them good biddance, it's just a form of protocol. When we meet someone in the street and ask, "hello, how are you," the usual answer is to say "very well, thank you," or something similar even if we are not. We aren't lying because the other person isn't really interested in our illnesses. It's an established form of interchange that means "I'm feeling friendly and am willing to have a conversation." So when we exchange "please" and "thank you", it doesn't mean that we are being polite or insincere, it simply means we have adopted those words as a form of protocol to make communication easier. |
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Post by Mari on Jan 21, 2013 19:48:36 GMT
I know that, but words like thank you or I am sorry have important other meanings. I think using them as protocol detracts from their value.
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