"Le biciclette abbandonate sopra il prato e poi..."

Forget a bell. What I need is something that attaches to my handlebars and approximates the sound of, say, a dump truck. It's one thing when co-eds on (real or imagined) cell phone calls wander into my path on the sidewalk--after all, I figure it's their right to be there, whereas I'm just cutting through for the half a block or so until the street picks up again. When they wander into the street, however, I figure that's vehicle territory. Vroom, vroom!

This evening I encountered an obstacle of a different sort. As I was riding at the right edge of my lane, a biker approached me from the opposite direction. He was riding in my lane. I moved farther right. He moved farther to his left. I was veering away from him even as we passed each other, within mere feet. It was dusk and he had white hair. It felt like he was deliberately trying to run me over, but he probably just couldn't see and perhaps (like me and Bryant's professor) has a tendency to veer.

I bet, however, that he wouldn't face down a dump truck. In his case, not being able to see makes the illusion that much better. Invisible dump trucks! Now that'll keep you in your lane--or on the sidewalks.