M
Mike Causer
Guest
On Saturday I took the Speed Ross around to let an old workmate have a
go. He's a reasonably experienced cyclist with two, maybe three,
working uprights available. And he has his wife's permission to look at
a 'bent although more likely to be a trike than a two-wheeler.
When we returned from wobbling down a country road (he wobbled on the
Ross & I wobbled on his "GT" hybrid 'cos he's 20cm taller than me and I
couldn't quite reach the pedals...) a friend of his whose kids were
doing their best to distribute the contents of the swimming pool over
various parents, in-laws and dogs, said
"How do you jump off one of those?"
"I don't jump off. Why would I want to jump off?"
"If you meet a car coming the other way -- you've got be able to jump
off."
<thinks> No, I see car, hear car, observe car's behaviour, take action
in plenty of time. </thinks>
"I've never even considered jumping off a bike, why should I need to?"
"I wouldn't ride a bike I can't jump off. You're very brave to ride
that thing. I take my hat off to you."
Where I live is heavily farmed. There are tractors with spikey
things fore, aft and athwartships; we've got ponies, riding horses,
plough horses and race horses worth a thousand times the value of my
house. We've got 40 tonne trucks full of sugar beet and a schedule to
meet; we've got the usual idiots in people-carriers (minivans), 4x4s,
SUVs, and BMWs. None of these have ever given me cause to think of
jumping off. Swearing yes, waving hello yes, admiring a well-filled
pair of riding jodpurs yes, but not jumping off my bike.
So why should I consider the ease of jumping off when buying a bike?
Mike
go. He's a reasonably experienced cyclist with two, maybe three,
working uprights available. And he has his wife's permission to look at
a 'bent although more likely to be a trike than a two-wheeler.
When we returned from wobbling down a country road (he wobbled on the
Ross & I wobbled on his "GT" hybrid 'cos he's 20cm taller than me and I
couldn't quite reach the pedals...) a friend of his whose kids were
doing their best to distribute the contents of the swimming pool over
various parents, in-laws and dogs, said
"How do you jump off one of those?"
"I don't jump off. Why would I want to jump off?"
"If you meet a car coming the other way -- you've got be able to jump
off."
<thinks> No, I see car, hear car, observe car's behaviour, take action
in plenty of time. </thinks>
"I've never even considered jumping off a bike, why should I need to?"
"I wouldn't ride a bike I can't jump off. You're very brave to ride
that thing. I take my hat off to you."
Where I live is heavily farmed. There are tractors with spikey
things fore, aft and athwartships; we've got ponies, riding horses,
plough horses and race horses worth a thousand times the value of my
house. We've got 40 tonne trucks full of sugar beet and a schedule to
meet; we've got the usual idiots in people-carriers (minivans), 4x4s,
SUVs, and BMWs. None of these have ever given me cause to think of
jumping off. Swearing yes, waving hello yes, admiring a well-filled
pair of riding jodpurs yes, but not jumping off my bike.
So why should I consider the ease of jumping off when buying a bike?
Mike
