A
Artemisia
Guest
As I stated in another thread, I'm contemplating falling for a
Darkside trike. Unfortunately, I'm also finding myself drawn to the
upper ends of the price scale, especially by the Greenspeed GTO+ which
costs more than a lot of cars. I may not be able to justify this
expense on the basis of immediate utility.
So I'm telling myself that this will be an investment that can be
expected to last for the rest of my life. See, I turned 51 at the
beginning of July, and passed a vacation with my family - my father
will be 86 this fall. He's still pretty active but it was nevertheless
heartbreaking to see him so old and transparent, when I remember him
all vitality and beauty. It got me thinking much about old age and
decline and the ravages of time. There have been threads in this forum
about people hanging up their bikes as they get too old to cycle. And
there have been some shocking cases affecting younger people -
Multiple Sclerosis, stroke, etc.
I read a thread somewhere on Greenspeed trikes used in the rehab of
people who have been paralized by stroke. I also read Sheldon Brown's
moving account of the progress of his illness, and was impressed that
of all his bikes, the only one he could still use was the Greenspeed
GT3.
I have lived for many years in terror of being diagnosed with Multiple
Sclerosis or associated diseases. I have so many of the precursor
symptoms, particularly the balance problems. As for stroke, it felled
practically everyone on my mother's side of the family. My mother's
father was younger than me when he abruptly fell dead into his lunch
(way to go, I say - I adore pasta). I'm fat and asthmatic and pretty
much a goner for stroke. But even if I manage to evade these
debilitating demons, there's still the one that no one can evade,
Time, the Grim Reaper.
So I couldn't argue for investing in another _bike_. It's getting
late. My biking days may not go on that much longer. But that Darkside
trike - is there any limit as to how long one can ride it, given only
that one has enough motor ability to get into it and move the pedals?
Can very old people continue to ride such a thing indefinitely? If so,
why don't they? Why do we hear of elderly cyclists hanging up their
bikes with regret? What about MS?
And can it also be expected to last indefinitely, unlike a car that
dies after a decade or two? What if I go on for another forty years -
it's not likely, but a paternal great-aunt did live to 104. Will the
trike survive me?
Strange questions to put to these forums, no doubt, since if you're
here it's because you're all still alive and kicking. And of course no
one likes to think about these sad things, and it's ridiculous, and
possibly unlucky, to be thinking about death and disintegration when
one is in blooming health. But this investment may affect the whole
pattern of my retirement years. My dream is to cycle the planet, at
least the good parts of it, before I die (or before _it_ dies, at the
rate we're killing it). As Yourcenar said, il faut faire le tour de sa
prison.
Cheers nevertheless,
EFR
Ile de France
Darkside trike. Unfortunately, I'm also finding myself drawn to the
upper ends of the price scale, especially by the Greenspeed GTO+ which
costs more than a lot of cars. I may not be able to justify this
expense on the basis of immediate utility.
So I'm telling myself that this will be an investment that can be
expected to last for the rest of my life. See, I turned 51 at the
beginning of July, and passed a vacation with my family - my father
will be 86 this fall. He's still pretty active but it was nevertheless
heartbreaking to see him so old and transparent, when I remember him
all vitality and beauty. It got me thinking much about old age and
decline and the ravages of time. There have been threads in this forum
about people hanging up their bikes as they get too old to cycle. And
there have been some shocking cases affecting younger people -
Multiple Sclerosis, stroke, etc.
I read a thread somewhere on Greenspeed trikes used in the rehab of
people who have been paralized by stroke. I also read Sheldon Brown's
moving account of the progress of his illness, and was impressed that
of all his bikes, the only one he could still use was the Greenspeed
GT3.
I have lived for many years in terror of being diagnosed with Multiple
Sclerosis or associated diseases. I have so many of the precursor
symptoms, particularly the balance problems. As for stroke, it felled
practically everyone on my mother's side of the family. My mother's
father was younger than me when he abruptly fell dead into his lunch
(way to go, I say - I adore pasta). I'm fat and asthmatic and pretty
much a goner for stroke. But even if I manage to evade these
debilitating demons, there's still the one that no one can evade,
Time, the Grim Reaper.
So I couldn't argue for investing in another _bike_. It's getting
late. My biking days may not go on that much longer. But that Darkside
trike - is there any limit as to how long one can ride it, given only
that one has enough motor ability to get into it and move the pedals?
Can very old people continue to ride such a thing indefinitely? If so,
why don't they? Why do we hear of elderly cyclists hanging up their
bikes with regret? What about MS?
And can it also be expected to last indefinitely, unlike a car that
dies after a decade or two? What if I go on for another forty years -
it's not likely, but a paternal great-aunt did live to 104. Will the
trike survive me?
Strange questions to put to these forums, no doubt, since if you're
here it's because you're all still alive and kicking. And of course no
one likes to think about these sad things, and it's ridiculous, and
possibly unlucky, to be thinking about death and disintegration when
one is in blooming health. But this investment may affect the whole
pattern of my retirement years. My dream is to cycle the planet, at
least the good parts of it, before I die (or before _it_ dies, at the
rate we're killing it). As Yourcenar said, il faut faire le tour de sa
prison.
Cheers nevertheless,
EFR
Ile de France
