On Tue, 25 Jul 2006 23:11:44 -0400, "Phil Lee, Squid"
<
[email protected]> wrote:
>[email protected] wrote:
>> On Tue, 25 Jul 2006 22:35:03 -0400, "Phil Lee, Squid"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> [email protected] wrote:
>>>> On 25 Jul 2006 16:22:14 -0700, "[email protected]"
>>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Tim McNamara wrote:
>>>>>> Dan <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8867862777896510907
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Pretty cool video. Note the short wheelbase, steep headtube and
>>>>>>> no rake fork.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Without fork offset, it doesn't matter to the rider whether the
>>>>>> wheel is "forwards" or "backwards." For trick riding that's a
>>>>>> handy thing. The steep headtube keeps the trail in a reasonable
>>>>>> range, otherwise on a standard road bike geometry with no fork
>>>>>> offset, trail is larger than 100 mm and the bike handles really
>>>>>> funny.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> All that being said, though, the tricks that rider does are
>>>>>> remarkable. The wheelie maneuvers were quite impressive.
>>>>>
>>>>> That's "artistic cycling," which is a trick sport (as opposed to
>>>>> say a speed sport) that has some popularity in Germany, I think,
>>>>> and maybe other places like Japan. It is basically unknown in the
>>>>> US although some of the early trick riders were late 19thC
>>>>> Americans. It is actually a discipline sanctioned by the very same
>>>>> UCI that we know
>>>>> and love from bike racing. They always use bikes like that,
>>>>> including the upturned handlebars. It is quite remarkable what
>>>>> they can do.
>>>>> You should be able to find more videos online; I've never seen it
>>>>> live.
>>>>
>>>> Dear B.,
>>>>
>>>> Such antics are wretchedly popular with hateful female Chinese
>>>> acrobats, who think nothing of juggling colored balls and doing
>>>> handstands on each other's shoulders while doing even worse things
>>>> on their bicycles in front of innocent U.S. audiences that include
>>>> extremely bitter male trials riders who mistakenly thought that they
>>>> had a sense of balance.
>>>>
>>>> The vile young wenches wear ever blander smiles as they perform
>>>> increasingly absurd and impossible feats--
>>>>
>>>> Er, at least that's what I've heard.
>>>
>>> Yeah... Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to learn how
>>> to ride backwards (rear wheel first in direction of travel)???
>>
>> Dear Phil,
>>
>> Alas, you need to start training for that kind of stuff while your
>> brain is young enough to make the necessary connections.
>
>What? You callin' me old?
>
>> This is why few people master musical instruments, major league curve
>> balls, or foreign languages if they begin training after puberty. (And
>> why those horrible little children can play violins so well with the
>> Suzuki method and why Vivaldi's all-orphan girl orchestras were so
>> skillful.)
>
>I type like a psycho; I played the piano as a kid, like all other
>second-generation Asian children. Yes, that's an umbrella statement.
>
>> See "Why Michael Couldn't Hit" by the late Harold Klawans, a
>> neurologist who often wrote clearly enough to make readers think that
>> they understood neurology. Michael Jordan was unquestionably an
>> enormously gifted athlete, but he was a miserable failure as a hitter
>> compared to no-name players when he tried to switch as an adult from
>> basketball to baseball.
>
>I'll be playing softball with other Disney interns in the next few weeks...
>I doubt I can make the switch either. Maybe I can somehow ride a bike in
>the field to get around faster...
Dear Phil,
Well, yes, I'm afraid that I'm calling you old.
At 22, you mustn't take it personally--it's just that anyone posting
on RBT who hasn't been playing advanced music for years is a no-hoper
as far as any serious music school is concerned.
As for typing, the earlier you learn to type, the better, but it's a
surprisingly easy skill to master.
The woods are full of excellent typists, but excellent musicians,
batters, and multi-linguists are rare.
Yes, many people who start training after puberty can scrape out a
tune, hit a softball, or speak another language--but no one would
mistake them for a professional musician, a major league hitter, or a
native speaker.
(And actually, excellent typists are rarer than most people think. We
slop along with word processors, cutting and pasting and pausing for
thought, and tend to think that we're typing demons. But don't bet
money on yourself against a professional medical dictationist, unless
you like her and are crafty enough to bet her a dinner-date on the
outcome of a typing duel.)
(If you want a truly humbling experience, try to fill out a long form
on a manual typewriter--even those of us who spent years on old
typewriters are as spoiled now by word processors and computer
keyboards as a retired major league hitter who's been playing slow
pitch softball for years with an aluminum bat.)
As for the acrobat on the bicycle, the difference is even more
annoying. Most riders on RBT would pride themselves on a mere
trackstand or a straightforward wheelie.
The fact is that 99.999% of us couldn't even begin to do any of the
tricks that she does so well for several minutes in casual, improvised
variations. Yet for her, those astonishing feats are about as hard as
doing a figure-eight in a parking lot would be for you or me. (Notice
that she never fell or even bobbled, any more than we would stumble or
fall while walking around the same floor.)
My dog has the right attitude. He could never learn to walk on his
hind legs as skillfully I do, but he does not appear to envy my
achievement.
Cheers,
Carl Fogel