"Dave" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Bruce Johnston" <
[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> > I did that one time when I was a teen. I put a huge chainring on the
front,
> > got on highway 99 [mostly freeway] and drafted a car at 55 mph for a
while
> > just to see what it was like. Incredibly dangerous and and stupid. I got
off
> > before the highway patrol caught me. I was getting the oddest looks from everyone. It was fun,
> > especially the pull of those big trucks that go
by.
> > Actually I did even a bolder thing one time when I tied a rope on my
bike
> > and had a friend pull my roadbike behind his motorbike at 80 mph. Front wheel was all over the
> > place, thought I was going to crash and die for
sure.
> > Teen years, bored looking for fun. What can I say?
> >
> > Bruce
>
> Down Crenshaw from the top in Palos Verdes, speed limit is 45mph, I swung
out around to pass a
> Toyota mini van, the kids were face plastered on the window watching me, I
blew by the van and then
> was promptly pulled over for doing 62mph by a P.V. sherriff. Top speed for
me is downhill from the
> Tram Station in Palm Springs, I believe it has an elevation gain of 2500
feet in a little less than
> 4 miles, I went 72mph on my Motta SLX frame. Dave
------------------------------------
A word on the kids faces plastered on the cars winshield.
It has always amazed me out riding in the Sierras just how supportive and inspiring kids are. I
couldn't count how many times I was out on a big climb in the sierras to be passed by a carload of
kids giving me the thumbs up. They seems so totally transfixed, yes, [faces plastered to the
windshield] kind of lifts your spirits if you are dead on the bike and still need to do a few
climbs to get home. I remember one time I was going up Sonora Pass, long ways from home for me,
tired and no thought of where I would spend the night. I was at about 8000 ft. climbing, dead in
the saddle, when a carload of kids came by and gave me the thumbs up. I will never forget that. I
should of took a picture of it. Six kids plastered to the rear window of the station wagon giving
me the thumbs up. Count um, 6 thumbs in a row. That made my day. I made it to a cabin and spend the
night. Kids seem so fascinated with cyclists, especially in the mountains. They think that is the
coolest thing in the world!
And rightly so!
Bruce