Text 2443, 77 rader
Skriven 2008-02-14 19:02:00 av BOB GEARHART (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av GLEN JAMIESON
Ärende: BICYCLES  80212
=======================
 Glen Jamieson said to Bob Gearhart at 02-12-08  14:33
 Subject: BICYCLES  80212<Glen Jamieson>

 -=> Quoting Bob Gearhart to Glen Jamieson <=-
 
 GJ> I tried riding both of her bikes, and on level ground the one with the
 GJ> wide, "off-road" tyres took about twice as much effort to push as the
 GJ> skinny tyred 3 speed.  I tried to get the 5-speed derailleur gear
 GJ> working, but a small, plastic component had broken, and as the whole
 GJ> assembly was rivetted together it would all have to be replaced, so I
 GJ> just fixed it in middle gear so that Joan could keep it as a spare.
 
 When riding in town I seldom change gears.  About upper mid-range works
 for most roads and such.  If I want a work out, then I'll shift to
 higher, but I'm more apt to ride in the low range when off roads.  Mud
 and ruts are hard unless your riding very slow using power to get
 through them.    It is fun.

 BG> grocery store to pick up a few items. I have a snap on basket for the
 BG> front on mine. However for lots of items, not so great.  I went to the
 BG> K-Mart once to pick up some stuff and they had Italian bread on sale
 BG> so I picked up a couple extra loaves.  But by the time I got home they
 BG> were good for nothing but stuffing mix.  All it takes is one crash
 BG> when some airhead on her cell phone decides to go at a stop sign
 BG> because no big car is directly in front of her. People and bikes don't
 BG> count. 

 GJ> As I have told my sons when they ride bikes or motorcycles, once you
 GJ> get on one, you don the cloak of invisibility, as far as many
 GJ> motorists are concerned.

 Yes, Good advice.  I've been riding bikes for sixty five years now and
 have been on the wrong end of a car bumper several times.  When I
 worked I rode to and from every day.  Coming home once I had a terrible
 day.  Stopped at the ice cream shop and got my double dip.  Went get
 back on my skinny tired bike and dropped my ice-cream.  Back in the
 ice-cream  store and the girl saw what had happened so she gave me
 another one free of charge.  That one made it to the other side of a
 divided highway.  As I was crossing the other lane a fellow driving
 his car and rushing to beat the oncoming traffic didn't bother looking
 where he was going and I bounced off his hood as he whipped around the
 corner.   He was of course all upset, but not so much as I was for my
 new ice-cream was splattered over his windshield.  He asked if there
 was anything he could do.  I told him to open his trunk to put my
 bike in and take me home, but before we go, you owe me an ice-cream.
 The girl behind the counter laughed at me when I said no freebie this
 time, he pays.  :-)


 GJ> Recently I visited Rottnest Island, a small island 20 km off the coast
 GJ> of Western Australia, which is the only place where quokkas, a variety
 GJ> of small wallaby about the size of a beaver, are found.  As it is only
 GJ> 29 km right round the island, visitors' cars are banned, and apart
 GJ> from service vehicles and buses, bicycles are the only transport
 GJ> allowed. Many visitors bring their own bikes on the ferry, or hire them
 GJ> on arrival.  There are some good surfing beaches, and some bikes have
 GJ> special racks to carry surf boards, either longitudinally alongside
 GJ> the rider or near vertically behind.  I would think that the latter
 GJ> would be very affected by wind.

 That is one trick I wouldn't try.   I might figure out something with a
 roller skate for one end of a trailer arrangement though.

 GJ> There are quite a few Morton Bay fig trees on the island, and at
 GJ> times, when the fruit is ripe it drops and ferments on the ground.  The
 GJ> quokkas love it, but it makes them drunk and careless, so when cycling
 GJ> in the evenings, drunken quokkas on the road are a hazard.

 LOL..   At one of my work locations the birds would eat the fermented
 apples in the fall.  It was funny to watch them fly up and grab a wire,
 then flip upside down as they lost their balance.  Drunken sots.

 Bob

___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12
--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5
 * Origin: Doc's Place BBS Fido Since 1991 docsplace.tzo.com (1:123/140)