Swine Flu parties = bad idea, but how about Hybrid parties?
laughingboy
Posts: 248
I read on the BBC website:
"Throwing "swine flu parties" in an attempt to get immunity against the virus while it is a fairly mild form is not a good idea, doctors say."
Disappointed though I was by the fun-trumping conclusion of the doctors, the story got me thinking:
[Thinks]...new bike commuters are like children: they ride like a downhill skier after few pints, and know nothing about the panoply of unwanted experiences ahead of them. So, as the 'adults' in the analogy, should we help them earn their spurs/SPDs?...[stops thinking]
Which leads me to my suggestion:
Like every common bacterium, Hybrid-itis preys on the vulnerable. So newbies need to build up a resistance while it is still mild. As responsible adults*, should we organise parties where poor little newbies can ride both a hybrid and a road bike, to get crapbike-ism out of their system quickly and under controlled conditions? Or should we leave them to suffer, knowing that the virus might in time mutate, and - like the dreaded BSO-itis - end their cycling for good?
*(full disclosure: see Silly Commuting Racing thread for contra-indicators of maturity)
"Throwing "swine flu parties" in an attempt to get immunity against the virus while it is a fairly mild form is not a good idea, doctors say."
Disappointed though I was by the fun-trumping conclusion of the doctors, the story got me thinking:
[Thinks]...new bike commuters are like children: they ride like a downhill skier after few pints, and know nothing about the panoply of unwanted experiences ahead of them. So, as the 'adults' in the analogy, should we help them earn their spurs/SPDs?...[stops thinking]
Which leads me to my suggestion:
Like every common bacterium, Hybrid-itis preys on the vulnerable. So newbies need to build up a resistance while it is still mild. As responsible adults*, should we organise parties where poor little newbies can ride both a hybrid and a road bike, to get crapbike-ism out of their system quickly and under controlled conditions? Or should we leave them to suffer, knowing that the virus might in time mutate, and - like the dreaded BSO-itis - end their cycling for good?
*(full disclosure: see Silly Commuting Racing thread for contra-indicators of maturity)
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Common bacterium?? :shock: :shock: Oy! Watch what you saying about us hybrid-riding newbies :evil:
........... although the party sounds like a great idea. Please include basic maintenance tips, lessons on gear changes, cleats etc, plus a bottle or two of 'fear begone!' juice and I'll sign on the dotted line
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UndercoverElephant wrote:I don't think that I'm alone in thinking that if a bloke, dressed up like a multi-coloured condom, stopped and asked me to go to a special kind of party with him so, I could try new things. I'm not sure I'd want to go with him.
:shock:
So if he asked you to bend forward, put your hands on the hoods and, once you get comfortable, to slip it into the big ring, it might actually put you off cycling? :roll:0 -
What you need to do is offer them an incentive to go, laughing boy.
Why not offer them sweets and fizzy pop to go?0 -
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EXACTLY!
Transport to the party - a campervan of course!0 -
Does anyone with a serious Wiggle habit have any spare Haribo?tardington wrote:What you need to do is offer them an incentive to go, laughing boy.
Why not offer them sweets and fizzy pop to go?0 -
Over the weekend I met a "new cyclist" who is currently borrowing an MTB and is looking for something to buy. All the options I recommended had flat bars!
*ducks*David
Engineered Bicycles0 -
I had a nasty case of it when I started cycling a year ago. Lasted 6-8 months and left deep mental scars from which I may never totally recover. Fortunately I am now pretty much healed and totally immune
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In all seriousness, I think that there are only two types of bikes: good bikes and bad bikes.Roastie wrote:Over the weekend I met a "new cyclist" who is currently borrowing an MTB and is looking for something to buy. All the options I recommended had flat bars!
*ducks*
However, some bikes are better suited to certain types of riding than others. IMO people on this forum are generally disparaging about hybrids because most commuters cycle on roads and cycle paths - and a road bike will generally be the best choice for these commuters [ducks in advance] as long as there is provision for rack and mudguards.0 -
Like chickenpox, I hear the scars are made worse by a person's behaviour when the virus is active.Oddjob62 wrote:I had a nasty case of it when I started cycling a year ago. Lasted 6-8 months and left deep mental scars from which I may never totally recover. Fortunately I am now pretty much healed and totally immune
Come clean now, did you RLJ on your hybrid?
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I think part of the problem is that the term "hybrid" is used to describe anything that isn't an MTB but has flat bars.laughingboy wrote:IMO people on this forum are generally disparaging about hybrids ...
While some hybrids are just horrid (Giant Escape springs to mind), others (e.g. the Trek FX 7.7 or Sirrus Expert (?)) are actually quite nice machines for getting around town with.David
Engineered Bicycles0 -
Roastie wrote:
I think part of the problem is that the term "hybrid" is used to describe anything that isn't an MTB but has flat bars.laughingboy wrote:IMO people on this forum are generally disparaging about hybrids ...
While some hybrids are just horrid (Giant Escape springs to mind), others (e.g. the Trek FX 7.7 or Sirrus Expert (?)) are actually quite nice machines for getting around town with.
yup it's a meanless term in many ways covers bikes like the Escape which are for pottering to town and back to some fast road bikes that happen to have flat bars.0 -
laughingboy wrote:
Does anyone with a serious Wiggle habit have any spare Haribo?tardington wrote:What you need to do is offer them an incentive to go, laughing boy.
Why not offer them sweets and fizzy pop to go?
Damn I've scoffed mine from this mornings delivery
Why didn't I read this post earlier, I could have been arrested in Greenwich Park by now pain is temporary, the glory of beating your mates to the top of the hill lasts forever.....................
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