I have no idea how old the above bike is but it does look like a relic of a long gone era. What I find amazing, is that it is not that much different to some urban bikes we see in shops to-day. A little flashier perhaps, particularly in the paintwork area but none the less the principle is still the same. Of course, the bicycle of to-day is, in the main a much more efficient machine and a lot easier to get from A to B than it was when this old girl was the darling of her owner. I know that my own bike with it's front suspension, gears, disc brakes and light frame would get from A to B much quicker and with less energy being spent. None the less, I should imagine, the above bike would have been a top of the range model which would have attracted a lot of attention from other cyclists.
A bicycle, well maintained, can take a lot of punishment and still not fatigue. Not so the human sitting on top. Even with the elite riders, it's not the bike that hits a brick wall during a race, it's the rider, and for all sorts of reasons, lack of preparation, temporary illness, dehydration or not taking in fuel at the right time, to name a few.
Has this ever happened to you? Out in the middle of nowhere and the key breaks off in the lock....how inconvenient! In the above instance, help was at hand with just a quick phone call.
A well place quad, nicely arranged, well maintained and certainly inviting. I guess you should expect nothing less from a five star establishment like the Hilton.
Not a functional, working model but this great replica was being used to alert people that Lake Taupo is a cycle friendly town.
You see so many usable bikes dumped in rubbish tips these days. Wouldn't you think that if it is not worthwhile fixing and donating it to a worthwhile cause like Bikes for Third World Countries or something similar, an artistic use could be made of them such as depicted above, rather than being used as land fill. Such a waste.
Is it a bicycle convention? No, just a smart Motel owner who was sick of cyclists wrecking his rooms with their bikes. In this case, it served two purposes, the other being the security of our bikes. Happy guests and happy motel manager.
I happened to take this photo of the steel bike with wooden wheels in an historical display in a shop window in Thames. I looked at it for some time thinking of all the possibilities as to previous owners. Perhaps it was an itinerant shearer, or prospector or maybe an upbeat swaggie. Maybe it was a prototype and only one was made.
These relics of the past also raise questions on who may have been the owner and like most cyclists, all would have a story to tell. Were they locals or tourists and if the latter where did they come from. Was the bike owned purely for pleasure or as a workhorse. Interesting! In this photograph, they almost look as if they are in captivity for some past misdeed.
I should imagine that this artistic replica of a bike would make a good ornament in a rustic garden in between the camellias and magnolias.
An unusual bike stand and if the little white splotches are an indication, a roost for a number of birds.
A forlorn pair of bikes keeping a vigil by the sea awaiting the return of their masters.
Cheers,
Jimmy Bee
No comments:
Post a Comment