I read that right under nigels picture without noticing you didn’t quote him......made me spit my coffee!
A friend's tall-tale from that era; he was riding down a long hill when he became aware of brakes not working (for whatever reason). Claimed to have reached around with his foot, jamming his sneaker between the rear tire and frame and holding till he came to a stop. Said it carved a large notch in the side of his shoe. Nothing like getting creative in real time!
He also spoke of the internal complexities of a 3 speed coaster brake hub - where you backpedaled not only to brake, but to shift gears! (I faintly recall taking a ride on that one and it doing just that -) I always wondered if that was the hub that failed him.
No doubt our legs are stronger than our hands, so a foot-operated brake is potentially much more effective. My old '73 Plymouth Road Runner had a foot-operated parking brake, which was actually useful, unlike the hand-brake on some cars.
The trouble with the coaster brake is that the rider needs an entirely different set of reflexes - reverse pedaling instead of grabbing at handlebar brakes. I didn't have those reflexes, leaving me without brakes at that critical moment when I reached the edge of the roadway and was staring at the abyss just beyond.
I had a similar problem when I took a short flight in an ultralight aircraft. The rudder was operated by a bar, very much like the handlebar on a bicycle, except down at your feet. But the direction of operation is reversed. On a 'cycle, you push your right hand forward to turn left. On an aircraft, you push your right leg forward to turn right. Gaah!
-Gnobuddy
Well, that's certainly a good reason to have redundant front and rear handle-bar brakes on a cycle! I've never lost brakes completely on a cycle, but I have gotten the rear wheel splashed in the rain, after which the rear brakes barely did anything for several seconds.
I did once experience partial brake failure in my old '73 Road Runner, mercifully, on slow surface streets a few blocks from home. I limped the car home and found one half of the brake master cylinder empty, a brake hose having developed a crack.
Fortunately the car was new enough to have a divided master cylinder and dual, completely independent hydraulic brake circuits; each circuit controlled one front wheel, and the diagonally opposite rear wheel, IIRC. One of my friends had a mid-fifties Chevy that didn't have this system, where a leak meant complete loss of all four brakes.
Not sure if that lightens the mood (though I was very thankful to the engineer who first came up with the dual hydraulic circuits idea), but here is something that should put a smile on your face: YouTube
-Gnobuddy
Been there, done that. As an 8 year old passenger riding on the back fender of my friend's bike, we hit a bump that dislodged my foot from the wheel nut and threw it into the spokes. The spokes sliced to the bone just below the attachment point for my Achilles tendon which stopped the wheel and we skidded to a stop.
Thirteen stitches later and a stern warning from the doctor about how I would've crippled myself for life had I sliced my tendon was definitely a life lesson.
You know it! As an 8 year old, it was very satisfying to pedal full speed towards your friends. Then stand up and slam the pedal backwards to slide right up to them, hopefully not into them
.Our little old Greyhound that doesn't move much and overly-energetic mutt who never stops moving:
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Something to lighten the mood: music!
Here's a study that finds that it takes only thirteen minutes for music to substantially alter a person's mood: Music as Medicine - The Musical Recommended Daily Allowance - The British Academy of Sound Therapy
Like most people, I don't need a study to tell me that music changes my mood; music has been one of the greatest gifts to come my way in this life, and there have been times when it was the only thing that could make me forget my troubles for a while. I've heard similar sentiments from many other people. Music helps us through our worst losses, and helps us celebrate our best days; it comforts us when we're alone, and brings us closer to other people when we're not.
And music is non-toxic, doesn't hurt anybody, and isn't bad for your health. You can't say as much for some of the other ways in which people try to self-soothe their troubles away.
Being cooped at home up due to the Coronavirus lockdown or social-distancing guidelines is the perfect time to pull out that old guitar or bass or ukelele or keyboard that's been in the closet for years, and start having some fun with it!
-Gnobuddy
Here's a study that finds that it takes only thirteen minutes for music to substantially alter a person's mood: Music as Medicine - The Musical Recommended Daily Allowance - The British Academy of Sound Therapy
Like most people, I don't need a study to tell me that music changes my mood; music has been one of the greatest gifts to come my way in this life, and there have been times when it was the only thing that could make me forget my troubles for a while. I've heard similar sentiments from many other people. Music helps us through our worst losses, and helps us celebrate our best days; it comforts us when we're alone, and brings us closer to other people when we're not.
And music is non-toxic, doesn't hurt anybody, and isn't bad for your health. You can't say as much for some of the other ways in which people try to self-soothe their troubles away.
Being cooped at home up due to the Coronavirus lockdown or social-distancing guidelines is the perfect time to pull out that old guitar or bass or ukelele or keyboard that's been in the closet for years, and start having some fun with it!
-Gnobuddy
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John Miles expresses this well:
Music was my first love
And it will be my last.
Music of the future
And music of the past.
To live without my music
Would be impossible to do.
In this world of troubles,
My music pulls me through.
YouTube
what ya growing there Timmy....looks like some fine soil !
btw.....i think somebody slipped ya a Chihuahua when ya bought your greyhound!
Well, don't tell the dog that! Let him dream, he thinks he's Italian.
Them's probably gonna be peanuts, good walkin' dirt right now. In front of us will likely be cotton, and to our right and out back they're growing cows. A good place to be, especially for little people.
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Peaches or peanuts. That's all they grow in Georgia.
Sound like you've been here!