As I'm sure you have noticed, the practice of riding no-hands has increased rapidly. More and more people seem unable to resist looking so un-self-consciously cool. We have all seen people riding hands-free while chatting on their phones, and people texting while riding hands-free on busy bike paths.
Just last week as I was riding south on the South Platte Trail, I saw a young man riding north toward me, no-hands. Not very remarkable, you say? He was riding no-hands because he was playing his guitar.
I did not see it but I assume he had a strap on that guitar. Otherwise, if he were surprised (pretty far-fetched, I know) and had to reach quickly for his brake levers, he'd drop the guitar. Maybe into his front wheel.
I told that story to four or five guys on a Sunday morning road-training ride. Their facial expressions did not change, telling me that they wanted me to know that they were not surprised to hear about a guy riding and playing a guitar. One guy did say, quietly, "They're out there."
The question? Who's cooler? Is it the young man with the guitar? Or the roadies who can't be surprised?
2 comments:
My vote is for the roadies who are not surprised by anything. There was a day when I would take off a pullover, neatly roll it up and put it in my jersey pocket while riding, but no more. It takes too long to heal from falls now. I'll still stretch my arms and shoulders and do a few other hands free things. But distracted riding is just as bad as distracted driving!
Riding while talking on a cell phone is IMHO no different than driving while talking on a cell phone, i.e., dangerous and irresponsible. Just another example of cyclists doing something they would criticize car drivers for doing that endangers cyclists.
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