Chop Chop (Short Story) - 3/6/2017 8:47:36 AM
Historical fiction from the viewpoint of a piano… Cool. I really like the way you saved her in the end.
Ron
24 Hours (Short Story) - 2/19/2017 11:50:36 AM
Thanks....I know about it because I've done the national 24 5 times. PB of 482 miles and runner up once. Just can't get get the win and I think time is against me...
24 Hours (Short Story) - 2/19/2017 11:38:27 AM
This one speaks less of the bicycle and more of the rider. These riders are extraordinary for their endurance and their ability to push on through the pain as you so beautifully illustrated from the bicycle's point of view.
I only rode bicycle for enjoyment, so don't know what my limits were. I did once walk 50 miles and 11 hours. Two hours of that were merely to wait for others so that I would have company during the walk. Still, I walked alone at the end and left 18 others far behind. Perhaps it was my bicycle legs that would let me sleep the following night and grudgingly let me walk the next day.
Ron
The Black Train (Short Story) - 2/18/2017 12:52:01 PM
It was written to be an allegory of the Three Musketeers. People from the upper echelons of wealth who spend their efforts fighting battles that change nothing. Dan Grant? Ray Amis?
The Black Train (Short Story) - 2/18/2017 10:51:17 AM
After all that build up, I expected something interesting to happen at the finish. It did, but not what I expected--quite a twist.
Ron
Love in Waiting (Short Story) - 2/6/2017 6:07:43 AM
I couldn't get the idea that he was, "married," out of my mind as I read. No more mention of it. I had not heard of Bromptons before although I did rent an apartment for a few months called Brompton Court. ;-) Those bikes certainly seem to be convenient and two of them can certainly have intimate conversation while riding together in a boot.
I am writing this from my 25-year-old Invacare foldable electric wheelchair. By removing the battery case, the chair can be collapsed so that it is only about 7 inches wide like the Brompton. It has old-fashioned 20 inch bicycle tube tires that scared us mightily one morning about 5 am when a tube blew next to my partner/caregiver like a gun firing and scared her nearly to death! This old chair is my mainstay transportation around the house, even though state rules require that I get a new Permobil (expensive, but less functional) every five years.
And, I may have mentioned before, that while I was in my senior year in college, I wrote my sister's medium-sized girl's bike around campus without worry that it would be stolen. ;-) Whenever I wanted to go somewhere with the bike of any distance, I could easily drop the bike into the cavernous trunk of my 1957 Desoto. No folding, bike rack or disassembly required. ;-)
Ron
Fraud (Short Story) - 1/31/2017 9:50:07 AM
Thanks! Yes, there was the Brinks Matt bullion heist in 1983 at Heathrow Airport that netted £26 million - 3200 1kg bars....over half of it is still unaccounted for. The perpetrators are all doing time, but they've said nothing. Simon
Fraud (Short Story) - 1/31/2017 6:44:41 AM
Bricks to bicycle frames! That's quite a story! I'd have to check back, but I think there was a heist of gold back around 1984 that was one of the biggest in history. Kenny and Bernie certainly were doing well. And that certainly was an interesting way to hide gold in plain sight. 120 bricks is a regular Fort Knox and worth a pretty penny--millions of dollars.
Even the best of artifacts, even framed, get jostled around a bit in transit. Since gold is very soft, any encounter would result in the silver blue paint being dented or flaked off. Gold would immediately appear and be visible to the eye. I can't believe that in 120 shops, one shopkeeper or another didn't discover gold. ;-)
Ron
The Parish Counsellor (Short Story) - 1/21/2017 10:37:31 AM
Another great story and an interesting twist at the end where a spy is killed by his own countrymen and his murderers covered up by the same incident. Good karma, I would say.
Ron
Meet You On Waterloo Bridge (Short Story) - 1/14/2017 10:28:58 AM
A touching story. If all Facebook romances started this way. I can see that you write about more than bicycles. Before I started reading, I was imagining two bicycles falling in love when they chance meeting at the trail ride. ;-)
A few minor typos.
Ron
Out The Back Door (Short Story) - 1/6/2017 12:12:41 PM
Hi Ron - thanks for this - yes, very personal and something which people who have suffered similar will understand. But I'm not complaining...there are thankfully more good times than bad.
Out The Back Door (Short Story) - 1/1/2017 6:56:59 AM
This story is so poignant. And, I suspect, that it is from experience. Bicycling, like swimming, uses muscles in ways that are different and can certainly ease pain.
I have an exercise machine (http://www.flexiciser.com) that peddles my feet like a bicycle and allows my arms and shoulders to go back and forth in a matching pumping action. Although my legs are usually very stiff from spasms, I find that a speed of around 15 mph is quite relaxing and reminiscent of writing a real bicycle. Something I did quite a bit of after my arms and hands were paralyzed and atrophied, but my legs remained strong. Exercising before going to bed helps improve circulation, reduces swelling, and allows me to go to sleep without leg pain keeping me awake.
In the UK you may call it a "kerb." In the US, we call the same thing a "curb."
Ron
Stage Revolution (Short Story) - 12/19/2016 7:40:01 AM
I could hear the same complaints coming from NASCAR race cars--pretty much all the same underneath--with a outer skin that looks like a major brand. Not sure of the engines are all the same racing engine.
This story is not as interesting to me as some of the others but probably will be interesting to Tour De France. I was greatly disappointed upon learning of Lance's doping that he denied so vehemently for years. We need sports heroes to be real heroes, but so many have fallen by the wayside in recent years.
My niece's husband is a fairly good off-road rider and a designer for Trek. Thanks for including the Wisconsin brand.
Ron
Fixed for Christmas (Short Story) - 12/2/2016 5:33:14 AM
I really enjoyed all the English terms, some similar yet different at the time, 1984. Today it is people on smart phones walking around staring at them and getting in accidents as a result.
Reminded me of the time going home from junior high school when I cut the corner by the Catholic Church and a kid standing at the corner stepped right out in front of me. I recall that I ran up his leg with my front wheel, but he was unhurt but I was glad for that. I wouldn't get any money for his mistake, but if I had hurt him, his parents and my parents would have blamed me. No compensation either. ;-)
Ron
El Aurens (Short Story) - 11/30/2016 9:24:00 AM
You certainly know how to engage history in your stories. I didn't check, but I believe much of the history stated is true. Bicycles became motorized and predated automobiles. The connection remains to this day. I really liked the twist at the end.
Ron
Hi Liam (Short Story) - 11/23/2016 6:47:11 AM
At the end I found out that Liam was only 21. Throughout the story I thought he was much older. And, I guess, the source of his overindulging was his birthday party at work. I was beginning to think that he had a superior sense of smell. But then, someone who doesn't smoke and hasn't already become an alcoholic, would have a very good sense of smell.
It may have been a slow ride and a bummer of a day, with rain, but it seems to me that Liam struck it lucky happening upon the student and the actress merely by riding his bus home. Archie made for quite a character.
Ron
The War to End All Rides (Short Story) - 11/11/2016 9:28:37 AM
Tears came to my eyes as I reached the end sitting here in my wheelchair 25 years now. That war defined horror for so many who lost their lives or were maimed, "to end all wars." The lesson doesn't seem to take.
I'm grateful for a few years of bicycling after I lost my arms and hands to spinal cord injury. And also grateful for many more years still walking after that.
Ron
Two Fingers (Short Story) - 10/25/2016 12:39:28 PM
My father was a trucker and my twin brother has driven British roads and loves German and British cars including his current Jaguar sedan and BMW Z3. Last week he lost control on wet leaves and spun off the road rearward into a tree putting a big dent in his rear bumper and boot of his pristine Z3.
So, I really enjoyed the scene you developed and noticed all the terminology that is different here in the states. Your story kept throwing me curves all the way to the end with the fingers having no ones attached to them… At least that could be found. It is my understanding that "travelers" can be some bad dudes to deal with on the road.
Your story is a bit reminiscent of a story I posted called Hitch Bitch. She was definitely a gypsy and bad karma.
Ron
Secret Stock (Short Story) - 10/24/2016 5:41:03 AM
A wonderful story of a man boy connection related to nature. That's the first time I've heard of “twitchers." Here in America we call them, "birders." I look out on my backyard and see strange birds quite often and therefore, people think I'm a birder. I'm not, but I'm interested in all of nature and its wonders.
By coincidence, one of the photos in the latest issue of National Geographic was a nighttime shot of a flight of colorful parakeets in London. Over the years, I have seen both green and blue parakeets here in Houston that were probably escaped from their cages as pets.
This year, I saw a new bird that I understand has also made its home in London, a long or pin-tailed whydah, native of Africa but now spreading around the world. Just last week, I saw a crow for the very first time on my back fence and drinking from my birdbath after living here 34 years.
Ron
Tricycle Trial (Short Story) - 10/15/2016 8:56:56 AM
I'm sure glad that Sam's story (and yours) turned out all right. Kids have a way of riding off on their tricycles like this quite often. But it's hard to believe they could go as far as Sam did and know the way. They usually don't get very far and they are all tears were getting lost.
Sweet story from a tricycle point of view.
Ron
Solitary (Short Story) - 10/10/2016 4:35:36 AM
An epic poem by and for a unicycle. Now that's unique!
Thanks for the history and the social awareness of how evil the circus has been to man and beast.
Ron
Marching in Tandem (Short Story) - 9/19/2016 3:36:29 AM
I love historical fiction. At first I thought the "us" was a mistake, but shortly I learned that you were writing from the viewpoint of the bicycles. I'm not sure that tandem bicycles were really a new device in 1919, but I'll let that pass, because the rest of the story is very historically accurate.
By the same token, at the time of the conference, I thought that Wilson was already very ill and that his wife had taken over most of the presidential duties for him. And then, at the end you clearly indicated that it was the Spanish flu that he contracted at the conference that led to his illness and his eventual death.
Wilson was, indeed, a great statesman but great statesmen don't seem to get very much credit. Especially the American people, after "winning" World Wars I and II, prefer to give honor to warlike people who are very good at threats and punishment. John Keynes was, certainly, a great economist. Leaders would certainly benefit from taking the advice of economists who know what they're talking about. Unfortunately, leaders worldwide seem to be about feathering their own nests and catering to the rich getting richer instead of listening to economists and giving everyone a piece of the world economy.
People would be well educated is this political election in the United States by reading your story. The lesson teaches is truly extraordinary.
Ron
Blowing the lid off (Short Story) - 9/10/2016 11:41:39 AM
I must say that I've never read a story told by a bicycle before. ;-) However, it was a refreshing way to tell that not all of the casualties of Chernobyl were from radiation poisoning. As an avid bike rider in my youth and having to take a pee more times than I can remember, usually behind and not on, a tree, I can certainly relate to the story. At first I thought the story was totally fiction. But gradually, I realized that it was about Chernobyl and very accurately so. Kudos.
Ron
Blowing the lid off (Short Story) - 9/9/2016 1:36:20 AM
A perfect title for your narrative story which I enjoyed told from the perspective of a bicycle. You might say I was "framed" by a set of handlebars.
