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" Can I help you? " This was said by a man coming out of the back room of a small shop we had discovered in one of the back streets of town.
If ever there was a waking advertisement for the health and vigour you can achieve by riding a bicycle Mr Pedlot was it.
This bicycle shop did not have a big window in fact it just had a plain front door and a house window, it was sandwiched between Jacob's fishing tackle and Arthur's radio repairs. No Mr Pedlot was not a man who sold bicycles, he was a cyclist, an enthusiast, a cycle nutcase, he had the original case of Cycleosity.
I had always been under the impression that a bicycle was a two wheeled thing you sat on and pedalled. Life it seems in the world of bicycle enthusiasts is not that simple.
We were surrounded by the products of man powered mobility, there were big bikes, small bikes, bikes for delivering bread, bikes for racing, bikes for shopping, there were ladies bikes, gents bikes, some with small wheels, some for riding up mountains, some for riding down mountains, there was one that folded into a briefcase.
Not just new bicycles this man had bicycles from every age since the thing was invented. His small shop extended down a long garden with bicycles in a variety of sheds and outbuildings. If it had two wheels and you pedalled it, it would be here, somewhere.
Me and Joe browsed around the shop, as we did so we were given a free degree level course in the history of bicycling and a potted account of all the major cycle races in the past fifty years. There were literally hundreds of bicycles. Joe, of course, had to try them all, even an old penny farthing at the back of the shop which was bought as new by Mr Pedlot's grandfather.
" I like this one." shouted Joe climbing on another gleaming wonder of personal transport. " No I think I'll have this one." said Joe spotting another one. "Hang on that's nice, do you think that ones more me."
Joe went from bicycle to bicycle trying each one he had not sat on yet.
Mr Pedlot was helpful and cheerful throughout, which must be again something to do with the health, fitness and peace of mind brought about by riding bicycles, because I was getting pretty annoyed with Joe and it was not my shop. Perhaps Mr Pedlot just enjoyed having someone to enthuse about bicycles to who was not in a hurry to rush off.
Much to my surprise we even had to be measured for our bikes, inside leg, arm, height. I half expected Mr Pedlot to go into the back of the shop and make us one up.
" How about this? " said Joe hanging his head down on a flash green racer. I looked at it, I was not going to have anything with twenty nine gears. Joe slowly got off the racer and ask if there was anything with a more comfortable saddle. I got onto a red one and declared it was the one I wanted, Joe ask why and the only thing I really liked was the colour. We were into the technical stuff now.
Mr Pedlot herr-hummmed for little a while as he looked at us, he then declared that he thought he knew what we really wanted. He then disappeared into the back of the shop.
" He's gone to get his big hammer to nut us with." said Joe." Do you think we
should creep out before he comes back."
" Too late." I said.
Mr Pedlot came back wheeling a bicycle which certainly was something special. Mr Pedlot thought that we might like it, he thought it somehow suited us. " I think I do like it. " I said." But I do think it could lead to arguments." " Why should it do that. " said Joe rather surprised. " Well it's a tandem." I said." Wont we be always arguing about who goes up front and steers." " There's no argument about it." declared Joe." You're the brains of this organisation you drive and figure out where were going I'll just provide the muscle power at the back."
And that is exactly how it was. Amazingly Mr Pedlot had got it exactly right for us, the type of bike, the size, the weight everything about the bike suited us, even down to the carrying panniers.
We left the shop pushing our prise new possession. We were free spirits, we had wheels, one each...............
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Short Story Series - Abridged from the book - The Tatty Nickers | |||
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