I read on a cycling blog the other evening about a guy visiting Holland. He was impressed with all the cycling infrastructure, but incredulous about one feature of dutch bikes.

They don’t have any brakes.

Seriously, he thought they didn’t have brakes.

Instead he told me, it is necessary to pedal backwards ! He swore it’s true.

Am I so old that only I remember when all bikes were “coaster” brake: you pedaled forward to go forward, you stopped pedalling to coast, and you pushed in reverse to apply the brakes. Has everyone born since the popularity boom of the ten speed bike in the 1970’s only ever seen the hand brake and derraileur?

I was delighted to see this large trike in front of an “antique” store on Somerset West. I had one of these as a kid, back in the days when kids only got a two wheeler when they were 8 or 10 years old. Heck 18 month old kids today got plastic two wheelers and these trikes are … well … antiques. Like me.