Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for August 31, 2016

Hobbes, let the boy have his moment of glory; it won’t last long.

Spoil sport.

Uhmm maybe we shouldn’t Hobbes!!better stick to riding it the normal way.

Kickstand? What the heck is a kickstand?

Okay, I jest. One of my three bikes came with a kickstand. I took it off. The rattling confused me. I thought it was the rocks in my head.

Training wheels were for girls and sissies. I never had them. I just kept at it until I got the hang of it, like every other boy I knew. So I fell a lot, so what? No helmets then either, but it didn’t matter cause I wasn’t going very fast. A few skinned knees, hands, & elbows were nothing more than badges of honor.

The last time I bought a bike at a bike store (and that was the name, ‘The Bike Store’) they looked at me funny when I asked for a kickstand on it. Then they tried to talk me out of it. “Unnecessary.” “It spoils the center of balance.”

I still remembered my brother learning to ride a bike a few years ago. His problem wasn’t balance as much as it was stopping. But eventually he got the hang of it.

He’s never going to ride that bike with those short legs.

Can’t do it by overthinking. Let your subconscious brain handle this balance thing Calvin

You can see the stand down in 3 of the 4 panels.

It’s not all over already!!

The first clue should have been he was balancing without moving; yep he’ll go far.

… in the vicinity of smokers who have to get that last drag just before stepping into the store.Tell St. Peter at the Golden Gate that you hate to make him wait, but you just gotta have another cigarette.

I learned to ride a motorcycle well before I rode a bicycle. But I’ve spent the last 40 years as a bicycle mechanic.

Kick stands were necessary – hardly any bicycle racks. No locking your bike to a convenient traffic sign pole, no locks were needed.

It wasn’t until the bikes became expensive with all gear shifts and hand brakes that people started locking them up and bike racks everywhere eliminated the need for self-standing bicycles.

My twin daughters were black and blue all over when they learned to ride a bike. It’s a good thing we lived in the country or social services would have been all over us for child abuse.

I taught both of my daughters how to ride using a half-length of an old broom stick (no, I didn’t beat them with it). Fits nicely behind the seat and down between the back forks, with about a foot or foot-and-a-half sticking up above the seat. I would jog next to them while holding the end of the broom stick, which give pretty good leverage to keep the bike steady and upright. Plus, since they can’t see your hand back there, they never knew when you turned loose of it and let them balance a bit on their own, which takes some of the “Don’t let go of me!” fear factor out of it. Both learned in only a few go-rounds with that method.

I never learned to ride a bike.

I don’t care. I enjoy being “weird”

xxx

The problem with bike riding is the faster you go, the easier it is to stay balanced. But the faster you go, the harder you crash.

REI has a video showing an innovative method of learning to ride. You remove the pedals and put the seat as low as it goes. The kid starts by walking the bike around, then pushing and pulling feet off the ground for a bit, then navigating obstacles while coasting. Once balance and steering are learned, you put the pedals back on.

I was lucky, the older kids put me on a bike and pushed me down a hill thinking it’d be funny, sadly for them I was a natural and had no issues, they then struggled to get me off the bike ;)

If I’m not going to be long, I typically run the cable between the stays, and through the spokes on the back wheel. This locks the rear wheel to the frame, and disables the bike. Then, if I want to further hobble it, I also run the cable over the handlebar, just inside the brake and shifter, which keeps the front wheel turned to the right. If anyone tries to push it off, they would have to lift the rear end (complete with partially loaded panniers) and balance the bike on the turned wheel. I mostly worry about the quick release front wheel and saddle, and various accessories, like lights.

If I am going to be long, I find something to secure it to.

What grinds my gears is that I wouldn’t have to do all this if it weren’t for thieves.

I do not drive, or own a motor vehicle. This is my ride.

Please let me know.The ‘easy’ means ‘not difficult’ or ‘Take it easy’ to myself ?Which one is right ?

One more question.Is “Hold it still” the mention to Hobbes or himself ?Does the ‘still’ means ‘firmly’ ?

I am a non-english person.I appreciate for your help.

You are quite welcome. Your english is good enough to communicate effectively.

LeadingEdge said, about 21 hours ago@neverenoughgold…it does nothing to improve the other drivers around you!

You’ll get a kick out of this.At first, I thought you were referencing your wife in the front passenger seat.

No, if she gets too mouthy, I pull over and stop, then put her in the back seat. She can do her driving from there…

His moment of glory for once in his life