Picture - A Day Out for Two - by Nigel A JAMES
Paris Maderna
In those days, Paris Maderna was a colourful character. He was young, and not so much an inventor but a reinventor of things that had already been invented. And, when I got to know him he was busy reinventing the bike. And, his idea was not only brilliant, but rather unusual as well.
Paris Maderna's new bike looked more like a bed with three wheels than a bike. And, to ride it, one had to lie in it, not sit in it, and the pedals were up at the front and coupled to the front single wheel. And, riding it, Paris Maderna promised, was not only simple, but comfortable, too. And, I will never forget the day that I saw it in action.
To begin with, Paris Maderna explained how it worked. To steer to the right, one had to lean to the right, and vice-versa for left. There was no other way. The bike had neither a steering wheel nor handlebars and to stop, one had to stop pedaling. It was all very simple. And, then with a smile and a grin he lowered himself into his bike and got ready for action.
And soon he was moving at speed. And then, at just the right distance from the fast approaching concrete wall, Paris Maderna leaned to the right. Nothing. The bike kept on going. Paris Maderna then leaned to the left. Again nothing. And then, with one last desperate effort, Paris Maderna leaned again to the right. And, the bike started turning. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. But, too late. The wall had been quicker than Paris Maderna, and the sound of the crash told it all. All we had to do was help Paris Maderna out of the wreckage.
But, of course, Paris Maderna didn't give up. And, very soon he was back on the road with another idea. And, it was good so. Thanks to inventors and reinventors like Paris Maderna, we have the colours of choice that provide for the shades of our comforts. The new age of cycling will surely arrive, and the peddling will all have been done by Paris Maderna!
Long live inventors!
Vocabulary
age - Zeitalter
approaching - annähend
comforts – Bequemlichkeiten
concrete wall – Betonmauer
desperate - verzweifelt
distance - Entfernung
handlebars - Lenkstange
inventor – Erfinder
leaned – (lean/leaned/leaned) - lehnen
neither nor – weder noch
pedalling – treten
relief - Erleichterung
shades - Schattierungen
sigh - Seufzen
steering - lenken
vice-versa – Gegenteil
