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, one of his new ideas 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 on 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 steering
wheel nor handlebars and to stop, one had to
simply stop pedalling. It was all very simple. And, then with a
smile and a grin Paris Maderna 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.
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 and take him up the road for a beer.
But,
of course, Paris Maderna didn't give up and soon he was back on the
road with another idea. And now, all these years later, his range
of products is not only exciting, but varied as well. The new age
of cycling is with us and the hard work and peddling has been done by
Paris Maderna! Persistence pays off and Paris Maderna has peddled to
the top in a colourful way.
Paris
Maderna – a colourful person with a range of colourful products.
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
