In
those days, Paris Maderna was a young inventor - or reinventor of
things that had already been invented. He was a colourful character.
And, when I got to know him, he was busy reinventing the bike. And,
one of his 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 remember quite clearly 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, Paris Maderna and his bike were 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, the wall had been quicker than Paris Maderna, and the sound of
the crash told it all. All we could do was help Paris Maderna out of
the wreckage and take him next door for a beer.
But,
of course, Paris Maderna didn't give up and soon he was back on the
road. This time with steering and brakes. And now, all these years
later, his range of products is not only exciting, but varied as
well. The new age of cycling is here, and the hard work
and peddling has been done by Paris Maderna! Persistence pays off
and Paris Maderna peddled to the top in a painfully colourful way.
Paris
Maderna – a colourful person with a range of colourful products.
Vocabulary
age - Zeitalter
approaching - annähernd
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
