Join The Ride
By Mike Finch
THE FRONT DRUM HAS DEVELOPED A CRACK, AND THE FRAME IS RUSTED AND CHIPPED FROM YEARS OF SWEAT AND USE; BUT THE BIKE CADDY ROLLERS REPRESENT THREE DECADES OF CYCLING IN OUR FAMILY. When my brother Simon first bought them, the idea of balancing atop three whirring drums seemed impossible. WE EACH TOOK OUR TURN TO BALANCE IN A DOOR FRAME, SLIDE OUR SHOES INSIDE THE TOE CLIPS (YES, IT WAS THE EARLY 1990S), AND SLOWLY START TURNING THE PEDALS. // WE SOON REALISED THAT THE FASTER YOU PEDALLED, THE EASIER IT WAS TO STAY STABLE, AND SOON WE’D MASTERED THE TECHNIQUE. ON OCCASION, SIMON – WHO LATER BECAME THE AFRICAN OLYMPIC-DISTANCE TRIATHLON CHAMPION – WOULD SURVIVE FOR UP TO AN HOUR AND A HALF; AND HIS SMOOTH PEDAL STROKE WAS A TESTAMENT TO THE BENEFITS OF THE DEVICE. // Once Simon moved to France to pursue his triathlon career, my little brother Nick used the rollers; before he too moved overseas, and left the strange-looking contraption in my father’s garage. // THE ROLLERS LAY DORMANT FOR OVER A DECADE, BEFORE MY ELDEST SON WAYDE, WHO WAS RAPIDLY DEVELOPING INTO A TOP JUNIOR, DISCOVERED THE JOY OF RIDING AN ‘OLD-SCHOOL’ STATIONARY TRAINER. // WHEN HE MOVED TO CAPE TOWN TO STUDY AT UCT HE TOOK THE ROLLERS WITH HIM, AND WHEN HE WAS STRUGGLING TO FIND TRAINING TIME DURING HIS MECH. ENG. DEGREE, HE WOULD BREAK UP HIS STUDY SESSIONS BY SWEATING IT OUT ON THE ROTATING DRUMS. // EARLIER THIS YEAR, WAYDE MOVED TO THE UK; AND THE ROLLERS FOUND A HOME IN MY GARAGE. FOR A FEW MONTHS I DIDN’T TOUCH THEM, BUT ONE SATURDAY AFTERNOON – AFTER A BUSY MORNING HAD RUINED AN EARLY RIDE – I DECIDED TO GIVE THEM A WHIRL… QUITE LITERALLY! // As I got up to speed and worked up the courage to take my hand off the supporting wall and drop it on to the handlebars, I was flooded with memories of when my brothers and I first rode these same rollers. // THERE IS A DEEP SATISFACTION IN RIDING SO (SEEMINGLY) PRECARIOUSLY, AND YET BEING FULLY IN CONTROL. A SESSION A WEEK ON THE ROLLERS, AND WITHIN A FEW WEEKS THERE’S A MARKED IMPROVEMENT IN THE SOUPLESSE OF YOUR PEDALLING ACTION. // BUT NOW THE FRONT DRUM HAS STARTED TO CRACK, AND THE CLACK-CLACKING THAT IT CAUSES MAKES THE ROLLERS TOO LOUD TO RIDE. SADLY, PARTS ARE HARD TO COME BY, IN AN AGE OF SMART TRAINERS AND ZWIFT; BUT I STILL HAVE HOPE THAT I’LL FIND A NEW DRUM SOMEWHERE IN THE BACK OF AN LBS, AND BE ABLE TO RIDE THE ROLLERS FOR ANOTHER 30 YEARS. Yes, I could buy new rollers; they’re readily available. But I don’t want to.