I have really been enjoying reading about these rides. I agree that bicycles are about their use as much as their construction so I will add one of my memorable rides. When I worked in Singapore I had a quite light work-week: basically 16 hours a week with concerts every other weekend. This left a lot of time for cycling. Actually I used to commute from my home in Chip Bee Gardens to the Victoria Concert Hall near the Singapore Waterfront which was a challenging enough ride in itself as it involved a considerable amount of very aggressive traffic. My favourite ride was to take the afternoon to ride up to Jahore Bahru just across the causeway in Malaysia have a bowl of Nasi Goreng or some such delicacy and ride back. Not far in terms of distance but a fair haul of a ride when you are doing it almost literally on the equator: very, very hot; very, very humid! I always was greeted with great amusement by the immigration people on both sides, but particularly the Malaysian side. They would call out to their colleagues to take a look at the white chap on the bike! They got fairly used to seeing me and would beckon me to the front of the line of cars and see me quickly through. The sights and smells of that ride are indelibly imprinted in my mind! Our principal bassoonist had a huge clunker of a machine with rod brakes that she casually rode to Malacca and back one weekend! Lawrence Bradley, Tacoma, WA, USA