At 10:55 AM -0500 2/24/04, BobHoveyGa@aol.com wrote:
>Jerry Moos wrote:
>
>>Actually, they burned the White House also. Not sure you can claim to
>>have "whipped" the other side when they march into your capital and burn the
>>residence of your head of state. American troops, on the other hand, never
>>got close to Buckingham Palace, or to London for that matter.
And, the major Yank victory, the Battle of New Orleans, occurred
_after_ the peace had been signed!
>I dunno, my Granpa said our boys were pretty much crawling over the whole
>island in 1943.
>
>Desperate grasp for on-topic content: Was it not the pillaging of British
>sports cars and lightweight bicycles by the above-mentioned American
>"invaders"
>that caused them to become subjects of intense interest in the US after the
>war?
This is most assuredly true, and a very important development in the
history of American cycling.
>Martin writes:
>
>> Whilst out cycling, if you come to a fork in the road and not knowing which
>> way to go asked for directions, were told to take the left hand fork, would
> > you still have two roads to choose from or just one?
>
>Interesting problem. I believe the use of the term "left-hand fork" may be
>incorrect... After consulting my dictionary, it is clear that your rider
>would be selecting the left "tine."
In bicycle applications, I generally say "fork" (singular) but "forks" is a pretty well-established variant, and I wouldn't object to it.
As to handlebar/handlebars, if you were to hand me the part, I would say it is a "handlebar" but once it is installed on a bike, I'd prob'ly go with "handlebars" more often than not. Once again, I don't believe either is seriously incorrect. Nothing in the league of calling a saddle a "seat" or a cassette a "cog" or a caliper an "arch."
Now where I get going sometimes is when folks speak of the "left-hand" pedal. Seems to me it oughta be "left-foot" pedal, n'es-ce pas? And don't get me started about "crank arms..."
Sheldon "http://sheldonbrown.com/glossary" Brown
Newtonville, Massachusetts
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