Did Mulga bill from Eaglehawk ride a fixte?

I can not remember where has had to keep peddaling as he went faster
down hill.

Terryc wrote:
I can not remember where has had to keep peddaling as he went faster
down hill.


I always pictured him riding an ordinary bicycle. I don't think
freewheels came around until after the poem was published.

Parbs



MULGA BILL'S BICYCLE by A.B. "Banjo" Paterson

'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze;
He turned away the good old horse that served him many days;
He dressed himself in cycling clothes, resplendent to be seen;
He hurried off to town and bought a shining new machine;
And as he wheeled it through the door, with air of lordly pride,
The grinning shop assistant said, "Excuse me, can you ride?"


"See here, young man," said Mulga Bill, "from Walgett to the sea,
From Conroy's Gap to Castlereagh, there's none can ride like me.
I'm good all round at everything as everybody knows,
Although I'm not the one to talk - I hate a man that blows.
But riding is my special gift, my chiefest, sole delight;
Just ask a wild duck can it swim, a wildcat can it fight.
There's nothing clothed in hair or hide, or built of flesh or steel,
There's nothing walks or jumps, or runs, on axle, hoof, or wheel,
But what I'll sit, while hide will hold and girths and straps are tight:
I'll ride this here two-wheeled concern right straight away at sight."


'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that sought his own abode,
That perched above Dead Man's Creek, beside the mountain road.
He turned the cycle down the hill and mounted for the fray,
But 'ere he'd gone a dozen yards it bolted clean away.
It left the track, and through the trees, just like a silver steak,
It whistled down the awful slope towards the Dead Man's Creek.


It shaved a stump by half an inch, it dodged a big white-box:
The very wallaroos in fright went scrambling up the rocks,
The wombats hiding in their caves dug deeper underground,
As Mulga Bill, as white as chalk, sat tight to every bound.
It struck a stone and gave a spring that cleared a fallen tree,
It raced beside a precipice as close as close could be;
And then as Mulga Bill let out one last despairing shriek
It made a leap of twenty feet into the Dean Man's Creek.


'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that slowly swam asho
He said, "I've had some narrer shaves and lively rides before;
I've rode a wild bull round a yard to win a five-pound bet,
But this was the most awful ride that I've encountered yet.
I'll give that two-wheeled outlaw best; it's shaken all my nerve
To feel it whistle through the air and plunge and buck and swerve.
It's safe at rest in Dead Man's Creek, we'll leave it lying still;
A horse's back is good enough henceforth for Mulga Bill."

The Sydney Mail, 25 July 1896.

In aus.bicycle on Sun, 25 Jun 2006 18:20:54 +1000
Terryc wrote:
I can not remember where has had to keep peddaling as he went faster
down hill.

Doesn't say. Just says it bolted with him.

Google is your friend...
http://www.middlemiss.org/lit/author...ry/mulgab.html

According to http://www.jimlangley.net/ride/bicyclehistorywh.html The
first major mass production of the freewheel hub was in 1898 - 2 years
after the poem was written.

So it seems likely he was pedalling like a *******

Zebee

Zebee Johnstone wrote:

So it seems likely he was pedalling like a *******

Or a frog in a blender

Parbs

Zebee Johnstone wrote:
In aus.bicycle on Sun, 25 Jun 2006 18:20:54 +1000
Terryc wrote:
I can not remember where has had to keep peddaling as he went faster
down hill.

Doesn't say. Just says it bolted with him.

Google is your friend...
http://www.middlemiss.org/lit/author...ry/mulgab.html

According to http://www.jimlangley.net/ride/bicyclehistorywh.html The
first major mass production of the freewheel hub was in 1898 - 2 years
after the poem was written.

So it seems likely he was pedalling like a *******

It doesn't say if he was strapped in or not

Terryc wrote:
I can not remember where has had to keep peddaling as he went faster
down hill.


Oi always imagine 'im on a penny-farthing, and oim sure I've seen an
image of him in a poe'ry book ridin a penny-farthin. I don't imagine any
sorta modern bike with 'alf decent brakes 'd git away.

Froiday

i'm with the pf theory too


"Friday" wrote in message
...
Terryc wrote:
I can not remember where has had to keep peddaling as he went faster
down hill.


Oi always imagine 'im on a penny-farthing, and oim sure I've seen an image
of him in a poe'ry book ridin a penny-farthin. I don't imagine any sorta
modern bike with 'alf decent brakes 'd git away.

Froiday

In aus.bicycle on Sun, 25 Jun 2006 08:48:00 GMT
Parbs wrote:
Terryc wrote:
I can not remember where has had to keep peddaling as he went faster
down hill.


I always pictured him riding an ordinary bicycle. I don't think
freewheels came around until after the poem was published.


I don't think bicycles really took off in Oz till the safety. The
poem would have been a "current" laugh rather than describing history,
and the safety was everywhere in 1896.

Zebee

"Friday" wrote in message
...
Terryc wrote:
I can not remember where has had to keep peddaling as he went faster
down hill.


Oi always imagine 'im on a penny-farthing, and oim sure I've seen an image
of him in a poe'ry book ridin a penny-farthin. I don't imagine any sorta
modern bike with 'alf decent brakes 'd git away.

Froiday

I have an LP album by a group called Mulga Bill's Bicycle Band.
There is a picture on the cover, of a band member riding a
penny farthing. That is how I have always imagined Mulga Bill's bike.
And since it is unlikely the events actually happened as described,
we can really only speak in terms of our own imaginations.
Looking at the picture, I note that there's nowhere to put your
feet if they're not on the pedals. It would have been an
excruciating ride, even before he came off, if he wasn't pedalling.

--
beerwolf (remove numbers from email address)

Feet up, legs extended, ready to jump off?

Recall having a chat with a elderly gent who rode fixies as a young
feller, he mentioned him & his mates used to put their feet up on the
top tube when decending hills. Mind you, this was on a safety bike
frame, not a penny.


--
cfsmtb