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13-10.-2004, 06:37 AM
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#211 |
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Guest
Posts: n/a
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
Another nice one. Yeah, Kimber makes some real good stuff.
I like snake, and a lot of other things, fish, frog, rabbit, squirrel, etc., deep fried. One thing I've been considering doing is carry a ~3' piece from the tip of a fiberglass bicycle flag stick on my bike, when I get back home, for a snake switch. The time I used a ~18" surveyor flag to switch a water moccasin to death, it was the quickest thing I could get my hands on before he got away, taught me switching them doesn't mess the meat up like pounding on them with a stick can.  |
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13-10.-2004, 06:45 AM
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#212 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: NW England
Posts: 2
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
Excellent!
This has been a real education and probably one of the most entertaining threads that I have ever read. I even registered to have a say so regardless of the strange juxtaposition of biking and guns, the net effect is another subscriber. It is also one of the saddest reads I have ever experienced because despite the inevitable gut-reaction to the parade of strongly held opinions, it has reinforced the stereotype that many non-Americans hold of Americans. As another NW England inhabitant (home of the moors and connoisseur of the mud-tyre) I have to agree with another contributor that the first gun I ever seen in real life was at Manchester Airport and now at most other airports. I have met the odd guy (always male) in the UK who belongs to a gun club and one chap who claimed to own an illegal replica and they shared one trait in common. To a man they were regarded as ”weirdoes”. And that is the essential difference between the UK and US. Here only drug based criminals and weirdoes like guns. Strangely this binds us strongly with most of mainland Europe as well. I have been biking with Dutchmen, Danes, Swedes and a French guy, along with several Aussies and Kiwis. So the list includes some of the New World. As you might expect (because I met them biking in the UK) these people were travelled and open minded. And sadly they shared a common stereotypical view of Americans. This was even true of the Aussies and Kiwis who seemed to be driven to experience new cultures and people, way more open-minded that most Brits (debates on Rugby aside). Then I went to the US on business. Twice, once to New York and once to Baltimore. Both great places and guess what? I met no right wing Christian zealots; no gun toting maniacs; never felt like I was going to be mugged in Manhattan (consider Bolton, discuss); No “Leader of the Free Worlders”; no pro-life, anti vivisectionists; no “US of A bailed you Brits out in WW2ers”; no harsh words; very few breast augmentations. To a person (even the softly spoken and astute Texan) everyone I met was reasonable, educated, ordinary. True, many were a bit podgy and all seemed to dislike Canada, but hey, it’s a Free World. Until I read this group, I was happy to have cast off my stereotypes. So I would like to both warn and pose a question for fellow contributors: Please do not judge all America by all that you read here. The gun lobby has many decent people and the cultural divide is too great to span, especially in the face of strongly held opinion and dogma on all sides. Secondly, it seems to me that those that have travelled abroad widely often soften their viewpoint. It may seem utterly bizarre to non Americans that such views and strange technical firearms related expertise are paraded publicly and without any trace of irony. Equally I think that it is impossible for many Americans to understand the open mouthed revulsion that such closely held opinions can generate elsewhere. So, when faced with strong opinions from any side – ask them how much they have travelled before you criticise or attach value to their cultural or moral opinions. Even from someone who treasured their US made Intense Tracer I am still proud to live where I do. The same will be said by everyone posting here. The reason that many patriots find to love their country are often precisely the reasons that others would not chose to live there. And this is an American website, so what do others like me expect when we poke our noses in? My apologies if I have offended anyone; it was not my intent |
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13-10.-2004, 07:15 AM
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#213 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: austin
Posts: 38
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
I wasn't aware there were PROvivisectionists! LOL
__________________
Can I put a turbo on my bike? 
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13-10.-2004, 07:41 AM
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#214 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2004
Posts: 329
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
Quote:
God God! There's a Brit among us! Quick, everyone, act like we 'really' like them! Just kidding. I'm an American, a Texan at that, who really does like Britain. I've had the pleasure of spending many months there riding, and racing, in the early 80s as I was educated in England, and Belgium (Long story.) And have returned many times on business and pleasure. Still - I always separate the British from Europeons. Brits, in general, are far stronger, more adaptable, and plainly smarter and more sensible than the EuroPeons across the channel. Sadly, Prince Phillip, one of the last REAL men in high public 'office' there gets slapped down every time he shows he has a pair of balls and is not some p whipped sap.Still - if you come to my neck of the woods in Texas, I'll introduce you to the people you said you didn't meet, and show you why you don't need to fear, resent or dislike them. Well, except for the stupid webailedyououtinWW2 types. They're a bit shortsighted to say the least. Cheers, from a pistol packin, pro-life, NRA life member, Texan cyclist. |
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13-10.-2004, 08:03 AM
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#215 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: NW England
Posts: 2
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
Well, I appreciate the offer.
And I appreciate your views (though Prince Philip for all his testosterone is mainly Greek. Bizarrely he shook my hand once and mumbled something inaudible at a charity do). And obviously you have my gratitude for any part you or your family played in rescuing me from the Nazis. Though we must diverge on the queston of gun toting! |
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13-10.-2004, 08:40 AM
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#216 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 150
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
Just ordered (well... 6 months ago I ordered) a Wilson Combat 1911... Looked at Kimber but read some bad things about their MIM process (most, likely not true but enough to make me decide to go with all forged parts).
You can't go wrong with a 1911  Joe Quote:
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13-10.-2004, 08:45 AM
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#217 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 150
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
Hi ItsikH,
The right to bear arms isn't at all inconsistent with the right to live...unless you are a bad guy doing any of a number of things which could get you shot... like rape, murder, arson, and so on. In most cases; you have the right to shoot someone who you fear will take YOUR life... so the right to bear arms is utterly consistent with the right to live (YOUR right to live) Joe Quote:
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13-10.-2004, 08:48 AM
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#218 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 150
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
Dang... I think we ran off the anti-gun liberals...
<grin> Just kidding... I know you are all still reading this but you don't want to respond because it will just precipitate this thread which you are hoping will either die or be deleted by the moderators |
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13-10.-2004, 10:35 AM
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#219 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 935
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
Quote:
Heh heh. In Australian political party-speak, the Liberal Party is synonymous with the Republican Party ha ha ha! Obviously a different meaning is applied in the US... Ritch. |
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13-10.-2004, 11:27 AM
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#220 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 150
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
Holy Smoke!
If the Republican party in Australia is the liberal party... is the other party MORE LIBERAL than liberal or is it conservative? You guys need to change your political parties... Republican is conservative and the (tax and spend) Democratic party is liberal. <grin> Got that? Quote:
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13-10.-2004, 11:53 AM
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#221 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 935
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
Quote:
If you remove the label, you find that the Aust. Liberal party is the conservative party: lower role for government with more (US-version) conservative ideals. The other side is the Labor Party, which (obviously) has its roots in the trade union movement - it tends to be more (US-version) liberal. As it applies to Aust politics 'liberal' is very different to the US version. As far as taxing and spending, I believe the historical record shows that the Democrats are the 'tax more and spend more' party, whilst the GOP is the 'tax less and spend more' party. By way of a footnote, the Aust Liberal Party, which just won its 4th general election (triennial elections) has revealed itself as the 'tax more and spend less' party, though it recently promised to 'tax less and spend more'! We'll see... Ritch |
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13-10.-2004, 03:43 PM
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#222 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: AUSTRALIA
Posts: 28
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
jesus man......things gotta be bad where you are if you have to carry heat on a training ride.....
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______________ He who never trains is always fresh... |
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13-10.-2004, 04:09 PM
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#223 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Richmond VA
Posts: 479
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
Quote:
I live a city where the murder rate is one of the highest in the country (and some years is the highest) and I have never "had to" pack. I have never even felt uncomfortable to the point the having one would be nice while I was riding. If I had to guesstamate, I would say that less than 1 out of a million people would ever really need one while riding. I mean you are moving at 20mph, it is not like they are going run you down on foot. Its not like the criminal is going to jump on his Campy racing machine to chase you down and gun you. Heck it is not like most criminals could even hit a moving target if they did shoot. Now walking the street at night may be different and having one would be nice at times, but seriously while riding, not needed. It seems to be about peace of mind for most people and not about "having to have one"
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04 Bianchi XL Carbon w/ Centaur The Late 03 Jamis Comet. May she rest in peace. |
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13-10.-2004, 08:53 PM
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#224 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 7
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
I may be missing the point here, but aren't bad guys way more likely to shoot at you if you have a gun too?
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13-10.-2004, 10:09 PM
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#225 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Silver Spring, Maryland
Posts: 65
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Re: How many of you carry a gun as part of your cycling equipment?
Quote:
At the risk of not letting this thread die let me say that carrying a gun anytime or anywhere is the furthest thing from my mind. Even though I am reminded by news reports everyday about how dangerous it is for ordinary, law-abiding people to go about their lives, I choose not to be so overcome by fear to believe that my only choices are either to be a victim or to kill. Taking the life of another person should never become a gratuituous action. If the life of a human being is no longer precious, what have we become as a society? I grew-up in a very dangerous community in New York City and my father taught me that if I ever chose to carry a weapon and show it during a confrontation, I had better be prepared to use it with lethal intention. I was formerly a criminal defense attorney, and in this connection I have represented people who have killed others. For many of these people they regretted their actions; for most, they had placed themselves in situations from which they thought they couldn't back-away. For me, I would often reflect on my father's words while I was representing these people and I would wonder if the outcome for them would have been different if they had not had the means to kill at their disposal. For them, they have to live with what they did for the rest of their lives. |
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