Cycle-mania grips London

Yahoo | Reuters ^ | 7/8/05

[LibWhacker]

LONDON (Reuters) - London's streets creaked and rattled with nervous new cyclists Friday after bicycle sales rocketed in the wake of bomb blasts on three underground trains and a double-decker bus.

Seasoned cyclists told of weary walkers offering them up to 300 pounds ($500) for their bikes as they headed home on Thursday, and of giving impromptu lessons to shaky beginners.

Tim Davies who manages Cycle Surgery near Holborn, said: "the shop is so close to where the bus got hit that we thought we'd be evacuated.

"But by 11 o'clock we were running around like crazy. We'd normally sell five to 10 bikes a day, but we sold at least double that in a few hours.

"We had people who hadn't ridden for over 10 years asking for refresher lessons -- we even had a judge."

Others, who had walked home, dug long-forgotten bikes from sheds and garages for Friday morning's commute. Fernando Gandioli said he noticed "a lot of rusty bikes and squeaky chains" as he cycled in to work at accountancy firm KPMG.

Shop assistant Maja, who works at Evans Cycles near Clerkenwell, said they had sold triple the usual number of bicycles Thursday, mainly folding bikes or cheaper models.

"It was mainly workers and executives," she said. "People who didn't want to waste money on a hotel and said: 'sod it, I'll buy a bike.'"

[madison10]

Londoners are going to lose LOTS of weight. Then watch out terrorists!

[SouthernBoyupNorth]

The moral? Adapt, overcome, Improvise! Way to go Britannia!

[eastsider]

'sod it

Translation?

[handy old one]

The butt kicking will be bad for the terrorists then.

[handy old one]

sod it = Screw it

[eastsider]

Ta ...

[LibWhacker]

I've always sort of had the sense of it, but a more formal definition is called for here. So I had to look it up: :-)

Sod it: To give up, to "heck with it", or "nuts to that". English slang, usually said when something is either too hard to do or too undesirable.

[Dark Skies]

Bump

[Disambiguator]

In British parlance, "sod" is a slang term for a homosexual (short for sodomite).

[Question Liberal Authority]

Not only that, but do you know who owns all the bicycle shops in London?

HALLIBURTON.

[rabidralph]

As in the Aqualung song?

[Disambiguator]

I'm not a big Tull fan...what are the lyrics in question?

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I dunno, if you've ever driven in London....

[eastsider]

Thanks, LibWhacker. I can't even begin to guess its etymology, but it sounds mild enough.

[eastsider]

So it has a bit of an edge to it. Much more to my liking. Thanks!

[rabidralph]

Aqualung my friend --
don't start away uneasy
you poor old sod, you see, it's only me.
Do you still remember
December's foggy freeze --
when the ice that
clings on to your beard is
screaming agony.
And you snatch your rattling last breaths
with deep-sea-diver sounds,
and the flowers bloom like
madness in the spring.

[eastsider]

That does it ... I'm definitely adding it to my lexicon of vulgarities.

[RoseofTexas]

You know, I've always wanted one of those bikes with a basket on the back to carry stuff. Do they still sell those thingamajigs?....Someday perhaps! :)