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"Cycling": A Novel by Greg Garrett - weird terminology



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 11th 04, 04:50 PM
wle
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Default "Cycling": A Novel by Greg Garrett - weird terminology

of course it;s not primarily about cycling.
but the author claims to be a regular cyclist.

and the main character rides by default kind of.
his life is kind of going nowhere, after a
good start, he is stalled out as a writer, can't
get started on his 2nd book.

his relationships seem to amble indifferently.

the one constant thing he seems to do is bicycle.

he rides a mountain bike, 30-40 miles a day even in west
texas summers, even though by page 50 or so, he hasn't
once gotten off the road.

my technical question is terminology related.

the author has twice now referred to shifting to "higher and higher gears"
when going up hills.

obviously he means what i would call "lower gears" - easier to
pedal.

is there any way that his usage can be the right?

i mean, is there any place in the world where they reverse the normal
usage?

anyway, it is a pretty good book, but i wondered about this..

wle.
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  #4  
Old March 11th 04, 11:31 PM
wle
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Default "Cycling": A Novel by Greg Garrett - weird terminology


i mean, is there any place in the world where they reverse the normal
usage?


Maybe he just wants to see how tall of a gear he can push up the hill?


ha ha.

well if one writes fiction, the characters can be as manly as
the author likes..

still i doubt that is what he meant, i just think he
mistook high for low.

anyway, i emailed the author, i will report his answer if he answers.

wle.
  #8  
Old March 12th 04, 02:29 AM
Mike Kruger
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Default "Cycling": A Novel by Greg Garrett - weird terminology

"wle" wrote in message
om...

the author has twice now referred to shifting to "higher and higher gears"
when going up hills.

obviously he means what i would call "lower gears" - easier to
pedal.

is there any way that his usage can be the right?

The usage isn't correct, but I have heard this usage from people on bicycles
before.

You have to remember that, in motor vehicles, many people have never had to
change gears. They have had automatic transmissions all their lives. They
may also have avoided high school physics, or forgotten it.

I asked somebody about that once, and they replied that they thought the
hill-climbing gears were "higher" gears because you had to pedal at a higher
rate for the same amount of speed. Then they admitted they were always
unclear on the subject.


  #9  
Old March 12th 04, 05:56 AM
wle
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Default "Cycling": A Novel by Greg Garrett - weird terminology


anyway, i emailed the author, i will report his answer if he answers.

well!

he already wrote back and said, yes i am right,
it should be 'lower gears' - he will
correct it in the paperback and later editions.
he was quite nice about it.

wle.

wle.

 




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