Think you've got it tough?

Believe you've had a harsh commute this morning? 4WD twunt cut you off?
4 cylinder ****box failed to note your presence? Hah!

Although I reckon these blokes must of had amazing bike handling
skills, finely-honed to perfection on those clunky water-pipe frames.


*****

They pedalled behind enemy lines
http://tinyurl.com/wv9x8
Published: Monday, November 06, 2006

Initially they were mocked — referred to as "the Gas Pipe Brigade," but
they were some of the most valued Canadian soldiers. They were 1,200 men
in the five battalions Canada sent into the war on bicycles.

"These guys were amazing," says 63-year-old Dennis Thomassen of Ottawa.
He began collecting bicycle infantry memorabilia about 20 years ago,
when he first learned of their unsung military contribution.

"They were the best and the brightest. That’s who the military was
trying to recruit for this. They had to be special. They wanted these
guys to be spies and guides, do intelligence behind enemy lines, report
on troop movement, reconnaissance."

The bicycle infantry was also sent behind enemy lines to do topography,
interpretation and signalling. Cyclists would accompany troops as they
advanced into battle, and often stay behind to tend to the wounded and
dying in the aftermath.

They soon became known as "the Suicide Cavalry" for their important,
but dangerous work behind enemy lines.

They carried and used a light machine-gun on their bikes, known as a
Lewis Gun.

The Canadian Cyclists also suffered some of the heaviest casualties of
the war. Of the five battalions that went into the First World War,
only enough men were left at the end to cobble together one full
battalion.

"By World War I, we were starting to see the use of tanks, and these
guys were on bikes," says Mr. Thomassen. "So at first they took a lot
of humiliation.

Yet, they proved themselves as critical and as crucial in battle as
tanks. Bikes were quiet and stealthy. One man on a bike patrol can
really cover a lot more ground than a guy on foot."

Bikes could also travel faster in bombed-out territory, were swift when
travelling in the dark and didn’t require fuel. Unlike horses they also
didn’t need to be fed or bedded. All the cyclists needed was an oil can
and a tire pump.

Mr. Thomassen says the Boer War in Africa in 1899 was the testing
ground for using bicycles in warfare. They were found to be
particularly good for dispatching and patrolling, enforcing curfews and
for riot control in congested cities for "swift, silent cordoning of
small areas", according to The Man Powered Military Vehicle, in the
Army and Defence Journal, Vol. 101.

Another account describes Major B.F.S. Baden-Powell of the 1st
Battalion Scots Guards using a collapsible bicycle which carried a
kite. "The kite was used at first for taking photographs of the camp by
a remotely controlled camera, and later for raising an aerial for
experiments in wireless telegraphy," according to historian J.M.
Cuthbert.

Bikes were still used in the Second World War, but with less success.
But Thomassen says the bikes proved to be too cumbersome and often had
to be abandoned in battle.

"It didn’t work," Mr. Thomassen says. "They were just too heavy. And by
then the military was evolving into using motorized bikes."

Mr. Thomassen’s interest in bicycles is more than just a hobby. He also
owns two shops, Fresh Air Experience in Ottawa and another store by the
same name in Thunder Bay that specialize in cycling and cross country
skiing. He figures he’s got about 25 antique bikes in his collection
right now, dating from 1866 to 1984. But the jewel in his collection is
his World War I military bicycle.

"I have bikes that are more valuable than that one," he says, "but it
is very rare. Those bikes didn’t usually come back."

He also has another 1898 militia bike plus a collection of silver match
boxes, cups, medals, bugles and bicycle lamps bearing the Canadian
Cyclists insignia, photographs and a number of personal letters penned
by members of the Corps. Prominent in his collection is a copy of an
obituary for Captain W.D. Ellis, the last surviving member of the
Canadian bicycle infantry who passed away in Toronto in 1996. He was
100 years old.

It is a collection worthy of a museum, but Mr. Thomassen isn’t sure
he’s ready to pass the material on. He doesn’t want to see this
colourful chapter of Canada’s military history "languish in a back room
in storage."

"At least if it’s with a collector, you have it on display, or you’re
trying to promote it. I have some very unique stuff," he says.
"Certainly it should never leave Canada."


--
cfsmtb

I would like to test out a Lewis gun while riding a bicycle.

Donga

Donga wrote:
I would like to test out a Lewis gun while riding a bicycle.

Donga

Don't give Lotte ideas. The shottie's bad enough!

--
Karen

"Reverse the polarity and invert the particle flux!"
"You mean put the batteries in the other way?"
"...yes."
-Star Trek (any of them)

Duracell Bunny Wrote:

Don't give Lotte ideas. The shottie's bad enough!

What exactly is she packing? A ex DoD issue armalite?!?


--
cfsmtb

Donga Wrote:
I would like to test out a Lewis gun while riding a bicycle.

Donga
"light" machine gun = 12kg (without ammunition)!!!

When mounted on an aircraft where the gun would be naturally cooled by
the airstream, they removed the cooling jacket and fins and reduced the
weight to 9kg.

Donga, if you were doing, say, 80kph on your bike, it would probably be
OK to use the lighter weight version.

SteveA


--
SteveA

cfsmtb wrote:

Bikes were still used in the Second World War, but with less success.
But Thomassen says the bikes proved to be too cumbersome and often had
to be abandoned in battle.

The article forgets to mention the important role that bicycles played
in the swift advance by the Japanese through much of Asia. Not only
did troops advance much more quickly than Allied war planners were
expecting, they also had a psychological warfare element to them
because when the tires went flat the Japanese just rode them on the
bare rims. The sound of hundreds of cyclists riding on metal rims on
rough roads apparently sounded a lot like tanks.

Travis

SteveA wrote:

Donga, if you were doing, say, 80kph on your bike, it would probably be
OK to use the lighter weight version.

It depends on the number of rounds that you want to put through them. I
believe the Lewis was a heavy machine gun for set placement and had a
belt feed, hence the need for cooling.

OTOH, the Bren gun was a light(6kg?) machine gun[1] and designed to be
manouverable, but it only had a magazine load. If you had a supply of
magazines, it too developed cooling problems and lost accurracy.

Vague memories from school cadets. {:-).

[1] it was definitely light compared to those twin pack WWII era radios
we had to cart around.

In aus.bicycle on Thu, 09 Nov 2006 17:52:33 +1100
Terryc wrote:

OTOH, the Bren gun was a light(6kg?) machine gun[1] and designed to be
manouverable, but it only had a magazine load. If you had a supply of
magazines, it too developed cooling problems and lost accurracy.

And it was also WWII vintage

They didn't have anything lighter than the Lewis in the Great War I
don't think. The tommy gun was 1920s, don't think it was done in time
for the trenches.

Why they needed a machine gun instead of something easier to handle I
dunno. Maybe because they hadn't invented the pump action magazine
shotgun.

Zebee

"Donga" wrote in message
ups.com...
I would like to test out a Lewis gun while riding a bicycle.

Donga

Post the video on YouTube once you've finished (or arrange for your next of
kin to)

SteveA wrote:
Donga Wrote:
I would like to test out a Lewis gun while riding a bicycle.

Donga
"light" machine gun = 12kg (without ammunition)!!!

When mounted on an aircraft where the gun would be naturally cooled by
the airstream, they removed the cooling jacket and fins and reduced the
weight to 9kg.

Donga, if you were doing, say, 80kph on your bike, it would probably be
OK to use the lighter weight version.

SteveA


--
SteveA

I would cope. The outcome would be so good. Tradies would respek me. R
E S P E K.

Donga