| Following is an excerpt from The Trivial | | | | he went for a cycle to discover new |
| Times . It is set in a newspaper/browser | | | | continence continents, and ended up in |
| setting. It is a column by an "expert" in | | | | Venezuela or something. Feeling peckish |
| historical matter, hence the title. Some | | | | (understandable after an eight hour cycle |
| consideration must be made for the many | | | | against the wind ), he went into a burger |
| memory inconsistencies of Mick Savage. He | | | | joint. He often remarked "Burgers in |
| does his best! | | | | Venezuela invariably have more grissle |
| | | | (cartilage, in English ) than venison in |
| Mick here. | | | | Boston (American, in America )". |
| | | | |
| It was a long, long time ago. Sweden, North | | | | I'll never forget his adventurous accounts of |
| Europe, Scotland, Ireland, North America and | | | | punctured rubber, mutilated beef, and |
| Canada were part of the same mainland. This | | | | Brazilian bicycle clips! |
| mainland existed before the crustal plates | | | | |
| separated, and before the Atlantic came into | | | | How would such an adventurer find time for my |
| being. To give you a reference point in | | | | great grandmother to be, you might well ask? |
| history, my great grandfather was just a | | | | Well, she had a few bucks behind her, and |
| young man. | | | | some clever measures were needed to guarantee |
| | | | possession (old word for love ). Wait until |
| I remember with joy, the historical accounts | | | | you see the genius of this globetrotter |
| he impressed on us, as we ate around a | | | | globepeddler, depending on air pressure |
| primitive butane barbeque. To clarify that, | | | | status within the inner-tube. |
| we sat around it eating, rather than eating | | | | |
| the grass and sundry bushes around it. | | | | In a bid to "mask" the stench of sweat |
| | | | (essential for long distance ), he used a |
| Well, he told us with crystal clarity how he | | | | "primitive talc" powder, or "de-odorant |
| used to cycle from Canada to Sweden in five | | | | dust". By inverting his bicycle and hand |
| hours, with no more than one puncture repair | | | | peddaling it, he was able to make dust out of |
| kit, and a bicycle, presumably. He didn't | | | | any material by pressing it against the |
| have to tell us every single detail! | | | | high-speed spokes. The material he chose was |
| | | | similar to what we know as conventional coal |
| The roads at the time, weren't much like the | | | | graphite/carbon. |
| motorways/highways of today. Instead of the | | | | |
| quartz and limestone impregnated asphalt of | | | | Hence, the term "CARBON DATING" was coined. |
| today, they had a simple sandstone. | | | | |
| Incidentally, this was readily available from | | | | While a little messy, he invented a perfect |
| Japan which was only a few hundred yards | | | | product to "soak" the "SOUP of ADVENTURE". |
| away, at the time. Punctures were common | | | | |
| place and both courtship and commerce were | | | | As with any back passage, more material will |
| reliant on a high performance repair kits. | | | | be forthcoming. Thanks for your understanding |
| | | | of times past, however trivial, Mick Savage. |
| On one particular day, I recall him saying, | | | | |