Very good points Rowan. I guess I was lucky because when I grew up in Werris Creek in the '80s, they were still teaching us to ride on the road (largely because riding on the footpath was, and I think still is, illegal in NSW). They also taught us the importance of hand-signals, functional brakes and so forth. They also taught us to wear helmets, even though this was before the mandatory helmet law.
Come to think of it, I wonder just what impact that law has had. I'm sure it was well-intentioned, and I can see the logic behind it. However, I have to wonder whether people haven't simply forgotten about the other things after making sure that everyone wears a helmet (or at least, buys one and carries it with them). And of course, any activity that requires someone to wear a helmet must be extremely dangerous, right?
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I am clinically insane. I am proud of it.
That is all.