Here’s a thing

There I was in County Mayo, right on the Atlantic coast and nothing between me and New York. But I had no wish to go travelling that far because I only had a bicycle.

I set off down the road but there was a fierce wind combing the heather, tumbling the sea, and stalling cyclists, like myself. Indeed I watched one old man on his sit up and beg bicycle, lose his hat and then get blown backwards. He spun all the way from Meadoran to Roy- there was only one bend, and he did it fine.

I saw him later in Mickey’s bar ordering two pints, one for himself and one for his cycle. ‘It was a great spin,’ he said.

I said: ‘I didn’t know Italians had invented a bicycle that could go backwards.’

‘Italian!’ said he. ‘What do they know about this part of the world.’

I didn’t know the answer to that.