Cute Name

Have you ever wondered how some things have gotten their name and then thought, “How could they have gotten that so wrong?” One of those things is the beach cruiser. Doesn’t that just conjure up an image of riding your fat tire bike along the beach, floating along on the surface of the sand, visually savoring the blue water and salt air breeze? Only in the movies my friends. Only in the movies!

To be fair I may not have a top of the line beach cruiser, but I have a Jamis. A decent bike, beefy, with fat tires, so I was expecting something a little different than what I got. Cruising along on a paved trail near my house I decided to turn around and head back home. I thought, I’ll just turn around here in this wide sandy spot.

Have you ever seen those runaway truck ramps on a mountain pass and wondered if they would really be able to stop an 18 wheeler as it is barreling down a mountain road? Well, the answer is yes! Sand has an amazing power to bring everything that touches it to a grinding impasse! We live near the beach and go there often. I can walk perfectly fine at a decent clip, if necessary, across the parking lot, but hit that deep sand as you step off the boardwalk and it’s all over. I am slogging now! I’ll admit it helps if you have big feet. They work more like snowshoes, but even so, nobody walks gracefully on sand unless, you guessed it, it’s in the movies!

Back to my beach cruiser and my “sandy” spot. I rolled onto that sand and pushed those pedals hard for two full revolutions. I thought I’d make it, and then I stopped! Regardless of how hard I tried to force those pedals around they would not move. Those fat tires were firmly embedded in sand, and I was going nowhere! Crying “Uncle”, I dismounted. A better choice than falling over. Beach cruiser my eye!!

Nice bike. Fun to ride. Makes me feel like a kid again. But, “beach cruiser”? Cute name!