Sit-up-and-beg

The pilot is thus in a sit-up-and-beg attitude and so seriously exposed to the elements that, as Wing Commander Wallis admits, a hailstorm would probably mean a forced landing.

Handlebars and other controls are supposed to improve control and comfort, they say. Motorcycles are supposed to fit people, not bend the rider into a shape dictated by the whim of fashion. The sit-up-and-beg posture keeps you hanging on against the wind and it's tiring.

Manufacturers introduced many incremental improvements, […] By 1930 these changes extended the range of cycles that manufacturers could offer from the ‘roadster’ (steel frame, three-speed hub gears, level-operated brakes and ‘sit-up-and-beg’ handlebars) to lightweight racing bikes (alloy steel frames, ten or more derailleur gears, cable-operated brakes and aluminium alloy drop handlebars).

The four boys, now safely sitting on the plinth of the War Memorial, turned their attention to the sight of the Vicar who was cycling along the street on his sit-up-and-beg bicycle.

To replace my first (secondhand sit-up-and-beg) bike, he insisted that I had another, bigger one. He'd painted it bright blue, the colour of the cover to this book.

There are no specialist cycle-tour companies based in the northeast, but you can find bicycles for hire for local sightseeing. Expect to pay Rs30 to Rs100 per day for an Indian-made sit-up-and-beg bike.

I hadn't even found a proper bike shop – the one I did come across was full of the equivalent of our sit-up-and-begs.

Studying my bike in detail he then said, 'That's a good sit-up you've got.' For a moment I thought he thought I was riding a sit-up-and-beg when really I had a touring steed complete with drop handlebars. And then I realised my stumbling block. He had pronounced a very Kiwi sit-up for set-up.

Bicycles over many years have been bought / Something the inventor would never have thought! / From the sit up and begs that left you all shaken / From the old penny farthings did cycles awaken!