Bikers age and turn into trikers via the NY Times ...
snip
...
Mr. Howard is one of a legion of aging bikers — suffering from aching joints and slowing reflexes — who have abandoned their traditional two-wheel motorcycles in favor of three-wheelers, the super-steady and seemingly safer machines commonly known as trikes. Equal parts “Easy Rider” and easy chair, the trikes have grown in popularity in recent years, expanding from a do-it-yourself niche to a potentially lucrative market for major manufacturers.
Industry experts say the sale of tens of thousands of trikes, whose sticker prices can rival an upscale sedan’s — a new three-wheeled Harley starts at $30,999 — has helped buoy a slumping industry and kept a generation of born-to-run riders on the roads.
“The baby boomers are getting older, man,” said Steve Stirewalt, a lifelong rider and motorcycle dealer known as Fat Daddy by his friends. “People riding all their lives don’t want to stop just because of bad knees, or bad eyes, or diabetes or something. They want to keep rocking.”
Mr. Stirewalt, who is 63 and helped along by a hearing aid, was polishing his three-wheeler — a chrome-on-chrome chopper with a fake alligator skin seat — at the National East Coast Trike-In, which drew hundreds of trike owners and enthusiasts to Mount Airy, N.C., over Labor Day weekend.
Alex Ross, aka Iceman, chief executive of the nonprofit trike group Brothers of the Third Wheel, said three-wheelers offered all sorts of advantages, including the comfort and padding to allow drivers to go longer distances without stiffening up.
“My wife goes to sleep as soon as we start traveling,” he said.
...
are pay by weight fares fair?
Bjarne notes Samoa Airline's new ticket price policy. Some people as well as families will save money. Others won't..
A friend is exceptionally tall - tall enough that she can't get her feet on the ground in standard economy seating. She is forced to pay for legroom upgrades if she wants to keep her blood circulating.
14:37 in Current Affairs, General Commentary, society and technology, Travel | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)