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Fish on a Bike

Writing about Fish on Bikes

Here's where fish on bikes meet the written word, including one or two songs. Exciting, eh?



The Book of the Site

Like a Fish On a Bike (cover picture) Well, sort of - it's certainly the only book anywhere near winning the title.

And what a worthy contender it is. "Like a Fish on a Bike" is the story of - surprise, surprise - a fish that wants to ride a bike that's been dumped in his pond. The book's intended for kids, but really it's too good for kids alone (as indeed are most good kids' books). Brahm and Paul Piterski have produced a little fable that has a definite theme, appealing characters, several fun images, and above all, lots of gorgeous pictures.

Oh, and kids do like it too. My son rates the catfish particularly highly. Personally, I think the work-out scene is the best bit, but we'll have to agree to differ until he's old enough to see I'm right.

I'm obviously just a wee bit biased, but your life will be much the poorer if you lack a copy of this book. Enough said.

Well almost. You can buy it at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. And other places too. So what are you waiting for?

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Let there be Blurt!

The Fish Needs a Bike by Blurt On the Why? page I mention Throwin' Your Arms Around the World as a pretty famous song with a fish/bicycle reference. John S.Allen throws the much older song Silver Dollar into the ring, though I have to say the connection to fish and bikes is a teeny weeny bit tenuous.

However, I reckon that The Fish Needs a Bike by Ted Milton aka Blurt (not to be confused with the slightly more famous Brit band "Blur") is in any case impossible to beat. Utterly brilliant music, completely dedicated to a fish that needs a bike. I hereby claim it as official Soundtrack of the Site and, because my generosity knows no bounds, soundtrack of any other fish/bike sites that want it.

Listen to this little (679KB) MP3 sample, because hearing is believing. If you find, like me, that it bounces around in your head for ages after listening, then there's only one thing for it..

You can find the Official Soundtrack on The Best of Blurt Volume 1, curiously subtitled The Fish Needs a Bike. The album is reviewed in The Guardian, and samples of all tracks are available at Salamander Records.

Then you can wander along to Amazon UK and buy the album. Easy!

And I like it that much I'm not doing this for a promotional fee, or even a free signed copy of the single/album (hint hint). Or tickets to a Blurt gig including chauffeur-driven limousine, backstage pass and all the quail's eggs I can eat.

Must be mad.

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Bicycle Fish

"... the only bio-mechanical system more efficient than the bicycle, is the fish..."

Bicycle Fish are a bunch of Aussies hugely into cycling (fairly serious touring) and hugely into individualism, as witness the quote above. They provide loads of references and useful information, so I'd recommend this site to all cyclists. I reckon I'll be revisiting it a fair amount, especially when I start the intended cycling pages on this site (ETA next century, but geological timescales are always a bit tricky).

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Web Philosophy

...or should that be "philosophy with webbed feet" in keeping with this site's guiding star? Anyway, check out Marv L's "Why would a Fish need a Bicycle?" for an interesting perspective on what's important in life and why we do what we do. At least, that's the way I understood it. Marv's site is well worth a general tour, as he's another man with many strings to his bow.

Warning - Marv's "fish on a bike" article is accompanied by a ghastly version of Candle in the Wind, so I'd recommend turning your speakers off lest you be turned off the writing as a side-effect. I have to admit to extreme bias here as the result of a horribly rehashed version of the song being played at the funeral of a famous (yawn) English Royal a few years back. Never mind, I still think Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is a classic album. Before you start guessing my age I should tell you that I was musically influenced by an elder brother, honest.

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Bloggy Stuff

This Fish Needs a Bicycle (Blog logo)
This Fish has a popular little blog going, always current, often amusing, often thought-provoking. She links to various other bloggers around the world. Quite hard to think of a time before Blogs now, isn't it?

The Bicycling Fish (Adam Fletcher Sasse) logo Another fish that needs a bicycle is the "Bicycling Fish", aka Adam Fletcher Sasse. Here's how he got the moniker. Adam links to this site and to John S.Allen's Fish and Bicycle page(s), so is OK by me, even if he has plagiarised us. 8-)


Incidentally, if you do a Google on "Cycling Fish" (rather than Bicycling Fish) you get lots of links on cleaning out fish tanks. Thought you might find that fascinating.

Still another take on the subject is provided by Gianna Bellofatto in Fish Bike/Gone Riding:
"the fish can go jump in the lake, and I'll take the bike, thank you."
Humf.

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Fish's Bike Poem

Have to confess I've mislaid the source of this wonderfully surreal ditty, so if anyone can point me in the right direction and/or tell me something about the author it would be very much appreciated. If you are the author, then well, respect! Surrealism to savour. And could I have some of those pills?

The fish's bicycle was crying/ Which made it sad for it had no eyes,/ from which to cry/ then smiley the red laundry basket/ who was a particularly naughty postage stamp on the postcard of life,/ explained why.
Click this picture for a larger version if you can't make it out.

Can anyone tell me what the tentacled creature is, by the way?

Writings
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