The Pitters' Place

...who say you never forget how to ride a bicycle?

Those people lie.

Forgetting how to ride a bike is almost like forgetting how to swim.

I never learned how to swim.

You just sit and pedal. Swimming isn't that hard

Sounds gay.

I never learned how to ride a bike.

Maybe you can lose the ability to do it (because of physical disabilities); but I doubt you forget how to do it.

I never learnt how to ride a bike. I can swim, to a very limited definition of 'swim', i.e. I have been in the sea and not drowned.

aels wrote:I never learnt how to ride a bike. I can swim, to a very limited definition of 'swim', i.e. I have been in the sea and not drowned.

That sounds like body surfing. You catch a wave w/ no board and ride it trying not to breathe in any water...

aels wrote:I never learnt how to ride a bike. I can swim, to a very limited definition of 'swim', i.e. I have been in the sea and not drowned.

We all know people from Cornwall are amphibian in nature. It's impossible for you to drown in water.

I actually think you can't forget how to ride a bike or swim. I spent years not riding a bike, but when I got on one recently it just was instinctive.

Swimming is a must in haiti... all that water too dangerous not to know.

I haven't ridden a bike for a while but I've gone years between riding one before and I've been able to get the hang of it right away. I've not swam in about 2 years, I'm not that good a swimmer. I can swim well enough to look after myself, but I'm not the most buoyant person....

Whitey wrote:I haven't ridden a bike for a while but I've gone years between riding one before and I've been able to get the hang of it right away. I've not swam in about 2 years, I'm not that good a swimmer. I can swim well enough to look after myself, but I'm not the most buoyant person....

This. I'm one of the ones that sink if they try to float.

I can ride a bike without holding the handle bars, but not as well as I could when I was a kid. I feel like I've always known how to swim. It's so easy I find it a little odd people can actually drown because they don't know how to do it.

Most people i know that have drowned knew how to swim. What got them is currants, or accidents falling off something and bumping their heads, or getting a severe cramp.

That I can understand. Well, except for the cramp thing, but maybe because I've never had a muscle cramp that didn't go away in like 10-30 seconds.

BruceSmith78 wrote:I can ride a bike without holding the handle bars, but not as well as I could when I was a kid. I feel like I've always known how to swim. It's so easy I find it a little odd people can actually drown because they don't know how to do it.

I went to a YMCA Pre-school that included swimming lessons. The pool was twelve feet deep & the expected us to hold onto these floating things that kind of looked like barbells. I didn't trust my ability to hold onto the barbells and had a fear I would let go & sink.

The apartment complex my grandparents lived in had a pool, and that's where my Dad helped me learn and let me gain the confidence to jump into the 12-feet deep pool at the YMCA.

CashRules wrote:I never learned how to swim.

Swimming isn't that hard. Kick, move your arms, & keep your head above water.

BruceSmith78 wrote:That I can understand. Well, except for the cramp thing, but maybe because I've never had a muscle cramp that didn't go away in like 10-30 seconds.

30 seconds is probably long enough to inhale a lot of water though.

But why would you inhale water? Just close your mouth and hold your breath for 30 seconds, if you can't float.

Because you're suddenly in pain or surprise so you gasp or take a deep breath reflexively and you take in a mouthful of water. And then the shock of inhaling water causes you to panic and gasp for breath and inhale more water and etc, etc, etc. From wikipedia:

'A conscious person will hold his or her breath (see Apnea) and will try to access air, often resulting in panic, including rapid body movement. This uses up more oxygen in the blood stream and reduces the time to unconsciousness. The person can voluntarily hold his or her breath for some time, but the breathing reflex will increase until the person tries to breathe, even when submerged'

'If water enters the airways of a conscious person, the person will try to cough up the water or swallow it, thus inhaling more water involuntarily. Upon water entering the airways, both conscious and unconscious persons experience laryngospasm, in which the larynx or the vocal cords in the throat constrict, sealing the airway. This prevents water from entering the lungs. Because of this laryngospasm, in the initial phase of drowning, water enters the stomach and very little water enters the lungs. Though laryngospasm prevents water from entering the lungs, it also interferes with breathing.'

When I was scuba diving I learned how to hold my breath for two mins! Beat that bitches!!!! I probably can't do that now though. I also know how to remove cramps and I'm one of those people that need like 50 weights to submerge.

I'm with aels on this. For some of us swimming is hard. And more than a little panicky. And everyone else banging on about how easy it is to float doesn't help when you're on of the people genetically predisposed to sinking...

I was very phobic of water throughout my whole childhood and as a frail child (asthma, general sickliness) had to be very much coaxed into school swimming lessons. I never got anything more than my 25m badge. I mind the water/swimming less as an adult but I went to the beach with my boss last summer and ended up getting hit by a huge wave and briefly submerged and suffice it to say, it brought back a lot of feelings, and those feelings were WATER WANTS TO DESTROY YOU. I'd still go swimming in future but I never want to go in deep enough that I can't touch the floor.

It depends on how severe your cramp is and where its located. It also depends on the person and of course their age.

You get a cramp in your leg sure you can float, but you get a cramp in your back or side not so easy the floating!

And when you're a child forget it any cramp heck a jellyfish sting or even simple sighting can send them into panic mode.

There is a beach here in haiti, I swear i don't know why people keep swimming in it, seriously EVERY year people die it in from the currents.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to make anyone feel bad. I realize there are people who panic in the water, my wife is one of those people, but it's hard for me to empathize with that situation, because I'm just extremely comfortable in the water.

Liszt, as a teen I was able to hold my breath for close to two minutes. I could swim 40 or 50 yards under water. Then I spent years smoking weed and leading a particularly unhealthy lifestyle, and now I don't even try to hold my breath for much longer than 30 seconds, because why?

BruceSmith78 wrote:I'm just extremely comfortable in the water.

I'm taking this as code for 'I am a secret merman'. I'm on to you, Bruce. I'm on to you.

Knowing how to swim is pretty much a must living here.

Most of the people I know grew up with Pool of one form or another - plus school was pretty aggressive when it came to teaching us how to swim -

And its a good thing to .. most people are afraid of the spiders and the snakes when they visit Oz, but by far the most dangerous thing here is the sea. Its cold in the south (where I live - so your muscles tire much quicker than normal) and the rip is crazy strong. More people drown every year than die in car crashes - which is a pretty impressive stat ..

We've even had a sitting prime minister go out for a paddle and never return.

So - as a result of being taught how to swim and growing up with a pool, near a river, I'm a pretty decent swimmer - I'm a long way from being buoyant but I'm got good technique and am right at home in the water - I've had my experiences - been dumped violently while surfing more times than I can count and have been caught in a few rips - best trick to survive any water malady is "DONT PANIC" .. the second you tense up and flay - you will sink .. if you are tired - relax, float on your back till you catch you breath and continue.

Dr_Liszt wrote:When I was scuba diving I learned how to hold my breath for two mins! Beat that bitches!!!! I probably can't do that now though. I also know how to remove cramps and I'm one of those people that need like 50 weights to submerge.

A few years ago I timed myself to see how long I could hold my breath. Not underwater. Managed to get 2:00 just barely.

aels wrote:WATER WANTS TO DESTROY YOU.

Worst sea monster ever.

I seamonster on my own terms.

aels wrote:

BruceSmith78 wrote:I'm just extremely comfortable in the water.

I'm taking this as code for 'I am a secret merman'. I'm on to you, Bruce. I'm on to you.

I did have a huge crush on Ariel as a kid. It didn't even matter she was half fish. Or a cartoon.

The idea of not knowing how to swim is really weird, as someone who learned to swim before I was old enough to remember doing so. I mean, I don't have to consciously DO anything to not drown in a pool. I'll just automatically stay above water if I don't purposefully go under. You just slightly move your limbs and you tread water. You just stay perfectly still and you float. It's weird that if I hadn't learned how to swim, I wouldn't be able to do those things.

BruceSmith78 wrote: I have a huge crush on Ariel.

Fixed.

It always pissed me off when I was younger that I couldn't tread water. People would explain that you just kick your legs, but it didn't bloody well work. only way I can float is on my back...or face down, I guess haven't been swimming in about 13 years now. Mainly because I stopped enjoying it when everyone got better than me. Also because I am about as hairy as a grizzly bear and I just feel uncomfortable in public with my shirt off now...and the idea of waxing it can fuck right off.

Gendo wrote:The idea of not knowing how to swim is really weird, as someone who learned to swim before I was old enough to remember doing so. I mean, I don't have to consciously DO anything to not drown in a pool. I'll just automatically stay above water if I don't purposefully go under. You just slightly move your limbs and you tread water. You just stay perfectly still and you float. It's weird that if I hadn't learned how to swim, I wouldn't be able to do those things.

CHECK YOUR FISH PRIVILEGE

Unvoiced_Apollo wrote:

BruceSmith78 wrote: I have a huge crush on Ariel.

Fixed.

Wow I almost made this exact same reply word for word.

Blade Azaezel wrote:

Image doesn't show up. CHECK YOUR BROWSER PRIVILEGE.

Gendo wrote:

Unvoiced_Apollo wrote:

BruceSmith78 wrote: I have a huge crush on Ariel.

Fixed.

Wow I almost made this exact same reply word for word.

It was a pretty low hanging fruit.