I Rode With A Brace On My Thumb

I got brave and rode my bicycle to the grocery store. This involves going down a fairly long steep hill. I have mentioned that in general I like to ride pretty fast down this hill. But without full functioning of my left hand which operates my front brake, I am leery of going fast. I rested the heel of my hand on the handlebar and used my middle and ring fingers to brake. I have index shifting and found it impossible to turn the grip without excruciating pain, so I did not shift my chain rings at all. This little foray into a bit of a handicap got me thinking about really how physical bike riding is and how one needs most body parts to be functioning to do it with ease. I googled for some kind of hydraulic or "easy" braking systems and came up short. I think children have the same problem with brakes, their hands are weaker and smaller and so they have a hard time with hand brakes. I rode one handed back up the hill as my left hand was sore.