Vehicle:
Personal trolley cable hitch   (+3)  [vote for, against]
Tough, lightweight hitchpole lets you lock on to and disengage from San Francisco's under-pavement trolley cables, whisking you safely up hilly streets on your rollerblades, skateboard &c.

San Francisco's trolley cables look temptingly accessible -- running as they do just a few feet below the guide gaps in the city's streets.

What if rollerbladers could sport a lightweight (carbon fiber, of course) designated hitchpole, letting them dip into the guide gap and hook the great big funfish that is a cablecar route? Locked in, you're whisked uphill at mildly thrilling cablecar speed, as on some ski lifts; any trouble, and you just let go, automatically releasing the hitchpole from the cable. Hitchpole has bulky comfy grip or round topknob (with 1/4" camera mount, of course) to prevent a loose pole from slipping under the street. Banzai!
-- n-pearson, Sep 02 2003

San Francisco Cable Cars http://www.ileftmyh...t.com/cable_car.htm
Well I never. I just thought they ran off overhead power lines. [st3f, Oct 04 2004]

Safely? I guess 9 1/2 mph can't be too dangerous, but sounds like a broken arm looking for a place to happen. +
-- oxen crossing, Sep 02 2003


Da funfish's connected to da hitchpole, and
Da hitchpole's connected to da topknob, and
Da topknob's connected to da hand bone, and
Da hand bone's connected to da broken arm bone… +
-- FarmerJohn, Sep 02 2003


Perhaps such hijinx could re-invigorate the classic airborne San Francisco streetchase scene.
-- n-pearson, Sep 02 2003


\\sounds like a broken arm looking for a place to happen\\

If you’re rollerblading in San Francisco you will probably break your arm anyway.
-- AO, Sep 05 2003


Are you telling me that San Francisco's trolley cars run by being physically hauled by a network of constantly moving cables operating below street level...?

...[reads idea again] Hmmm, I guess you are. [googles, adds link]
-- st3f, Sep 05 2003


Very cool idea. I always found it quaint the way SF hills have that constant "swishy" noise of the underground cables, but actually grabbing one! Awesome.
-- scarkner, Sep 05 2003


Public transport on a larger scale, just let cars hook up to the cable.
-- wittyhoosier, May 07 2006


st3f: An interesting place to go is the Cable Car museum, which not only is a museum, but is also the pulling station for several of the cables. It's impressive.
-- Osomatic, Feb 07 2007



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