A friend’s Facebook post sent me to the PBS website because they have “Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Downton Abbey.” The smash British soap opera (Let’s be honest — that’s what it is — although it’s a very well done one) has been a favorite with both me and Mrs. Noob from the first episode. So I was interested in what new tidbits they might add about our favorite show.

And lo and behold, what’s the second of ten things? “Jim Carter (Mr. Carson) does charity bike rides all over the world.” You can’t imagine how cool that is to me.
If you don’t watch Downton Abbey, this discussion will mean absolutely zilch to you, so you can check out at this point, and come back to Bike Noob in another couple of days to see what new twaddle I put up on the site. But if you do watch Downton Abbey, and you ride a bike, then you’ll never regard the stuffy, ubertraditional Mr. Carson the same way again.

It didn’t take much of a search to find a shot of our favorite butler astride his two-wheeler. Oh, it appears to be a hybrid. Hm. But my wife rides a hybrid. And my wife dresses up in lycra jerseys and spandex shorts and wears a big ol’ skid lid on her noggin. So it’s okay that he rides a hybrid. Besides, he’s 63. So he’s too old to ride a road bike, right? Don’t go there. He’s only two years older than the Bike Noob.
It appears Carter’s interest in biking is to do charity rides, as the PBS snippet said. But they’re not just any charity rides. According to his entry in Wikipedia, he has done ten major fundraising rides in such far-flung places as Jordan, Costa Rica, Laos, Vietnam, India, Namibia, Chile, Argentina, and London to Paris (twice). His most recent ride was to raise money for clean water in the small town of Tafo, Ghana. He and 25 others rode for six days on that trip.
So here’s a touch of the forelock to Carson, with hopes that he keeps up his riding for worthy causes. Maybe one of these days, the Bike Noob will be able to join him.
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