Carl, you asked if it was you or the brake if the rod was just dangling out there it might be weird, but it's obviously attached to something, for a purpose, and the length helps reduce force required, don't need foot power
"When we tug a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world" ~ John Muir "When we tug a single thing on an old truck, we find it falls off" ~ me Some TF series details & TF heater pics
if the rod was just dangling out there it might be weird, but it's obviously attached to something, for a purpose, and the length helps reduce force required, don't need foot power