Successfully (I think!) installed the Wide Loader this morning!!! Soon it can have Da Coolah!

Discovered that Greenways & Trails Steering Committee has decided to update their map of the area… and that they have a current “folding map” online at <a href=”
http://www.ccrpc.org/planning/transportation/greenways/maps.php”>
http://www.ccrpc.org/planning/transportation/greenways/maps.php

Da coolah, da coolah… elegance in design it is, when **I** can figure out how to get the thing on there, and ride it over to Wireless Place. I must say that in that half a mile trip, cars seemed to give me *a lot* more room, and I didn’t even have a flashing “wide load” sign. I honestly don’t *think* I was riding erratically – it was just that perception of “wide and weird” that let them treat me like a tractor. Don’t know what they were thinking, though…

Yes, I drove yesterday, even though “you can’t plow a forecast, honey,” and it ended up being less than two inches of the white stuff. I did sort of want to remember how to do it, since I”m headed up Chi-town way on Friday.
Aromatic delight – if you ride in the rain and you have a hotel soap in your Freeloader bags, you emanate floral essences.
The fellow on the homemeade recumbent chatted with me Monday,and I lacked the social skills to inquire about it (and ask if he knew he’d been blogged)… and had difficulty managing a conversation and traffic. (No, I do not talk on the cell phone while riding or driving as a rule…) It’s such a nifty creation but he said he hits his cargo weight limit befoer he hits the volume limit.

I carried a crock pot full of stuff (indescribable TVP chili-like casserole) to school on the bike today. This is where I think the Xtracycle front page doesn’t quite have it right – they address all the folks who will improvise and make do… not people like me who can improvise with the best of ‘em but are certifiable mechanical morons.
The point is that it took less than one minute to unsnap the freeloader thingies, put teh crock pot in the pouch, snap ‘em back, check things (’cause I’ve learned to ), and ride into the sunrise. No complicated geometry or riding with three hands behind my back.
Then it was almost as easy to put my big computer into a bag, put it into the slot, make sure it wasn’t going to slide around too much and ride off to my friend’s house. Before the Free Radical, I would not have been able to do that without my brain fully engaged and time to plan; more than half the time I’d have gone for the car.
Bikes: 950, Car: 260. Next week the car will get a LOT of miles – chicago is calling… but I’ll sitll be at a fewer-than-3000 annual miles rate.

I carried a crock pot full of stuff (indescribable TVP chili-like casserole) to school on the bike today. This is where I think the Xtracycle front page doesn’t quite have it right – they address all the folks who will improvise and make do… not people like me who can improvise with the best of ‘em but are certifiable mechanical morons.
The point is that it took less than one minute to unsnap the freeloader thingies, put teh crock pot in the pouch, snap ‘em back, check things (’cause I’ve learned to ), and ride into the sunrise. No complicated geometry or riding with three hands behind my back.
Then it was almost as easy to put my big computer into a bag, put it into the slot, make sure it wasn’t going to slide around too much and ride off to my friend’s house. Before the Free Radical, I would not have been able to do that without my brain fully engaged and time to plan; more than half the time I’d have gone for the car.
Bikes: 950, Car: 260. Next week the car will get a LOT of miles – chicago is calling… but I’ll sitll be at a fewer-than-3000 annual miles rate.

Here’s a little joke from a bicycle commuting yahoo group, a testimonial to the longevity of cyclists:An 80-year old man goes to the doctor for a checkup.

The doctor is amazed at what good shape the guy is in and asks,”How
do you stay in such great physical condition?”

I’m a cyclist,” says the old guy, “and that’s why I’m in such good
shape. I’m up well before daylight and out and ride my bicycle.”

” Well,” says the doctor, “I’m sure that helps, but there’s got to be
more to it. How old was your dad when he died?”

“Who said my dad’s dead?”

The doctor is amazed. “You mean you’re 80 years old and your dad’s
still alive. How old is he?”

“He’s 100 years old,” says the old cyclist. “In fact he rode with me
this morning, and that’s why he’s still alive . . . he’s a cyclist
too.”

“Well,” the doctor says, “that’s great, but I’m sure there’s more to
it than that. How about your dad’s dad? How old was he when he died?”

“Who said my grandpa’s dead?”

Stunned, the doctor asks, “You mean you’re 80 years old and your
grandfather’ S still living! Incredible,how old is he?”

“He’s 118 years old,” says the old cyclist.

The doctor is getting frustrated at this point, “So, I guess he went
bike riding with you this morning too?”

“No. Grandpa couldn’t go this morning because he’s getting married
today.”

At this point the doctor is close to losing it.

“Getting married!! Why would a 118 year-old guy want to get married?”

“Who said he wanted to?”

Every time I surf I find another little cell of somebody doing something with bicycles to make a statement. Most of them seem to be in California, though, or Australia.
Of course, this coudl be true for **any** given exercise in public expression – I could perhaps search for … roller blading for peace? Wear a purple hat for love? Adopt a cat for …?
http://www.cicle.org/cicle_content/index.php
http://www.aeolian-ride.info/ – riding with big white inflatable suits. Hmmm…. this is something that even the Midwest might get into, especially if it piqued the interest of engineering student types…

Gee, it’s 11:54 and I’ve just found the link to the world naked bike ride which is supposed to go down on Saturday June 10, and … tomorrow. Hmmm…. I don’t think even Father Tom is ready for me to show up naked, even if I did walk in & put on that choir robe…

Practical Cycling from Bicycling Life

http://www.bicyclinglife.com/PracticalCycling/index.html

Drove today. Had to get to concert at 6:30 (which went really well … John Rutter’s Requiem is very pretty) and there were severe storms predicted. Wished I’d ridden, even when it was drizzling. It’s like watching the world instead of being in it any more; it’s the wrong rhythm. I caught myself trying to settle in at 15 mph on those residential streets. It’s just a better speed for life. The car is like some weird costume that makes me do contortions (or being at stifling meetings… and perhaps spending an hour at the “meet the guy who wants to be college president” had already infected me wiht wanting to be FREE)… I don’t know if I’d feel the same on the INterstate or not since I don’t go on the bike there, but I would have thought I’d have been glad to be Getting There Faster instead of wanting to SHED the thing and feel the drizzle and stroke the pedals. Tomrrow, tomorrow…
… I think tomorrow I’m going to surf for other webstuff – I’ve seen ‘em already – that talk about the genuine change that happens when the cycling takes over; like other disciplines of love that create an inner joy that outsiders roll their eyes at….when you can’t even believe yourself that you really *want* to do it that way because it really *does* feel good.

Senseless acts of kindness… that band for the heart rate monitor that I stuck in my stuff but couldn’t find at the bike-a-thon was draped on the porch railing. Must have fallen out onto the sidewalk … some nice walker-of-kids to Leal must have seen it.

It’s not raining *yet* and tomorrow is supposed to be worse, so the bike begged, even tho’ it’s supposed to be raining hard tonight and I’ve got class. We’ll see how wet things get. I get to bring the bike in at 5 and perhaps clean it a little before class at 6 down the hall.

I took the Xtracycle to the Bike-a-thon at the Refinery (so I could toss the trainer in the back when I was done and ride home, and just to be different from the standard racing bikes ) and it got adulations.