What an awesome month for Pedal Power!First of all, the winds have died down quite a bit (down to less than 15 mph regularly) so biking has become enjoyable again.
Second, I have expanded my journeys. Before, if I needed to go to the post office, the bank, the vet, etc., I'd combine errands only if there were fairly close to each other. Not any more. This past month, I've been biking all over town, sometimes 1-1/2 or 2 hours at a time, going this way and that - getting errands done all in one day and enjoying the long and relaxed, but productive rides through the streets of Bryan-College Station. Sure it's getting warm (routinely in the high 80s and low 90s) and I'm pretty sweaty and stinky by the time I get home, but I've never had so much fun.
Advantages of consolidating more of these errands is 1) I get more done at a time which means I have more time for long stretches doing yard work and gardening and 2) it's just so darn much fun!
And in more Pedal Power news, I've even been biking around with a friend of mine (who also gets around town during the week by bike). We've met for coffee, lunch, and run errands together on our bikes. Isn't everything more fun with a friend?
So get on our there and pedal your way to a healthier you, completed errands (gasoline free), and wonderful friendship. Pedal power rocks!
7 comments:
you must have a huge basket on your bike. how do you carry everything? i have ridden my bike to meet friends for coffee but mostly for exercise. i'd like to ride our bikes to more events, but my husband is not steady on his bike yet since he's still recovering from a brain tumor. so i'd have to ride by myself while my husband drives to the same event. hopefully we'll be riding together soon.
Holly - It's not huge, but it works. It's a double basket over the back wheel. If I need more space, I just bungee cord stuff to the top. I can only imagine what people are thinking as I pedal down the street with a bike full of groceries and a 24 pack of toilet paper bungee corded on top :) It gets the job done though.
I hope your hubby heals soon. It's so much fun biking together.
Your biking sounds wonderful! When you start outgrowing those baskets, check out the Xtracycle. hehe
I remember one of the first times I bought something at the store to bring home by bike. It was a cantaloupe. I had no baskets, panniers, bungee cords, or even a backpack with me. However, my bike did have a rack behind the seat.
I put my cantaloupe in the store's white plastic bag and tied the ends to keep it securely in the bag. Next, I set it on the rack and tied the ends of the bag underneath the rack to hold the cantaloupe in place.
About halfway home, I glanced behind me to make sure all was well and realized that it looked like I'd laid a giant egg on the rack just behind my bike seat.
Chile - LOVE the mental image :) My melon story is the first time I tried to bring a watermelon home on my bike. I put all my veggies in the baskets and then had the watermelon on top in a rubbermaid tub bungee corded to the back. The weight was just too high on the bike and when I got to the overpass (to cross the highway), I stood up on the bike to pedal and I almost lost control of the bike - it went all wonky on me. Yikes! Thankfully no crashes and now I know to be careful when hauling watermelon...
LOL, did you do an unintentional wheelie?
When I was getting multiple CSA shares and biking there, my sweetie would bring his Xtracycle on watermelon days. He was careful to balance the weight between the two bags, but it was still pretty amazing to see watermelons - and we're talking 20 pounders - poking out of the bags.
Chile - Not really, the bike dipped really low from side to side and I thought I was going to fall over and crash. It was a little scary the first time, but now I know to expect it. Pshew!
Yeah, hauling home melons on a bike is always worth watching :) I love the Xtracycle. VERY cool!
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