There are affordable-for-many bikey things for sale right now at Lidl’s! If a too-hard seat on your upright bike has been your barrier to riding (or your seat is old and ugly), you’re in luck for just $4.99! I bought the memory-foamed seat cover for Magic (whose seat is ripped).
Speaking of Lidl’s, I was able to easily transport a load of groceries in my milk crate and Plasket yesterday (as usual). I am now in the habit of playing 70s folk music on my phone in my cross-body bag while zipping past bumper-to-bumper traffic (mostly on the sidewalk, which is legal where I live due to known dangerous-by-design conditions). Go Your Own Way, Carry On, Wild World, Turn Turn Turn, Teach Your Children Well, and of course Landslide are all on that Spotify playlist. It’s nice. It makes me feel like a kid again*.
Fun facts: I live less than two songs from the supermarket. I am almost always the only bike at the bike rack. What’s more, I live three songs from the park and the “village” area of my suburb-city, and four songs from the mall and the MARTA stations. I typically ride 5-15 miles and usually see no other people on bikes, and very rarely a woman. Here’s why My city (and most likely yours as well) is leaving money on the table, and what you can do about it.
Also, FYI, I got two bikes serviced at REI last week and the turnaround was less than 24 hours. Plus, the edges of the days are starting to cool (but frankly, I don’t mind the heat, because ice cream). Now seems a good time to start (or start again), if you’ve been wanting to ride. Here are some additional resources that you may find helpful.
FYI, I was asked to join a “high-level” bike tour of our city today. I said no before even asking about their budget (my pro bono dance card is full — my fee is $300 per hour for consultative services, including rubber-hits-the-road experiential/$150 per hour for content creation and amplification) because I’m putting in my new food-growing garden for refugees in Clarkston today. I hope the three men** see what I see.
I see you. And I got your back.
*You know who’s not gonna feel like a kid again when they ride a bike as an adult? The kids in my city. The school bike racks were almost all empty this week. I don’t blame the kids or parents. If it were easy and safe to do so, they would. It’s not. I rode twice at school dismissal time this week and it was harrowing trying to get home. However bad things were when my kids rode to the schools, it’s now worse due to larger vehicles, more distractions, more road rage, more speeding, and greenwashing that implies a safety that does not exist. All during a pandemic. My Hallelujah tips may not help them now. Or they may.
**I messaged one of them, a county commissioner and the former mayor of Clarkston with whom I’ve been in touch recently, to alert him to the greenwashing he may experience today
Traveling at the Speed of Bike 