0 comment Tuesday, June 3, 2014 | admin
Today was another great day of bike commuting, sun was out, air was dry, temp was a nice 66 degrees. An aspect of commuting that I'm recognizing more and more is the community we cyclists build. It's akin to my romantic nostalgia for a main street in some mythic American past where people run into one another on their daily errands. Today I had a couple such instances on the crown jewel of Denver cycling, the Cherry Creek bike path.
On my way up to Peaberry's coffee for a scholastic meeting, I ran into coach Corey Carlson of the DU Cycling Club, my spandex race team, and his girlfriend (whose name I have already forgotten). We got to check out each other's bikes and talk about how I was a candy ass for not waking up and racing on Sunday (It was Easter Sunday, there was snow on the ground, and the weather service was telling me it was 21 degrees in Boulder... but still, I was being a candy ass). The great part is the maneuver you do when you see someone you know and have five minutes to chat. If you have a disk brake or a fixie, the screech stop is preferred, for road bikes, the barely upright bikepath-width U-turn is the trick you want to master. It's sort of like showing off, but hey, it's better than revving engines, and it actually has something to do with physical prowess rather than what car you steer.
Moving on, I had my meeting, then decided to check out the Cherry Creek Bike Rack. It looks like this in the back:
and you can rent one of these machines for $25. Say hey to Tracy if you find yourself inside.
I decided to take a closer look at the new corner that replaces the 90 degree turn where Cherry Creek goes under University Blvd, and got a real treat. There was a Komatsu moving huge boulders around, and dropping them in the creek, making huge splashes and all manner of chaos.
While hanging out and taking pictures of the new corner:
Guess who should pull up... Bobby, bicycle pedicab operator.
So we catch up for a few minutes, Bobby was riding a paint-stripped Univega all toured out and a mix match of BMX and road parts, with a particularly choice electronic horn (very loud). But about that time, the Komatsu shuts down, and we realized it was 5:00, and time to get going.
So within a time-frame of about three hours, and a total of 45 minutes of riding, I ran into two people I knew from totally different aspects of cycling. I'd say that's pretty unique to do in a public environment that spans the length of town in 2008.
In short, I recommend that people try bicycling places.
On my way up to Peaberry's coffee for a scholastic meeting, I ran into coach Corey Carlson of the DU Cycling Club, my spandex race team, and his girlfriend (whose name I have already forgotten). We got to check out each other's bikes and talk about how I was a candy ass for not waking up and racing on Sunday (It was Easter Sunday, there was snow on the ground, and the weather service was telling me it was 21 degrees in Boulder... but still, I was being a candy ass). The great part is the maneuver you do when you see someone you know and have five minutes to chat. If you have a disk brake or a fixie, the screech stop is preferred, for road bikes, the barely upright bikepath-width U-turn is the trick you want to master. It's sort of like showing off, but hey, it's better than revving engines, and it actually has something to do with physical prowess rather than what car you steer.
Moving on, I had my meeting, then decided to check out the Cherry Creek Bike Rack. It looks like this in the back:
and you can rent one of these machines for $25. Say hey to Tracy if you find yourself inside.
I decided to take a closer look at the new corner that replaces the 90 degree turn where Cherry Creek goes under University Blvd, and got a real treat. There was a Komatsu moving huge boulders around, and dropping them in the creek, making huge splashes and all manner of chaos.
While hanging out and taking pictures of the new corner:
Guess who should pull up... Bobby, bicycle pedicab operator.
So we catch up for a few minutes, Bobby was riding a paint-stripped Univega all toured out and a mix match of BMX and road parts, with a particularly choice electronic horn (very loud). But about that time, the Komatsu shuts down, and we realized it was 5:00, and time to get going.
So within a time-frame of about three hours, and a total of 45 minutes of riding, I ran into two people I knew from totally different aspects of cycling. I'd say that's pretty unique to do in a public environment that spans the length of town in 2008.
In short, I recommend that people try bicycling places.
Labels: Recognition