9/3/14

Rides 9/3: Support your local butcher

Let's keep this brief: 

- rode through downtown to work for the first time in a few weeks. I think I missed the Mall. I miss its quiet. Riding there in the morning evokes the same kind of feeling you get when you show up at a baseball stadium three hours before the game. It's a good feeling. 

- brakes seem a little loose. Might need to bring the bike into the shop or I might just bring the bike close to the shop, reach for the brakes, and end up inside of it. 

- there is a new Gear Prudence. It would be nice if you read it, if you haven't already. Do you have very strong feelings about wearing headphones while riding your bicycle? I really don't have strong feelings one way or the other, but you maybe shouldn't wear them. I like to be able to hear snippets of pedestrian conversations, pedestrian and otherwise. I like to save headphones for times when I want to be closed off from the world; bicycling isn't one of those times. 

- I rode home through Georgetown and stopped at a grocery store to buy wine and babka. Buying wine and babka is the new buying just wine. There's a rip in my pannier and one day, the bottles of wine will fall through the tear and I will find a way to both waste my wine and get a flat tire on the broken glass. I will declare this my apotheosis. 

- DDOT has a terrible idea about banning bikes on _______. It shouldn't really matter where _______ is because in 2014, the idea of banning bikes anywhere is just a bad one. Here's a general rule of thumb: any time your solution to a "bike problem" is "have bicyclists not be there," you're not actually solving anything. You're punting and it's unacceptable. People on bicycles should be able to go from Point A to Point B, not from around Point A to a block from Point B, then walk a little. Anything short of achieving *complete trips solely via bicycle* is not ok. And we shouldn't compromise. 


1 comment:

  1. Ooh brake tightening is approximately the easiest thing to do on a bike! Honestly, I take my flat tires to the shop [lazy] but I tighten my own brakes. You just need a correctly-sized allen wrench (or whatever device will loosen the brake cable so you can reposition it appropriately). An assistant who can hold things for 10 seconds is also helpful for maximum easiness.

    I <3 our local shops though, so if it's a good excuse to drop in and say hi, then go for it!

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