November 9, 2011
I’m still grieving over the stolen Bianchi, but here’s her less expensive, more practical and upright replacement, a Schwinn Le Tour Suntour from the 1980s.
Maiden voyage tomorrow in the c-c-c-old seven-mile commute across town.
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February 13, 2011
Acrid smells are never good, and white smoke isn’t either. Put them together and you have one snowboarding-less Sunday. Yup. Today was the day I was going to brave I-70 traffic on a weekend and head up to Loveland with my bestie and her daughter and friend.
After the powder-fest last weekend, the I-70 resorts have seen little snowfall since last Tuesday. But ya know what? I’m a purist. And I can’t very well consider myself a snowboarder if all I can do is go from toe to heel in only above-average conditions. I mean, what will happen when I (eventually) hit Killington? I’m screwed. East Coasters, please take a moment of smugness.
So I’m looking forward to spending more days on the mountain with hardpack snow and dealing with some icy patches.
But I didn’t make it to the mountain today. I probably won’t make it on Tuesday, either, even though we planned a school trip to Eldora. I probably could take RTD to Boulder and then take the ski bus to Eldora, but we’re talking about five hours round-trip of bussing. Plus, who wants to board a commuter bus with a snowboard? I’m tempted.
So where does this leave me? Without a car, and I learned from my local bike shop today, without a bike. Ha ha! Just kidding! Even though I pared down from five bikes to two in the last few years, I would never be without a bike. I would go out and buy another clunker just so I wouldn’t be bike-less. The Yeti is still in the shop (what’s taking so long handlebar-mustache guy?), but the Univega Range Rover is ready to rock and roll.
The tow-truck guy who took my white Subi away today looked at my mud-splattered jeans and listened to my huffing and puffing. “Reduced to riding a bike, eh?”
Reduced? Riding bicycles is a step up from driving a car any day of the week. And to put my money where my mouth is, I’m commuting 13 miles round-trip for the next three days. It’ll be slushy, but it’ll be anything but a reduction.
Steel frame and knobby-ish tires are perfect for commuting
