Miscellaneous things accomplished by bike.

Apr 19

Apr 19 Miscellaneous things accomplished by bike.

Here are some things I’ve done on my bike over the last few days:

Friday

I have been back in my office since June of 2020 but our corporate office recently decided to let us alternate working from home on Fridays. This past Friday, I got a bunch of work done in the morning before heading out on my bike on my lunch break. I took my computer and other work necessities with me and set up camp in the yard at Mekelburg's. I enjoyed a beer with my lunch (see below for a photo taken on purpose) and spent the rest of the afternoon working in the yard (see below for a photo taken accidentally but Mekelburg’s has ranunculus flowers in their planters and they’re my favorite flower so I’m including this pic).

Once I was finished with work for the day, I rode over to the Bicycle Habitat in Park Slope. I made sure to take a little detour through Prospect Park and lo and behold, THE DOG BEACH WAS OPEN. So I spent a few minutes watching all the dogs, as any person (or maybe just me?) is wont to do. After, I cut west through the park to get to Park Slope and admired the trees blooming and the cloudless sky.

Bicycle Habitiat was filled almost literally to the brim with bike boxes so they are still not allowing customers to shop in-store. I was in the need for a new helmet and the staff were able to bring a few options out to the sidewalk so that I would be able to try them on. I knew about the rule of replacing your helmet after a crash/collision since the foam becomes compressed and doesn’t provide the same protection. What I didn’t know was that some people recommend replacing it after it’s dropped (I’m curious to know if any readers [haha, look at me, pretending I have readers!] abide by this rule) or after 2-3 years (though online recommendations say as infrequently as 5-10 years). If I decided to follow either of the latter two recommendations, I was due for a new one. I decided on the Echelon II helmet from Specialized. After trying on helmets from some other brands, this one felt like it provided the most coverage but was also light and comfortable.

From Bicycle Habitat, I rode over to Bierwax to meet my brother and his partner for some drinks and dinner that they picked up from across the street.

We spent a few hours here, hanging out before riding home under the full moon.

As I was taking this picture, I saw out of my peripheral vision what I thought was a friendly cat approaching. It was not a friendly cat - it was a rat. As soon as I realized what it was, I reacted, which scared the rat into its hiding spot in a very fancy Audi sedan several feet away.

Saturday

I was unable to make the B SIG this Saturday so I made sure to at least get out on my bike while running errands. I had some returns and my friend had some purchases to make at REI so we loaded everything up and took the Manhattan Bridge into the city. Thanks for the easy bike parking, REI (but really NYC, I guessssss)!

The shopping extravaganza resulted in one very full pannier but it was more training for the upcoming micro-tour to Croton Point! This was probably the most weight I’ve carried and even though it wasn’t much, I noticed a different feel while riding. I was actually concerned that my rear tire wasn’t inflated enough so after crossing the Manhattan Bridge back into Brooklyn, I decided to make a quick pit stop at Redbeard Bikes. Upon further evaluation, it seemed my tire was inflated properly but it was drop-in hours so I couldn’t resist a quick browse through the store. I was able to catch up with Ilya briefly (he had another customer come in with their Brompton for some repairs) and he let me know that he has been following along and reading about the work I’ve been doing to the Pack Rat (a little history on my Pack Rat, which I purchased used from Redbeard). Ilya has shared with the previous owner’s husband some of what I have been doing to this bike and it was really heartwarming to hear that I’m using it the way the previous owner would have wanted. I have an attachment to my road bike, for certain, but I’m discovering a different kind of fondness for the Pack Rat - it’s changing the way I live and get around and do everyday things. I can’t wait to take it on my first micro-tour and combine my love of bikes with my love for camping.

After the quick shop visit, we headed home to drop off my load and grab a few beers for another ride through Prospect Park. We hung out in the Neathermead, watching all of the dogs that were out that day. After the beers, we rode through the park to head back home but took some of the smaller, dirt paths for a bit more excitement.

There’s always some weird shit happening in the Vale of Cashmere and sure enough, we stumbled upon a DJ and pseudo-rave with parents and their children.

Got back home and found this Schwinn outside the bodega: