Putting my money where my mouth is II
In which Rhonda and Gi Gi and I go shopping and no one gets hurt, rained on, or suffers unreasonable humiliation:
You'd think this would be old news by now, but it's not. Today was our first outing together. I was apprehensive (very apprehensive) at first but my fears were put to ease in a very swift and satisfactory manner.
First, on Gi Gi: She's a great design, even if she's a cheap Chinese copy of a great design (sorry Gi Gi, but we all need to accept our beginnings don't we?). The trailer tracks in exactly the same path as the bike, albeit a little wider, but it lets you do stuff that you'd never try if the trailer had two wheels. For example, hopping onto sidewalks. I even toyed with the idea, while the trailer was empty, of going down some stairs but visions of the trailer actually flipping up and hitting me in the back of the head dissuaded me. It's so natural to pull it that one can pretty readily forget that it's there (potentially dangerous). Your bike feels pretty much like it always feels. The only points of note are that it's a little like pulling a trailer with a car to the extent that you can't go as fast safely, you have to be mindful that you're longer, and you have to make sure that everything is ultra-secure before you set off. Other than that, Gi Gi is a just a little noisy; like being followed by another bike really, and of course you really notice the extra weight when you're climbing hills. You really have to be careful pedaling standing up, especially loaded, because leaning or wobbling is kind of exaggerated and that can be kind of scary. The idea of crashing with a loaded Gi Gi is an unpleasant one to say the least.
But all in all, this is totally viable means of transporting stuff. I may have gotten a few looks, but I can understand a degree of curiosity. That's not necessarily bad. I guess the orange flag attracts attention, but that's what it's supposed to do. Passing a mother and daughter on the bike path I did hear "Regard maman le monsieur avec son drapeau!" ("Mommy, look at the man with the flag!") in passing. I'm more afraid of getting killed than I am of looking foolish. Anyway, I'm about at an age where I know I'm not cool and I don't care anymore. In fact, I think I'd have enjoyed my life up to this point that much more if I'd dispensed with the idea of ever being cool as soon as it popped into my head.
So, here's the haul: 500 grams of salmon, 500 grams of giant Mushrooms, a six-pack of Guinness in cans, two bags of frozen Oseille (I think that might be called Sorrel in English, but I'm not sure) two ready to unroll puff pastery crusts (about 500 grams total), a bag of frozen pearl onions, 70 centiliters of sour cream, two baguettes from my favorite bakery, a little collapsable kick-stand that I decided Gi Gi needs as her first accessory, plus the collapsable crate, soft ice-chest, blue ice packs, cable locks, and other sundry and assorted items that were necessary for the trip. It all probably weighed in at 5 kilos or so, what, about 10 lbs. of groceries. I went to three stores because the first frozen specialty place I went to didn't have the Oseille. I had to go to the other store accross town. I don't know how far I went because the batteries in my cycle computer picked today to crap out but I know that it was at least 32 kilometers over moderately hilly terrain. It took me about 2 1/2 hours all-in-all. I figure I could have cut out about an hour if I'd taken the car, but it's hard to say. On one hand, Rhonda and Gi Gi can park just about anywhere. On the other hand, the double-bike locking and all takes a moment and I don't really have it down to a system or anything.
Like I said before, Rhonda is the only bike I have that's up to the task because Rhonda is the only bike with gears. I think that if I'm going to take this seriously, GiGi will need a dedicated partner. Some kind of touring bike probably. The hard part, as always, will be convincing the MSU.
Pros:
No fuel purchased from evil Arabs burned.
No pollution.
Parking is a cinch.
I get exercise.
In nice weather, the cycle paths that I can take as part of the trip lead through some very agreeable scenery; down to the port; along the canal and the river; right through the middle of an ornamental rose garden...
It's fun.
Cons:
I might get noticed more than I like; on the other hand, that could be a 'pro'... I don't know...
Clopping around the store in my cycle shoes.
It's hard not to be circus-freakishly sweaty although I made an effort not to push myself too hard until after all the shopping was done and I was on my way home.
Crashing is an unpleasant thought, especially with a loaded Gi Gi. I may die or worse.
Takes more time.
So, what else... That's about it. I think I'll be doing this more in the future. And a thunderstorm was brewing today a drop or two hit me in the eye and I began to fear for my baguettes in the trailer. We escaped that storm though. It didn't begin raining in earnest until just now which, incidentally, is the very moment that I remembered that even though the groceries are properly stowed, Rhonda and Gi Gi are still outside in the driveway.
You'd think this would be old news by now, but it's not. Today was our first outing together. I was apprehensive (very apprehensive) at first but my fears were put to ease in a very swift and satisfactory manner.
First, on Gi Gi: She's a great design, even if she's a cheap Chinese copy of a great design (sorry Gi Gi, but we all need to accept our beginnings don't we?). The trailer tracks in exactly the same path as the bike, albeit a little wider, but it lets you do stuff that you'd never try if the trailer had two wheels. For example, hopping onto sidewalks. I even toyed with the idea, while the trailer was empty, of going down some stairs but visions of the trailer actually flipping up and hitting me in the back of the head dissuaded me. It's so natural to pull it that one can pretty readily forget that it's there (potentially dangerous). Your bike feels pretty much like it always feels. The only points of note are that it's a little like pulling a trailer with a car to the extent that you can't go as fast safely, you have to be mindful that you're longer, and you have to make sure that everything is ultra-secure before you set off. Other than that, Gi Gi is a just a little noisy; like being followed by another bike really, and of course you really notice the extra weight when you're climbing hills. You really have to be careful pedaling standing up, especially loaded, because leaning or wobbling is kind of exaggerated and that can be kind of scary. The idea of crashing with a loaded Gi Gi is an unpleasant one to say the least.
But all in all, this is totally viable means of transporting stuff. I may have gotten a few looks, but I can understand a degree of curiosity. That's not necessarily bad. I guess the orange flag attracts attention, but that's what it's supposed to do. Passing a mother and daughter on the bike path I did hear "Regard maman le monsieur avec son drapeau!" ("Mommy, look at the man with the flag!") in passing. I'm more afraid of getting killed than I am of looking foolish. Anyway, I'm about at an age where I know I'm not cool and I don't care anymore. In fact, I think I'd have enjoyed my life up to this point that much more if I'd dispensed with the idea of ever being cool as soon as it popped into my head.
So, here's the haul: 500 grams of salmon, 500 grams of giant Mushrooms, a six-pack of Guinness in cans, two bags of frozen Oseille (I think that might be called Sorrel in English, but I'm not sure) two ready to unroll puff pastery crusts (about 500 grams total), a bag of frozen pearl onions, 70 centiliters of sour cream, two baguettes from my favorite bakery, a little collapsable kick-stand that I decided Gi Gi needs as her first accessory, plus the collapsable crate, soft ice-chest, blue ice packs, cable locks, and other sundry and assorted items that were necessary for the trip. It all probably weighed in at 5 kilos or so, what, about 10 lbs. of groceries. I went to three stores because the first frozen specialty place I went to didn't have the Oseille. I had to go to the other store accross town. I don't know how far I went because the batteries in my cycle computer picked today to crap out but I know that it was at least 32 kilometers over moderately hilly terrain. It took me about 2 1/2 hours all-in-all. I figure I could have cut out about an hour if I'd taken the car, but it's hard to say. On one hand, Rhonda and Gi Gi can park just about anywhere. On the other hand, the double-bike locking and all takes a moment and I don't really have it down to a system or anything.
Like I said before, Rhonda is the only bike I have that's up to the task because Rhonda is the only bike with gears. I think that if I'm going to take this seriously, GiGi will need a dedicated partner. Some kind of touring bike probably. The hard part, as always, will be convincing the MSU.
Pros:
No fuel purchased from evil Arabs burned.
No pollution.
Parking is a cinch.
I get exercise.
In nice weather, the cycle paths that I can take as part of the trip lead through some very agreeable scenery; down to the port; along the canal and the river; right through the middle of an ornamental rose garden...
It's fun.
Cons:
I might get noticed more than I like; on the other hand, that could be a 'pro'... I don't know...
Clopping around the store in my cycle shoes.
It's hard not to be circus-freakishly sweaty although I made an effort not to push myself too hard until after all the shopping was done and I was on my way home.
Crashing is an unpleasant thought, especially with a loaded Gi Gi. I may die or worse.
Takes more time.
So, what else... That's about it. I think I'll be doing this more in the future. And a thunderstorm was brewing today a drop or two hit me in the eye and I began to fear for my baguettes in the trailer. We escaped that storm though. It didn't begin raining in earnest until just now which, incidentally, is the very moment that I remembered that even though the groceries are properly stowed, Rhonda and Gi Gi are still outside in the driveway.