tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19027734962303239522024-03-05T01:14:09.658-08:00the chai cyclistI'd cycle up a mountain for a good chai.spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-31692004912110270252010-10-28T06:48:00.000-07:002010-10-28T07:59:32.568-07:00GustyThat was quite a storm. A recorded low pressure of 28.22 in northern Minnesota is apparently the lowest ever recorded in the continental US. But the winds were the big story. 50 miles an hour gusts were rattling my house. And it was raining(and maybe snow), too! So why would I decide to commute to work in those conditions? Because I was lazy on Tuesday and drove. Can't have 2 days no commute by bike.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZLuHpasESXqiq8VTHFioqPxoyktstLvY2slSAeyovnX1xC7SQ_YLy2fV4QR1lCwL4KjpiiPm4Ms3E_LY3BZlpoW6BhdI5zl263TtvSYSutPvNi-q4ViosMkPWmE6VmiQNfPPNbRqG2U6/s1600/5121620695_5a6f284990_b%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533094704234028098" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVZLuHpasESXqiq8VTHFioqPxoyktstLvY2slSAeyovnX1xC7SQ_YLy2fV4QR1lCwL4KjpiiPm4Ms3E_LY3BZlpoW6BhdI5zl263TtvSYSutPvNi-q4ViosMkPWmE6VmiQNfPPNbRqG2U6/s400/5121620695_5a6f284990_b%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> Tailwind on ride home has me much more relaxed.</span></div><br />So, I decided to be proactive and gathered up my gear the night before. The temp was supposed to drop into the 30's, so... 4 wool layers on top, plus rain jacket. Long John's and Clever Cycles wool slacks on the bottom. Stocking cap, head band, gator and gloves with liners. Rubberized boots and wool stockings. And ski goggles!<br /><br />I'm glad I had prepared because it ended up being one of the toughest commutes I had ever made. I really needed those ski goggles because the rain combined with high winds would have ripped my eyes out. And I was commuting 12 miles into that wind. I'm glad I was on my big Dutch WorkCycle because, while it's heavy, it's HEAVY! The crosswinds didn't bother the bike much and it just rolled over all the broken branches that littered the roads and bike paths I took. I didn't worry about blowing a tire because those Marathon tires are tough. It was a hard slog, though. Constant headwinds, pelting rain, and crunching branches underneath. I had to stop and move a tree that was blocking the trail. Luckly, it was a dead tree that didn't way much.<br /><br />I wouldn't want to make that kind of commute very often, but I'm glad that can if I need to.<br /><br /><div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7bBFZVXcKvEIDfG_Wk5cEiPQBRTaAAqGBTMIaMPwRBYiQDigE2VGPOSQB8OtlQeQ00LU1WQ4ne-eIgiYULsyP-tA-RjnvSI1oVq02OEY9bA1Ewva5SCDIaxpMEFn-h4t6LxfDez83MIv3/s1600/5122224274_723c2d5498_b%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5533094598180346178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7bBFZVXcKvEIDfG_Wk5cEiPQBRTaAAqGBTMIaMPwRBYiQDigE2VGPOSQB8OtlQeQ00LU1WQ4ne-eIgiYULsyP-tA-RjnvSI1oVq02OEY9bA1Ewva5SCDIaxpMEFn-h4t6LxfDez83MIv3/s400/5122224274_723c2d5498_b%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-size:85%;">Ride home. Still branches to crunch.</span></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><div></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-35069553754524771932010-08-17T09:33:00.000-07:002010-08-18T07:09:19.462-07:00Kayak Hauler<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUS4esQ5YtRkIl8nOqArz2znvClg5xSnd4f4F-ZghifoEkpsJjEM8JyJJHKR0Izwqw_U3HCD_D1Oc4WQra_MAS9ut5Qkf5r9-pgtnrhQNILLiYlRcU53KwZsMGwbXxipvZ6S-4o5d38hy/s1600/4718237316_290149b36a_b%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506417911968677410" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMUS4esQ5YtRkIl8nOqArz2znvClg5xSnd4f4F-ZghifoEkpsJjEM8JyJJHKR0Izwqw_U3HCD_D1Oc4WQra_MAS9ut5Qkf5r9-pgtnrhQNILLiYlRcU53KwZsMGwbXxipvZ6S-4o5d38hy/s400/4718237316_290149b36a_b%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> Kuando and his kayak strapped to his Surly Big Dummy, </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;">headed to Medicine Lake.</span></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="left"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi151IMcekPnUXJRMHSOLDH1A9Z_zXL8TUMwJStpeWy4MjxFCXEwNcaB1IoTWV3S02l2AQWFn7p-yIFOVf9K0UGL2b9UdrtCybqi8C329gQg2QgA21qTIaQkxrsKRavSBGUgs97MFuNq9iY/s1600/4718238174_caf3c6d4a7_b%5B1%5D.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506417905787369762" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi151IMcekPnUXJRMHSOLDH1A9Z_zXL8TUMwJStpeWy4MjxFCXEwNcaB1IoTWV3S02l2AQWFn7p-yIFOVf9K0UGL2b9UdrtCybqi8C329gQg2QgA21qTIaQkxrsKRavSBGUgs97MFuNq9iY/s400/4718238174_caf3c6d4a7_b%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a><br />Early this summer, I had the good fortune to come across this guy, who goes by kuando on the Mpls. Bike Love website. We chatted about lots of things Bike and about how the suburb we were in at the moment, has fairly lousy bike trails. Then we parted, as he wanted to get the kayak in the water to catch the gorgeous sunset to come. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">I love seeing hauling bikes haul something! </div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-13026369945405365402010-08-09T20:28:00.000-07:002010-08-09T20:50:21.389-07:00Bikes on Hennepin in 1900<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvqLeExKcgLTtTpg98ndHvCtqmBGPuTg7coTbPAUYpJK0cXeFfG6OgCLNglr07VJB7F___cbx4QGMUPM8kLL4ImISM8HLl6hmMKiRpFpHEiNWLJqVZDIMKjAYcBYwVexk4cadbAgws_1H4/s1600/Men+in+front+of+the+Lumber+Exchange,+1900.jpg" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 311px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvqLeExKcgLTtTpg98ndHvCtqmBGPuTg7coTbPAUYpJK0cXeFfG6OgCLNglr07VJB7F___cbx4QGMUPM8kLL4ImISM8HLl6hmMKiRpFpHEiNWLJqVZDIMKjAYcBYwVexk4cadbAgws_1H4/s400/Men+in+front+of+the+Lumber+Exchange,+1900.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503617990172673442" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">What's the story on those guys?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Great to see folks were riding bikes in Mpls. back at the beginning of the 20th century. But they don't look liked they're locked to anything. Maybe they only had horse thieves back then? BTW~ I bike down this street most days and pass the building in the upper right corner. Happy it's still standing because many of the other great buildings didn't make it into the 60's.</span></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-23855533892866662322010-06-12T10:38:00.000-07:002010-06-12T14:46:47.995-07:00A Really Nice Ride: Bike-Sharing Program Comes to Mpls<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/4693802177/" target="_blank"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhILRFy-o4jz2wzpbRsBSYHq-zjwYZjgvJkXkqV3zO6IP1tlQTLxJsKjskfWLQqOipOe7aYplLTR3EKa9JjiCAeSk2AdsTwaBgf1pgK6EHLMQnvtRsMmxg3bGMymV9nS_AEH2od0PqwBUB0/s400/IMG_6806.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481965928925318978" /></a><br /><div>There has been a lot of good news in the Minneapolis bike scene, lately. The city will be adding <a href="http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles/new-projects.asp">40 miles of bikeways this year</a>, Bicycle Magazine rated Mpls. <a href="http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-2-19-22541-1,00.html">the best bike city in the country</a>, and we now have the cool <a href="http://bike-sharing.blogspot.com/">bike-sharing</a> program, <a href="http://www.niceridemn.org/">Nice Ride</a>. Nice Ride started off this Thursday with 700 bikes at 65 locations(I only count <a href="http://secure.niceridemn.org/map/">40 stations</a>, though). They do have plans for 1000 bikes!</div><div><br /></div><div>Usage seems to be starting off slowly, but that's to be expected because it does take a little thinking ahead. You'd better know where you're going because trips over 30 minutes cost extra. The basics are that it's $5 a day, $60 for a year subscription. That's all it costs as long as you get to the next station in under 30 minutes, otherwise you'll pay extra. The reason for the short time period is that they want these bikes to always be available for others to use.</div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/4694435896/in/photostream/"target="_blank"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8RRlJa2BNxqUIfT9bDTER6NtQzbFfhwcpZCP012bvMonRK3haRUDKcLrH2LEos6MsTtbwcXi_FP-k7vsXqu70UwXg61VOt8JSQOICqaKmDHu03N3lcV73W6gbb6f6w0LNBnQQ2YZiefy/s400/IMG_6812.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481965917412707474" /></a><br /></div><div>Even though I have plenty of bikes, I signed up for the year membership this week. I hadn't received my key yet, and I couldn't wait any longer, so I tried the day pass this Friday evening. I can now say that once you get the specifics down it's pretty easy. I spent couple hours zipping around town, making sure to switch bikes within a half hour. I've heard some people comment that the bikes don't look very fast, but not being a fast bike aficionado, I was pleased with the nice, comfortable ride. I can see myself using this on regular basis because it is convenient, especially if I don't want to worry about my bike after I get somewhere. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/4694435640/in/photostream/"target="_blank"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNwXvpiG4Upo62dBWp1cVZ-IOYW_UEcVYSoG9oNhnXe3xXBoyGvHLA_PA6x3qs_1aXsQ2PcwBDo1YwVzhDCPSZiJExQCJFzAUt2eXESPd8cga9bGUZRYRfQuBHAAwkk7jt9h_bEicPFy67/s400/IMG_6816.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481965905662680498" /></a><br /></div><div>I see programs such as Nice Ride as just one more way to grow the bike community and increase the pressure to improve our bike infrastructure, which will make riding a bike, just like riding a bike. I'm very grateful to those people who made this a reality. It's one more element in a more livable city.</div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-49444413838332702872010-05-04T19:54:00.000-07:002010-05-04T20:30:22.893-07:00Mobile DJ Bike Party Brings Hundreds<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrjx0326UZmMzCEX9gwCDeSknE-3Wz7LQ9R6dpESs92bA7XuBKWdS-BeR_ks8puM88oTAjWp7A-oVYeOHk9u26Zjvc0Qg0IyR9o_fa_d9ywBGX8gmDQP5ZiSOCLZPIyQWJQx2PrjM5Ujs/s1600/6a00d8341bfaea53ef01348054b0b7970c-600wi.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 276px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrjx0326UZmMzCEX9gwCDeSknE-3Wz7LQ9R6dpESs92bA7XuBKWdS-BeR_ks8puM88oTAjWp7A-oVYeOHk9u26Zjvc0Qg0IyR9o_fa_d9ywBGX8gmDQP5ZiSOCLZPIyQWJQx2PrjM5Ujs/s400/6a00d8341bfaea53ef01348054b0b7970c-600wi.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467617059545059746" /></a><br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWiVzJhAXMg5fPLJ7Y8akTMrQtS6nOyPqaa0GrRyWJV21urHyZcEw2hbU5E4Qre1mMEX-esSP1M6tIQhDfyJL4tSnwCMavK9zajYLFmyHC5uLUr1S9tIQB-zfKAwGXedbnxy1Zc5oVirM/s1600/IMG_6298.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzWiVzJhAXMg5fPLJ7Y8akTMrQtS6nOyPqaa0GrRyWJV21urHyZcEw2hbU5E4Qre1mMEX-esSP1M6tIQhDfyJL4tSnwCMavK9zajYLFmyHC5uLUr1S9tIQB-zfKAwGXedbnxy1Zc5oVirM/s400/IMG_6298.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467614793913801634" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Sound system ready to roll.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBytTjiHxO13DknqSmUyvjoMUH32tF4fXdTeIigbWRhP-Perd_iboWWHW2xAFYA3leL8QudN5rOINlp-i6piZ6apn9CVGjeP3oPAxrtwtMtltnCBtTMq_Z1ci8Ig0tGwZu-Xri4ek14xGT/s1600/IMG_6310.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBytTjiHxO13DknqSmUyvjoMUH32tF4fXdTeIigbWRhP-Perd_iboWWHW2xAFYA3leL8QudN5rOINlp-i6piZ6apn9CVGjeP3oPAxrtwtMtltnCBtTMq_Z1ci8Ig0tGwZu-Xri4ek14xGT/s400/IMG_6310.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467614785740671746" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">DJ under the funkiest bridge.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The </span><a href="http://kmkat.typepad.com/kmkat_and_her_kneedles/2010/05/no-hater-rolling-dance-super-bike-mega-party-20100.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">No-Hater Rolling Dance Super Bike Mega Party</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The nice thing was the party kept moving...from one bridge to another, until there was no one left.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif;color:#333333;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:-webkit-xxx-large;"><b> </b></span></span></div></div></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-81528480222227799592010-05-04T18:20:00.000-07:002010-05-04T20:28:55.758-07:00April's Critical Mass in Mpls.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFR7n7RQ2RE6SnUM7Tb_ov0yK7qraJxm96KXPG0m9HuCxb4JHOiVL1_qbq4B4HkhGHcmjLUNugIhJ8BCHR_B7TWHdFwYc2bGs75s7Wh-_duKeUqQUkNWFuuxdC4hyphenhyphenEu9rj9cIXRCl5Pe6H/s1600/IMG_6222.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFR7n7RQ2RE6SnUM7Tb_ov0yK7qraJxm96KXPG0m9HuCxb4JHOiVL1_qbq4B4HkhGHcmjLUNugIhJ8BCHR_B7TWHdFwYc2bGs75s7Wh-_duKeUqQUkNWFuuxdC4hyphenhyphenEu9rj9cIXRCl5Pe6H/s400/IMG_6222.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467621992385977474" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUP6NNhPq-pWmWqgPFWcDghz1uTBxXB3E3E2SepjygEDeQjqTOYjTkGJbSrn5SSRjN0ob5ESIz-3GedzDt7djyYtrKrtast_nwfDwyem6VZ2FDmaMe3YxJzps6E5XFJlUCmXHslzFcmL7W/s1600/IMG_6272.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUP6NNhPq-pWmWqgPFWcDghz1uTBxXB3E3E2SepjygEDeQjqTOYjTkGJbSrn5SSRjN0ob5ESIz-3GedzDt7djyYtrKrtast_nwfDwyem6VZ2FDmaMe3YxJzps6E5XFJlUCmXHslzFcmL7W/s400/IMG_6272.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467621743300851266" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLdhWRQ_4tuU0WaZQq320wnLwh-RbQw4MHqeCde9FDP5Z7-JFdYkMaU0lvYEN-L0v0Cqw5g81XhRvzsA8XemEAKi22AxPoykFhyphenhyphenJPlp5c18sD8xY5e8Gqni8q3pBj4JO_0W8EKD6RxxfK/s1600/IMG_6244.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibLdhWRQ_4tuU0WaZQq320wnLwh-RbQw4MHqeCde9FDP5Z7-JFdYkMaU0lvYEN-L0v0Cqw5g81XhRvzsA8XemEAKi22AxPoykFhyphenhyphenJPlp5c18sD8xY5e8Gqni8q3pBj4JO_0W8EKD6RxxfK/s400/IMG_6244.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467621728567771666" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizF1oi6d8MkCIVoylppK62NlKNedveSocIf5yxfTWi1VDua58P3PGGt5k_rykzBJEEXOAZ6bJ633EJMXUr7DN2ciBoXFewslzDBcTq6JTeGxdJfQFOATzu_JTPUe9EqpVgVaMeRlb45TdC/s1600/IMG_6281.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizF1oi6d8MkCIVoylppK62NlKNedveSocIf5yxfTWi1VDua58P3PGGt5k_rykzBJEEXOAZ6bJ633EJMXUr7DN2ciBoXFewslzDBcTq6JTeGxdJfQFOATzu_JTPUe9EqpVgVaMeRlb45TdC/s400/IMG_6281.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467621340757980242" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQfBHS8BbQ31Crg82nt1dAS4JmMzwfWuZkc-ZydZWSqzBqBBzIG7vJhQaAC7Ns4_oJYjmO86Olmw6H7pq7-MFfnVIK16Cl-USNaovWYJlpbUiLTn65oyOxcBsAi2-AJxcLBRTt0Ir6rWG/s1600/IMG_6236.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRQfBHS8BbQ31Crg82nt1dAS4JmMzwfWuZkc-ZydZWSqzBqBBzIG7vJhQaAC7Ns4_oJYjmO86Olmw6H7pq7-MFfnVIK16Cl-USNaovWYJlpbUiLTn65oyOxcBsAi2-AJxcLBRTt0Ir6rWG/s400/IMG_6236.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5467621328430213986" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Trying to be humble.</span></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-73456262187550485432010-04-29T20:19:00.000-07:002010-04-29T20:20:59.159-07:00Greening Up Quite Nicely<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAdgW0jO_0VUnRMjV0ddaT1OHriq8xAmcVnCgPjgV3NnrGG58LdsfLpUKfGzcWH2beD1jqu4Dr_iJ8jnS1z4YCFm1gBbfHG3SX81rDUn7U7aIk2W-woW0Fpur5ubrHRAqn5a8Tek-09ln/s1600/IMG_6174.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAdgW0jO_0VUnRMjV0ddaT1OHriq8xAmcVnCgPjgV3NnrGG58LdsfLpUKfGzcWH2beD1jqu4Dr_iJ8jnS1z4YCFm1gBbfHG3SX81rDUn7U7aIk2W-woW0Fpur5ubrHRAqn5a8Tek-09ln/s400/IMG_6174.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465765144054877170" /></a>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-53446561530914782222010-04-18T16:44:00.001-07:002010-04-18T17:07:00.097-07:00Odd Wheels<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNzL97UmdGiXkcCzQ-b-WnoTZ0qUAAOU4GjsIflxKr1y8wQmO8Q3bbj-rIpvY-zbooa-QiT2CYXEfEm1LNN8Xal932lLsYoqDoL2fPPhtb82LmiPwINCHh2PLVTAej6zB-2Gng4X29md34/s1600/IMG_5988.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNzL97UmdGiXkcCzQ-b-WnoTZ0qUAAOU4GjsIflxKr1y8wQmO8Q3bbj-rIpvY-zbooa-QiT2CYXEfEm1LNN8Xal932lLsYoqDoL2fPPhtb82LmiPwINCHh2PLVTAej6zB-2Gng4X29md34/s400/IMG_5988.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461628450416350978" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Taking flight with these wheels.</span></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PFQSOUw77PwoW5GycXDPyKvoI8BzjsJYwv7iFRSAbjlIXUIuYj6k_QmttKBwg-U2dqwczXCUXMaNdJOyUKI1CE6ydmE2J-3lCbpMmUDKKUiNzDi7yu3buZPL6EgyARsBuMM1OYgYRHWj/s1600/IMG_5987.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9PFQSOUw77PwoW5GycXDPyKvoI8BzjsJYwv7iFRSAbjlIXUIuYj6k_QmttKBwg-U2dqwczXCUXMaNdJOyUKI1CE6ydmE2J-3lCbpMmUDKKUiNzDi7yu3buZPL6EgyARsBuMM1OYgYRHWj/s200/IMG_5987.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461628116361032146" /></a><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I've seen this bike around town a few times, but finally got to chat with the owner, yesterday. He got the bike from a friend who passed away and has been fixing it up. These are airplane tires which don't have tubes. They are the tube. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NVplLJXZ5PLYiQcjFJBpbs9LaFxQYz2t0QXv_0mjNMbF8jHGl6CLYYiQaefLinXGxBZgWoIDELtg2W6PtE5EhoWVGjoEyo29sLKv-inmr6yA69DY6khhocHhOUC7c1zJP-kkFIzyqPIs/s1600/IMG_5633.JPG"></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NVplLJXZ5PLYiQcjFJBpbs9LaFxQYz2t0QXv_0mjNMbF8jHGl6CLYYiQaefLinXGxBZgWoIDELtg2W6PtE5EhoWVGjoEyo29sLKv-inmr6yA69DY6khhocHhOUC7c1zJP-kkFIzyqPIs/s1600/IMG_5633.JPG" style="text-decoration: none;"><img style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2NVplLJXZ5PLYiQcjFJBpbs9LaFxQYz2t0QXv_0mjNMbF8jHGl6CLYYiQaefLinXGxBZgWoIDELtg2W6PtE5EhoWVGjoEyo29sLKv-inmr6yA69DY6khhocHhOUC7c1zJP-kkFIzyqPIs/s400/IMG_5633.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5461627855187175810" /></a><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> A n</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">ice low rider.</span></div><br /></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-87409091257655518352010-04-10T21:47:00.000-07:002010-04-10T22:57:44.153-07:00Up Above It All: Time To Ponder<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoV8ON5fu13q3LoHYmMml_67e4MdKOyEhLhI-3V3ZN6fzFBl0m6ISR78eJqbtKGmcCnbI1cbcphAolmFZGB63Y3tMY8IJJPpEKFc9R86SQPhy-zzB0MfTuwwsEjTOEaKMdjDx9BdTHKiG/s1600/IMG_5919.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFoV8ON5fu13q3LoHYmMml_67e4MdKOyEhLhI-3V3ZN6fzFBl0m6ISR78eJqbtKGmcCnbI1cbcphAolmFZGB63Y3tMY8IJJPpEKFc9R86SQPhy-zzB0MfTuwwsEjTOEaKMdjDx9BdTHKiG/s400/IMG_5919.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458737273371751874" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">I will dare!</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Y-rK8yaazqncWXh5QkitXrJhq8mGpNUPSv8I-BWd6LCml1b6TkN4rrpgnhbmvLpRrbOQOaGS2lH8Ln0EQf6nDYxqlNgZbMBbiUmkDwKx-bd8tp4-Kc8uGHM7IiYOoKCJa5760d8wBAST/s1600/IMG_5921.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 306px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Y-rK8yaazqncWXh5QkitXrJhq8mGpNUPSv8I-BWd6LCml1b6TkN4rrpgnhbmvLpRrbOQOaGS2lH8Ln0EQf6nDYxqlNgZbMBbiUmkDwKx-bd8tp4-Kc8uGHM7IiYOoKCJa5760d8wBAST/s400/IMG_5921.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458737267859593602" /></a><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">He may be a member of the dreaded Black Label Bike Club. I say dreaded, because I think they'd like it that way. There's a documentary B.I.K.E about the NY chapter of Black Label. I found it to be a fascinating movie, even though it's not my scene. Bike Jousting!</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">In the documentary, they make a road trip to the headquarters, which is Mpls. What was interesting was how different the New Yorkers were from the locals. The New Yorkers all seemed to see the club as an artistic expression and perhaps also way to get famous. The Mpls. members were rough and tumble punk rockers, who while they'd like to get some attention, don't want really want to be famous. Which makes sense to me. NY is a natural draw for people who want to "make it!", or die trying. While Mpls. is the home of the Replacements. A band that really loved to get your attention, but at the same time, really wanted to fuck it all up. They did leave a beautiful corpse, though.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">BTW~ There is supposedly an ordinance against these types of bikes in Mpls.</span></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-16496290109070735512010-04-09T19:13:00.000-07:002010-04-09T19:29:57.570-07:00Bikes and Flower Gardens Do Go Together<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRcNw0YgaAAQrX1mPDF3w9lOcXsx1QEcuXW24LZ8VrKPoZMI1SqNAXgatZNAjXjezHa7pM_0jwf5RS8wgwY9S-UpAusEVeXnIsHHJ-m15-lOEminK03nZEcSlOHMqjuQqrL-tc_u5cW_Cd/s1600/IMG_5758.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRcNw0YgaAAQrX1mPDF3w9lOcXsx1QEcuXW24LZ8VrKPoZMI1SqNAXgatZNAjXjezHa7pM_0jwf5RS8wgwY9S-UpAusEVeXnIsHHJ-m15-lOEminK03nZEcSlOHMqjuQqrL-tc_u5cW_Cd/s400/IMG_5758.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458327665501387730" /></a><br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf2HkRUMW3zLw74W_UDS0EF6-Xy2CsaCXFPSDKziKmkxraLaI-mNstx4evGi9t95xAG3l-M5ndc0o9uFLgGIfBLbtmEH1-8uAH0T-pHfTBza41lGTHetvnWR_0f0UWNmf-ek413LfcGhRR/s1600/IMG_5765.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf2HkRUMW3zLw74W_UDS0EF6-Xy2CsaCXFPSDKziKmkxraLaI-mNstx4evGi9t95xAG3l-M5ndc0o9uFLgGIfBLbtmEH1-8uAH0T-pHfTBza41lGTHetvnWR_0f0UWNmf-ek413LfcGhRR/s400/IMG_5765.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458327652537530834" /></a><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo23bj9AzOlr-80UXEPX6EaHT0s1yHW2_gHXZb9hy3xwew88vnp4vERXkbzm3PhQVf4GWAzd2ErT_SpAU2IbLlGep3Cfpg5Z4_ijnFbG1Y0sDPkn6nFR0yyqMO7VfmTb-4hrv0SSmGdzKe/s1600/IMG_5769.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo23bj9AzOlr-80UXEPX6EaHT0s1yHW2_gHXZb9hy3xwew88vnp4vERXkbzm3PhQVf4GWAzd2ErT_SpAU2IbLlGep3Cfpg5Z4_ijnFbG1Y0sDPkn6nFR0yyqMO7VfmTb-4hrv0SSmGdzKe/s400/IMG_5769.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458327038714089890" /></a><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASxxK5xqo6cWLnHbBtOH_3kLhU2QbGM6E7b9ms1FbLmp6OhB1HXSkldeypoRcLZ4TQty6VY5UzPhhjCmSq2sD8f3PtscEWTNdfAJIc5maQ_BiTmVR9e8uMmKh-Z2jveUsKE6FEU6Gabik/s1600/IMG_5774.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgASxxK5xqo6cWLnHbBtOH_3kLhU2QbGM6E7b9ms1FbLmp6OhB1HXSkldeypoRcLZ4TQty6VY5UzPhhjCmSq2sD8f3PtscEWTNdfAJIc5maQ_BiTmVR9e8uMmKh-Z2jveUsKE6FEU6Gabik/s400/IMG_5774.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5458327029649446162" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Midtown Greenway is still a work in progress, but every year more gardens spring up along it's route. Take some time, to take in the scenery on your rides. The Chai Cyclist is back. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Happy Spring!</span></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-23263593868013042982009-12-29T23:38:00.000-08:002009-12-29T23:48:33.181-08:00Okay, One Last Post for the Winter<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnHenI3AopAvWH9aWRBubkhyphenhyphenF96F5ySBfXuItbvwiMkdEIUZFqCI26T2tApSH9rCmRtgEdqrBcbvOMhh2fbVTHC9km-iRKEjZ5tx90VzYhw1eYVKW1ZEauKTk2GN6v-0sO9wUHY5UnCba/s1600-h/IMG_4803.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYnHenI3AopAvWH9aWRBubkhyphenhyphenF96F5ySBfXuItbvwiMkdEIUZFqCI26T2tApSH9rCmRtgEdqrBcbvOMhh2fbVTHC9km-iRKEjZ5tx90VzYhw1eYVKW1ZEauKTk2GN6v-0sO9wUHY5UnCba/s400/IMG_4803.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420931565412891170" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Gotta get the kitty litter!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Plus, I picked up groceries and a pizza, putting them on the front rack. Frankie rides so stable when loaded down. The bike doesn't even feel like it could fall down, __but I'm sure it could.</span></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-90119037507821478582009-12-27T11:51:00.001-08:002009-12-27T12:03:07.681-08:00Imagining Winter at Iciclebicycle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/4219896532/"target="_blank"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrf2ZsgGD0PElzUne1-T8ql_M7CYaP9TU70VWTEdb1GUhWhdPwtdU_t8cdpHY3mKgSQxBIorFN9XgOIlD_o0AE7RQZf5ff8IcoEz3IsjbzFTF5WplnlrzklCgyYHWeRt4zrV-9Nv-QY9a8/s400/IMG_4883.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420006222751711938" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Becomes Reality</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">After blog hiatus, it's time to move over to</span><a href="http://iciclebicycle.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> iciclebicycle</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. Winter is a whole different world, but that does stop me from riding my bikes. It just means you have to be a little bit smarter, a little bit braver and put some long underwear on so you don't freeze your ass off.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-37325179172516379372009-11-04T03:01:00.000-08:002009-11-04T07:34:12.134-08:00Long Shadow Time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/4074964614/in/photostream/"target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400205170121368098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 398px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJJ8kP8hoQOiNj2XOPtwBN6GU3gca0H1egfJLUdx7EcWSjN8pbbS-iR1YRlSpAnVRt9mRpbJaef8FGOcYlIfA7cPsF3APfRous_jKTRNrmWpMkwSGARnYhiZQQvoNhj-AthokvJIjL9To/s400/IMG_4609.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Bike path Hazard.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Long shadows mean hurry up and gather some food for these guys.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/4074965186/in/photostream/"target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400204160594232466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 390px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5SPqH-nCVN4IP8PyYVmFCusykQzli-4NZZpcHr1o_YRsZxhIy7rOrNCzv6KbUAvB39S0UAHNHKmS-84x2MEWwgZ474rsYQ4uidA73QEdMIGwhcfzY6u0kGdYHBZBzYRHx4U6eXcQhrlgI/s400/IMG_4613.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Shadows, leaves and bike.</div></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/4070580503/in/photostream/"target="_blank"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400204152205430514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 141px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4K_f3NyKYzBaSoKXgYORgw6kmoIcyTigCkotuhVX4FlH0UHZE9PBTnwb7IZjL-9Pe1sgTQKFfK24D7S4k-6iYCFMpm3ysJhOEq14mfUUsTAjk37UBFFHU6N3hdyT6euBh63d0Ws3Ly7Ym/s400/IMG_4603.JPG" border="0" /></a> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center">Shadow time is a time for me to have fun shooting dramatic pictures.</div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-49711421124078266072009-11-02T20:54:00.000-08:002009-11-03T08:30:07.079-08:00Superman for a Day<div align="center"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-IAnJAzPN16GCLMBROC6B7W2M5Xx2H66vG68kwqhFtdster6na44pNS3wwFTB_0AhnXBfMjY5d2z6qlJcQEuj0TTJSvRjSh0Z2pGUlsXryalI4jVAo6sU2bEYrimlGR-Giz43AH4JVXCe/s1600-h/IMG_4709.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399738578048531522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-IAnJAzPN16GCLMBROC6B7W2M5Xx2H66vG68kwqhFtdster6na44pNS3wwFTB_0AhnXBfMjY5d2z6qlJcQEuj0TTJSvRjSh0Z2pGUlsXryalI4jVAo6sU2bEYrimlGR-Giz43AH4JVXCe/s400/IMG_4709.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Whizing past Lake Calhoun on Midtown Greenway.</span> </div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:100%;">Ever have those days where riding your bike is too easy? Where you're in higher gears than normal and doing it with ease? Or the ability to kick it up a notch and make that light? </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:100%;">Well, that was my Monday. For whatever reason(Light riding on Sunday or a good nights rest?) I had all the energy needed and the drive I wanted, which made riding effortless. It made for a pleasant ride to work, especially on the hilly part of my ride. Not downshifting until halfway up a hill is unusual, but welcome. I normally avoid trying to put the hammer down on my ride out, because I'll sweat too much and freeze on the windier second half of my trip. Luckly, there wasn't much wind that morning and I could go as fast as my Dutch would let me. </span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size:100%;">As if things couldn't get much better, a strong wind picked up from the Northwest in the afternoon and blew me all the way to Uptown on my ride to dinner. Gotta love the wind at your back. I start to think maybe it could be this way all the time, but thought I'd better just chalk it up to a good day. Enjoy it while it lasts.</span></div><div align="center"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZNCYNcjSm3ypGlUfQZDF4LYCErjCH0Y7gzjP_tsR6ygT97mJqSnIbTYnJCdx2w2rFKHw9dli0jymrkO6R0QhU6QrFVzzkxO4yhIPrEtcBv2Ox7B6PwnJcLUU7-80ZURwc8-IZTpDcshd/s1600-h/IMG_4630.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399738568084600162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWZNCYNcjSm3ypGlUfQZDF4LYCErjCH0Y7gzjP_tsR6ygT97mJqSnIbTYnJCdx2w2rFKHw9dli0jymrkO6R0QhU6QrFVzzkxO4yhIPrEtcBv2Ox7B6PwnJcLUU7-80ZURwc8-IZTpDcshd/s400/IMG_4630.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center"></a><span style="font-size:100%;">Much empathy for this poor soul riding against the gale.</span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-size:100%;">This morning it was back to reality. The hills were steeper and my legs were burning. But it was still a nice ride, just slower.<br /></span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="left"></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-21133376333736250632009-11-01T11:49:00.000-08:002009-11-01T20:56:49.446-08:00Did They Have Bikes in Charles Dickens Day?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGa4SZ9y10WJi3CyoTeoCLQSknSdg2XOXDJaCml-0sj2NkZKpLQkp_Pl_b0vtY-1pmN2uCUytBYb5ZewP_1-4nJ3iYYmLtjV4Yi9uGro547Crv_37OyvMHn6dE40gtCs8xjm3T9O5aySZs/s1600-h/IMG_4600.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGa4SZ9y10WJi3CyoTeoCLQSknSdg2XOXDJaCml-0sj2NkZKpLQkp_Pl_b0vtY-1pmN2uCUytBYb5ZewP_1-4nJ3iYYmLtjV4Yi9uGro547Crv_37OyvMHn6dE40gtCs8xjm3T9O5aySZs/s400/IMG_4600.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399225164757135042" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Tweed, Frankie and suitcase?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For me, Halloween is a lot of fun, if I get motivated to figure out something fun to wear ahead of time. The hardest part for me is starting with nothing and getting to something cool. I often put off the costume hunt until the last moment and have to scramble for something, anything decent. This year, having the Dutch bike helped things out a lot. I knew I'd be riding Frankie wherever I went, so going Tweed was the obvious choice. It ended up being a very good choice, considering the rain and snow of Friday night. I was almost over dressed. Too bad I couldn't convince anybody else to ride with me this year. They don't know what they were missing.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I am finding that Frankie, my bike of 3 months, has been shaping the clothes that I wear out around town. It just doesn't feel right putting sporty, cycle wear on when riding Frankie. It's much funner to putting something interesting on. As the temperature drops wool will be perfect. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Oh, what's the case on the front rack for? Mostly decoration. I just think it looks cool on Frankie. I did get a lot of questions about it, but I just made that part of the fun, by not answering. The case may end up being practical, because it's a projector case and is insulated. I may end up using it for carrying things that need protection from the cold, such as my laptop, or even hot food. </span></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-52063011676891970932009-10-31T07:14:00.000-07:002009-10-31T13:43:03.432-07:00Once Weened Twice Smitten<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/4060479226/" target="_blank"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6p6H2YZsYHb-ghDRX1wh8nb9CSB0xClcFiu1HEjHvfamrt6gjatcZoO48E7P2G-2se_e1VkwIK0RFu4FTq3u7BqBn03_O1R6UMSnXug0bMYkpng37EUaY67_YkCPRi24honytsKgTzVxH/s400/IMG_4573.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398768096798126610" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Stop thief! </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Fixie Eric goes Dutch.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> really love letting people give it a ride because it's so different than any other ride. Eric couldn't get over how the front rack doesn't move with the tire. You get used to it.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/4060479468/" target="_blank"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 268px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG1Gw5GXX3OnuVMqKvk1QbY-184HY0hGwpgSnH5H9XuOV2I1gsdYEnfWojGvsDbrVZR3VYOZj3YUr41HqMg0STPAi9I_Iuq40cpsJ5k4gQ7CClPeTqlEbE-LWZv3e3u5TVcQ8-2Iefh9Xk/s400/IMG_4584.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398768087077295506" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Goulishness!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">No pictures of my get up, yet. Perhaps it's not such an original costume for the likes of me, but I think you'll approve. I have another chance tonight. Nice thing about Saturday Halloween is Friday means to nights of fun.</span></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-24079682441202652682009-10-29T02:44:00.000-07:002009-10-29T07:50:58.827-07:00Dramatic Change to Downtown Bike Lane Worries Me<div align="left"><span style="font-size:100%;">I new that there were going to be changes to some of the main downtown streets. Hennepin and 1st Avenue where to return to 2 way traffic. I didn't know what would happen to the bike lane on Hennepin, but was hopeful it would remain. I wasn't ready for what happened, though. My first ride down the new street had me gasping. What happened to the bike lane? Then I started to get mad. How is this progress? What's improved about this? My temper grew after talking to a friend who had been to a few Hennepin County meetings. She said that drivers had complained about being afraid of the bikes being in the middle of the road. "They're afraid of little puny bikes?!" I said. "I was hoping their fear would cause them to drive more cautiously". At one of the meetings she had asked the members if any of them rode bikes. Nobody raised a hand. After talking to her, I was furious. My thought was basically they were giving cyclists the shaft and returning the streets to 1980's conditions. </span></div><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTJh05fw635qCevmr5fKPQqRIjSBNIEM19Dz85950bqQuesjhOmGQtyZK3_diiLA62OrGUNqrzn-I_Fks6qziQ60Y98cSDW1EVl4gcNc5N9HzdxnTRthAQz40mWl84KCCy2DZ0d3S6ERL/s1600-h/IMG_4235.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396659909745029330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWTJh05fw635qCevmr5fKPQqRIjSBNIEM19Dz85950bqQuesjhOmGQtyZK3_diiLA62OrGUNqrzn-I_Fks6qziQ60Y98cSDW1EVl4gcNc5N9HzdxnTRthAQz40mWl84KCCy2DZ0d3S6ERL/s400/IMG_4235.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center"></a><span style="font-size:78%;">Where'd the bike lane go?<br /></span></p><div align="center"></div><p align="center"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398026616340683266" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 239px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3juDLdx4lPunda0mzHWxJ03ax98AzLH5VcYUQfEvHGjMyi_BMb3b6B4XFzfY_ePGNHRrxXchc2tR4bgtzm4SY-gzQP4FnDraMW652RjzOELA2g7p1wELsxtjVnIJ9IJGdE5RwQGwMe4Ha/s400/index-1%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-size:78%;">The Dream.</span> </p><p align="center"><br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398028857169357106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 387px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgAbaxS78l5ZTsSPT99xBSN3Vs4ntdRFaonVQb4KiEdP7HW2KXcCa4TTWrFmQvbBZsGCkZxyneZa2H14HCHl07o3ItQQR6xdbcSmcOULIZZGX7Cq-dzg81PWW1gq9-7ll0lVO7p9Kfp8cG/s400/3362715859_41b9cf556d_b%5B2%5D.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">Hennepin before change. Bike lane in between buses and cars.</span><br /><br /><br /></p><div align="center"></div><p><span style="font-size:100%;">When I got home I did a little research and found that it wasn't exactly as I had imagined it. But it still isn't complete, which has all the cars using it like it's their lane. I found a <a href="http://www.startribune.com/local/60653622.html?elr=KArks:DCiUnP::DE8c7PiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr">video </a>that explains how it's supposed to work and <a href="http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/bicycles/">website</a> describing the changes to Hennepin and 1st Ave.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;">And I didn't even get to 1st Ave, yet. That's real interesting.</span><br /></span><br /></p><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396659218678464770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJb_HKqJv-h5ityRHA-VaVmI4yO07NuaJRzQXchTPvuG9K62CuQRPvZXv44-nrdtnu3FuU4upHBcTlB035i5XcO8139qBtkpFnqKIyObg_2VeAc12c9B4bVlqksd_cf9zpWOrDeX-Wl3Tz/s400/IMG_4463.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">The new 1st Avenue.</span><br /></p><p align="left"></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIt2moRbUUovL4qPVGqXfOyRwDbUUsI9rQADeddJha3f0FVPccPHUMh7QJK6oeMLqjz2kluqlIgUN7XgCrZtReHkHa3Liwb2-2RSZGG0IWIVSiqDktWKe8Jj2r_eZOnlgBa5zNnvyhIQu/s1600-h/IMG_4467_2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396658875869108002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 352px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsIt2moRbUUovL4qPVGqXfOyRwDbUUsI9rQADeddJha3f0FVPccPHUMh7QJK6oeMLqjz2kluqlIgUN7XgCrZtReHkHa3Liwb2-2RSZGG0IWIVSiqDktWKe8Jj2r_eZOnlgBa5zNnvyhIQu/s400/IMG_4467_2.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"></a><span style="font-size:78%;">The Rules.<br /></span><br /></p>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-39303742893883927432009-10-27T16:50:00.000-07:002009-10-27T18:13:47.754-07:00Strange New Bike Comes to My Town<div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Today, I was biking on out of downtown when I saw a bike a ways in front of me that looked interesting. He seemed to be taking his time, climbing the slight, but still formidable Nicollet Avenue hill. As I approached him, I was mostly thinking about peddling up this hill. A guy passes me, and says "nice bike!". I say "Thanks!". When he passes the mystery bike, he does a double take. That's when I realized that this really was a special bike. When I came up next to him, I said "Bakfiets!"</span></div><div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRq2TU9GUPqcECYaCu0J9C6M6LxdnQg5KF5kE7gtnl9pX8xUvgCCd0u0-q9BqOQ90qblydyc_cg26b0nT_u7CTkG1V8_zBdygKZnfrJQU7zS34oOWbXjr7NxRhi7tPQ-AQzs1_wVB_3o0P/s400/IMG_4513.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5397432729144156882" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Frankie meets Mr. Bakfiets.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"Yes", he says. Then he does a double take when he looks down at what I'm riding. Ahh! it all makes sense! We continue riding up Nicollet, chatting and blocking traffic sometimes. I find out that Paul has been riding his Bakfiet for about a month ago and has been loving it(No surprise). His plan was to just use it for hauling groceries and other things, but has ended up riding it all the time, because...because it's so much fun, of course. He bought it at the same shop as I did Frankie, Dutch Bike Chicago. He was more enterprising and found a micro-hauler on Craigslist that hauled it up to the twin towns for $120. He saved himself even more money by buying last years model. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">At the top of the hill we parted, but not before I got his email address(Good to keep in touch). I rode away happy knowing there's one more cool bike in town, and hopeful that the Bakfiets won't be a strange sighting in Mpls. for much longer. </span></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-40133339329673833872009-10-18T19:42:00.000-07:002009-10-19T12:26:47.555-07:00Cycle Spree Gone Bad Takes Pleasant Turn<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: right"></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394141676221908130" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: left" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc4n6YEZE6l8uQVjiyYS6QDZHsFp_MZ7_KkzYjOotsslMEIvik8j9uQfdmbVyGAmnXd0uXquWzQGob4BRSzHaWHaAFzO_hPrbZ4mR2QNZ4sg4jKA6u1eFaVlIHuZjf_zBtRNhEHYDPUHhk/s400/IMG_4270.JPG" border="0" /> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Peter Rabbit or down a rabbit hole? Don't care. </span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Just happy to be off Lyndale Ave.</span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Saturday was my day to go shopping for winter clothing. Things to keep me warm on my bike when the snow comes. My destination for the day, was that retailer where you could climb rocks if you wanted to(hint). It's about 8 miles south of my place and I've made the trip before. I always have a little apprehension about the journey, I'd be going out into the suburbs and there aren't any path/trails down to this store. But driving just didn't seem right. </span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The ride down Lyndale Ave. wasn't too bad. While I did have cars passing me all the time, they seem to give me plenty of room. Just when I saw the spire of the store up ahead, I noticed an obstacle to my destination. The bridge over the highway was closed to all traffic. The detour sign suggested crossing a half mile down the road at Nicollet. I declined. I'd take my chances with a few construction workers. Plus the bridge looked pretty much done anyways.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I'm not a frequent shopper. I need to get in the mood, which usual happens when the weather changes, and last years clothing have lost their appeal. I went at it with gusto. Getting gloves, socks, caps, undershirts, pants and shoes(reviews in future). Whew! Time to get out of here. Get that bike loaded up and let's roll.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Riding back up Lyndale was okay for awhile but it was a little darker and the motor traffic was starting to bug me. Then a 4 bus whooshed by, about a foot away from me. Just as I was trying to think of a better route home, I had a sign.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394142584343520082" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYaqGjjTeLWpi0y8w7NQNO6mzLlU92MIZezgFiniOXVxxeBUCKjxuJ5IwOG79PeatipXxyF-2iT92-sCfpzyHcFt_VNvkOT6tOF6JJg3LAo0CtTiymJVDxso1SCWEQi4f8vIXkQW1rMIrR/s200/IMG_4265.JPG" border="0" /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It was a sign... that said Minnehaha Parkway. I didn't think twice but hopped on the bike trail headed East toward the river. I don't know why I hadn't thought of it earlier. I was going to be on trails the whole way home.</span><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: right"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Almost a bridge too far.</span></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394140987247558818" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 163px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxeT7fxdPfZVJKMUJdjc3pOGiVhtrL1qMYWsu-Xj8ZTHFCU7FSOXIaDwRvq2Ty2TXIGjWXy8-ODkXLResZ5qnnM8dtji6DTyTySKh8qxOd8_Jc4MrBVvv0O_VgbC5xPc71cGUjNQJocXlh/s320/IMG_4275.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: right"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: right"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Minnehaha Parkway follows Minnehaha Creek to Minnehaha Falls. Then I'd be at the Mississippi River and would ride the river bike path up to downtown. But it was so gorgeous out, that Frankie and I had to make a few stops to take in the beauty before it passes. </span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: right"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: left"></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK3v2sC1erWgyo7w0T7tCQA71j7XQA9nlA_drZXF16Z8EdTaiOkZpOsg3Wz1G1BrbAcX9mWLObNS5iaMErXEi3lFrRt84tK_hyphenhyphenPz5tWPrW1EuproRM-OF69VQQzCtiH1gIPbxuTIkB9-Ad/s1600-h/IMG_4291.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394140593603266578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: left" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK3v2sC1erWgyo7w0T7tCQA71j7XQA9nlA_drZXF16Z8EdTaiOkZpOsg3Wz1G1BrbAcX9mWLObNS5iaMErXEi3lFrRt84tK_hyphenhyphenPz5tWPrW1EuproRM-OF69VQQzCtiH1gIPbxuTIkB9-Ad/s400/IMG_4291.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">That's the Mississippi River down below.</span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjya9vK_RFXFBwTUnfLWZQiIfLkgJ8LUoONisyRgRspGRsaZ4LE7UKQ0hNjEgOq-sKii_X09bjoEg4sIOgUWBlLeXD78LlOJL9Txn1e1jPSuZ1CP3A3BAL5ENPK3b_hG6ZxxEu27pkgpY9m/s1600-h/IMG_4335.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394138819286239282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjya9vK_RFXFBwTUnfLWZQiIfLkgJ8LUoONisyRgRspGRsaZ4LE7UKQ0hNjEgOq-sKii_X09bjoEg4sIOgUWBlLeXD78LlOJL9Txn1e1jPSuZ1CP3A3BAL5ENPK3b_hG6ZxxEu27pkgpY9m/s320/IMG_4335.JPG" border="0" /></a> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Below U of M West Bank</span></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUrROEVeJ81YW6USAaYNSBpZL8CAs3V7v-jofg86BPSVLVfh3ujToJuBBOKzWhoPq5rVcMu78r4E85a4uYRe5aVvVtU4C6M8Wwjg-GhDiaRWQ4NG-AoefZaUtY3Psa-e-2QlrsMAhpseg/s1600-h/IMG_4358.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394137477890840898" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUUrROEVeJ81YW6USAaYNSBpZL8CAs3V7v-jofg86BPSVLVfh3ujToJuBBOKzWhoPq5rVcMu78r4E85a4uYRe5aVvVtU4C6M8Wwjg-GhDiaRWQ4NG-AoefZaUtY3Psa-e-2QlrsMAhpseg/s400/IMG_4358.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Almost Home</span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="font-size:100%;">An interesting message the two signs, together convey?</span></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-61086849291686635872009-10-12T07:02:00.000-07:002009-10-15T07:38:11.378-07:00Important Dutch Bike Moment, Not Caught on Film<span style="font-size:130%;">In hindsight, maybe I could have found someone to take a picture, but time was tight. The moment had to be seized.<br /><br />Yesterday, I was having a chai at my favorite cafe, planning to meet someone for dinner at six. When my friend Emily dropped in. We got to talking about her new job and other stuff. Then I remembered that we had talked about her taking my bike for a ride, sometime. Since Frankie was waiting out front, this was her chance. She's a tall lady, which is what you need to be to ride this Dutch. She loved it. So smooth and stable. The upright position was new to her. </span><br /><p><span style="font-size:130%;">Recently Added:</span></p><p><span style="font-size:130%;">Emily was on the bike for less than 10 seconds before this couple stopped her, because they were curious about what kind of bike it was. First ride and already peppered with questions. Get used to it! I was thinking of making a handout, explaining the bike and it's accessories. But figured it's funner to do the spiel myself.<br />------<br />I noticed that was going to be running late, so we said our good bye's. She mentioned that she'd be walking over to the Wedge Coop, about 10 blocks away. I offered to give her a on ride on the back of Frankie, and to my surprise, she agreed. Nobody's ever said yes before. I had read that it doesn't taking long for rider and drivers to get used to it. So, I knew it could be done. She hopped on, side saddle and I pushed off. It was definintely a different ride. We wobbled for a bit and I had to really grip the handle bars, to keep it from swinging too far one way. After a few blocks, I started to get the hang of it. Frankie, really handled it well. I got the sense that with practice, it would become much easier, as long as the passenger knew what they were doing, too. If she had started shifting around a lot, it could have got tricky.<br /><br />I was really fun. People watched as we passed. We were taking side streets and I noticed the cars behind us didn't mind that we were taking the lane. They just sat back. When we got to the Wedge, we cruised past the windows by the check out. Then I doubled back again, just to show off! Since I was already running late for dinner, I didn't take the time to arrange a picture. You'll just have to believe me.</span></p>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-13157324039288504722009-10-10T16:29:00.001-07:002009-10-10T22:10:14.859-07:00Snow Brings Rude Awakening<div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Waking this morning with snow on the ground and a temperature of 26F was a real shock to the system. A couple of weeks ago it was in the 70's. Last year, we made it into late November without snow. But that's Minnesota. No promises. Abrupt. </span> </div><div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKGsIMBDqVl3XVYESqxK4RJCj_v_H8Kx-nZ1Li12BpAnzhPFz2MfqepG4GasO1VMBeMTpWJgr6DSn6jRo0TwkJjDpc82YhnnWqfANXVLm4pTjRkMTRE4BuJE6SrgezDW_SfM7d1YaRLuiw/s400/IMG_4220.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391118139886507826" /><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Frankie doesn't mind the chill. He's a trooper.</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">That's how it goes. I needed a little reminder. I guess I'd better start getting ready for winter. Luckily, I had started pulling some of wooly wear out of the closet this week. That made today's cycling much more bearable. I do need to find the heavier gloves, because my thin, liner gloves were the bare minimum today. I started a list of things to get before winter really starts. Get last years winter bike tuned up. Gets some studded tires for Frankie. Get all of last years winter clothing out and decide what I'll want to replace. Plus, I think some more wool is a must. Stuff's expensive, but it's so effective that it's worth it. Cotton bad! I had cotton socks on today and my feet were frozen, when I got home. Last year, I got by wearing tennis shoes all Winter with Smart wool socks.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I'm glad that over the last week, I have been making the mental transition, too. From Sun loving, little clothes wearing, Summer, to dark chills, lots of clothes on, Winter. I've done it many times before, but until it happens, you're still holding on to the idea of Summer. What is also a little disheartening about this Arctic blast is, it got so cold, so fast, that the leaves are falling off the trees, green. It is a little strange that so many of the leaves are still green, but we did have one of the warmest Septembers ever. But one of the joys of Fall is seeing the orange, red and yellow leaves on the trees. It's brief. Better not be to busy, or you'll miss it. But it's considered one of the trade off's for the coming freeze. Well see if Winter keeps that arrangement.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXBmGSW9t0JLNVzc6jIXRqlgfPN7tGJqz-wIaxvRXhz6oDhGzI9O0x0ATta2sdojNHX2wMYETixPGuDjql66umVM91wjFj4FME9qdTCygk4Z_e6l16FEtY52Wy4Ymc96OG2ZIV4DDW5TF8/s1600-h/IMG_4233.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXBmGSW9t0JLNVzc6jIXRqlgfPN7tGJqz-wIaxvRXhz6oDhGzI9O0x0ATta2sdojNHX2wMYETixPGuDjql66umVM91wjFj4FME9qdTCygk4Z_e6l16FEtY52Wy4Ymc96OG2ZIV4DDW5TF8/s400/IMG_4233.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391118121328535538" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">G</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">et back up on the trees, where you belong. </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">One of the reality's of this change, is I'll have to start moving over to my other blog </span><a href="http://iciclebicycle.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">iciclebicycle</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. Got to clean it up. Better hustle. Been thinking about some good Winter preparation blogs, but now Winter beat me to it.</span></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-37713249236630070142009-10-07T07:43:00.000-07:002009-10-07T07:46:45.965-07:00Alternative Transportation<div align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5bphSqRqEWMIj5me7mJgizcPqGFG8pR69zdGnRc3y2VEo_I11ZoGnmkKzlctcBdzzGAn1cSSIdcFucyL6F0fIhs-c5CENb8BvesYrXHrAv5KIrQ-HpSaZHmIF_zfFdidgpAQutBs3UlId/s1600-h/520706476_16ee0b6844_o%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5389869152391931106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5bphSqRqEWMIj5me7mJgizcPqGFG8pR69zdGnRc3y2VEo_I11ZoGnmkKzlctcBdzzGAn1cSSIdcFucyL6F0fIhs-c5CENb8BvesYrXHrAv5KIrQ-HpSaZHmIF_zfFdidgpAQutBs3UlId/s400/520706476_16ee0b6844_o%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> May Day 2007</span><br /><br /></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-66447714920721336062009-10-04T18:19:00.000-07:002009-10-07T07:43:42.328-07:00Seen Around Town<div align="center"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0BXjTRBUbrU6xypAGS4IKcckazHDzFvliiVhhui2z-gEL_h918kCFcmse5LnQcS3VuOnj1059a70XhbLaOsIEZHQY7e0BDNnyGgjyc092gyXSaKKfxgDi3HsufqDOnuKS3YL5DqBYTo9/s1600-h/IMG_3686.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388921759824919186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0BXjTRBUbrU6xypAGS4IKcckazHDzFvliiVhhui2z-gEL_h918kCFcmse5LnQcS3VuOnj1059a70XhbLaOsIEZHQY7e0BDNnyGgjyc092gyXSaKKfxgDi3HsufqDOnuKS3YL5DqBYTo9/s400/IMG_3686.JPG" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> Lake Calhoun</span><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvt30_7mL54-_AsSW89nWSOd3YZ9nOx6zKy9BuLK4AcMzNwAmOFr4tohi9pOem0PcWLVGXA6aG0mf1fqx2tOC1t0aZ1fPjxrSRqhox4_2TV3pE2fLAncTDm5SvJbxEDqskDMvP5VHJdBZ/s1600-h/IMG_4061.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388921743520702178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyvt30_7mL54-_AsSW89nWSOd3YZ9nOx6zKy9BuLK4AcMzNwAmOFr4tohi9pOem0PcWLVGXA6aG0mf1fqx2tOC1t0aZ1fPjxrSRqhox4_2TV3pE2fLAncTDm5SvJbxEDqskDMvP5VHJdBZ/s400/IMG_4061.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center"></a><span style="font-size:85%;">Bridge to Nicollet Island</span><br /></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bpbP3mBEWhEsf4qAM0W7lSuMs8Ps6TbnN-veMFHDIDuB9Qm0Lv-TzjLtk0doGpOPeMQRrCi4GE8K_TPPtpTeu8noijrfObzc6uvT6-z7phcY8FSU80KUHFYIoLNo59fZZTwabbYUTvfp/s1600-h/IMG_4194.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5388920353636881490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 266px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_bpbP3mBEWhEsf4qAM0W7lSuMs8Ps6TbnN-veMFHDIDuB9Qm0Lv-TzjLtk0doGpOPeMQRrCi4GE8K_TPPtpTeu8noijrfObzc6uvT6-z7phcY8FSU80KUHFYIoLNo59fZZTwabbYUTvfp/s400/IMG_4194.JPG" border="0" /> <p align="center"></a><span style="font-size:85%;">The Greenway</span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></p><p align="left"><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="left"></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="right"> </div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="right"> </div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-84836653598779385772009-09-12T19:33:00.000-07:002009-09-12T22:59:46.153-07:00Seeing Dutch<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It's probably just that phenomena, where you start seeing all the bikes that look like yours, but in the last week, I've being seeing Dutch bikes everywhere. And not just plain old ones like my Frankie. Exciting ones in fun colors and configurations. Here are the ones where I was quick enough with the camera.</span><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/3914104897/in/set-72157621976693522/" target="_blank"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVsH7YOyaMEuv_W_6ZGfvFGL0SpALSRBeF7jhLTkOveYBcNi6_B3hqB8NacBPq_t5KQnJUmjakztA4m1y6jHcWFzl7QWGXj4bMoE8UabPH20r40yQpB_FoBx_Bzqe3SaIXTqDlLzdVg4Gc/s400/IMG_3793.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380776956524905026" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Where'd the kid go?</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Just a guess, but there is a bike shop up the street from here. Maybe he's test driving it? Like to see the kid on it.</span></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/3914104709/in/set-72157621976693522/" target="_blank"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGrO4CfUHeA3fBK2bQFJdTGOzDbYINXJWWqrwarEltLcaS2ZE87bpHwjKEG9hovEq0hT5DJpxBJZQiG3Gb75YWZvXhofdJHt8lUwj3C4S-sl1RmYp06MuBOqyVlqpld7_QLBLrD7BPVj3i/s320/IMG_3668.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380776743180325394" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Sorry, but they remind of tweedle dee and tweedle dum.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I saw these guys, while I was going for a walk around Lake of the Isles. They zipped by so fast that I didn't get my camera out quick enough to shoot them close up. But I did manage to get this shot, from across the lake. The Double Dutch was a happy sight. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/3914105035/in/set-72157621976693522/" target="_blank"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFspWLRI5SO0-bxHrzX67VdAHklsuPIeu8COYstJasF5ss3jrowC0BHlpQ6GUYb5_K86uck43u6-TDoJ0H_PpqOamjrflzXTXZCteQyGWJ-aPuR_S5T39y19P4eBu8bXRSW3dOIt4rHcN1/s400/IMG_3796.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380775811730528258" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Frankie makes nice with the lady in Red.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This bright bike stopped me in my tracks. It's the same brand as mine and comes from the Dutch Bike Co, too. I wonder if I saw this exact bike, when I was buying Frankie down in Chi-Town? With kiddy trailer on the back, and the Xtra-Cycle bicycle next to it, this couple can do some serious hauling.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I'm glad to see the bike terrain changing, here in Mpls. It's been great to see these versatile bikes, sprouting up around town. Maybe there will be a day when these wonderful bikes are a common site. Especially if people are getting more than one. Why buy one, when two will be twice the fun? Here's to that!</span></div></div></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1902773496230323952.post-70764790391728397972009-09-06T13:46:00.000-07:002009-09-06T20:39:51.150-07:00One Month Dutch Bike Review<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/3894457838/" target="_blank"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJNuKTKgOtBO9rW8Jhz5f7C_UOUw92h4O2yIY797a81dfYXT25y1mMOf5yv1zXruoh9eqbbrQkKX_u6Hh3ojZs0IBbHm_j6Q3gDk4tbEeDf5FxxqwJuPWwky3onngh-Q-_uGNNihUtToq/s400/IMG_3666.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378460336329587890" /></a><br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/3894404954/in/photostream/" target="_blank"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKeRHjwpiKBLFMT0BAk-iokVUbsp0Qy3RscLuXtuSfjA0bSan6wjmRTJr0oFb3qZJVVnT-6Wfw8MMoyZSDezS_yLpq84Z5RevP8ilPkRkj4cLbG5IxcCJLg5tiJYcZJpH1nphfEci4NLr/s400/IMG_3667.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378460326115203266" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Who says it can't make sharp turns?</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/spiderleggreen/3893614369/in/photostream/" target="_blank"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoMIRxKeu-NEXxT-xHoFCgEZzGJCWyGHIA1rvVh9wY61Cx07c8zYs9blhGde5GsjJFJFQOo8jS43J1LshInQS71_tnyNL0FVjb-redtGWDc580_f_bfUw1ruzrxAthNW2owdngk5IxlajB/s400/IMG_3660.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378459980613969810" /></a><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It's been a little over a month since I bought my Dutch Azor Transport bike. It seems like much longer than a month, but I have put a lot of time on Frankie, as he likes to be called. It's been a real pleasure getting to know him. For the first two and half weeks, he was my only means of transportation. The car was forgotten. My other bikes must be a little jealous because Frankie is the only bike I've ridden all month. That was intentional, because I wanted to really get the full Dutch City-Bike experience. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">How's it going after all those miles? I can't really complain about much. The ride is very comfortable. My wrists really appreciate the upright position, because the handle bars are now mostly for balance and steering, not holding my shoulders up. The smoother ride is easy on the body. Since it is a heavier bike, my legs have had to toughen up some, but if I'm feeling too much strain, I just shift down. No rush on this bike. I was a little worried about how much extra time Frankie would add to my 13 mile commute, but besides one windy day, it hasn't taken much longer.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div> </div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The days are getting shorter. Pretty soon, my morning commute will be in the dark, with the evening one, soon to follow. While the bike is painted black, I feel that, for a variety of reasons, this bike is plenty visible at night. The hub generated front and rear lights are big enough that they almost look like scooter lights. The upright position also adds to your visibility, because there is more to see.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Getting noticed really hasn't been a problem with Frankie. It's an unusual and elegant bike, so I get lot's of looks and comments. Last week, I was walking out to my bike on the street, and I saw this bright red city bike coming up the street. I say "nice bike!" as he passes me. Then he does a double take when he passes my bike. He said something like "what??". I was happy to see his surprise. We ended up chatting about city bikes for a few minutes. His bike was the Swedish bike </span><a href="http://kronanusa.com/index.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Kronan</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. It had the front carrier like mine. I was thinking that maybe I should have bought one of those instead, to support my ancestral homeland, but then I remembered that I've got some Dutch, so it's been taken care of. My one regret is I didn't get a picture of him on his bike, but I was running late. Next time! He shouldn't be too hard to spot a bright red city bike.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">One thing about Frankie that has allowed me to ignore the car, is it the fact that it can haul some serious goods. I have a pannier that fits on the back rack. They can fit bag of groceries on each side, plus some extras. Once they're full, I can put the rest on the front carrier, strapping it down with an old inner tube. When I've had it fully loaded, it feels more stable than before and isn't that much harder to peddle. I think I'm going keep working on improving my ability carry more delicate things. Maybe a milk crate that could attach to the front or rear rack? We'll see. </span></div></div>spiderleggreenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07306905473637646256noreply@blogger.com5