39 tagged with #pedaling

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coffeeneuring 2016; #3


this is my first year coffeeneuring! you can see my previous chasingmailboxes adventure here

i have a theme: stop exclusively at clp locations i haven't yet visited. also, i'm trying to ride slowly enough so i can hatch pokemon eggs while i go, but this is pretty difficult because the max speed is 6.5 mph, which is barely jogging pace.

it rained! i packed a raincoat and was only mildly miserable. i planned to go further down the river trail to the west end library, but i got kkind of cold and fed up and stopped at the south side instead.

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30 October 2016 14:12


coffeeneuring 2016; #2


this is my first year coffeeneuring! you can see my previous chasingmailboxes adventure here

i have a theme: stop exclusively at clp locations i haven't yet visited. also, i'm trying to ride slowly enough so i can hatch pokemon eggs while i go, but this is pretty difficult because the max speed is 6.5 mph, which is barely jogging pace.

this entry is written up fairly late; i haven't had a great week for getting things off my task list. this ride actually happened on saturday, 10/15.

i was sick this week, so i picked a closer target that i thought would give me a lazy, short ride along the river trails. i did not fully understand how much of those trails were inaccessible due to construction on a private section of land that the trail crosses over; i ended up rerouting down a straight, fast section of road that i've always loved taking at inappropriate speeds on my motorcycle.

i tried to stick to the sidewalk, but a set of semi-permanent road work signs and sandbags blocked so much of the sidewalk that i gave up and started walking my bike through the debris. at one point, a pack of cyclists on roadies and bike shorts blew by, waving at me, so i hopped off the curb and drafted behind them. i figured as long as i was going to ride on a road that was shitty for bicycles, i might as well take advantage of some herd support.

i had a cup of tea out of my thermos in the hazelwood library parking lot. the main drag in hazelwood is not a really friendly place for bicycles, but lots of neighborhood kids rode around between traffic bubbles. my conspicuously orange bike gets a lot of appreciation from that crowd.

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21 October 2016 17:14


coffeeneuring 2016; #1


this is my first year coffeeneuring! you can see my previous chasingmailboxes adventure here

i have a theme: stop exclusively at clp locations i haven't yet visited. also, i'm trying to ride slowly enough so i can hatch pokemon eggs while i go, but this is pretty difficult because the max speed is 6.5 mph, which is barely jogging pace.

i met a middle schooler who was out riding the trails with her father, and she was really excited to keep pace with me and chat about schoolteachers she didn't like, her friends who are diehard steelers fans, what color bikes she likes, which of her family members have died recently, what sports her sister plays, and other things that got caught by the wind as we pedaled.

the seat of my pants have been on their way out for a long time, and on this ride, i kept catching the nose of my saddle in the hole. also, the sole of my right shoe has detached so far that it gets stuck around my pedal. maybe i'll get around to patching this someday.

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09 October 2016 18:03


Spinning


This bicycle is not about how fast I am capable of going, but more about how fast I am willing to go, while keeping all of my weaknesses as a fleshy, breakable body in the back of my head.

I have a VIN in hand for a motorcycle promised to me when I get back into the states next month, and people call that my newest death machine.

I still don't have a graceful way to descend stairs on roller blades, but cannot resist the appeal of a smooth, silent glide powered by the subtle turns of the ankles.

When my neighbors' air conditioning units turn on, the alleyway rumbles with ancient oscillating fans, and I know that all they're doing is making the world beyond their rooms a sliver hotter. That's why the petty part of me smiles whenever I see their dog lifting a leg over the rusty old machines.

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14 May 2014 23:56


Vortex


As I turn the corner, there's a cloud of dust and debris spilling out into the street from behind the parked truck. I heard it before I saw it, the backpack-mounted leaf blower that the landscaper was using to clean off the lawn. I approached slowly, not wanting to ride through it, and waited for him to notice me so I'd have a clear passage, but his back was to me and he was wearing ear protection.

He checked back over his shoulder before stepping into the street, saw me, and cut off the engine. I gave him a small salute and breezed on by.

I wonder why people don't just use brooms.

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06 May 2014 11:58


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