Stubborn Snake!

     I had to be rescued the other day (Q would say there are many days I need rescue!)  I have a very cute lock that Molly, my fellow instructor gave me a while back. I don't know where she got it-it's definitely not something you would find in a bike store. Its probably the lightest weight bike lock you can have and still call using it locking your bike. But we don't have professional bike thieves around here (at least we didn't until recently, I will write about that soon), just thieves of opportunity so even a flimsy lock is of deterrence and this one is so cute. I am sure Mr. Snake scares all would be bike thieves.



My Viscious Bike Lock

   Of late, it has been harder and harder to unlock my lock and the day after the first rain we have had in over a month, I found myself locked to a fence unable to get myself unlocked.

  So who do I call?  Who do I know who can wrestle with an ornery snake and get it to open its jaws? Q, of course, and he showed up in short order with WD40 and if that didn't work, bolt cutters.

Luckily, one squirt of that magic solution and my little snake gave up all its fight. Its been opening easier than ever since. Thank goodness. I would miss my little snake friend if we had had to snip it to its demise.



Q, the snake handler

Parking Ticket

 I don't drive that often and rarely, hardly ever park downtown, so I guess I have an excuse for not knowing parking rules.  Because I had errands to run afterwards that necessitated the use of the car, I drove to breakfast at the Blue Plate.  I parked on River Front Parkway and totally ignored the parking meter.  It was Saturday.  There's free parking on Saturday, Right?  Wrong, as I found out when I returned.

   That's when things got really funny with me.  I found different parts of my self having very different reactions to this and it was quite uncomfortable  having this internal self squabble.  My driver self of course exerted itself fast and loud, "What the h...., Its free parking on Saturday.  I should get free parking.  This is ridiculous what I have to pay now, this is a trick by the city to reach into my pockets."

  Now, my alternative self had to work to get a word in," There is no reason to expect the city to subsidize my parking.  Willing to pay for my car's needs is all part of being a responsible car owner.  The fact that governments have subsidized not just parking but many aspects of car driving has produced many of the issues that we, as a society, have to deal with today. As a bike rider, I experience this everyday.   Now just pay your parking ticket and be quiet."

My car driving self- "It still feels like an injustice.  My expectation was I should get it free, so I think it is only right that I do get it free.  This is a travesty!"

   My Higher thinking self-  "Better pay it quick. That $11 fine  grows to gigantic amounts if it is not paid on time. Now just pay your parking ticket and be quiet."

It seems as though my car driving self got outvoted. I paid the fine.

Maybe the tension between bike riders and car drivers is just a bigger version of what went on inside me.  And maybe the results will be the same-one day.





 

Sunrise over the Tennessee River

  I have missed several Breakfast on the Bridge-blogging at least.  I haven't missed any to attend, so some Fridays my visits have been short and quick.    But I am here to catch you, dear reader, up with some images from the Brieakfast. 



Jeffry, a breakfast regular talking with an new resident-a new,Chattanooga resident and a new doctor resident.  I now know several doctors riding their bikes to the hospitals.  Can  I get my nurse daughter to do the same?



Preston Tyree of the League of Americn Bicyclists.  He was in town for the Pro Bike Pro Walk Convention in town and came by for breakfast.

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Another gorgeous sunrise

Randy Larson looking dreamy on the bridge



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Randy Larson's dreamy bike



Randy and his bike together, totally color coordinated

  Randy seldoms ride less then 100 miles at a time but this Friday he did a quick short ride (with his keds, no less) just to have breakfast with us.

As for this morning's breakfast, this was the picture for the day:

Q, ever quick thinking, with an unexpected cold and windy morning, modeling his makeshift windbreaker. Offering it to any bystanders taht was looking cold, he had no takers.  But several of us fought over his coat he was also sharing!



Moving Video

  Immediately after the wedding, my time was taken up with the ProBike ProWalk Convention.  This happened right here in Chattanooga and I got the feeling that many people were positively surprised by our city.  In fact many had said so.  Coming from places like Portland, Oregon, it was hard to imagine a small southern city would have anything of note going on in the biking/walking arena.

   At one of the sessions, given my our own Phil Pugiliese, this video was shown as a light hearted closer.  I put this movie together in a very quick mode.  I shot this of the bike move with the video recorder on my new phone.  To say I am not an experienced movie maker is an understatement and then putting it together was a true learning experience.  So excuse any rough spots.  With little skill or time, this is what I put together.
  So here it is-  THE BIKE MOVE, THE MOVIE

No Room For Bikes

  In the previous post I wrote about the neat bike rack that the city had installed in a parking place.  I went by it the other day and it was filled up with cycles-motorcycles, that is. That area is a favorite for motorscycle riders, and when their parking places filled up, I am sure  that bike rack just shouted motorcycle parking to them. 

   No room for bikes!

Wedding (rehearsal)

I haven't posted in a while.  Life seems to comes at ya sometimes like a steamroller and the past few weeks the steamroller has been coming!  A big part of the steam roller was my youngest daughter's wedding.  So that was decidedly a fun steamroller, but if you have been a part of planning a wedding, you  understand how it can take over your life.  This is a picture of me preparing to ride to the rehearsal and then dinner.  I didn't ask my YD if I could ride to the wedding,  I knew she would nix that in the bud.  But  she seemed resigned to the fact that I would be riding to the prewedding activities.  What an embarrassing burden I have been for my children!

    Q took the picture.  He came to pick me up at the DoubleTree Hotel  where the wedding party was staying. We are in the lobby and if you look through the window, you can see Q's bike parked outside.

My panda on the ride there.

Me on the ride to the dinner.  As we rode by these million dollar townhouses, a very stylish woman in a Mercedes  stopped to actually gush over me.  She was saying I was the picture of fashion forward style.  I always crack up when I get fashion compliments.  If they really knew!  But it tells shows how putting a dress on a bike makes the hohum cutting edge.  I am glad I do have that fashion trick!

And here is Q riding in his fashion forward style,

At Blue Waters/Big River we got to bike park in the new bike racks the city had installed.  The city actually took a parking place and put up this rack that is shaped like a car.  I had not realized that had been done so this was a wonderful surprise.

The evening was wonderful.  My family is used to my ways, but the rest of the wedding party did not know quite what to think.  A brother in town that I had not seen in 5 years was worried that I was riding from his hotel back to the DoubleTree late at night.  I had to convince him that this was par for me.  I did get back to the hotel at the same time the young people were getting back and they just stared at me as I glided in on my bike from the street and dismounted.  I could tell they didn't know how to react.

 Here is a picture of the bride and groom.  I won't post wedding pictures because they aren't part of any bike stories (to stay in theme with the blog) but if any readers are interested in seeing some pictures, go here

It was a great wedding!