To The Lighthouse

Today, Millie had her annual Labor Day barbecue.

That meant, of course, that I had to pre-emptively burn off some calories.  What better way than an early ride?

The bike lanes along the East River seemed utterly bucolic in the absence of about half of this city's population.  Best of all, I found myself cycling across the bridge to Roosevelt Island with other cyclists--and no motor vehicles--for company.  

If the lanes on the Queens side of the river seemed peaceful, the island felt like a sleepy fishing village.  I even used a lighthouse as a landmark for my ride!

Of course, one needs a lamp like the one in the photo to as a reminder that, after all, it's still an urban setting.  Plus, I suppose that a spot like that can be lonely sometimes.  

Somehow the light of the partly-cloudy late-summer sky seemed to guide me to them.

Both Of My Cats Were Rescued. So....

Max and Marley, my beloved felines, were both rescued from the streets.  And I've been known to salvage copies of classic volumes from hostile surroundings. 

So I should rescue a bike, right?  Or should I?

Well, I did pick up a pretty beat-up--but rather nice--frame.  And I've got some parts, and access to others. 

Temptation....


(Note:  The frame I've "rescued" is not the one in the photo. After I decide what to do with my new acquisition, I'll write a post that will include an image of it.)

Surf's Up: Ride Your Bike, Dude!

The past few days are the longest I've gone without posting in quite some time.  Part of the reason for that is that the semester started this week.  And, at the same time, I found myself teaching French to an FBI agent.   That's a story--a happy one--unto itself!

Today I finally got out for a ride.  It wasn't very long, by my standards:  to Rockaway Beach.  It seems that every year I see more surfers there.  And, for about the past year or two, I've seen surfers ride bicycles to the beach.

What that means is that more surfers are carrying their boards on their bikes.  I have never done anything like that myself, so perhaps it;s not surprising that, until recently, I couldn't understand how one would.  I suppose that if I'd spent more time in, say, California or Hawaii, I'd have a better idea of how such things done.  Can you imagine what Dutch cyclists would come up with if more of them surfed?

I've seen a few  bikes with "sidecars" for their 'boards:

This setup reminds me of what a fisherman rigged to his bike so he could carry his poles, buckets and other gear:

Clever as those setups are, I don't think either of them has anything on the way this board is hooked up to its bike:

From The Surfing Blog

All of these 'maritime mules are homemade or made by very small operations.  I wonder whether there'enough of a market for Burley or some other manufacturer of bicycle trailers to consider making them. 

Or...I could just imagine what the Cannondale Bugger might have looked like had it been designed by surfers!

Original Cannondale "Bugger," circa 1972