Now tell me: Is there a surer sign of an early summer day than this?
It was a little cooler than normal (high temperature of 27C, or 80F) but I didn't mind. From that tree, you might know where I rode: Connecticut.
(I have to admit, I couldn't help but to think of the quarter coin dedicated to the Nutmeg State--one of the prettiest pieces of currency ever issued.)
Anyway, the sky was as bright and blue as my cell-phone photos make it seem. I rode into a fairly stiff wind on the way up, which meant, of course, that I had it at my back on my way home.
I couldn't have asked for anything better. Nor could Arielle, my Mercian Audax.
Some things simply don't make any sense.
On the other hand, there are many more things that make sense to somebody--but not to me. Maybe they make sense to you, or someone you know. Or perhaps not.
The category of things that make sense to somebody is comprised, in part, of ideas and inventions that make you scratch your head. They make sense to whoever came up with them, and they might work "on paper" or in some alternative universe.
One such idea/invention is a bicycle that's pedaled with both feet together. How or why anyone came up with it is beyond me.
For one thing, pedaling with both feet together means standing up, then sitting back down to propel one's self. Now, I realize there are people who ride that way normally, but they are almost always novices and, if they continue to ride, eventually shed the habit.
The creators of "Swingbike" refer to it as "The Athletic Perfection." The reason, as I understand it, is that in standing up and sitting down through the pedal stroke, the rider has to pump his or her arms. I guess that's somebody's idea of a "full body workout."
I don't know whether the "Swingbike" was ever produced. Perhaps it was made under another name: After all, there are many other machines with the same name; in some cases, they're called "Swing Bike" (two words). Or, perhaps, it was aborted by copyright laws!
Someone wasn't feeling the love in the City of Brotherly Love.
Around 2:30 yesterday morning, three Philadelphia police officers on bicycle arrived at the intersection of I Street and Erie Avenue to help with the arrest of a carjacker.
Suddenly, a black sedan--possibly a Nissan Altima--with tinted windows bore down, at high speed, a group of Philadelphia police officers on bicycle patrol.
Fortunately for the men in blue, they hopped off their bikes before the sedan tangled them into a mess of twisted spokes and sped off.
According to a Philly.com report, "Police said the driver's actions appeared to have been deliberate." No! Really? What I'd like to know is whether the driver of the sedan knew the carjacker, or simply had a grudge against cops--or cyclists.
