What Do You Love About Bikes?

I'm too lazy!

That was the excuse of someone I simply could not interest in cycling.  That person was honest which, I suppose, counts for something.

The funny thing is that I fell in love with cycling because I was lazy:  I didn't want to walk everywhere.  I can say I "fell in love" with riding because, more-years-than-I'll-admit later, I'm still doing it.

Then there are those people who aren't really interested in cycling but like bikes.  I thought of them when I saw this:

I love tires!  I wonder how that sloth feels about whole bicycles.

Now, if I can get a sloth to ride....

The Wrong Way

Be on your best behavior when you're on the lam.

Is that the moral of the story I'm about to relate?



Jeff Basil Chandler was riding a bicycle on Richmond Road in Williamsburg, Virginia at 3:02 on Sunday morning.  The 24-year-old from Yemassee, South Carolina was weaving in the eastbound lane.  The problem was, he was headed westbound.

The advantage to riding at that hour is that, in most places, you won't encounter much traffic.  Hence, there tends to be less of a police presence.  On the other hand, if constables are in the area, they're bored (unless they're chasing drunk drivers) and looking for something to do.

So it's not surprising that a Williamsburg police officer would notice--and stop--a cyclist weaving in the wrong lane.  Perhaps that officer thought Chandler was drunk; in any event, said officer identified Chandler through his South Carolina driver's license.

These days, nearly all patrol cars (at least here in the US) are equipped with computers that allow officers to run a check on whomever they stop. The Williamsburg cop did just that and found that South Carolina had issued warrants for Chandler's arrest.

Turns out, he was wanted for kidnapping, robbery with a deadly weapon and being an accessory to a felony.  He was brought to a local jail and booked two hours after he was stopped.  Now he has to decide whether to waive his extradition hearing or follow a process that will allow him to appeal extradition in local court and with state prosecutors.

Just remember:  If you're going to run (ride) from the law, make sure you're running the right way, and in a straight line!

It's Not Dark--Yet!

Where was I at 5:58 PM (EDT) on Wednesday the 20th, Spring Equinox 2019?

I got out for another late-day ride.  The funny thing was that even though I was pedaling into the wind, I wanted to keep on going. And so I did, to Point Lookout. 

You can tell you've been through a winter when you look beyond the rocks and everything seems to be in a shade of stone:  the almost slate-like blue-grey water, the gnarled brown trees and granular tan-colored sand on the opposite shore.

Even though the days are getting longer, and we have more light at the end of the day because of Daylight Savings Time, getting to Point Lookout meant riding home into the sunset along the Rockaway Boardwalk.

After I turned away from the boardwalk and up the bridge to the Queens "mainland", I kept telling myself "It's not dark yet" as the sun disappeared from view--and, yes, even after I turned on my lights in Ozone Park.

Maybe it had something to do with having the wind at my back.