The (Not So) Big Crash of 2013

     When you have a ride like this, you don't leave it in the garage or in our case, the shed. FH and I have really been tearing the streets up the past eight months. We have put about 250-300 miles on the bike since we first put the seat on the back of the bike and had it tuned up by the great folks at Cherry Street Cycles. And for those critics out there, that is not hyperbole, but rather something very close to the truth. If you do the math, that comes out to about 31 or so miles a month or a mere 7 or so miles a week. Our longest ride is 15 miles and our average is around 2-3 miles. Right now, we are living in what Mel calls the "polar vortex", so the mileage is at a slight stand still. We have gone out a few times, but we usually end up with a Fordsicle and we don't want that. Know we aren't really cruising along at high speeds, but we do keep it around 8-10 miles an hour and we plan on keeping that speed up. Let's just say we've got a three speed internal hub system and we know how to use it!

        And if you ride long enough and consistent enough to really get around it is almost a given that you will crash in some way. No, it won't be (we hope) getting hit by a car or totaling your bike in some near fatal wreck, but you will wreck. It is a given. If you ride exclusively on bike trails away from the trials of the city and motor traffic, then this is a very rare occurrence. But when you are riding the streets like FH, Mel, and myself do, then you will probably wreck the ole' two-wheeled stallion. It may be quick and almost harmless, but you will fall off, be thrown, get your tire caught in a rut, or just plain run into something. It won't happen often, but it will happen.

   Riding a bike may be something that can be picked up rather easily as the old phrase goes, but if you've ridden for any length of time, you, like me, wonder where that phrase came from. You may never exactly forget how to ride, but riding alone is no piece of cake and chauffeuring a toddler ain't exactly child's play. I'm not in anyway complaining or making it seem anymore serious or technical than it actually is, but a cyclist must be on constant guard; even if it is just a five minute ride around the neighborhood. There are cars, trucks, SUV's, high school drivers, private school moms, delivery drivers, rednecks, college girl drivers, police, 18 wheelers, etc and they are all paying attention to something else and most of them don't want you sharing the road with them. Throw in a couple of bad paving jobs, potholes, broken glass, elderly drivers, dogs, and trash cans on the sidewalk and you have yourself a place ripe for a mishap! And all of that finally caught up with FH and me.

The way the great beast looks now. 

The way the great beast looked. 

      And so it finally happened to us. I used to wonder how it would happen and hoped it would be practically painless and far way from heavy traffic and to my surprise, I got all my wishes. We were heading home at the fading of the twilight hours and I was pointing out some lights to FH and all of the sudden my knee hurt like mad, the bike stopped, we lunged forward, and FH let out a very loud, "uh, oh!". We didn't lay the bike down and we didn't have the bike on top of us and we didn't have scrapes on our helmets. We had just run into the back of a solid black trailer that was parked on the street. Our grocery basket had saved us! We wouldn't have been so lucky had we fallen prey to the laughs of those we pass at times, but we kept the basket on and it saved us; all except my knee. Here are a few shots of the basket. You can see we dented it pretty well, but that's what happens when you crash an aluminum basket into a steel trailer at 11 mph. If you were wondering, we didn't even put a scratch on the trailer. 

From the side. 

The shattered apparatus that attaches to the handlebars and that you attach the bike to. 

A top and angled view. 

A view from the top down. 

A front view. 

    We are fine and we've been fine. The scrape on my knee didn't amount to much minus a few days of pain and a surface scratch. FH was unharmed and thought it was funny. We threw the basket away and are riding with an old, steel locker basket attached with green speed ties at the moment (Locker basket 55 to be exact). Another front basket is in the works. Once you start riding with a basket and use it on a regular basis, then riding without one is hardly an option. Where are we supposed to carry our snacks and do you think we were going to leave home without them? FH and I hardly think we're going to be doing any such thing. You are free do so, but we aren't leaving anywhere without a few necessities and we surely aren't going to start wearing a backpack or something. We are basket men and we plan on staying that way. Our next basket is going to be a Wald basket and we're going to sport it with pride. What do you think?

Silver or black? 

  Happy reading and happy, but safe riding,

  DAVID