Saturday, August 29, 2020

Getting From Point A To Point B

When I bought my new vehicle last year Hubby Tony and I talked about how it would be easy to put a bike rack on it. That knowledge was never acted on. Then we started getting ready to put our house on the market, the weather turned cold, it was the holidays, we were moving, we were setting in, and then everything shut down. All of a sudden it was a year later and nothing had been done.

Eventually I completed the first step, which was having a trailer hitch installed. Then two weeks ago Tony and I decided to get serious about the project. We went to the bike department of a nearby outdoor store and purchased a rack that had a platform that folded down to hold our two bikes.

Not my vehicle, not my rack. Just a generic clipart.

Having a rack to port our bikes around means we can really expand our range of destinations. The first weekend we were able to ride on a nice trail halfway across town from us. Another time I started at a trailhead instead of cycling to and from it, so I could spend more time actually on the trail.

This morning after breakfast we attached the bikes to the back of the car and drove to a 'rails to trails' greenway (which means it was converted from railroad to paved path) 10 miles away. The path ran next to a highway, crossed several streets, and was flat and easy. However, it was shorter than we thought, so when we reached the end we doubled back and exited at the first opportunity. We tooled around the area, and when we realized we were just a couple of miles from Son Donald's I called and said we were stopping by for a visit.

Fifteen minutes later we pulled up in front of his house, where he was sitting on the front porch. We had a nice socially-distanced chat, then got back on our bikes and rode back to the trailhead where the car was waiting. Our total biking distance was about 14 miles (which is nothing for an experienced cyclist), but about average for us.

Back at home we stabled the bikes back in the storage area until the next time we're ready to ride again.

Five years ago today: Can This Be Reused?

14 comments:

  1. That’s wonderful about the bike rack!

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  2. Our valley scenic railway has bike and hike. Throw your bike into the box car and climb on in to go to another part of the park.

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  3. 14 miles on a bike? I would join you ... in a car.

    God bless.

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  4. What a clever way to see the countryside, and especially to see your son!

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    1. Stopping to visit Donald was a spur of the moment decision, but it turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip.

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  5. That's great and makes for a greater range of activities you can do.

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    1. Yes, I was getting tired of covering the same ground around the condo over and over.

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  6. Replies
    1. Yes, ma'am! And I hope to be able to increase that in the months ahead.

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  7. Every time I read about your bike rides I want a new bike more and more! I miss riding sooooo much (it's been 2-3 years), but a bike is not in our kind of budget, at least not right now. Maybe I should ask Santa for one. (Santa = kids/grandkids 😉 lol)

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    1. I understand that bikes are hard to find right now unless you want to spend a lot of money on a high-end one. (One of the weird COVID effects.) But maybe if you put the word out early one will end up under the tree :-)

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