Listening To: Muncie Girls – From Caplan to Belsize
Photo: A Civia Halsted fitted with a open topped dog crate
It’s a warm summer afternoon today. A seasonal tipping point. And time to do something about it.
This year has been a bit different as many of us have become accustomed to driving. Normally it would be biking on good days and the bus during the cold and wet winter weather we have locally. But, despite the “masks mandatory” signs on the local transit, every one I’ve tried has a few to half a dozen no-maskers aboard. Fuck that. It’s not that I’m a weather wuss (and indeed used to bike year round) but hauling Stanley’s ass about has changed that up. I had two spectacular wipe-outs on black ice with him aboard and while we were both (eventually) OK, it’s taught me to be more cautious.
The cargo bike pictured was built to transport Stanley and I between cities (Vancouver to New Westminster) when I commuted to a film lot there. A couple of big hills were too much to ride a heavy bike up manually so the electrics were installed. It wasn’t a low-end job, at thirty three percent assist I could apparently make it a hundred kilometres. It’s my summer transport of choice, and that starts about now. Just needs a bit of regular maintenance and a wipe-down. If doofus isn’t coming along, there is a road bike presently hung on the wall. I don’t love it, truth be told. The Brodie Romulus had a cool name and does work well but my body has never loved the “swoopy” handlebar setup. Crap, they’re expensive now (I paid less than half MSRP), Perhaps trading across for a something with a more upright posture may be in order.
There are some restrictions to biking in general, Vancouver is a high-crime city which features a significant amount of bike theft, no matter how you secure them. Luckily our studio communal space is empty now so I can store it and go about my business. Otherwise it’s a lovely ride down to the waterfront and along it even all the way out to “Spanish Banks”, which is on a peninsula by the local university. There’s a dog beach that has shade and lets Stanley dig holes to his little heart’s content.
Just walked to the grocery store in shorts and a T-shirt. Awesome.