Cities and suburbs, real and imaginary.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

a blurb for bicycle errands

i've been riding my awesome new bike - (thanks for the fantastic birthday gift mom and dad! you guys rock!) - to the grocery store and cafes and bookstores of late.

i have found this to be an excellent passtime, and recommend it to all impulsive shoppers of the world. resisting temptation only becomes easier when you realize you must haul whatever temptation you encounter home in a bag on your back.

even if you had the room for them, they will likely break!

speaking of which, my mom also got me this little device so you can carry a dozen eggs in your pack without any of them breaking.



this sucker is awesome. not a single egg broken in transit.

one problem, though:

whilst moving eggs from their carton to my container, i dropped one today on the concrete. it cracked. i had to toss it to the trash.

an egg libation to a bicycle goddess. blessings upon this journey, and may it continue for a long time.

if you're looking for a wonderful new year's resolution to improve your health, your wealth, and the awesomeness of your being, doing local errands on a bicycle instead of via car comes highly recommended by J M McDermott.

In fact, I'm an author, so I'm supposed to blurb things as if they are the most amazing thing in the universe, always. Here's a blurb:

"Experiencing your errands on a bicycle is a mind-blowing re-acquisition of true life in our helter-skelter post-modern condition! Two thumbs way up!"

3 comments:

Janet said...

I've contemplated that idea. Problem is, we get winter here.

J m mcdermott said...

I thought you had things like Tuques and Scarfs and Electric Mittens?

My uncles in Vermont and Upstate New York both experience winter in the fullest, and one jogs everyday and the other still bikes everywhere.

I bet you could still pull it off, Janet.

Why not cross-country ski to the store? I hear it's an excellent form of exercise and transportation.

Also, if you cross-country ski, you could carry a big pellet rifle on your back and pretend to be Swedish.

Orska borska ski to storeski!

Janet said...

Well, we get a nasty mix of snow and wet stuff here. The tuques and scarves don't change road conditions. And the bare asphalt peeking up between the lines of snow and ice really wrecks your skis (I actually have some, but I'm embarrassed to admit when I last used them).

I compromise by walking to the store (a good 45 minutes) and then bussing it back with a backpack full and a couple of reusable grocery bags full. So I'll just be content with that level of virtue, I guess.

But I'm still contemplating the bike. It would be so much faster.