But I drive a Toyota Corolla and have no bike rack. Don't worry, the bike rack is on my wish list, and actually, I did buy one, but since my bike is a girl's bike, I don't have the crossbar needed to put the bike on the rack. I have to order a special frame adapter, which I will have to wait to get. I've added it to the same list that holds the bike bell, biking gloves, and rear basket. In other words, I'm going to have to deal with getting this bike to the greenway without the benefit of a bike rack.
So today I lifted the back tired/pedals into the trunk of the car, flopped an old towel down on the edge of the trunk, and left the front end hanging out. I secured it by pulling the trunk lid closed and holding it down with bungie cords in a rather unique fashion.
Okay, so it's a little redneck, but I think all of us have a little redneck in us, right? And anyway, it works. Until I can get the adapter, it will be fine. Really. As long as the cops don't think I'm stealing it or something. Perhaps I should put my receipt in the glovebox. Just in case.
I have a beautiful bike, so carrying it this way does cause me some anxiety. I have a Trek Navigator 1.0 WSG. it is sturdy, has nice fat tires, and gives me seven gears of speediness. Okay, not really on the speediness, I'm a bit slow yet, but still. It is a great bike. I feel great when I ride it, and that's what matters, right? Here it is with its new Schwinn basket (I'll review the basket in a future blog post).
I live in Colorado. I moved here in the summer of 2011 because of a job change. So my ride always includes a view of the mountains. I live just east of the Rockies in northern Colorado, in a small city named Longmont. It is near Boulder (where I work). I only have to walk outside to see the moutains. Today's ride had me in bright sunshine and warm temperatures, while it snowed in the mountains. I know the mountains in this picture look like they are in a fog or with low cloud cover, but that is snow falling. When I'm not biking, I'm wishing I was in the mountains. The tallest mountain in the picture below is Long's Peak.
I am lucky to have a town that appreciates green space and plenty of places for people to walk, bike, ride horses, jog, or roller blade. I saw all of those things on my bike ride today - walkers with and without strollers, serious bike-riders and casual bike-riders, joggers, several roller bladers, and yes, a pair of horses clip-clopping along the trail. This particular trail is mostly paved, although there are some sandy/gravel runs too. I bike on both. The horses left the trail before I could get a picture. Where the greenway has to cross a major road, it goes under the road, the road above you in a nice overpass. This one lets me ride under Sunset Street.
Signage always changes along the greenway, depending on what is going on. This sign is new since the last time I was there. While this is not all that uncommon, this is in the middle of town, and a bit of a surprise. The last instruction on the sign is not to run from a Mountain Lion, but to fight with all you have. I hope I never have to find out if this advice is on the mark or not.
I biked about 12 miles today in the warm afternoon sun. I can't think of a better way to spend a sunny almost-winter day.
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