Errandonee! pt 5.

Here are the final two. Temps in the 20's, and finally getting clothing right made these some of the most enjoyable rides of the challenge. Good thing this was the last day, because the snow hammer's about to fall.

11: Community Meeting
Destination: Events Center
Mileage:2.34
Lighting: Planet Bike Blaze

From the road, this building looks like a very large In-and-Out.

Lesson/Observation: The meeting concerned the widening of HWY 75 from a 3 lane (two directional, plus turn lane) to a 5 lane. The room was standing only, though that may have more to do with the size of the room, not the crowd. Many residents are against the widening, citing expense, (the city's share is about 2m) concerns about safety, and resistance to the purchase of additional right of way. City officials argue that increasing the capacity of the road will improve vehicle and pedestrian safety, and that enlarging the road is vital to the growth of the city. I'm on the fence about this, mainly because I don't know yet what exactly the city is planning on doing. A number of things they talked about are in the air yet, and that could swing the project either way in my mind. No cycle paths are planned, if you were wondering, but with the exiting bike trail, they would be mostly unnecessary. Side note: To get to this meeting, I had to cut across the city golf course, using the cart trails. By car I would use 75, but using that highway by bike would indicate I possessed a death wish. Technically the course is city owned, so I wasn't trespassing. The area around the course is still under development, so I hope that when the rest of the streets are in, I can just use those. Lesson: Cart paths=Bike Paths

12. Coffee Shop
Destination: The Fruited Plain Cafe
Mileage: 3.56
Lighting: Planet Bike Blaze

This errand is my thank you. My wife and I share a love of cycling, and it's something we want to do as a family. She put up with my taking off for extended rides to participate in this challenge, and for that, I fetched a lambic from the Fruited Plain, which is both a coffee shop, and a place to get good wine and beer. Lesson: Say thank-you.

Thanks Love!
(Touching up her Mixte)

A few closing thoughts.

I had hoped to include children, but the weather would have made it borderline dangerous. Even with the work of pedaling I had a hard time staying warm.

Most of my errands were for transporting myself, or pretty light loads. My wife and I do not eat out much currently, though we are hoping for some bike dates come summer. When the weather gets warmer I anticipate higher weight utility runs, and more involvement with the kids. My youngest is too young to be in a trailer or a seat, but the oldest enjoys riding in the trailer. I also will be building a porteur rack this weekend, which will increase the cargo capacity of my bike considerably.

Most of my errands were at night, since most were run after the kids had called it a night. This also resulted in many poor pictures, for which I apologize.

Thanks MG for running this, and I look forward to reading about everyone's adventures in the coming weeks.