Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Errandonee! pt3:More Stubbornness Than Sense

As previously noted, I'm running out of time. A looming deadline has forced me to take desperate (some would say idiotic) measures. Before I say what evil I've been forced to commit, some background:

I work in Orange City, which is ten miles away from the town where I live. Commuting is out of the question, both due to time restraints, and high speed traffic on narrow roads. I have a half hour lunch break, which I usually spend going for a walk.

Evil Commited: Tossing my bike in the back of the jeep to run errands during my break.

Now, if I were taking mass-transit with a Brompton or something of that ilk, we would call this multi-modal errandonuering. What I'm doing is just stubbornness winning over sense.

2/18/13
7. Grocery Store
Destination: Fareway Grocery
Mileage: 2.2
Bike:Schwinn Suburban
The indignities our bikes suffer, without a word of complaint

Lesson/Observation. The Schwinn fits remarkably easily into the back of my jeep, though only with the back seat down. I have heard of this bike rack things, but the one I own, I do not trust.
This morning I left for work in a great hurry, leaving hat and scarf behind. The resulting frozen ears I took as penance for my unsportsmanlike behavior. Unfortunately I had only 25 minutes for break, plus strong winds to deal with, so I failed to reach the needed 2.5 on this errand. These errands better start bringing the miles or I'm in trouble.
I was also spotted by a coworker at the grocery store, and forced to explain myself when I got back. Unsurprisingly (though understandably) they universally regard me as having taken leave of my senses. One of my coworkers is a RAGBRAI veteran, but the cold weather convinced even her that I was out of my mind.
Lesson: Be sneaky, or be regarded as insane.

2/19/13
8. Non-Grocery Store
Destination: Bomgaar's (Farm Supply and Hardware)
Mileage:2.14
Bike: Schwinn Suburban
The Schwinn in the sun by the sand tubes
Lesson/Observation: Today marks an all time low for me, temp wise. While I know at least one person errandoneuring north of the border who has it colder, I still think -10F wind chills rank universally unpleasant. Outerwear today is a fleece jacket under insulated leather coat, wool scarf, wool lined leather gloves, and newsie hat. This actually is the first time that my gloves failed me, but I was actually plenty warm in my core. Even my face stayed pretty warm. Observation: Where I live the majority of people are descendants of Dutch immigrants. Cycling in all conditions is a very Dutch thing to do. Errandoneuring is helping this Dutchman take back his heritage.

Four Errands to complete...
Nine Miles to travel...
One Day to do them in...


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