My Favorite Summer Farmers Market Bicycle Valet Story

Our last local bicycle valet for Longmont's Farmers Market is this coming Saturday. It's amazing how quickly the season has gone. After volunteering last summer to help out on occasion, this year it turned into a small group of four of us who took turns "hosting" the valet so no single person had to be completely responsible or needed to be present every single weekend (of course, some of us took full advantage of having those Saturday's off, while others - who shall remain nameless because she sometimes pops in to read here - spent almost every Saturday there, regardless of whose turn it was to host :O) ).

During my last hosting of the valet, things had definitely quieted down, despite the fact that throughout the summer we've remained fairly steady for the duration of the 5 hour market.  As the afternoon wore on (it's difficult to keep oneself amused when there aren't as many people), a father and son were retrieving their bikes from the valet. We returned their two-wheeled rides and assumed they were on their way out, but as I turned back around, I spotted the small boy attempting to fill up his tires with the floor pumps we keep available for those who need to fix a flat or just need some air. I couldn't help but giggle as he wrestled a bit, but rather than standing around watching him struggle, I went over to ask if he'd like some help.

"I need to put air in my tires!" he proclaimed adamantly. This only made me giggle more. There are few things cuter in this world than a small child who knows what s/he wants and isn't afraid to tell anyone who will listen.  I asked if he would mind if I helped him take the valve cover off, to which he expressed great interest in assistance. Subsequently, he began an attempt to attach the end of the pump to the valve. The problem? It's a two-sided nozzle (one for Presta, and one for Schrader) and he just couldn't seem to get it to cooperate.

I inquired again to see if he would like some help, at which point he handed the end of the pump to me. After attaching the end, I was checking to see what the tire pressure should be, but was interrupted by the young boy who vehemently requested that he be allowed to do the pumping.

"But, of course!" I replied, and let him go to town.

*Image from our buddy, Will - who was busy laughing
(and apparently, taking photos) of this whole fun scene*
"I do all the work!" This little guy has muscle.

He pumped away with his entire body, trying his best to get air in the tube. When he started, the gauge read somewhere around 10psi, and when he stopped briefly, it was about the same. The tires needed to be inflated to approximately 30-35psi, so I took my turn for a moment and then let him try again.  He was extremely pleased that his tires now had proper air pressure, and father and son were ready to roll down the road again.

I'm a bit sad that the end of summer has already come, but this is definitely a story that will stick with me throughout the winter months. I love seeing families starting their young children off on bikes... it just makes me smile.  Have you hosted or volunteered during a bicycle valet in your community? What sorts of stories do you have, or what was your favorite moment?

Moving Up to Silver

The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) has increased Longmont's rating from bronze to silver, per a local Times-Call article published today.  It's exciting to see the move to a more bike-friendly city, but I also hope it encourages people to keep pushing and working for a city that supports all forms of travel and allows them to exist together peacefully. We can have all the bike lanes in the world, but if we don't change the attitudes and ideas of those who never touch a bike, or those who think cars are the only ones permitted on the roads, it makes it more of a challenge to call the city "bike friendly," in my opinion.

I am, however, thrilled to see positive changes taking place for cyclists, and I hope it continues. If you haven't had the opportunity to read the article (linked above), it's worth a read, and it's exciting to know that the city, Bicycle Longmont, and cyclists throughout the area are moving in the right direction. Ride on people, ride on.

A Weekend Ride {and an unfortunate, but fixable, flat tire}

Last night, we went for a fairly mild-paced little group ride with a few folks associated with Bicycle Longmont, and even though it was cloudy, windy, and eventually raining on us, things started off quite nicely.

We stopped along the way to take in scenery and get some information on local habitat for the area.

We took a little rest after trudging up a hill to get to a nearby park area.

Sam was even smiling during the ride past all the corn fields... miles and miles of corn.

Then, one of the riders got a crazy flat. It was so loud that several of us stopped because the air just came gushing out of the rear tire. Fortunately, there are some really helpful people along, and everyone attempted to help fix this minor delay.

While difficult to see, the flat was actually quite a little slice out of the tube.

Sam, the handy (and frequent) flat fixer was prepared to get this tire off and back on quickly.

Soon we were able to get back on the road to finished up our ride.

But not before a lovely view of this rainbow through the clouds. As usual, I didn't have an appropriate camera with me, but even the camera phone seemed to pick this up a bit.

Hope you're out enjoying a nice weekend ride, wherever you may be in the world.

Attempted {Cruiser} Group Ride

After several failed attempts to get to one of Longmont's group rides, last night, Sam and I were ready for our first "organized" ride here in town. Every Wednesday night in the summer months, a group of people (young and aged, big and small) get together and cruise through the Old Town area of Longmont, as well as down the greenway (assuming that it's open). The ride is scheduled to start at 6:30p at Roosevelt Park, so we thought we'd give it a go. Riding over gave us some lovely green views.

We arrived a tad early though, and Sam was concerned that his saddle was too low, so he decided to do a quick adjustment while we waited in the parking lot at the park.

We noticed that there were a lot of people who had brought their bikes on their cars, which seemed silly when riding from within city limits probably wouldn't be a stretch for anyone, but I pointed out that people do come from other areas/cities for the ride, and for some of the smaller kids, a long ride to the park, and then a long cruiser ride might just be too much. Anything that gets a person on a bike is okay by me.

We decided to roll over to a group of people who were forming, so that we didn't look like outsiders or creepy watchers on two wheels.

The group wasn't very large yet (though it ended up with 136 riders), so we waited somewhat patiently for all the folks to arrive. It seemed as though all were having a good time just hanging out and talking on their bikes, but they were all ready to get on the road.  Even Sam was ready to get going on the cruiser ride.

Unfortunately, I hadn't been feeling well all day, and as we stood there, I was feeling even more ill.  By the time the ride actually started, I told Sam I really needed to head home because I didn't think I could make it through. So, sadly, we didn't officially get to have our first organized group ride, but there is still hope! The group does this ride very Wednesday evening through August, and there are other organized rides planned throughout the week. I remain hopeful that this isn't a lost cause and that soon I'll be able to say we've completed some kind of group ride, whether slow or quicker paced. I hope others are also enjoying the summer months and maybe even joining up with a group of people to ride.