Economizing

Bike parked at the Post Office

In this day of tight budgets and layoffs and new debt ceiling limits, one must find ways to save money. This person saved on a rear bike basket with this nifty plastic milk crate. *Bravo* I say to the innovators and the frugal creators. I also have resorted to such money saving endeavors with the use of scotch tape, duct tape, bundgy cords, string, wires, chain and the wonderful bread ties. Over my 57 years on this Earth I haved owned only 3 Bicycles: A 1966 black Schwinn Racer which I recieved for getting all A's in the 5th grade, a 1974 Fuji Finest that I did a few tours on and now, Betty Lou, a Murray Elk River mountain bike. Murray Bikes are no longer in business as Briggs-N-Stratton bought them out and use their name on Lawn and Garden equipment. I'm not sure of Betty Lou's age maybe 15 to 20 years old, but she gets me around to places I need to go. Only thing I done was new tires , tubes and pedals and take the bikestand off to save on weight [Betty Lou weighs a ton] Some innovate their bikes with lots of reflective tape. This hopefully ensures cars will see you at night. I admit I'm not good at reflective clothing or tape so I have to be extra care when I hear a car comming near me. Staying on the sidewalk at night helps a lot. Some people even innovate by making homemade carriers and extre seats to haul their toddlers in [just be sure its a safe sturdy connection to your bike] and pets also get to ride in some ingenious devices hooked to the handlebars. Also a good way to economize is go slow over huge bumps and dont jump off curbs, its hard on the rims and always go around potholes [your bike will thank you as well as your bones] -This is Jimio saying *Ride Fun* *Ride Safe* *Ride Frugally*

A Relaxful Ride

Mom taking young son out for a stroll

Oh what a wonderful first week of January I have seen! Upper 40s and low 50s most days and every day totally sunny, great for pedalling and picture taking. I'm enjoying this Global Warming, whether its true or not [I feel it is] and I hope to see less snow and ice covered streets this winter. As I was riding, I stopped to talk to this happy mom taking her son for a walk. She told me to have a safe ride and I said I had to be very careful because many drivers never watch for bikes here since they never encounter them often enough to really watch out for us. I told her we needed more bike lanes and paths and she said in Ann Arbor where she works there are many more bike lanes. I suppose this is true since the University of Michigan is located in the center of Ann Arbor and you have so many students getting around by bicycle. Im sure most Ann Arbor drivers are well aware of the bicycles pedalling about. When ever I drove to Ann Arbor to the U of M Chessclub I passed many a 2-Wheeled commuter and felt frustrated if they got in my way. Its only natural and I feel frustrated when I'm pedalling. Its only recently that I have a greater appreciation for pedallers since I have been riding Betty Lou these past 5 years. I now respect both cars and pedallers, but I do feel the cars must give bicyclers more respect due to their greater ability to inflict damage. It's very hard for a bike to hurt someone in a car but the opposite is quite the reverse. Well enough of this sad talk, I have noticed the streets have been unusually devoid of people this past week. No doubt it's due to them trying to recover from all the festivities. In a way that beneficial to me [less cars to contend with or pedestrians to swerve around but less people to take pics of] Anyways, here's hoping things get a little better and not a lot worse for here, there and everywhere [Universe Included] -Jimio saying *Ride Safe* *Ride Healthy* *Ride Happy*