Jul 17, 2009
A Radish A Day – Days 12-14
Jessy Clonts, our neighbor in the Bay Area, test rode a Radish for 30-days this spring. This is a journal about her expectations, experiences and feedback. Enjoy!
Days 12 and 13
Went camping and rock climbing this weekend in a car; I was a passenger, not the driver. The trip was 75 miles away, and I’m definitely not “bike” enough to have made the trip on two wheels. I thought of how fun it would have been to approach the Sunset Boulders on the Radish, but the car wasn’t set up to haul bikes, so had to leave it behind. I assure you though, the Radish was there in spirit.
Day 14
You know that old adage that you never forget how to ride a bike once you’ve learned? In my opinion, you may never forget, but you can get rusty. It’s only been a couple of days since I last rode, but after pumping some air into the tires and pedaling into to the street, it took me a minute to adjust back to being on two wheels.
Maybe today wasn’t the best day to hop on the Radish in a dress. In the midst of readjusting to the bike, I was also preoccupied with not flashing anyone and almost ran into the back of a car. But today I determined I must redeem myself by buying groceries and gracing the FreeLoaders with my mandarins and bagels.
First I hit a figurative bump in the road by forgetting my U-lock at home. While waiting in the ATM line to make a deposit as I straddled the Radish, I overheard a man say to his elderly escort, “that is the longest bike I have ever seen in my life,” and I turned to smile at them. Then I pedaled home to retrieve said lock.
Berkeley Bowl is a grocery store nationally renowned for its wide array of interesting produce and artisan cheeses. It is not renowned for its lack of ample parking. Therefore, half of Berkeley Bowl’s patrons bike to the store. Surprised as I was to find so many bikes without adequate cargo-hauling capabilities, I was more surprised to find so few available bike parking spots at 4:00 on a Monday afternoon.
Given the length of the Radish, I cringed to discover I was blocking the sidewalk as I took the last spot on the rack. But figured at the very least, I was leaving people with a gorgeous Xtracycle to gaze upon and check out.
Half an hour later, I filled the FreeLoaders with two reusable grocery bags, one purse, and one laptop bag, laptop included. I could feel the weight of it all as I walked the Xtracycle across the intersection and was both nervous and excited about riding with a full load.
On I hopped and off I went, without any consequence. No sketchy front tire wobbling, no adjusting, and no falling over from uneven weight distribution. Just a smooth, easy ride. Success! I have finally commanded a fully loaded Xtracycle, and know how it feels to hold the world in my hands (rather, on my wheels).
